Paste & Cut Travelling Box #4A - Reviews and Comments

RustyBlade said:
Yes, bad timing and to make things worst my nose stopped being able to sniff so I couldn't get a true scent profile some days. Also missed the Canberra Meetup which would of been nice. That's life and having the winter blues.
Really appreciated the travelling box as each morning I'd play and sniff working out what to use next. Very fun and informative. Great opportunity from the P&C forum, & special thanks @Mark1966
Box will be departing tomorrow morning to a new secret location :)
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Mate, in some ways, that's a positive, as your're able to focus exclusively upon performance and not have that polluted by scent :)
 
That box has arrived! And it's still packed full of goodies. A pretty impressive selection @Mark1966 .

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Day one using the box. Before I start, thanks to @Mark1966 for putting this together and to all who contributed. Also, I should say not to expect any deep insights from me into scents etc.

I have been looking forward to trying out the R41 so I put in a fresh Rapira ready to go. For the soap I used Squadron, Group Captain, because I knew the squadron would give me a good protective lather. Also, I was drawn in by the tobacco scent, as I am giving up smoking at the moment, although this is a sweet pipe type scent, not the roll ups I'm used too.
Three passes but most the work done on the first one, just one tiny weeper and a BBS with no pick ups, buffing etc. Remarkably little sting with the aftershave too. Its a good razor and really does give a close shave but requires some concentration.

Time for me to get sniffing ready for my next shave.

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RAPIRA, blade thanks to the stray whisker. Second use today, the blade worked well in R41 but today I used the 40's Tech I picked up recently. Chalk and cheese, this razor is way too mild for me and really probably requires a Feather, I much prefer the 41.
WICKHAMS 1912 CLASSIC 24. Didn't take as much water as I thought or I added too much water. Usually not a problem as I lather on the puck. Once sorted, lathered quickly, pretty good glide and slickness. For me, vegan soaps just lack a little compared to a good tallow soap. I liked the scent but it was a little too subtle for me. I am not a sophisticated man, I don't mind a soap with no added scent but if I were to choose a soap for the scent I want it right in my face and stinking up the place. I had to sniff!

MYRSOL ANTESOL. I used this both pre and post. It left me with a pretty good face feel but I can't make up my mind about the scent. It smells vaguely medical, not unpleasant, to me so l guess it might be doing some good. What I didn't enjoy was the menthol post shave, it turns the pleasant bracing sting of alcohol into a slow burn, not for me.

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A few more shaves with the Muhle any I really like this razor, a great close shave.
The Stray Whisker Balm certainly gives a great face feel after a close shave, a little thicker than the Nivea I usually use but you can't argue with the results.
I tried the Weleda Balm earlier in the week and also good and a little thinner, although for me I would prefer a more neutral scent.
The Henri et Victoria, Warm Spicy Cider soap is a great scent though perhaps not something I would use every day. Lather and slickness were impressive. I believe this is a vegan soap, I may have said they are generally not as good, what do I know.
OSP, Barbershop soap also impressed with the lather but the barbershop scent, not so much.

I loved the APR, Mycroft certainly something I would consider buying the General Ledger perhaps does not suit me so well.

The box will be moving on tomorrow, heading south. Thanks @Mark1966 and all who have contributed to this box of goodies.
 
Been over a month. What's up!
 
Rami said:
Been over a month. What's up!
Click to expand...

It went via another member who posted his thoughts in the SOTD thread if you were watching carefully :)
 
So a lot of belated posts from myself will follow shortly.
I've been shaving with the box. But, typically in a hurry and have been putting off writing my thoughts until a quiet moment.

Today is a Saturday. And, uncharacteristically, I have completed all my responsibilities before bed-time. Thus, leaving me time for a cup of tea and catching up on my forum posts.

I was offered the Travelling Box 4a from @Mark1966 and @Ferret619 at the last Canberra meetup. And how could I pass that up? ;)


Going through the contents that night (Sunday 29th Oct), I came up with the next couple of shaves:
  • Shave #1
    razor: Muhle R41
    soap: Wickham - 1912 Classic 24
    post: Stirling - Sharp Dressed Man

  • Shave #2
    razor: Muhle R41
    soap: Henri et Victoria - Warm spicy Cider
    post: Myrsol Formula "C"

  • Shave #3
    razor: Muhle R41
    soap: Tremonia Meisner Morrocan Rhassoul
    post: APR - Suitably Attired Australian


Others I think I would also like to try:
  • APR - Acqua Di Sydney splash: This seems to have quite a lovely (almost warm) aquatic scent. It's growing on me.
  • Phoenix & Beau - Spitfire soap: I've been wanting to try this since I started DE shaving and bought Squadron's Spitfire. NOTE: They smell NOTHING alike.
  • Shaver Heaven - Lilith soap: I loved everything about SH:Oatmeal stout. 'Nuf said.
  • Wikham - Imperial Tonic soap: Has a lovely almond scent. Now that I think about it, it reminds me of a Cella sample I smelled at Mensbiz.

