Paste & Cut Travelling Box #3 - Reviews and Comments

Interesting that the Van Yulay is the one that grabs people's attention so quickly!

I think I had the same thoughts as @khun_diddy and @alfredus though when preparing the box.
 
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: Schick Injector L Type from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Blade: Schick (2) from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Brush: Stirling Kong Synthetic
Lather: Soap Commander Courage from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original​

Shave #2 with the box today - and this time I went for a soap that often gets good reviews. For me this is another classical example of a Stearic Acid/Coconut Oil soap. And this time it is an actual (soft) soap.

It needs very very little water to get going and produces a lot of lather very quickly. The lather is very creamy, but it fails to take as much water as I like. To date the only Vegan soap, that I can take to a real glossy stage without getting the dreaded water bubbles (besides some bootlegs from @bald as and @khun_diddy) is @Anthony's soap. The soap commander has a narrow sweet spot, and of course I went straight over the line. But as it is so easy to load, it took just seconds to add a bit more product and rectify the issue.

The scent is very pleasant, but I don't get any Bergamot or Citrus, nor do I get any pepper or ginger. For me it was patchouli and cedar with some sea water - still nice though. The cushion is definitely present and the post shave is pleasant - not spectacular, but also not drying. Here the ingredient list for completeness:
[Ingredients: Stearic Acid, Distilled Water, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Fragrance, Colorant (Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Tin Oxide.)
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All in all, it is a decent soap - but again nothing I would write home about.

The razor/blade combo is getting better and better - or maybe it was the superior lather? In any case it was an absolute blast of a shave for me. Just zipped over my face and before I knew it, the 4 passes were over and the result was a very smooth face. Even more surprising for me - the blade still did not show any signs of dulling. I am actually looking forward to a third shave with the same blade - something I haven't experienced in a very long time (or maybe even never)!
 
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alfredus said:
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: Schick Injector L Type from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Blade: Schick (2) from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Brush: Stirling Kong Synthetic
Lather: Soap Commander Courage from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original​

Shave #2 with the box today - and this time I went for a soap that often gets good reviews. For me this is another classical example of a Stearic Acid/Coconut Oil soap. And this time it is an actual (soft) soap.

It needs very very little water to get going and produces a lot of lather very quickly. The lather is very creamy, but it fails to take as much water as I like. To date the only Vegan soap, that I can take to a real glossy stage without getting the dreaded water bubbles (besides some bootlegs from @bald as and @khun_diddy) is @Anthony's soap. The soap commander has a narrow sweet spot, and of course I went straight over the line. But as it is so easy to load, it took just seconds to add a bit more product and rectify the issue.

The scent is very pleasant, but I don't get any Bergamot or Citrus, nor do I get any pepper or ginger. For me it was patchouli and cedar with some sea water - still nice though. The cushion is definitely present and the post shave is pleasant - not spectacular, but also not drying. Here the ingredient list for completeness:


All in all, it is a decent soap - but again nothing I would write home about.

The razor/blade combo is getting better and better - or maybe it was the superior lather? In any case it was an absolute blast of a shave for me. Just zipped over my face and before I knew it, the 4 passes were over and the result was a very smooth face. Even more surprising for me - the blade still did not show any signs of dulling. I am actually looking forward to a third shave with the same blade - something I haven't experienced in a very long time (or maybe even never)!
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Great to read you're enjoying the Injector. The 5th and 6th shaves on the blade should be sensational.
 
I am curious to know what the four passes are. I have stuck to the WTG-> XTG -> ATG. What's next? Clean up or do you do something completely different?
 
Sxot said:
I am curious to know what the four passes are. I have stuck to the WTG-> XTG -> ATG. What's next? Clean up or do you do something completely different?
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XTG in the other direction. I normally do a three pass but without the ATG (my jawline and neck would hate me for a month if I did ATG), but with two XTG, it's plenty smooth for my needs.

You can also play around with the angle of the XTG pass too. If ATG is 0 degrees and WTG is 180 degrees, your XTG pass need not necessarily be 90 degrees. I often push it much closer to ATG, say 45 degrees, which gets it that little bit closer but still without irritation. But on my neck it may be more like 120 degrees... all depends on how your face likes it.
 
