Posting Freak
Peachtree City, GA
(06-07-2021, 08:50 PM)BPman Wrote:(06-07-2021, 08:14 PM)DanLaw Wrote: Try a Personna Israeli Red handstropped. May change your perspective
Yeah, you'll want to grow a beard.
Oh Good God! THAT was a great retort! Hahaha. Good on you. Needed a good laugh on a rainy crappy Southern day. Thank you
Member
AZ
(06-22-2021, 06:36 PM)DanLaw Wrote: Apologies for the lack of updates. The passaround has been stuck in USPS Hell since the beginning of June.
Is it near South Carolina somewhere? I've seen quite a few threads recently venting about the slow shipping coming out of WCS lately.
Garrett, The Shaving Disciple - Christian, Husband, Father, Writer, YouTuber, Head Shaver
2024 Software Restraint
2024 Software Restraint
Member
The Razor and WK products arrived safely yesterday after a very long detour that routed through some international sorting facilities this past week (perhaps USPS accidentally sent it abroad?!).
I had a chance to take out the razor for a quick spin using the new WK cream, and will post some thoughts (and photos) later today!
I had a chance to take out the razor for a quick spin using the new WK cream, and will post some thoughts (and photos) later today!
Member
(06-30-2021, 04:42 PM)explodyii Wrote: The Razor and WK products arrived safely yesterday after a very long detour that routed through some international sorting facilities this past week (perhaps USPS accidentally sent it abroad?!).
I had a chance to take out the razor for a quick spin using the new WK cream, and will post some thoughts (and photos) later today!
Glad to hear it made it safely. Enjoy!
![[Image: cMIThJn.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/cMIThJn.jpeg)
Member
(This post was last modified: 07-01-2021, 05:33 PM by explodyii.)
I have had two shaves so far with the H&S 316SS P076, and am getting a fairly good sense of where the razor fits into things from my perspective.
First off:
My razor preferences - I like blade feel with no chatter as a general rule, and use a Karve F OC/G SB for probably 75% of my shaves, with the other 25% being a Tatata Masamune Nodachi SB. Occasionally I bring out a Timeless SS .95 SB or a Gillette NEW SC to change things up, and any one of these razors does a solid job for me.
My blade preferences - I use Super + Platinums (Crystal) in razors that have larger gaps and more blade feel (Karve, Timeless), and Permasharps in razors with a lower gaps and blade feel (Gillette NEW, Timeless, Tatara). I have found that the mild blades with a high-efficiency razor works well for me, or a sharp (but smooth) blade works with the lower-efficiency razors.
My soap/cream preferences - I can get most things to work for me fairly well, but prefer Catie's Bubbles because it is no-fuss and easy for me to use. I also cycle in B&M and WK soaps, but because I tend to like simpler scents, and really don't like the powdery/musky or aquatic scents much at all, those brands tend to have more "misses" in terms of scent. For what it's worth, I also have some skin sensitivity to eugenol (mild burning) and benzaldehyde (lobster napalm) for certain, and have experienced reactions to other fragrances in the past (e.g. - TF Tobacco Vanille dupes), so I tend to really be conservative in trying soaps that don't lean pretty heavily -- or exclusively use -- essential oils.
My post-shave preferences - Minimal: I do a splash in summer months, very occasionally will use a balm when it gets drier, but my skin is relatively balanced and doesn't need a lot of moisturizers or astringents on it. My go-to splashes are B&M Reserve, CB, or Ethos most of the time.
My brush preferences - I like brushes with face feel, mild scrubbing, and absolutely abhor anything prickly. Horse brushes are a no-go, most 3-band badger hurts my face after a use or two, and yet gelly tips bore me to pieces. 90% of my shaves are with Semogue boar brushes, such as the Torga c5 premium boar, or a Taj Mistura if I want a little badger in my life.
So, all that said, here are my thoughts on the pass-around box items so far:
The razor - The razor's head is much more delicate-seeming than I had expected, with everything being milled to fairly thin dimensions, especially in regards to its profile. This gives it a high degree of maneuverability in use compared to most of my other razors, and I would put it in the same ballpark as the Tatara Masamune Nodachi in that regard. The head also is milled to exceedingly tight tolerances, which are better than the Timeless by a healthy margin, and slightly better than the Karve or Masamune Nodachi.
In terms of polish, I would say that it is... well... highly polished? I won't lie and pretend to really care much about this: for me a razor is either polished or satin finish, and this one is polished nicely. What perhaps makes it a bit different than other razors that are polished is that the underside of the cap, as well as the nooks and crannies are also polished to that same degree, so if that is important to you, this will be a nice benefit for you. I own a basic polish Wolfman WR2, and would put the H&S a touch ahead of that, but in the same relative ballpark.
