Paste & Cut Travelling Box #3 - Reviews and Comments

1st Shave from the travelling box this morning:

Soap: DJ Harris Windsor Cream
Razor: Merkur 45c
Post: Myrsol Formula C

Brush: Semogue 1305
Blade: Astra SP

As I am keen to add a new slant to my collection and have been eyeing off the Fine Superlite I was excited to try the Merkur 45c as I have not shaved with such a light razor before. Because I was using a new razor and also wanted to try a new soap I decided to go with the DR Harris cream as I had heard good reports and was confident that it would produce a good lather.

To start with the cream did not lather as I expected it to. I perhaps was too stingy with the cream and when I added a bit more I was immediately rewarded with a nice lather. The 1305 being a bit of a lather hog I probably could have done with a adding still more cream but I was still able to get enough for a solid three pass shave. The cream itself was what I expected. Nice and protective with a good amount of slickness. I definitely got the citrus tones. Post shave feel was also good

I was very impressed with the razor. I had read a few reviews etc. and was immediately conscious that I may be inclined to want to put pressure on the razor due to the weight. I actually found the opposite to be true. I found it very easy to apply no pressure and also found the correct angle very quickly. The razor was nice and efficient with great audio feedback. I did note that I was able to feel the blade a little but was happy to find that after a nice close 3 pass shave I had absolutely no irritation and the result was wonderful.

As I have my first two bottles of Myrsol (plastic and emulsion) in the post at the moment and have not yet had the pleasure of trying it I eagerly splashed a small amount on my face. Now I cannot wait to get my delivery and will also be getting the Formula C in the near future. The scent to me was very clean and sanitary. The resulting face feel was absolutely spectacular.

Looking forward to another exciting shave tomorrow :).
 
It's great to hear you got on with the slant on the first go. [emoji106] If you find the 37c light then you should forget about the Fine Superlite!!!

Enjoy your Myrsols too when they arrive. They are terrific aftershaves and certainly get their appropriate amount of love here.
 
Great review - glad you enjoyed it!

Nice to see the box getting some love :)
 
filobiblic said:
It's great to hear you got on with the slant on the first go. [emoji106] If you find the 37c light then you should forget about the Fine Superlite!!!

Enjoy your Myrsols too when they arrive. They are terrific aftershaves and certainly get their appropriate amount of love here.
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I used the 45c today @filobiblic its a bakerlite de but not a slant
 
nsavage said:
I used the 45c today @filobiblic its a bakerlite de but not a slant
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Oh! Yes, my mistake. I know the one. I'm mixing my numbers.

Well perhaps you'll enjoy the Fine then as its so light as well. [emoji16]
 
alfredus said:
You really should come to the Adelaide meetups @nsavage - @boldsworth has 2 super fines and he generously loaned them out to us...
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Yes! They have the best fun at these Adelaide meets. Sharing home-made soaps, lending razors and doing secret Adelaide "stuff"... It makes the rest of Australia envious. (I don't know HOW many times both @khun_diddy and @bald as have been asked to mass produce their soaps...! :whistle:)
 
Hey guys,

two days worth of reviews here and I have my reasons for waiting....

Yesterday's shave:

Beaver Woodright "Queen Anne's Revenge"
Semogue 830
Merkur 45c with Astra SP blade (2nd shave)
Alum and Natio Balm

Today's Shave:

Beaver Woodright "Queen Anne's Revenge"
EJ Silvertip Badger
Merkur 45c with Astra SP blade (3nd shave)
Alum, Thayer's "Medicated" Witch Hazel and "After Balm" (Stray Whisker balm sample for P&C Box)

So yesterday I decided to give the Beaver Woodright a go. I mashed a small amount in to the bottom of a bowl and bowl lathered with my 830. I have used Beaver Woodright soap in the past (Thomas Tew sample provided by @SydBJW) and was previously impressed with the soap and recently purchased Ghost Ship soap and splash (Came the same day as the travelling box so have not had a chance to try yet). Unfortunately the lather that I got out of the Queen Anne's Revenge was substandard and foamy. The lather I found would dry out and dissipate quite quickly. I put it down to the brush and the bowl lathering technique hence why I gave it another shot today wiht a different brush. The result today was fantastic. Excellent protective and slick lather and easily enough for 3 passes. I may have been too stingy with how much I used but the result was still very good. Post shave feel was also very good. I found that I mainly got Fougere notes form the soap's scent.

I am still very impressed with the Merkur 45c and have made the following further observations. The razor demands a good quality lather in order to do it's job effectively. I found with yesterdays shave that because the lather was substandard the razor would not glide effectively and I was therefore tempted to put a little bit of pressure on the razor which did not provide a good result. Today was a completely different story with the razor doing a superb job. I have noted that the razor really rewards you for using absolutely no pressure and I think this is going to help improve results when I go back to a heavier razor. I did also note today that the blade was starting to feel like it was getting close to changing time. I thought this a bit strange as I generally get 6 shaves quite easily form an Astra blade (could possibly get more but I always change any blade after 6 shaves). I put this down once again to the lightness of the razor. You really do want a nice sharp blade to get a good result. Although I am not game enough to throw a feather in I will probably try a Permasharp next as these are another favourite of mine.

I knew before I put the Alum on my face that yesterday's shave was a little rough and I did have a small amount of irritation. Because of that I went with Natio balm as it is a tried and true favourite. It also gave me a chance to directly compare it to the After Balm sample in the box. The after balm for me had a nice pleasant smell and gave a good result. I am not sure if this sample is identical to the final version of the product now being sold at The Stray Whisker. TBH I would probably personally stick to using Natio on a value for money vs result basis.

