Artisan Shaving Soap (Mark 3) Testing...

Hurrah - we have 10 ;) :D :eek:

Sorry quatTrojames :cry:

The samples should be sent out by the end of the week. The only thing I ask for in return is honest feedback :shave

Thanks Again,

Artisan :)
 
Also recieved mine today, plenty there for a few weeks of shaving.

How's the best way to deal with this nugget, grate it into the lathering bowl?

I'll try a quick morning shave tomorrow and then give it the full beans on the Saturday night, time rich shave.
 
Woohoo! That was quick for the Royal Mail at the moment :lol:

CanucksTraveller, sounds like Dipesh has the same technique as I do when I'm checking out the lather :D

Please feel free to use it as you want to though, it would be interesting to know if grating it into a shaving bowl gave different results :ugeek:

I await your feedback with eager anticipation Gentlemen - thanks again :shave

Artisan :)
 
mine arrived safely....first impressions were of a chunky "Caramac" for those who can remember....nice smell....not overpowering....just nice

cut mine up carefully using a 3 inch fixed blade small bushcraft knife

squished it into a stainless steel bowl...ready to try...with a fido brush

soap consistency is really firm cake....

timed swirls to 10 seconds in steel bowl after shaking brush out...so not saturated

palm lathered for 15 right....15 left and 30 ramdom...squeezed brush so soap on top and so more swirling...copious amounts of lather not too airy...my preference...soap feels slick altho not as much as some professional ones but very useable...scent diminished for me rapidly

got to rate this at around 8 outta 10...compared to woolfat at 10

all in all

very nice

thnx again
 
think I've got it wrong again :oops: I've sent my feedback via PM :roll:

however it's certainly not negative :!:

the shortened version is that it lathered up very well, nice 'tight' lather really creamy, despite my lack of experience with hard soaps.

The scent was very light, nothing stood out or was overpowering and the shave went very well, cold water splash and dabbed dry, didn't use anything A/S wise and my skin didn't feel dry, not a very scented soap but very fresh.

Thanks for giving me an opportunity to be a guinea pig :lol:
 
Received mine today. Smells good, citrusy, but understated. Quickly tried two lather methods - straight from the cake in my hand and then from a bowl I had grated it in. Both times I loaded up my semogue 1520 boar brush for around 30 seconds, but the lather was far too airy for my liking and didn't produce loads when compared to palmolive. I don't know how it performs in terms of slip and cushion yet - that will be in the weekend when I can afford a shave with a new product.
So from my very quick test this evening, I like the scent - nice and understated and shouldn't clash with anything post shave. On another note, the lather failed to materialise to the heights of Palmolive/Erasmic (bowl)/mama bears and was comparatively airy. I personally find Palmolive to be the Mecca of the hard soaps I have tried in terms of lather so this is what I, personally, would aim for. I will shave with it come the weekend and make a full comment on it's performance.
 
^^ I'm glad it wasn't just me finding it airy. I've just had a practice lather rather than stumble into it tomorrow morning.

I followed the usual routine as per shaves with T+H hard soaps.
Cake was firm and slightly oily to the touch... smelled very faintly lemony, but not altogether pleasant when dry. Can't put my finger on why exactly, but I'll try to think about what it is.
I soaked the cake in a little water in my bowl and soaked the brush for 2 mins. After a squeeze I flicked the brush twice before loading up for about half a minute.

Initially the lather did build up along normal lines, but after about a minute, with the addition of just a few drops of water it became too light and too airy. There were larger bubbles that I just couldn't get rid of, no matter how much I worked it. There was plenty of lather, it was just a bit too foamy rather than creamy.
No matter. I carried on and lathered up... deciding not to shave tonight it was more of a test of how long the lather would remain. It didn't really stick around long which didn't surprise me, given the consistency. It feels fairly slippery so it's probably not far off, and maybe my technique is a weak link, so I'll pay around with that side of it and see what I can do.
Good news is that I liked the scent once wet, it did release more of the lemon, but it's not overpowering once you're rinsed off.


Tomorrow I'm going to try more time on loading, and less water. We'll see what that does. Work in progress, and a learning curve for me.
 
Here goes with my review.
I decided to use the sample as I would use a shave stick, I used my usual pre shave prep and then I rubbed the sample onto my stubble until I could see a reasonable layer had formed, the scent was very subtle.
I then used my Vulfix 660 to build a lather, the soap lathered really quickly and although it built a lot of lather I have to say that it wasn't very dense.
I began my first pass and the slip and cushion was very acceptable, but by the time I was half way through the first pass it was noticeable that the lather was diminishing.
I re applied the soap for the second pass and re lathered, it was noticeable that the lather was much thicker this time around and may point towards the need to use more of the soap than I usually would, although the lather was thicker it still lacked staying power unfortunately.
I did get a very smooth irritation free shave from this soap and it left my skin feeling very clean, fresh and it certainly didn't dry my skin.
My last observation is that I didn't get any where near the amount of soap scum/residue left on the razor or in the sink.
Conclusion?
If the lather lasted a little longer it's certainly a soap I would purchase :)
 
Tried this tonight.

I melted it a little in the microwave and put it in a small tub.

After the usual prep I lathered up with a Simpson badger. I am a face latherer and this produced a lot of lather, not dense, but slick. There was a subtle scent which was pleasant but not long lasting.
There was no problem shaving.I used a Jagger 86 with a Gillette Super Thin. I found the glide and cushion were good and comparable to my Arko stick (IMHO). There was enough lather for 3 passes and the obligitory touch up. By the final pass the lather was noticably thinner but it seemed not to have lost its slickness as that pass was as good as the other two.
My face felt fine afterwards and was in no way dried by the soap. All in all a good soap.

For me the only let down was that the scent didn't last long enough, and this would probably be the reason I would prefer other makes.
 
Thanks for all the feedback already - very useful :D

n1vlo and baz chaz - I'm really chuffed that you were able to shave with the Mark 3 :p (If you read the threads on Marks 1 and 2 you will see why :shock: ).

Trueman, CanucksTraveller and tubby_shaw - could I please ask you (very nicely ;) ) to try agin, but with less water? I've tried to lather up the Mark 3 a few times myself (I am a Girl and I'm still practicing so I'm admitedly not very good) and found that too much water makes a much weaker lather. Although it is a hard soap, it isn't like a comercial triple milled soap. Those are mechanically pressed into cakes and will tend to be denser than an artisan soap. They also have the glycerine removed and so tend to take more water to get them going. :ugeek:

I've made careful note of the details you were all so good to include in your feedback(s), and added together they are invaluable - thanks again :shave

Artisan :)
 
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