In use, I did find an interesting dynamic with the way the razor shaves that I want to point out here; the OC side actually has a good bit more of consistent blade clamping nearer to the edge, but also has more blade feel. What this has meant in practice is that the OC side handles much more smoothly for me, with almost no "chatter" with a sharper blade. The SB side, though, has a bit of chatter to me, and it becomes uncomfortable to me with sharper blades. Here is a picture trying to show the blade support situation between the DC heads:
![[Image: PoPeHXr.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/PoPeHXr.jpeg)
The handle - So here is a big "miss" for me, sadly, as the razor's head is nimble and light, but the handle feels quite heavy, which gives this razor an awkward feel for me while in use. Because the balance point is essentially right at the middle of the handle, it feels much less controlled when in use. I don't like that aspect very much, and think that a lighter handle might work better on this razor.
Additionally, the knurling on this feels sharp to me, and not very comfortable to my hands. In use I can get over it, but I would almost certainly never choose this particular handle over the other option that H&S offers.
Le Superiore Dulci Tobacco Cream - The cream held up through shipping in the extreme heat wave we just had out in Portland, OR, so kudos for that! The smell is a subtle tobacco out of the tub, and when worked into a lather really kicks up and stays for a long time. The particular tobacco scent is quite nice and reminds me of the kind of tobacco you get out of Tobacco Vanille, just sans the spices. I enjoy the scent, but it is a bit strong for my preferences, especially when wearing a mask afterwards.
The performance of the cream is actually pretty impressive, and I would say that it is going to meet or exceed what people are looking for in their shaving software, regardless of soap or cream. It needs a bit more than an almond-sized scoop from my experiences, takes on a medium amount of water, but is very forgiving if you overwater it. While most creams are generally not the best in terms of keeping the skin protected during a shave for me, the Dulci Tobacco does the job well, and I don't seem to be developing any ingrowns, or experience any burning with an alcohol-based splash.
The ease of use combined with the performance gives this one a big thumbs up from me. Will it replace my other soaps? Not in this scent, but I might pick up a future release if it hits the right level of simplicity for me.
Wholly Kaw Unscented Aftershave Balm - I tried this one once, and a little bit goes a very long way. As I mentioned, my skin really doesn't need this kind of product usually, and so after I put on a rice grain-sized bit of it, my skin was a little bit greasy-feeling for several hours afterwards. Probably not for me, but I wasn't honestly expecting it to be.
Vor V Soap - I smelled it, and it is a relatively sweet, well-rounded scent like many of Wholly Kaw's offerings. Due to how complex and musky-sweet it is, I don't know how much I will like it. I plan on trying this tonight. I like the Siero base a lot, so I don't anticipate any performance problems!
Vor V Aftershave Splash - Have not tried this yet.
Valentynka Soap - I smelled it, and it is a very dry/bitter and powdery scent to my nose, and I don't know what to think yet. I will lather it up tomorrow and see if my impressions change, but so far it isn't a scent that is a winner for me. The dry note reminds me a bit of B&M Reserve Cool, which was also too dry/bitter for me. I am picky (discerning I say!) about scents, my wife to an even greater degree, so this one is TBD for me. Again, the Siero base is awesome, so I have no concerns about performance.
Valentynka Aftershave Splash - Have not tried this yet
First off:
My razor preferences - I like blade feel with no chatter as a general rule, and use a Karve F OC/G SB for probably 75% of my shaves, with the other 25% being a Tatata Masamune Nodachi SB. Occasionally I bring out a Timeless SS .95 SB or a Gillette NEW SC to change things up, and any one of these razors does a solid job for me.
My blade preferences - I use Super + Platinums (Crystal) in razors that have larger gaps and more blade feel (Karve, Timeless), and Permasharps in razors with a lower gaps and blade feel (Gillette NEW, Timeless, Tatara). I have found that the mild blades with a high-efficiency razor works well for me, or a sharp (but smooth) blade works with the lower-efficiency razors.
My soap/cream preferences - I can get most things to work for me fairly well, but prefer Catie's Bubbles because it is no-fuss and easy for me to use. I also cycle in B&M and WK soaps, but because I tend to like simpler scents, and really don't like the powdery/musky or aquatic scents much at all, those brands tend to have more "misses" in terms of scent. For what it's worth, I also have some skin sensitivity to eugenol (mild burning) and benzaldehyde (lobster napalm) for certain, and have experienced reactions to other fragrances in the past (e.g. - TF Tobacco Vanille dupes), so I tend to really be conservative in trying soaps that don't lean pretty heavily -- or exclusively use -- essential oils.
