Col. Ichabod Conk

I havent yet decided what brand of razor/soap/ect to try out first, but I found Col. Ichabod Conk products and I am pretty interested in them. The one thing I really really want to try is their Bay Rum shave soap. I also found that they carry razors. Does anyone have experience with this company especially info about their razors (or any info on them in general is also appreciated)?

Thanks




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Conk soaps:
I have their Bay rum and their Amber The bay rum IMHO is just so-so
The Amber is a great soap very slick shaves....

Give their soaps a try they are a fairly inexpensive glycerine soap. Just don't expect it to last too lang, they seem to get used up fast.

Their razor is by all accounts a rebranded DOVO, at a higher price than DOVO charges for that model.

DO NOT get the Col Conk razor hone it is junk.

All in all the Col Conk brand is decent entry level stuff that is more commonly available than most other manufacturers.

Tim gave you great advice and I'm in 100% agreement FWIW. When it comes to razors, you'd be better off buying from one of our fellow members. That way you'd also be sure it's shave-ready.

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Originally Posted by Wildtim

DO NOT get the Col Conk razor hone it is junk.

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I can attest to that ! At the very least , get a Norton 4k/8k , and a pasted paddle strop .

At one time Conk was a well respected name in shaving supplies however now its just a name. Actually the company is located about 30 minutes from me. They sell the stuff out of a garage or someone's house. All their stuff is generic rebranded stuff.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

At one time Conk was a well respected name in shaving supplies however now its just a name. Actually the company is located about 30 minutes from me. They sell the stuff out of a garage or someone's house. All their stuff is generic rebranded stuff.

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The soaps are good stuff even if they do outsource!

In general I really enjoy the Conk soaps. So far I've tried the Bay Rum, Amber and Almond and have enjoyed all of them. Personally I like their bay rum better than most other brands I've tried. A rumor has it that the soaps are made by the same company that makes the Van Der Hagen that you can often find in Rite Aide and Wal Mart. I can't speak to their razors or other shaving tackle but I would only discourage the almond aftershve balm. It's hard to get out fo the bottle and it burns!!!!

-80s

the Conk soaps are great, as good as any other hard soap out there. I am fond of the almond and bayrum varieties.

when I was a newb I got rolling with a conk set, and although I've bought more stuff since, I still use all of it. the razor is just a Dovo, good quality, the stainless one is a lot of work to sharpen, but stays sharp for a while, the strop is good quality if a bit small.

the hone that comes with it is NOT junk as some have said, it is a good stone, it is just not a FINISHING hone. it is about 2500-3000 grit, so it is handy for working on chips and edges that have deteriorated quite a bit. please note that it definitely did not come flat and needed a bit of flattening. (not more than other stones, really)

that said, there really are cheaper ways to get started, I just saw the conk set in a shop and bought it on impulse 'cause it looked cool, did research later and found I'd overpaid by an embarassingly wide margin. but if you've already gotten it, no need to worry, it's a good set. just make sure you have a finishing stone or two, the Dovo razors are never shave sharp from the factory

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Originally Posted by jockeys

the hone that comes with it is NOT junk as some have said, it is a good stone, it is just not a FINISHING hone. it is about 2500-3000 grit, so it is handy for working on chips and edges that have deteriorated quite a bit. please note that it definitely did not come flat and needed a bit of flattening.

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:HJ With all due respect , jockeys , I think I need to clarify my statements in my previous post . IMHO , the Col. Conk "razor" hone IS junk , if you want to use it as a razor hone . What it is , is a "run of the mill" hard Arkansas stone , glued to a paddle . Although it is an excellent finish hone , for a knife , IMHO it's TOTALLY useless for razors .