Artisan Shaving Soap (Mark 3) Testing...

Parwin - sorry :oops: We seem to have cross posted :eek:

I'm glad you managed to shave so well with the soap - I can tell I'm getting there now :p

I went for subtle amounts of scent not being sure how strongly shaving soaps should generally be. I get the impression from the feedback so far that more might be in order. Further testers will definitely be more highly scented - see? even more excellent feedback - THANKS!!! :D

Artisan :)
 
Sorry Artisan, I did post a reply but the site dropped out as I hit "submit".

I will of course be trying it out again, I'll be trying it a few times. I usually use a triple milled soap or a cream, so this is a bit different for me. Of course any adjustment needs a few goes to get right... razors, blades, even soaps. I planned to use less water tomorrow anyway.

I put the earlier comments in just to get my initial impression down, there'll be more comment as I get used to it, rest assured. ;)
 
OK, so I gave it another go late last night. Lather built up a lot better than the first attempt. Loaded and built up in the same bowl rather than loading in one then building up in another. Took a while to get to a lather (~2-3 mins) that I would shave with, but once produced I could feel that it would provide cushion and slickness. The lather was still a bit airy (but nothing like my previous attempt) and as I said earlier I would have shaved with it. Still yet to shave with it though - waiting for the weekend when I can give it enough of my time to review it fully. I will continue test lathers in the nights though. On another note, I like the scent but would prefer it a little stronger I think.

Conclusion - A lot better than my previous attempt, providing enough lather for which looked like ~3 passes worth, whilst it seemed to provide cushion and lather. On the other hand, I still experience a lather that is slightly more airy (foamy) when compared to Palmolive/Mama bears and (Hard) Prof. Blighty/Nanny's (soft) soaps. Of course, the proof will be in the pudding when the weekend arrives...
 
CanucksTraveller - Thank you! I did notice that you'd posted that you would try again, I just needed to mention the water :oops: . Initial feedback is very useful, so thanks for that - I look forward to hearing how you find it after a couple of days too ;) :shave :D

Trueman - thank you for giving it another go. I was very relieved that you were able to coax a good lather out of the tester this time :p . I look forward to hearing how you find it for actual shaving :shave :shave

Artisan :)
 
LOL just read the other reviews and had similar airy experiences. Albeit that I already had decided to have another try at lathering adjusting the water and only performed a cursory single pass SAS as a result. FWIW the lather was produced so far was on a par with Erasmic bowl soap for me, so not bad but not excellent, a little too short lived but not by much.

Our tap water is hard so I'll try purified water as well and also adjust the amount of water I'm using and will report back the results.
 
I'm behindhand as usual, but my generous sample arrived today. So far I've just made an experimental bowl of lather with it, using a distinctly dry brush, and can report much the same initial impressions as the other testers. Whilst the lather is comparatively airy and insubstantial, and rather short lived, it's a long way from being the worst I've come across and I'll be happy enough to use a safety razor with this tomorrow, but unless I manage to get some more body into it I'm drawing the line at using a cut throat. Despite my sense of smell being less than acute at the moment, I liked the scent and didn't think it was unduly subdued.
 
Second shave with sample.

I thought I would really try and test the sample. I pulled out an old brush I got off the bay for £1.99. The soap lathered fine but in lesser quantity and a little thinner, due to the brushes limitations. I had enough lather for about one and a half passes before I needed to add more product.
Again I had a good shave (different combo than first shave).
The only let down this time was the inferior brush. I can find nothing wrong with the soap. I have to own up and say I have not tried any of the ‘top end’ brands yet so I can only compare with the likes of Arko, Ingrams, Palmolive and Erasmic. I certainly find it as good as these.
 
Hi again Chaps. :D

Sorry for the absence - I've been getting my car fixed after some **** decided to bend back the top of the passenger door to open it and have a look around :evil:

Back on topic...

Jeltz - Thank you for your perseverance. Any soap I eventually sell needs to be suitable for hard water areas too, so your perspective is invaluable. I have lovely soft Pennine water, so your experiences are even more useful. I look forward to your followups ;)

Arrowhead - I'm glad to hear the lather isn't the worst you've seen. I must be getting somewhere after all :lol: . I look forward to hearing how it is to shave with when you use your safety razor, and I certainly wouldn't want you to use a cut-throat with a lather you weren't happy with :shock: . I'm also glad that you like the smell - I'm rather proud of that particular blend :cool:

Parwin - can you tell me if you have soft water? I'm assuming you do, as you seem to get the best results thus far from this soap. :geek: Your feedback has been very good for my ego :D , and I think that I must be quite close to a soap I'd be happy to sell.

Thanks Again Chaps!!!!!!!!!

Artisan :)
 
Well here's my first thoughts.
Nice hard soap. I think my sample picked up some brown envelope aroma, taking the edge of the citrus slightly but settling now and by no means objectionable although I would personally go for a little more sweetness and spice. I find the fragrance lasts fine I dont really want it hanging around all day.
I've had two excellent shaves so far with this soap. The lather does seem a bit more frothy than ideal even just starting from soaked soap and a well squeezed soaked brush and adding no more water. Having said that you can add lots of water without detriment and its amazing how it soaks it up.
I've used my NF 2211 and vulfix 404mixed brushes and will try a synthetic as well. Razor is Feather ASD with Feather blade and shave is smooth well cushioned no blood with really good skin feel after The lather is fading a bit by the third pass but is still plenty slick and cushioned. No dryness no irritation.
This is already very capable stuff and with slightly creamier slightly longer lasting lather and a range of scents should easily earn a fine reputation.