My post-shave preferences - Minimal: I do a splash in summer months, very occasionally will use a balm when it gets drier, but my skin is relatively balanced and doesn't need a lot of moisturizers or astringents on it. My go-to splashes are B&M Reserve, CB, or Ethos most of the time.
My brush preferences - I like brushes with face feel, mild scrubbing, and absolutely abhor anything prickly. Horse brushes are a no-go, most 3-band badger hurts my face after a use or two, and yet gelly tips bore me to pieces. 90% of my shaves are with Semogue boar brushes, such as the Torga c5 premium boar, or a Taj Mistura if I want a little badger in my life.
So, all that said, here are my thoughts on the pass-around box items so far:
The razor - The razor's head is much more delicate-seeming than I had expected, with everything being milled to fairly thin dimensions, especially in regards to its profile. This gives it a high degree of maneuverability in use compared to most of my other razors, and I would put it in the same ballpark as the Tatara Masamune Nodachi in that regard. The head also is milled to exceedingly tight tolerances, which are better than the Timeless by a healthy margin, and slightly better than the Karve or Masamune Nodachi.
In terms of polish, I would say that it is... well... highly polished? I won't lie and pretend to really care much about this: for me a razor is either polished or satin finish, and this one is polished nicely. What perhaps makes it a bit different than other razors that are polished is that the underside of the cap, as well as the nooks and crannies are also polished to that same degree, so if that is important to you, this will be a nice benefit for you. I own a basic polish Wolfman WR2, and would put the H&S a touch ahead of that, but in the same relative ballpark.
In use, I did find an interesting dynamic with the way the razor shaves that I want to point out here; the OC side actually has a good bit more of consistent blade clamping nearer to the edge, but also has more blade feel. What this has meant in practice is that the OC side handles much more smoothly for me, with almost no "chatter" with a sharper blade. The SB side, though, has a bit of chatter to me, and it becomes uncomfortable to me with sharper blades. Here is a picture trying to show the blade support situation between the DC heads:
The handle - So here is a big "miss" for me, sadly, as the razor's head is nimble and light, but the handle feels quite heavy, which gives this razor an awkward feel for me while in use. Because the balance point is essentially right at the middle of the handle, it feels much less controlled when in use. I don't like that aspect very much, and think that a lighter handle might work better on this razor.
Additionally, the knurling on this feels sharp to me, and not very comfortable to my hands. In use I can get over it, but I would almost certainly never choose this particular handle over the other option that H&S offers.
Le Superiore Dulci Tobacco Cream - The cream held up through shipping in the extreme heat wave we just had out in Portland, OR, so kudos for that! The smell is a subtle tobacco out of the tub, and when worked into a lather really kicks up and stays for a long time. The particular tobacco scent is quite nice and reminds me of the kind of tobacco you get out of Tobacco Vanille, just sans the spices. I enjoy the scent, but it is a bit strong for my preferences, especially when wearing a mask afterwards.
The performance of the cream is actually pretty impressive, and I would say that it is going to meet or exceed what people are looking for in their shaving software, regardless of soap or cream. It needs a bit more than an almond-sized scoop from my experiences, takes on a medium amount of water, but is very forgiving if you overwater it. While most creams are generally not the best in terms of keeping the skin protected during a shave for me, the Dulci Tobacco does the job well, and I don't seem to be developing any ingrowns, or experience any burning with an alcohol-based splash.
The ease of use combined with the performance gives this one a big thumbs up from me. Will it replace my other soaps? Not in this scent, but I might pick up a future release if it hits the right level of simplicity for me.
Wholly Kaw Unscented Aftershave Balm - I tried this one once, and a little bit goes a very long way. As I mentioned, my skin really doesn't need this kind of product usually, and so after I put on a rice grain-sized bit of it, my skin was a little bit greasy-feeling for several hours afterwards. Probably not for me, but I wasn't honestly expecting it to be.
Vor V Soap - I smelled it, and it is a relatively sweet, well-rounded scent like many of Wholly Kaw's offerings. Due to how complex and musky-sweet it is, I don't know how much I will like it. I plan on trying this tonight. I like the Siero base a lot, so I don't anticipate any performance problems!
Vor V Aftershave Splash - Have not tried this yet.
Valentynka Soap - I smelled it, and it is a very dry/bitter and powdery scent to my nose, and I don't know what to think yet. I will lather it up tomorrow and see if my impressions change, but so far it isn't a scent that is a winner for me. The dry note reminds me a bit of B&M Reserve Cool, which was also too dry/bitter for me. I am picky (discerning I say!) about scents, my wife to an even greater degree, so this one is TBD for me. Again, the Siero base is awesome, so I have no concerns about performance.
Valentynka Aftershave Splash - Have not tried this yet
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