As my wife is want to do, she vetoed a few of the samples I had set aside; bless her.
I actually don't mind this as it typically starts an interesting discussion around 'why' it is being vetoed. She's a good sort.
She vetoed the "Henri et Victoria: Terri d'Henri" soap and the "Floid: Vigoroso" splash.
When I asked her why, she said they smell exactly like urinal cakes. I've re-smelled them at least ten times since then... And it's uncanny. Now I can't smell anything else. The Floid is spot-on.
As usual, the wife was right. :love:
 
Writing this on my phone to avoid spitting out another volume of War & Peace...

Razor: Muhle R41
Blade: Voshkod (1)
Brush: St James of London 24mm synthetic
Soap/Cream: Wickham - 1912 Classic 24
Aftershave Splash: Stirling - Sharp Dressed Man

My first outing with the R41 and I was quite excited!
This is a beautiful razor. Excellent build quality (for the price) and great alignments. Feels great in the hand and looks like a work of art. Full points there.

The Wickham has a mild & clean scent with just a hint of citrus at the top end. I didn't love it. But it was nice and neutral. A little bit like soapy-clean sheets and a distant lemon candle.

It lathered up quite quickly. But it looked like all I was getting was air bubbles. I added more and more water but it never improved.

I loaded the Muhle with a Voshkod because I figured an efficient razor would need a smooth blade to balance it out. Now, I've never thought of Voshkods as smooth (I've only used one) but this seems to be the consensus.
The first couple of strokes, down the sideburns, were confident and promising. These are the only flat parts of my face and therefore the easiest to shave.

Alas, it was all down hill from there. Tugging. Irritation. I blame this on the following:
  1. The lather which offered little encouragement beyond a muffled "eff-you".
  2. The Voshkod blade for being about as smooth as the soles of my boots.
  3. The R41 for having such a rediculously steep cutting angle. It feels like the blade is being dragged upright across my skin. Playing with angles didn't seem to help either.
Of course, the real test is always the Alum burn. And burn she did. A nice little confirmation that my skin didn't appreciate this experience.

And last, but not least, the splash: "Stirling's Sharp Dressed Man". A sophisticated and crisp scent. Felt good and smelled good too. I can't really fault it. Frankly, the only positive part of the whole shave.

Verdict:
  • Soap: meh scent and ineffective. Not interested in owning it.
  • Blade: Voshkods are terrible blades. There. I said it. I don't care how popular they are. They claim to be Teflon coated. But it feels more like asphalt to me. Wouldn't attempt again without wearing my motorcycle leathers.
  • Razor: The R41 has a reputation for being aggressive. But I just found it to be unnecessarily rough. Reduce the angle and I think it would give a good shave.
  • Splash: "Sharp dressed man" is pretty great. I prefer "Executive man". But I would happily wear this too.
I'm going to attempt to use R41 on my next shave to see if I can see any improvement with a different blade and soap... Wish me luck.
 
Great reviews mate - but a little worried about your wife's ability to identify the smell of a urinal cake ... :eek:
 
Mark1966 said:
Great reviews mate - but a little worried about your wife's ability to identify the smell of a urinal cake ... :eek:
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She worked in hospitality for many years. I dare say she's seen more of them than I have. :wtf:
 
lerenau said:
She worked in hospitality for many years. I dare say she's seen more of them than I have. :wtf:
Click to expand...

WHAT!

Now I'm really worried - just read that first sentence again slowly, in the context of URINAL CAKES -

'She worked in hospitality for many years' - what was on the menu if she was serving urinal cakes? :)
 
"Urinal cake". Noun. A delicacy in some countries.

But seriously... She worked in many upper-end restaurants and hotels. Then setup and managed a number of the early gold-class cinemas before coming to Canberra (temporarily for work) and being lucky enough to meet me.
Basically, you can't be considered an upper-end establishment if you let your bathrooms falter.
 
Razor: Muhle R41
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
Brush: St James of London 24mm synthetic
Soap/Cream: Henri et Victoria - Warm spicy Cider
Aftershave Splash: Myrsol Formula "C"

After my last disastrous outing with the R41, I wanted to give it another chance.
Since my skin clearly doesn't cope with Voshkod blades, I decided to go back to my trusty GSBs since they rarely let me down.