Really enjoying the box and looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.
 
Great review and glad you are having such a good time with the box!
 
I have been a bit busy and have not been able to get my reviews up - apologies for that. I also have not had a chance to use a lot more from the box :(. In the interests of keeping the ball rolling I intend to step it up a bit over the next few days so that I can get it moving on to the next person!

I did get a chance to use the following two soaps.

Shaving Shop Online Casablanca. For me the scent is very much a powdery tobacco. If I really concentrate on the scent I do get a bit of the floral but I don't think that I have an overly sophisticated nose for this sort of thing. This is a Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements soap and the performance is fantastic. A small amount in a bowl produced a fantastic lather. The lather itself was exactly what I look for, cushiony, slick and protective. An outstanding soap and I would have no hesitation adding it to my collection.

Dr Jon's Black Label. This was another scent that to me was primarily Tobacco. I took nothing else away form it personally and also felt that it is not a tobacco scent that I would reach for very often. I felt that the lather the soap produced was OK. Good enough to get the job done but perhaps I have spoilt myself recently in my soap selection. When the price of the soap is considered it does offer good value for money but it is not a soap that I would add to my den, in fact I would probably have to admit that I would probably not purchase a Dr Jon's soap after trying this.

Merkur 45c. I have continued to use the Merkur 45c every day (there have been two mornings when I was in a rush and went back to a razor that I am more familiar with). This razor has really grown on me and I think that I am going to miss it and find it difficult to pack it back in the box and send it on it's way. The razor continues to reward provided that the lather is good, the touch is light and the blade is sharp. Having used it for about 5 or 6 shaves now I was even comfortable enough to use it this morning when I was running a little late for work and reasonably pressed for time. On a personal note I think that this razor has been an excellent learning tool as well. It has reminded me that no pressure at all is required to get good results and that consistently good technique is the key to a good result. The razor has also made me question whether I am normally getting more shaves than is optimal out of a blade. As I mentioned previously I have found that the razor demands a nice sharp blade in order to perform and I have found that I get about half the shaves I normally do out of a blade in this razor. I put this down to the lack of weight in the razor meaning that the blade is required to do more work. It does make me wonder though whether I should just start ditching the blades after 3-4 uses in all of my razors instead of stretching out to the usual 6 or 7. I have enjoyed this razor so much that I have purchased the Fine Superlite Slant and will also be keeping an eye out for one of these 45c's in the future (I am also kicking myself that I did not grab one off of @FatBoy58 when he was selling his).

As mentioned above I intend to try to plow through as many of the items I am interested in over the next 4 or 5 days now so that I can forward the box on to the next person to enjoy.
 
Great review mate - thanks!
 
Fantastic review!
 
Today's review is a mixed bag unfortunately.

Soap: Shaving Shop Online Endymion Prototype. Based upon the excellent result I had with the Casablanca prototype soap I eagerly put a small amoutn of this soap at the bottom of my bowl. I immediately noticed that this soap is a lot softer than the Casablanca. My guess was that both of these soaps were made by Douglas and Fran at PAA but perhaps I am wrong. @SydBJW are you able to shed any light on this? I loaded up my EJ Silvertip badger brush (I noted that the soap transferred to teh brush very quickly) and started face lathering. It may be a case of me not using enough soap but I did not get a great lather from this soap. A piece slightly larger than a thumbnail only barely gave me enough lather for two passes and I had to add more soap for the final pass. The lather itself was slick enough but not as cushiony as I would have liked and therefore did not feel as protective in my opinion. The resulting shave was actually reasonably nice and close but I am going to put that down to solid technique more than the soap helping much. Somewhat of a shame really as I found the scent to be quite pleasant and agreeable. Initially I got quite a lot of nice leathery scent and somewhere mid shave got some citrus notes. I have not tried Penhaligons Endymion but cannot compare. Not sure what other's experience has been with this soap but for me it is quite forgettable. I also note that the soap did not make it to the final selection on Peter Charkalis' site so maybe that is somewhat telling also.

Post: Myrsol Metisol. It was only a few weeks ago when I was ordering some stuff form Gifts and Care that a good friend insisted that I should get some Myrsol Plastic and Emulsion. My first experience was with the Formula C in the travelling box and I was so impressed that I have also ordered a bottle of Formula C and K. Additionally I like the plastic so much that when I saw a glass bottle come up for a good price elsewhere I snatched it up (along with more soaps etc. that I am going to have to try to explain when they arrive). I eagerly splashed a small amount of Metisol after today's shave and although found it to be satisfactory this is not one that I would personally purchase. I felt that the scent was not for me and also thought that it had a bit of a drying effect on the skin. Nothing serious it is just not for me at the moment IMO.

Post: Aesop Moroccan Neroli Post-Shave Lotion. Felt that I needed something to help balance the skin after the Metisol splash so I thought I would try out the Aesop Post Shave. I actually think that this is an extremely good product. I instantly felt that my skin was re-hydrated and their was absolutely no residual tackiness or greasiness. The scent too was extremely pleasant. This would be something that I would add to my den if the price was not as exorbitant. Perhaps I will keep an eye out for a special ;).

Once again another enjoyable day of shaving and new experiences.
 
Hey Nick - the two Shaving Shop protos are made by different manufacturers - so you are correct there!

Great reviews BTW
 
Another great review (y)
 
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