PAA General Thoughts?

Will does make an Unscented shaving soap but yeah, it might interest people to have an unscented Barrister's Reserve.  Alas, he's indicated that there are no plans for such (which may change down the line, who knows).  Classic is a good choice though - it's quite mild and you can easily layer a different scent over it.

Thanks for the information. I am looking forward to this addition to my den and if I can comfortably layer an EdT over the Classic Barrister Reserve then that will be perfect.

People trying to create drama when there isn't any...

With all due respect, that's a bit naive and for those that have been around since the beginning or paid attention, a bit dismissive.  There has been plenty of drama over the years, and here are just a few in recent memory...

This product came out after a well-known and respected member of the community was publicly lambasted (http://tinyurl.com/zd2yy4c).  In response, he smashed his PAA scuttle and sold or outright gave away his remaining PAA products.  Granted, there's more to the story but let's move on.



This product came out after another well-known member of the community dared suggest that PAA scent descriptions were nebulous or unclear.



And whatever you do, don't even consider suggesting some scents smell similar or have anything less than glowing praise of a scent...  Because that would be insulting to an artist and his art.

Sure, some of this can be seen as firmly tongue in cheek, while the rest of it smacks of someone who can dish it out, but can't take it.  It's also worth pointing out that none of this happens with other artisans.  Some of us just prefer a classier artisan - and product - and that's okay.

2 Things-
First and foremost, Douglas and Donald Navygoat squashed their differences VERY quickly, both acknowledging where the misunderstanding was. The soap was offered in tribute, not as a dig.

Second, I find it very amusing that you are now attemtping to portray Douglas's willingness to address specific issues from his customers as "a dig"...interesting.... A customer says< "I wish your scent descriptions were more straight forward", so he does exactly that, and you talk smack about...

Perhaps no other artisan does this because no other artisan is subjected to as much misinformation, unfoubnded and baseless rumour, and general character assassination as he is...

2 Things-
First and foremost, Douglas and Donald Navygoat squashed their differences VERY quickly, both acknowledging where the misunderstanding was. The soap was offered in tribute, not as a dig.

Second, I find it very amusing that you are now attemtping to portray Douglas's willingness to address specific issues from his customers as "a dig"...interesting.... A customer says< "I wish your scent descriptions were more straight forward", so he does exactly that, and you talk smack about...

Perhaps no other artisan does this because no other artisan is subjected to as much misinformation, unfoubnded and baseless rumour, and general character assassination as he is...

When did I ever say those two product releases were digs? I won't even touch the "misinformation, unfoubnded and baseless rumour, and general character assassination" part, LOL.

Thanks for the information. I am looking forward to this addition to my den and if I can comfortably layer an EdT over the Classic Barrister Reserve then that will be perfect.

You're very welcome! I think you're going to love Classic.

Once again, gentlemen, enough is enough. What is it about about the old adadge, "All publicity is good, even bad publicity" that you don't understand?  By this constant discussion you are giving someone you do not care for free publicity.  It's a win for that person.  Not so much for you.

As for being an open forum, I believe DFS is more open than most.  Notice that while several threads on this very topic/person have been closed for getting out of hand, none has been deleted.  They are all there for anyone to see.

Lastly, I am not saying that one side is right and one wrong but rather let me please point out that, after all of this discussion, all anyone has to do is read about our other wonderful merchants, do a comparison, and draw one's own conclusions.

Now, may I please modify the discussion slightly?  That is, I have pre-ordered a bottle of Will's (Barrister_N_Mann) Barrister Reserve in the Classic scent.  I LOVE B&M products and, of the ones I have, his scents are a delight.  However, most often I want an unscented aftershave so it won't clash with an EdT I might wear.  I would be more likely to go through a bottle faster, and thus replace it more often, while still getting all of the wonderful performance I have come to expect from B&M.  I wonder why unscented is rarely, if ever, offered by B&M.  Does anyone else agree or should I be looking at this from a different angle?

Will does make an Unscented shaving soap but yeah, it might interest people to have an unscented Barrister's Reserve.  Alas, he's indicated that there are no plans for such (which may change down the line, who knows).  Classic is a good choice though - it's quite mild and you can easily layer a different scent over it.

We usually don't offer unscented products because they don't sell well for us; since we've made fragrance the centerpiece of the brand, it often seems to be at odds with the rest of the design methodology. However, the Unscented soap is going to be replaced with an Unscented Latha (and perhaps a matching aftershave) in the next couple of months (just waiting for the retailers to divest themselves of stock; more on that front in the next couple of weeks), which may help that along a little bit.

On the subject of Reserve, there may be an unscented/sensitive product in the future, but it likely won't use the alcoholic base. There are plans to create something entirely new for the purpose, but I haven't had much of a chance to really begin development yet, so it may be a bit.

That said, it would be churlish to derail a thread on the subject of Douglas's products any further, so let's get back to the topic at hand. Has anyone tried the new nickel-plated DOC? Does the plating alter the razor's behavior at all?

2 Things-
First and foremost, Douglas and Donald Navygoat squashed their differences VERY quickly, both acknowledging where the misunderstanding was. The soap was offered in tribute, not as a dig.

Second, I find it very amusing that you are now attemtping to portray Douglas's willingness to address specific issues from his customers as "a dig"...interesting.... A customer says< "I wish your scent descriptions were more straight forward", so he does exactly that, and you talk smack about...

Perhaps no other artisan does this because no other artisan is subjected to as much misinformation, unfoubnded and baseless rumour, and general character assassination as he is...

When did I ever say those two product releases were digs?  I won't even touch the "misinformation, unfoubnded and baseless rumour, and general character assassination" part, LOL.

Seriously? Every post you make involving any aspect of PAA products is a very thinly disguised testament to how much you hate Douglas...

Go ahead...touch the "unfounded accusations". You will only show precisely how little you actually know about the rumours...I have done my research...extensively...Unfounded and baseless is PRECISELY what those rumours are...

As the OP I'm surprised we made it this many pages without this derailing into a S^%* Show.... anything PAA always devolves into this eventually... time for the moderators to close this one as inevitably, all PAA threads must be....

the back and forth... of I love Douglas and then the rebuttal I hate Douglas, well my Dad can beat up your Dad!! seems to be something we will never avoid when talking about this maker's products...


I think 30 pages on this thread and this thread has become a useless tangent way off course with no foreseeable way to correct course and avoid the ice berg. As the OP. I think it's time for a moderator to take it behind the wood shed and shoot it.

Consider it done.

Will, thank you for your response about unscented aftershave. I shall look forward to anything you may do in this regard.