The "Warm Spicy Cider" smells exactly like you would think. It reminds me very much of Henri et Victoria's "Poire Francaise" (French pear) if it were carbonated and less "deep".
I still prefer the French Pear, but this smells quite pleasant too. So, full marks on scent.

Just like the Wikham soap from last time, I got heaps and heaps of lather very early on. But again, it just didn't have much weight to it... Still too many bubbles.
I did what I could. But, it didn't look promising.

The shave itself started ok. Down the sideburns with little resistance but I could still feel the R41's ridiculously steep cutting angle.
By the end of the 2nd pass, I'd had enough. Sure, it's a very close shave. But it feels more like the hair has been scraped off rather than cut.
I even have a number of bleeders and I rarely have a problem with that.

After each shave, I typically re-lather and let it sit for a few minutes before cold-rinsing. There is rarely anything worth mentioning about this.
But this time, my cold-rinse came with a horrible burning sensation. Like I'd just rubbed hot-sauce all over my face.
It hurt so bad as to be followed by quite a lot of expletives... I've never had a cold-rinse hurt before.

... And then came the Alum. You can imagine how much that hurt.
I don't think there was anywhere on my face that wasn't horribly irritated.
In hind-sight the sharper-GSB blades didn't reduce irritation so much as neatly fillet an entire layer off my face... Much like a TV chef showing-off his new knife by cutting infinitely thin slices off a tomato.

I dreaded the thought of applying anything after this debacle. But, the Myrsol had a pleasant minty-smell so I gave it a go.
Honestly, it was surprisingly good. It provided a minty-cooling sensation and a not-unpleasant scent.
So, just like my previous shave, the splash was the only saving grace.

It's worth noting at this point that, out of desperation, I also applied some APR - Fougere Bourbon Rose balm that I had.
It did wonders. I actually don't think I could have left the house had I not applied the balm. It did a wonderful job of calming my skin further.

Verdict:
  • Soap: Pleasant enough scent. Terrible lather. No glide. No cushion. No future in my den.
  • Razor: Well, I'm done with the R41. I really wanted to gel with it. But it's wonderful build quality and stunning good looks don't make up for its homicidal tendencies. It's not that its too aggressive. I just don't think it's a good design.
  • Splash: The Myrsol Formula "C" was pleasant. If I cross paths with it I might consider getting it for hot summer days.
This shave really knocked me around and is easily one of the worst shaves I've ever had.
My face was bright-red all day and it took me days to recover... I think I'm going to stay away from aggressive razors for a little while; shame I have so many.
 
lerenau said:
Razor: Muhle R41
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
Brush: St James of London 24mm synthetic
Soap/Cream: Henri et Victoria - Warm spicy Cider
Aftershave Splash: Myrsol Formula "C"

After my last disastrous outing with the R41, I wanted to give it another chance.
Since my skin clearly doesn't cope with Voshkod blades, I decided to go back to my trusty GSBs since they rarely let me down.

The "Warm Spicy Cider" smells exactly like you would think. It reminds me very much of Henri et Victoria's "Poire Francaise" (French pear) if it were carbonated and less "deep".
I still prefer the French Pear, but this smells quite pleasant too. So, full marks on scent.

Just like the Wikham soap from last time, I got heaps and heaps of lather very early on. But again, it just didn't have much weight to it... Still too many bubbles.
I did what I could. But, it didn't look promising.

The shave itself started ok. Down the sideburns with little resistance but I could still feel the R41's ridiculously steep cutting angle.
By the end of the 2nd pass, I'd had enough. Sure, it's a very close shave. But it feels more like the hair has been scraped off rather than cut.
I even have a number of bleeders and I rarely have a problem with that.

After each shave, I typically re-lather and let it sit for a few minutes before cold-rinsing. There is rarely anything worth mentioning about this.
But this time, my cold-rinse came with a horrible burning sensation. Like I'd just rubbed hot-sauce all over my face.
It hurt so bad as to be followed by quite a lot of expletives... I've never had a cold-rinse hurt before.

... And then came the Alum. You can imagine how much that hurt.
I don't think there was anywhere on my face that wasn't horribly irritated.
In hind-sight the sharper-GSB blades didn't reduce irritation so much as neatly fillet an entire layer off my face... Much like a TV chef showing-off his new knife by cutting infinitely thin slices off a tomato.

I dreaded the thought of applying anything after this debacle. But, the Myrsol had a pleasant minty-smell so I gave it a go.
Honestly, it was surprisingly good. It provided a minty-cooling sensation and a not-unpleasant scent.
So, just like my previous shave, the splash was the only saving grace.

It's worth noting at this point that, out of desperation, I also applied some APR - Fougere Bourbon Rose balm that I had.
It did wonders. I actually don't think I could have left the house had I not applied the balm. It did a wonderful job of calming my skin further.