I think I will grate the remainder into a bowl just to see what happens and to make brush loading a bit easier.
 
artisansoap said:
Parwin - can you tell me if you have soft water? I'm assuming you do, as you seem to get the best results thus far from this soap. :geek: Your feedback has been very good for my ego :D , and I think that I must be quite close to a soap I'd be happy to sell.

Thanks Again Chaps!!!!!!!!!

Artisan :)
Click to expand...

I am indeed in a soft water area. Having said that I tried, and failed, to get a decent lather with Wilkinsons Sword soap.
 
Okay, so second go this evening and a full shave with a Merkur HD loaded with a Gillette 7 o'clock yellow.

Soaked the cake in just a sprinkle of hot water for 2 minutes. Soaked an Edwin Jagger pure badger in hot water for the usual few minutes. Wrung it out as best as I could, gave it 3 or 4 shakes. Tipped all water off the soap cake. Going for minimum water.

I then spent a good minute loading up... there was a slight improvement on the first time, the soap seemed to coat the bristles with raw soap a little better. Decided to lather up in my terracotta tapas dish which has a bit of porosity and plenty of space.
From there it was a pretty similar result as before... it appeared to build normally but stayed a bit on the airy, frothy side. There was enough for one pass maybe, I'd have liked to see more.
I lathered up onto the face and started to shave... to be fair, it was actually much better than I expected it would be based on look alone. Nice and slippy, just about cushioned enough. Unfortunately I only got one cheek done (and I'm a fast shaver) before the rest of the lather had virtually fizzed away and I could see my chin through it. I lathered up a second time and had another go, but it only lasted for another third of my face... something about my water doesn't get on with this soap. If it helps at all, I think the water here is quite hard, I live in West London.

So on the upside, it's slippy and useable as a shaving soap. On the downside the lather isn't lasting long enough, in hard water anyway. Scent seems to be dividing opinion, I'd like a bit more and something a little more complex... maybe some bergamot to go with the lemon?
I could shave with this, but I'd probably choose not to just yet... it's got promise anyway.

Really sorry I can't give you great news (and I so want to!), but I suppose I have to be honest in order to help.

There is plenty left by the way, you'll get another 15 shaves out of that sample. Can I send it on to another reviewer?
 
CanucksTraveller - I couldn't ask any more of you - Thanks :p . Honest feedback is all I asked for - only honest feedback will really help me develop a shaving soap I can be proud of. The detail you provide is also really useful for me building a picture of how it is working in my head :shock:

Seems like hard water isn't a good partner for the Mark 3, so I'll have to put on my thinking cap and try to make the lather more stable. At least I seem to have a suitable amount of slip formulated in :geek: . I can hardly make a soap and only sell it to people who are blessed with a supply of soft water :lol: .

If anyone else would like to use up your tester, I would be delighted to hear how they get on. I don't know if you had anyone in mind, but I think quatTrojames was the 11th person to post on this thread. He was one of the testers of the Mark1 and mark2 soaps. I'll leave it up to you though ;) .

Artisan :)
 
Pure water test.

An improvement on the hard tap water, a much less airy lather but still not quite as long lived as it needed to be, ended up lathering in sections. I think more tinkering with more or less water would produce a better lather but the parameters between hard/soft water and more or less soap seem quite narrow which is likely to lead to a lot of people finding the product to be below par as it stands.

All my testing has been done with an Omega 81052 boar brush and I shall now repeat with a Vulfix 2235 Super Badger and see what that brings me.

FWIW the fragrance is subtle enough that its just there and would be neither a reason for me to want to buy or not buy.

Sorry if my review is a bit harsh and its very close to being a good soap but its not quite there yet IMHO.
 
Jeltz - no need to apologise! I'm not hurt by a true critique of my soap - I'd be upset if you lied about it, said "it's lovely", I sold it and looked a **** :eek:

You have gone above and beyond the call with your numerous attempts with the mark 3, even trying bottled water - I am grateful. I can't buy bottles of hard water to test the soaps myself, so your input is invaluable ;) .

I agree with your point about the margin for error with the lather, and will endeavour to make one with enough stability to be suitable for anyone's technique and anyone's water :shock: ;) . Again - Thank You!!!!!! :D .

Artisan :)
 
I'll post it on to QuattroJames, and then you get an opinion from someone who tested batches 1 and 2. That should actually work out very well for you to get direct comparison. I'll just try and find him to get an address.

Thanks for the chance to be your guinea pig Artisan, I hope I've been of some help, and it's been fun to be part of something new to me. :D
I think that you are right with your summing up so far, there's good slip there, and it's mainly the stability that needs work, but I think you'll get there. You seem to know your stuff.

Good luck with the final product!
 
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