Category Archives: Review

Review of Proraso Eucalyptus and Menthol cream

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Apart from the Maca Cream from Body Shop, the Proraso Eucalyptus and Menthol Cream was my first foray into the wonderful world of shaving creams and soaps that don’t come in a pressurized can. I received it as part of a traditional wetshaving starting kit, and it went with me on a 12 month deployment with the UN to South Sudan.

A little beat up, but still good

I must say that for a newbie in traditional wetshaving the Proraso Cream is a very good choice. It lathers well with little water, lots of water, hard water, soft water… and with any brush I’ve tried it with so far. Granted, you won’t always get good lather until you learn how to make it, but it’s great for giving you plenty of play for experimenting with until you learn. It is also good for shaving with – which is nice since it is in fact a shaving cream.

I used it exclusivity for the year I was in Sudan, along with a Body Shop synthetic brush. After a month or so I was able to make consistently good lather, and started to appreciate just how good the slip, glide and cushion of the Proraso Eucalyptus and Menthol Cream was compared to anything that squirt out of a can. The mentholation of this cream is not as strong as some of my other soaps – Mama Bear’s Awakeing take the top spot in that regard – but still enough to be noticeable and appreciated on a warm day… as all the days in South Sudan was. I should probably use this cream more often, but I have so many other great soaps and cream to shave with that I cannot stay with one product for any stretch of time.

If you’re in the marked for a cream in a tube, and you like menthol, you cannot go wrong with the Proraso Eucalyptus and Menthol Cream.

Review of Krampert’s Finest Menthol

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First a warning: This stuff isn’t for sale – at least not yet. Which means that the first thing you need to do to get hold of it is to ask Krampert to start producing it… which takes money, so perhaps the very first thing you should do is to buy a bottle or two of his Finest Bay Rum… don’t worry, it’s well worth the asking price.

In short, everthing I like about the healing and moisturising properties of Krampert’s Bay Rum is present in his experimental menthol as well – and just like his Bay Rum this is some seriously good aftershave. And just like the Bay Rum, I found myself putting some on even if I havn’t shaved just to enjoy the moisturising properties and great scent.

The major difference is off course the menthol. It is refreshingly cooling on muggy mornings, and if I havn’t woken up before putting it on I sure am awake afterwards – even more so on the days I gotten a minor nick or two.

This is a seriously good aftershave – if you enjoyed Krampert’s Bay Rum, you’ll enjoy his Menthol if (when) it’ll be available.

Review of the Arko shaving stick

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Very few products seems to polarise traditional wetshavers quite like the Arko shaving stick do; once you tried it you’ll either love it or loathe it.

What most people agree on though is that the tallow based stick works great – it’s easy to whip up a lovely lather weither you rub it on your face and face lather, or if you mash it into a bowl and use it for bowl lathering. Where opinions differs is on the scent – some say it smells fresh and citrusy, others think it smells like urinal cakes. And others again – like myself – leave it unwrapped for a while and get a pretty much unscented shaving stick…

Using the Arko as a stick is simplicity itself: I prep my face before I  rub the stick over my whiskers, and then I takes the damp / wet brush of the day and vigourously applies it to my face in a circular motion. The result is a nice creamy and rich lather that is worked into my beard – perfect for those days when I havn’t shaved in a while. There is always enough left on my brush for a second and third pass – and if it isn’t it’s easy to reapply and make more.

The Arko shaving stick provides a more than acceptable cushion and glide, at least on my skin. If you use it for face lathering it can be a little picky on the brush in my expereince; a brush with a decent amount of backbone is needed to work that lather into the whiskers properly. For bowl lathering every one of my brushes works wonders with the Arko, once they are loaded properly.

If you can stand the scent, the Arko shave stick will not disapoint – and it’s cheap at half the price.

Quick Review: Mama Bear Shaving Soap

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Inspired by a discussion on The Shave Nook, I ordered two tubs of Mama Bear shaving soaps earlier this month – one Awakening and one Brazilian Coffee.

The soap is – as far as I can tell – built on a glycerin based melt-and-pour base. I’m not sure if Mama Bear buys the base or makes her own, but the result is pretty good either way; it lathers quickly, has good slip and cushioning, and don’t leave my skin terribly dry. Judging by the sheer amount of lather it whips up, each tub should last me a long time.

As for the scent… a mixed bag indeed:
The Awakening has a strong scent of menthol and other goodies, and actually chilled my face quite well while I was shaving despite the fact that I used hot water to make the lather. My Better Half on the other hand though it smelled like Vicks Vapor Rub, so she wasn’t too thrilled about it. I like it though, and that is what matters the most.
The Brazilian Coffee smells more or less like a cold cup of coffee while in the tub, but lathering it up makes the scent mellow quite a bit. If you’re expecting the intoxicating scent of a freshly brewed cup you will be underwhelmed though. It’s not a bad scent, just not great.