@Sxot the 4th pass mean check any area on your chin that you've missed or not shave properly for another shave the missed spot area or tidy up, their no hard fast rule to stick a 3 pass shave the 4 pass mean you tidy up the area that wasn't shave properly ;)
 
WTG, XTG, half way between XTG ans ATG, ATG - but remember I shave only every other day and have a very wiry and dense beard. If I don't have at least a DFS it looks like...lets say not very good ;)
 
khun_diddy said:
Great to read you're enjoying the Injector. The 5th and 6th shaves on the blade should be sensational.
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I think that the Injector has gotten a lot more fans through this box and its predecessor. I picked up these two especially with the box in mind and am really happy I got a pair - they have been a revelation and I can't wait to try it myself now!
 
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: Schick Injector L Type from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Blade: Schick (3) from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Brush: Stirling Kong Synthetic
Lather: Wickham Sheridan's fromm the P&C Travel box V3.a
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original​

Round 3 with the box and after reading @Sxot thoughts about the Wickham soap, I had to try for myself. Actually I have been quiet eager to try this one for some time - it gets good reviews and who doesn't like some pork crackling lard :D :D :D

OK, so bad things first: not enough lard! Very easy - it is again another Stearic Acid based soap - you notice it from the second you start to load. Creamy texture with small bubbles appearing straight away.

It loads dead easy - and I mean really dead easy and produces mountains of lather. And there is some animal fat in there, because it can take SOME water. Definitely more than the 2 previous soaps out of the box I tried, but also definitely not as much as animal fat heavy weights. It starts to get airy and more and more like whipped cream - but not like the custard/anglaise/gelato texture I have been looking forward to :cry:

Nice slickness and cushion there as well - again not top, but really solid. I simply can't describe the scent - I really don't know where to begin. I found this one the net somewhere:
Spicy notes of cardamom leading to whisper of chocolate resting on a creamy blended base of warm vanilla
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This has nothing to do with the soap I tried. I just smelled...SOAP. Not in a bad way, but again nothing that will remain.

All in all another solid effort, decent post-shave as well, but unfortunately nothing I have to seek out...here the super clean ingredient list for completeness:
Potassium Stearate, Potassium Cocoate, Potassium Lardate, Potassium Apricotkernelate, Water, Glycerine, Parfum
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Now to the injector: FINALLY!!! The first time I had an enjoyable third shave with a blade! I can't believe how long it took - but I made it! 12 passes and still no tugging and pulling - just a silky smooth shave. Really loved every second of it and it hurts me to let it go. But I had to clean up a bit more than last shave, and I assume, it is due to the blade starting to dull a bit. So I will quit while I'm ahead.

Now if somebody could please tell me, how to get out the old blade without wasting a new one? I have to clean the razor for the next user...
 
alfredus said:
Now if somebody could please tell me, how to get out the old blade without wasting a new one? I have to clean the razor for the next user...
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With great difficulty from memory. You might be able to push half out with the injector dispenser and then use pliers.
 
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: GEM 1912 from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Blade: GEM Stainless (1) from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Brush: Stirling Kong Synthetic
Lather: Shaver Heaven TOB from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original​

Round 4 for with the box and it was time to finally get on the the Shaver Heaven sample! Could somebody please enlighten me, which scent it is - I have not idea.

Just as a small background: I got a Shaver Heaven 1st Anniversary from @Lifes a Peach and the Melbourne boys last year and while the scent didn't agree with my face, I found the performance to be absolutely great and rate it as the best vegan soap I have tried so far.

Naturally I was very much looking forward trying out another one of @Anthony's creations and it did not disappoint either! While I would guess, that this soap has a slightly different formulation than the Anniversary version - it could be also the way I loaded it. It makes such a difference loading from a big tub than scooping out a small sample and loading from a small surface area. In any case I got loads of great lather literally in seconds and the most important part: I could add water, until the lather was truly at the glossy stage, without any signs of degradation.

I think the Anniversary formula provides just a tad more protection and slickness - but again this could be just my imagination - and the post-shave feel is also very solid. All in all a great lather and I would definitely recommend it to all the animal lovers out there :D

The GEM 1912 is scary. When I loaded the blade and looked at it, I wanted to change to a different razor- why am doing this to myself? The blade protrusion is simply huge and SCARY. But after looking closely at the rather small blade gap, I decided to give it a go.

It was definitely one of my slowest shaves in recent times - and the razor/blade combo is so loud as well! And not nice acoustic guitar loud like my ATT - more like jack-hammer loud!