Verdict:
  • Soap: Pleasant enough scent. Terrible lather. No glide. No cushion. No future in my den.
  • Razor: Well, I'm done with the R41. I really wanted to gel with it. But it's wonderful build quality and stunning good looks don't make up for its homicidal tendencies. It's not that its too aggressive. I just don't think it's a good design.
  • Splash: The Myrsol Formula "C" was pleasant. If I cross paths with it I might consider getting it for hot summer days.
This shave really knocked me around and is easily one of the worst shaves I've ever had.
My face was bright-red all day and it took me days to recover... I think I'm going to stay away from aggressive razors for a little while; shame I have so many.
Click to expand...
@lerenau try Gillette Nacet because I get 5 maximum great smooth shave with my R41 as YMMV, trust me you'll love the Nacet blade
 
lerenau said:
She vetoed the "Henri et Victoria: Terri d'Henri" soap and the "Floid: Vigoroso" splash.
When I asked her why, she said they smell exactly like urinal cakes. I've re-smelled them at least ten times since then... And it's uncanny. Now I can't smell anything else. The Floid is spot-on.
As usual, the wife was right. :love:
Click to expand...

Floid scent is better described as cat urine... I own and use the Floid suave, mostly on those days when I am not expecting to meet relatives or close friends ha ha ha
 
lerenau said:
Razor: Muhle R41
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
Brush: St James of London 24mm synthetic
Soap/Cream: Henri et Victoria - Warm spicy Cider
Aftershave Splash: Myrsol Formula "C"

After my last disastrous outing with the R41, I wanted to give it another chance.
Since my skin clearly doesn't cope with Voshkod blades, I decided to go back to my trusty GSBs since they rarely let me down.

The "Warm Spicy Cider" smells exactly like you would think. It reminds me very much of Henri et Victoria's "Poire Francaise" (French pear) if it were carbonated and less "deep".
I still prefer the French Pear, but this smells quite pleasant too. So, full marks on scent.

Just like the Wikham soap from last time, I got heaps and heaps of lather very early on. But again, it just didn't have much weight to it... Still too many bubbles.
I did what I could. But, it didn't look promising.

The shave itself started ok. Down the sideburns with little resistance but I could still feel the R41's ridiculously steep cutting angle.
By the end of the 2nd pass, I'd had enough. Sure, it's a very close shave. But it feels more like the hair has been scraped off rather than cut.
I even have a number of bleeders and I rarely have a problem with that.

After each shave, I typically re-lather and let it sit for a few minutes before cold-rinsing. There is rarely anything worth mentioning about this.
But this time, my cold-rinse came with a horrible burning sensation. Like I'd just rubbed hot-sauce all over my face.
It hurt so bad as to be followed by quite a lot of expletives... I've never had a cold-rinse hurt before.

... And then came the Alum. You can imagine how much that hurt.
I don't think there was anywhere on my face that wasn't horribly irritated.
In hind-sight the sharper-GSB blades didn't reduce irritation so much as neatly fillet an entire layer off my face... Much like a TV chef showing-off his new knife by cutting infinitely thin slices off a tomato.

I dreaded the thought of applying anything after this debacle. But, the Myrsol had a pleasant minty-smell so I gave it a go.
Honestly, it was surprisingly good. It provided a minty-cooling sensation and a not-unpleasant scent.
So, just like my previous shave, the splash was the only saving grace.

It's worth noting at this point that, out of desperation, I also applied some APR - Fougere Bourbon Rose balm that I had.
It did wonders. I actually don't think I could have left the house had I not applied the balm. It did a wonderful job of calming my skin further.

Verdict:
  • Soap: Pleasant enough scent. Terrible lather. No glide. No cushion. No future in my den.
  • Razor: Well, I'm done with the R41. I really wanted to gel with it. But it's wonderful build quality and stunning good looks don't make up for its homicidal tendencies. It's not that its too aggressive. I just don't think it's a good design.
  • Splash: The Myrsol Formula "C" was pleasant. If I cross paths with it I might consider getting it for hot summer days.
This shave really knocked me around and is easily one of the worst shaves I've ever had.
My face was bright-red all day and it took me days to recover... I think I'm going to stay away from aggressive razors for a little while; shame I have so many.
Click to expand...

Thank you lerenau for a couple of very entertaining reviews.:LOL:
I still find it amazing the vastly different experiences that different blokes can have with the same razor. I enjoy using the R41 and haven't experienced anywhere near the level of irritation that you described and find the angle required quite intuitive.
Then again, I read quite a number of reviews about the Asylum Rx before purchasing and it sounded all very normal and tame and was horrified by the ensuing massacre when I tried to master it.
 
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