Overall I can recommend Mama Bear’s soaps if you’re in the market for a glycerin soap. For me, I think the two tubs I got is enough for the foreseeable future.

Review of the Egyptian Racer razor

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As part of my experiments in traditional wetshaving – and also with an eye to putting together a cheap starter kit I could PIF to people curious about old fashioned wetshaving, I picked up a very cheap razor from my usual Turkish web store. The Racer razor is – according to the place I bought it – manufactured in Egypt, and cost me a whooping 3.75 USD.

The majority of the razor is made of injection molded plastic, except the top of the head which is cast metal. It appears quite solid – at least as solid as most cartridge razors and much more solid than most disposables. It is a two piece design – twist the handle and the metal cap comes off. The mixed construction is well balanced, with the center of gravity shortly below the head. This makes for an easily maneuvered razor, while keeping it so light you hardly notice that you’re holding it.

Loading the blade is pretty straight forward with little to no slack, so unlike the Yuma you don’t really have to pay much attention while loading. The cap also covers up the sides of the razor blade, removing one possibility of cutting your fingertips open. The design allow for a pretty generous blade gap, while holding the blade almost flat. This means the Racer is a fairly aggressive shaver, more so than most of my other razors.

Comparing it to another cheap razor – the Yuma – I would say that the Racer feels less harsh but is more aggressive. It’s not a bad razor for a newbie on a budget – provided s/he is told to be careful and to make sure not to use any pressure. Combined with a good blade it gives a more than acceptable shave. It also is a decent second razor for a more experienced traditional wetshaver, perhaps as a semi-disposable travel razor. All in all I can recommend the Racer razor to, well, anyone who fancies a very cheap razor for whatever reason – just keep in mind that there is many better razors out there, if you’re willing to invest a bit more.

Pictures and quick review of the vintage Ever-Ready 1914

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I am a very lucky guy for many reasons, but one of them is that I own an old razor that used belong to an old friend of the family that is – as far as I can tell – in near mint, unused condition. What better way to try SE shaving than with a razor that has a history attached?

Thanks to the friendly fellows at The Shave Nook I identified the razor as an Ever-Ready Model 1914, also known as the little lather catcher. Most of the guys who uses SE razors promised me that it was a wonderfully smooth and mild shave… more on that later

First we got to have pictures!

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Riches revealed; a SE razor and almost full packs of blades.
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Focusing on shiny objects is hard…
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Two packs of blades, one full, one missing one blade – which is in the razor.
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Everything out of the box.
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Just the razor – nice knurled grip, balance near the head.
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Closeup on the head – an interesting (to me) open comb with a bar. Not a spot of rust either, or even much dust.
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The head head-on. The lettering on either side says “LIFT HERE” in a non-serif font.
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The head opened, showing the blade that is in the razor. Two little tabs on each side holds it in place.
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The blade out of the razor. I’m not sure what “radio steel” is, but I know that back in the day radio was a buzz word much like digital was in the 90’s.
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A better view of the lettering on the blade.
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The head with no blade. It’s a little hard to see, but the text says “American Safety Razor Oo. Inc. New York”. Again, it’s practically spotless.
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The underside of the head, reading “Ever-ready” and “Patented March 24/14”
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Another view of the underside. Seems to be a very slight bow to the bar connecting the ends of the comb, but that might be the surface I photographed it on.
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One of the unopened blades. Compared to today’s packaging, this is pretty awesome.
    
This is the old, original blade. Notice how the solid sides lets the hooks on either side hold the blade in place easily.
    
Closing the lid though, it seems that the blade is pushed forward a bit and rests against two small bumps on the razor. The bear-trap lip seems to hold it securely in place too…

The only downside is… I can’t get it to give me a good shave. I can get a near BBS shave on my face with it in a single stroke, but once I get to my neck…. lets say I haven’t had this much razor burn and weepers since I started traditional wetshaving. I’m not sure if it’s the blade flexing – the original blades were certainly thicker and more rigid than the modern GEMs – or if it’s just me not being able to hold the EverReady at the right angle down low on my neck. At any rate it is a real shame, since I would really enjoy using this historic razor… but for now I’ll have to put it aside. Who knows, I might give it another go in a few months and see how I fare then?

Quick review: Proraso eucalyptus and menthol soap

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The Proraso in the green tub was one of the first soaps I bought after getting into traditional wetshaving, and still one of my fall backs if nothing else appeal to me in the morning.

The Proraso eucalyptus and menthol soap makes a great lather which not only cushions great but stays fluffy for quite a long time, which is good if you like me sometimes spends a bit of time fuzzing over which razor to use. It also smells good, which is always a good thing.