Having said all that: it was actually a very pleasant shave. Just a tiny weeper, but very close and zero irritation. The only negative point about the razor for me, is that the correct angle is not the base plate flat on the face - you have to take it a bit away. This is what I love so much about the injector - no thinking about the right angle!

All in all a fantastic result - super close, yet very comfortable (y)
 
Green Tobacco was my first and still my favourite soap from Shaver Heaven. Correct me if I'm wrong, @Anthony , but if my memory is still intact you made Green Tobacco for a Melbourne meet up. Then went full production after some excellent reviews?
 
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: GEM 1912 from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Blade: GEM Stainless (2) from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Brush: Stirling Kong Synthetic
Lather: RazoRock P.160 from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Post-shave: Alum, Barrister & Man Kyovu Original​

For today's shave I choose the (I assume RazoRock) P.160 soap with the GEM. Razorock soaps get usually very good reviews, but my personal experience was not outstanding - I had one of the Argan Oil soaps once and it didn't excite me too much.

I am also not a big fan of fake smells - especially when it involves benzaldehyde (or as many know it: fake almond). I must admit, the best thing about this soap, was the the scent dissipated very quickly. After the first pass there was hardly any scent noticeable and besides the tingling on my face, no proof for the fake scent.

What disappointed me most (actually second), was the clear fact, that this is again another stearic acid soap - with the addition of a little bit of tallow for the label. The biggest disappointment was the lack of glide! I added heaps of water, yet the blade almost stuck to my face at times...

Here the ingredients list for completeness:
Aqua (Water/Eau), Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Tallow Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum (Fragrance).
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Back to the GEM and the shave was pure bliss today. In spite the lack of glide from the soap, I left all my fears behind and just enjoyed the razor. Another very close shave, but today no problems - just a silky smooth result!
 
Actually @alfredus this is THE P.160 Tipo Morbido, not the Razorock version. It is part of the last I have of one of the 1 kg bricks I purchased ;)

Ingredients of the original version: Aqua, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Tallow, Cocos Nucifera, Potassium Hydroxide, Parfum, Potassium Carbonate, Benzyl Alcohol, Tetrasodium EDTA

So pretty much as you suspected.
 
Mark1966 said:
Actually @alfredus this is THE P.160 Tipo Morbido, not the Razorock version. It is part of the last I have of one of the 1 kg bricks I purchased ;)

Ingredients of the original version: Aqua, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Tallow, Cocos Nucifera, Potassium Hydroxide, Parfum, Potassium Carbonate, Benzyl Alcohol, Tetrasodium EDTA

So pretty much as you suspected.
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WOW - unobtanium shave!
 
alfredus said:
WOW - unobtanium shave!
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Did you expect less from the PCTB?

Last one had vintage Yardley AND vintage tallow Penhaligon's ...
 
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Pre-Shave: Occams pre-shave soap, cold water
Razor: Merkur 45 Bakelite from the P&C Travel box V3.a
Blade: Voskhod (1)
Brush: Paladin Chief
Lather: Mike's Bay Rum
Post-shave: Alum, Myrsol Agua Balsamica from the P&C Travel box V3.​

Last shave with the box for me today and I wanted to try out some Myrsol for the first time. In order to give it a real chance, I decided to pair it with one of my favourite soaps post-shave wise...

But first the shave: the lather today was outstanding (used distilled water after testing my tap water - 202ppm total dissolved solids :cry:) and I really had a blast with the Merkur. The Bakelit razor is very agile and the head geometry reminded me of my old Progress. Very nice and close shave with zero issues. I just have to say: it is VERY light and as such it was a bit hard not to apply any pressure. But still a nice razor and a great shave.

Some years ago I realised, that alcohol splashes and my face are not made for each other. I always got a very drying effect and so switched to alcohol free Witch Hazel products. But I never tried the famous Myrsol, and parts of me was always intrigued, if it would work for me. It gets so many great reviews and so I had to jump at the chance of trying it out. After zero sting from the alumn I applied a couple of drops to my hands, rubbed them together a bit and on to my face...HELL! The sting was enormous, I was really about to shout out loud...but even worse it did not stop! Even 2 hours later I still felt a residual tingling on my face and although not very drying, it is also definitely not a nice post-shave feel...seems like I am not tough enough for these harsh manly products :(

OK, the razors are cleaned up and the box is packed up and ready to be personally delivered to @boldsworth tomorrow. Again many many thanks to @Mark1966 and every one else here at P&C who made this happen. I really had a blast with the box and I am sure every one else will too!
 
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