Arko, GzD and Derby shave stick are in my lather drawer, being similar and yet different.
Arko is a case of love it or loath it – most people arge that it works great, but the scent is what divide people. Described variously as a urinal puck or natural fresh, the scent do do away if you leave the stick unwrapped for a few weeks. Good cushion and glide, and since it’s a tallow stick it’s gentle on the skin too.
GzD is for those who want Arko performance but not the scent. A little softer means it’s easier to apply, and the glide and cushion is as good as the Arko and with tallow in the mix it too will look after your skin. The scent has been compared to laundry soap though, but it fades quickly once the stick is unboxed – the GzD did not come wrapped in foil.
Derby is yet another tallow stick, and the more costly of the trio. One sniff and you know where the extra coin goes – I’ve yet to hear anyone liken it to a urinal puck. It’s softer than the Arko but harder than the GzD, and like both the Derby creates ample lather with plenty of glide and cushion. A solid performer, even if not quite as good as the Arko in my eyes.
All can be had for less than two bucks a stick at my favourite Turkish Shaving Webshop – the Arko and Derby can also be had from many other quality online stores.
Some time ago I bought some KISS Cream from Prairie Creations, and while I use it only infrequently it is not because it’s a substandard product. On the contrary it’s a very nice cream, but I ordered it with tea tree oil for those days my face needs that.
The KISS cream is simple and straightforward… just as it says on the label. And while it can be somewhat hard to get out of the jar, Krissy sent a spoon along with the jar to help dish it out.
The cream is not tallow-based but the main ingredient is aloe vera juice, so there is plenty of skincare to be had – even more so when combined with the tea tree oil, which is claimed to have antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties.
Being a rather stiff cream – or possible croap – it can be a little tricky to lather, and in my experience it’s best done in a bowl. It also needs a little more water than you might expect, but once the lather is done it’s working well. Plenty of slip and cushion, and as mentioned the skin care is very nice too. It also stays fluffy – I had to leave my den once to see what the cat was up to, and the lather was just as good when I returned.
Overall I can recommend the KISS cream – it’s simple and straightforward.
PS: Some people online reports a bit of trouble shopping with Prairie Creations; that is the near opposite of my experience. Yes, it can take a bit of time from you order until it’s shipped – but it’s artisan soap, not a big company. It’s worth the wait.
Another of those previously unknown to me products from webshops in the far corners of the world… Derby Lavender Shave Cream at least is from a slightly more familiar brand – if by familiar you mean “have heard of before”. It is somewhat easier to find than the Dalan Cream I talked about previously, hence somewhat easier to find reviews online… but the two products are rather similar.
Overall the Derby makes an average lather, perhaps a bit above. It performs better than my glycerine soaps, but less so than my tallow pucks. It has a distinct lavender scent to it, and although it fades quickly it should last you for a three pass shave.
Decent slip and cushion, and okay as far as moisturising goes. Like most creams it’s really easy to whip up copious amounts of lather, and it don’t collapse between passes either. It’s a thirsty cream though, so for once the solution to any lather issues is to add more water, not more cream.
Overall a good choice if you want a cream and don’t want to spend too much – something for the traveller on a budget perhaps, or for your back-up den?
One of the wonderful aspects of viewing traditional shaving as a hobby is that I have no trouble picking up previously unknown products from webshops in the far corners of the world… Dalan d’Men Energetic Shave Cream is one of those. It’s a not much spoken off online, but most of what is said is good.
Overall it makes an average lather, perhaps a bit above. It performs better than my glycerine soaps, but less so than my tallow pucks. It has a hint of menthol, but don’t bite – unlike my more heavily mentholated soaps.
Decent slip and cushion, and pretty okay as far as moisturising goes. Like most creams it’s really easy to whip up copious amounts of lather, and it don’t collapse between passes either. It can leave a little bit of residue, but a good rinse fixes that.
Overall a good choice if you want a cream and don’t want to spend too much – something for the traveller on a budget perhaps, or for your back-up den?
About a year ago I did a quick review of Col Conk’s Bay Rum soap, so I figured it was time to revisit it in light of what I learned since.
Col Conk Bay Rum is a decent enough glycerin based soap – which means it’ll leave my skin feeling dry after a shave. I did read up on the soap before buying, and there are some glowing reviews of it online… but in hindsight I feel it might be more rightly classed as a middle-of-the-road shaving soap and not a great one. It’ll gives a good shave and the scent is pretty good too – while not on the level of Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum – but other aspects are middling to bad. It is also quite subtle and far from overpowering, which is a Good Thing™.