It can be a little picky about the brush – I seem to get the best result using a short lofted brush with lots of backbone. YMMV off course, but when I’m using a soft brush on this soap loading seems to take forever.

Overall a good soft soap that I can recommend to anyone who likes menthol in the morning.

Quick review: The YUMA 2.59 / 2.98 dollar safety razor

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Bottom line up front: This is not a bad razor when you consider the price – but there are plenty of other, better razors out there if you’re willing to pony up a little more cash.

As part of my experiments in traditional wetshaving – and also with an eye to putting together a cheap starter kit I could PIF to people curious about old fashioned wetshaving, I picked up a very cheap Turkish razor. You can get this for 2.59USD from BestShave, or a whopping 2.98USD if you spring for the boxed version. The box is flimsy plastic and don’t fit the razor very well – allowing it to dance around during shipping – so you might as well save the 40 cents.

The razor in it’s presentation case. Notice the lack of supports holding the razor in place, and also the generous airspace between the lid and razor.
   
The YUMA head on. The actual surface treatment is decent, but not great – I can’t see this razor lasting terrible long with frequent use.
   
Obligatory beuty shot – the hexagonal handle is quite comfortable to hold, but very lightweight. It is also oddly slippery, meaning dry hands is a must when using the YUMA.
   
When disassembled it’s obvious that the YUMA has been designed to be as cheap as possible. Not only is the metal some unidentified for of pot metal, most likely heavily alloyed zinc, but they have also made the molds to use as little of it as possible – hence the very wide gap between the safety bar and the body of the razor head, as well as the     raised bars to lift the blade as opposed to a more traditional design where the center part of the head would be thicker.
The head and handle. Again notice how much care has gone into minimizing the use of metal in this razor. One downside of this is that the razor head is somewhat malleable –    if you look closely you can see that the curvature of the head is slightly uneven.
The YUMA reassembled and back in it’s box. All things considered it’s a fairly decent looking razor with a classical styling – reminiscent of the Merkur C42 in looks but not quality.
In use, the YUMA is.. .interesting. It feels harsh – at least with the Sharb blades – but provides a surprisingly smooth and mild shave. Some online reviews of the YUMA indicates that it should in fact be aggressive, I chalk that up to either the well known concept of YMMV, or possible to the lack of QC in production. The cheapness of construction also means that care has to be taken while loading the YUMA, to ensure an even blade exposure on both sides of the head. Care must also be taken while using the YUMA, since I found that the head have a disturbing tendency to work itself loose from the handle – which may be an issue with mine rather than a consistent feature with the YUMA. The YUMA handles much like any other short handled razor, although it is extremely lightweight. The hollow, lightweight handle acts as a megaphone, pretty much letting you hear each whisker as it’s cut. As mentioned a couple of times the razor feels fairly rough and harsh, but it does give a remarkable decent shave in the hands  of someone who knows what they are doing. It is also remarkable intolerant of any mistakes the user might make; this makes the YUMA a poor choice for someone just starting out with traditional wetshaving in my opinion.

I cannot in good conscience recommend the YUMA as someones first razor. I will however suggest that it’s a fun little razor to play around with for an experienced shaver, or to use as a travel razor. For less than three dollars it’s actually remarkable good value… but keep in mind that the value is that low.

Quick Review: Arko Cool Mint shaving cream

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Part of my last haul from my favourite Turkish webshop was a tube of Arko Cool Mint cream, so I decided to try it out using my Turkish No6 brush and the Turkish fairy tale bowl.

The lather was a little dry at first but adding a little extra water fixed that well enough, resulting in copious amounts of rich, creamy lather which lasted – no collapse in seconds like I’ve seen with certain other products.

Good cushion and smooth slide made for a good shave. So on that side of the board the Arko Cool Ice gets full score. On the other hand, the scent wasn’t particularly strong, nor was the cooling effect that great. Better than nothing, but nothing to shout from the mountain tops about.


Overall I can recommend this cream is you’re looking for something in a tube that gives a good shave.

Quick review: Aubrey Men’s Stock North Woods Aftershave

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Still on the go, so still reviewing stuff in my GoBag:

From some source or other my Better Half received a small sample bottle of Aubrey Men’s Stock North Woods aftershave. The sample was of a decent size, so it went in my GoBag. Having used it for two weeks straight, the sample is now all but gone… and no real loss there.

It smells good; a light but masculine smell that lingers just long enough to remind me of the evergreen forests I grew up near. However, smelling good is all it does… it don’t seal any nicks, and it don’t moisturise my skin. On the contrary it dries my skin out even more; this is pretty much alcohol with a bit of scents thrown in.

If you want an aftershave that smells nice and nothing more, you could do worse than checking out the Aubrey Men’s Stock North Woods aftershave. If you – like me – has grown used to aftershaves that do more than just smell nice, I recommend steering clear of this – which is a shame since I like the scent.