Thread: New Guy

Thanks I will take the soap suggestions under advisement, I think bignosekelly recommended Martin De Candre, and it may well be the mutts nuts but at a very high price that one I struggle to be able to justify that amount and two!?! Now Shuuuush keep this to yourselves guys, but I think I may have a razor on the horizon i need to start saving for!?!

Originally Posted by Muttley

Thanks I will take the soap suggestions under advisement, I think bignosekelly recommended Martin De Candre, and it may well be the mutts nuts but at a very high price that one I struggle to be able to justify that amount and two!?! Now Shuuuush keep this to yourselves guys, but I think I may have a razor on the horizon i need to start saving for!?!

The initial outlay would be considered expensive but as one tub will last a few years of daily use you really can't afford not to get some ( you can quote this to your wife and blame me )

PM me your address and I'll send you a chunk of MDC to try

I have never tried MDC so perhaps I would break my hand reaching for my wallet if I did...perhaps. However, it had better be very good and last a very long time for it to be worth the price difference. Maybe it is. For example. The lowest I have found MDC Nature (Again, I don't like stinky soaps) was $40 US for a 50 gm jar. That is $1.25/gm. The cheapest I have found MWF is $12.50 US for a 125gm puck. That is $0.12gm. That is more than 10 times the price. Is it 10 times as good?????

Now, I know that adage "you get what you pay for," and I also know that quality costs money and that some things are worth it. Hey, I'm a lover of fine tea. Want to part with your money? That's a great place to do it. It doesn't scare me.at all to pay $500/lb for a tea of the right quality and I have paid more than that, slmost twice ad much, for smaller quantities of really rare, once in a lifetime quality stuff while most store brand tea is $5.00/lb. Was it 100 times as good? You betcha! The big difference is that the store brand tea is hog water. MWF is pretty darn good. Is MDC 10 times as good? Maybe it is. If I tried it I might throw rocks at MWF. I know that when I got my first puck of MWF I wanted to marry it. I still do really. MDC would have to be pretty darned impressive to make up the difference. Again, maybe it is.

You should not compare wool fat to anything, IMO.
Martin de Candre has been extolled here repeatedly. I rotate soaps like I do razors, but LOTS of shaves past and future here.
I am seeing a bit less than half left of a decade-old GLASS jar of original. 50-60 bucks now. 6 bucks for a sample jar.



Should I live long enough to use it up, I have an ice cream bowl in reserve. around 70 bucks now.







Don't be stubborn.
You are missing out. I rest my case.

I don't think I'm being stubborn, more pragmatically skeptical. Lots of things are "extolled." The Emporers New Clothes comes to mind. I said, maybe it is worth the difference and I would gladly be proven wrong. The first "fine tea," I saw in a store gave me jawdrop sticker shock and I swore I would never spend that much on tea. Once it went on clearance I broke down and begrudgingly bought a tin since the sampler scent was so good. After I had tried it I would gladly pay twice as much if I could find it again.

It might be worth trying a sampler if they have them for a decent price, sometimes samplers are sold at a premium. I just don't want to repeat that Art of Shaving mistake. There's $30 wasted I'll never see again. Okay soap but definitely WAY overpriced.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

I don't think I'm being stubborn, more pragmatically skeptical. Lots of things are "extolled." The Emporers New Clothes comes to mind. I said, maybe it is worth the difference and I would gladly be proven wrong. The first "fine tea," I saw in a store gave me jawdrop sticker shock and I swore I would never spend that much on tea. Once it went on clearance I broke down and begrudgingly bought a tin since the sampler scent was so good. After I had tried it I would gladly pay twice as much if I could find it again.

It might be worth trying a sampler if they have them for a decent price, sometimes samplers are sold at a premium. I just don't want to repeat that Art of Shaving mistake. There's $30 wasted I'll never see again. Okay soap but definitely WAY overpriced.

AOS hoodwinked a lot of folks, but I guess you just got to look at them as a place to buy gifts that might or might not be ever used by the recipient, instead of a place to shop for your own gear.

LOL on the tea! I finally finished drinking up all the vintage Pu Er wheels I bought in China about 6 or 7 years ago. I paid total probably $50 for about a shrimp basket full of Pu Er, along with various green teas recommended by the charming sales clerk who unfortunately spoke maybe 17 words of English, and I probably could have flipped everything for a couple grand when I got home. I went to a large department store twice and got the local prices. The third time, everything was at 10x and still probably a good price but I already had plenty, kinda picked the shelves clean of the top shelf stuff, actually, and also snagged a couple of truly magnificent tea sets for chimp change. "Fine" tea gets stepped on a lot as it passes through the middlemen. Now here at the house we drink basically any jasmine green that is cheap by the pound or kilo on Amazon and no way in hell I would pay 100x just because some tea snobs say it is probably too good for me to properly appreciate, anyway.

The OLD formula VDH Luxury was a really good soap for me, at a couple bucks a puck. About the time they changed it, I found Godrej Rich Lather cream in the red tube in Dubai, and that stuff rocks at about 75 cents a tube, probably about 5x that online. Crazy stuff, and super cheap. I have Proraso and Cella, too, both very excellent and I highly recommend. A couple years ago I grated up a stick of Arko and pressed it into a mug and I am STILL using it, and honestly it isn't bad, the smell has faded but it still lathers great, and I will start using the Cella or my cousin's soap he makes, when I finally get to the bottom of the Arko. Honestly out of the popular brands, there are really only 3 or 4 that are not really up to the task. Cremo, is one. Some will argue with me on this but I call out Williams, also. But lots of so-so soaps with luxury prices usually just cause they smell nice. And some folks simply cannot abide the smell of Arko, although it does lather great and the stick format can be convenient for travel, and the smell fades away by the time your face is dry. For a good middle of the road product I like the Proraso creams and the Cella. For budget, can't beat the Godrej Rich Lather cream or soap, if you can find it at your local Indian shop for a good price.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

You should not compare wool fat to anything, IMO.
Martin de Candre has been extolled here repeatedly. I rotate soaps like I do razors, but LOTS of shaves past and future here.
I am seeing a bit less than half left of a decade-old GLASS jar of original. 50-60 bucks now. 6 bucks for a sample jar.



Should I live long enough to use it up, I have an ice cream bowl in reserve. around 70 bucks now.


Har!!!!!




Don't be stubborn.
You are missing out. I rest my case.

So Thomas
Your now putting soap under a glass dome?
So where is the item you used to keep under there???

I searched high and low for a 4 inch diameter globe. Wound up robbing that from a Christmas 'snow globe'.
Lift it off and stick your nose in...... Heavenly!

Just don't tell Paul!

MdC is good. But not for me. It leaves a waxy film on me and my equipment. I find my skin to feel tight, And my brush hard to absorb water easily the next time I use it.
I've tried many o soaps n creams/croaps. And to be honest, if I could only use one soap, it'd be hard puck of vintage Williams Mug. Just my preference. My skin always feels great, and with a splash of Clubman, I'm a new man. I'm cheap n easy.

But for now, it'll be Castle Forbes, or Zingari Man.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I searched high and low for a 4 inch diameter globe. Wound up robbing that from a Christmas 'snow globe'.
Lift it off and stick your nose in...... Heavenly!

I've been sticking my nose in far too many things as it is Tom
Kind of like this thread for starts.