The lather from Col Conk has decent slip, but the cushion could be better in my opinion. And the moisturizing properties simply are not there – a good aftershave or face balm is a must after using the Colonel. The lather also breaks down quicker than tallow based lather, even more so if you use the brush vigorously… my common approach to all problems with lather – add more product – goes some way in alleviating the issue though.
The official black oak bowl I got mine in also leeches colour into the lather, leaving me with a gray and less appetizing lather… purely cosmetic, but somewhat distracting. Col Conk’s is very lather-able for me, although I do have soft water. If you got hard water it’s likely to be a case of YMMV… at least if reports online is to be believed.
Being a glycerine based soap the puck also wears faster than tallow – so even if the soap is cheaper than most it’ll wear thin quickly; some shavers online report getting a month of shaves from one puck.
Speaking of reports online – if you put the online reviews Google will find for you on a timeline, you’ll find that the most raving ones is the older, while the, ahem, less glamorous ones are newer. there might be two explanations for this:
– They have changed the formulation, creating an inferior product.
– More and better soaps have emerged, many of which are from artisans.
Don’t get me wrong – Col Conk isn’t bad for a cheap glycerin soap… it’s just that cheap glycerin soaps are bad compared to tallow soaps in general, and compared to artisan tallow soaps in particular. But if you’re in the marked for a glycerin soap, a puck of Col Conk might be just the thing.
I’ve mentioned my Omega 50014 before, but now that I used it a bit more I feel I can expand a bit on my first impressions of this travel brush.
Now that it’s properly broken in it’s gotten to be very soft, almost silky on the tips. It still retains more than enough backbone to get the lather down into my stubble, but I feel myself halfway wishing it had a tad more scritch… just a tad though. It’s wonderful for whipping up lather on my face, and works just as well in a bowl of that’s your preference while traveling – personally I tend to use a bowl at home and facelather while on the Go, but YMMV and all that; the brush works well both ways.
I do like the fact that you for all practical purposes can choose to have a small or a large handle with this brush; it adds to the flexibility and utility, and should be a boon for those who sometimes suffers from sore and stiff fingers.
The downside of this as a travel brush is that it takes a while to dry – something it shares with all non-synthetic brushes. This means that for me it’s a brush to use while going somewhere for staying in one spot… not for when I travel on the Go and don’t always know where (or if) I’ll get to shave the next morning. It does mean I keep two travel brushes on hand, but it’s a very small price to pay for what I get in return; a bit of luxury away from home.
Bottom line? If you like boar, need a travel brush and can live with a brush you have to let dry for a bit… go get a Omega 50014 – it’s well worth the rather reasonable price asked.
…others still fall for the “more = better” fallacy. Courtesy of 3D printers and people with – in my opinion – misguided ideas, I present the 20 blade razor!
Although in all fairness, the guy who uploaded the pattern for it claims it’s for removal of body hair, as opposed to the time honoured, rugged and manly art of shaving ones face.
I received this a a PIF, not that long after I joined up on my favorite shave forum, and I honestly wasn’t impressed with it… because I failed to realise at the time that brushless creams are meant to be used without a brush.
If used with a brush Rise Shave Gel gives a crap shave and a gunked up brush… Used properly however, it has plenty of glide, decent moisturising abilities and almost no cushion. It also leaves less of a mess in the sink that using a ‘proper’ lather do, so that’s a point in it’s favour. The smell of it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s mild and inoffensive so it shouldn’t bother anyone terrible much.
Overall it has grown on me – not for everyday use, but for a quick and less messy shave it works well. it would also be a good choice for travellers, since you won’t have to bring a brush.
I tend to buy more soaps than I technically need – just like I have more razors and brushes than I can get away with – because variation is the spice of life, and I consider shaving to be a hobby and not a chore.
The downside is that it sometimes takes a long time for me to use a soap enough times to make up my mind on what I think about it, so this little review has been long in coming…
The Derby shave stick is, like most shave sticks, easy to use. It makes lots of lather and smells okay – mostly of soap – but it isn’t quite up with the Arko as far as glide and cushion goes, it’s more like the GzD in that respect. It’s hard like the Arko, not soft like the GzD, and comes wrapped in paper.
If you can’t handle the scent of the Arko, the Derby is a good substitute for an inexpensive, efficient shave stick. If you can handle it though, go for the Arko stick.
