Thread: Barrister & Mann

My wife and I were at market at the Round Barn just outside of Margaretville, or Roxbury depending on the direction you are traveling from. We usually go there for cheese and vegetables and sometimes meat. Today I found a stand, more like a table, where a woman was selling shaving soaps. As the market is rather small and the vendors/farmers are usually repeats this woman stood out as a new vendor. I may have been mistaken but I thought she said her son makes the soap, which now seems strange as the website for this company states Boston as its location, and the part of New York mountains I was in is a far "over 5 hour" cry from Boston.

Meantime I bought two of the shaving soaps (I believe there were 8 varieties): Seville and Summer Solstice. These are Glycerin products with some tallow and added scents. You can check out the full ingredients on their web site.

Truthfully I have never been able to work up a really thick lather with a glycerin product but I know others have.

The soaps were offered in wrapped paper (an extra $2.00 per for the screw top tin) so I ended up dropping $25.00 for the two that I bought (I went for the tins on both).

I just tried the Seville. It has a distinct classic barbershop smell to it. I got a semi decent fluid lather for my first pass but it laid down into a thick cream on my second attempt to later up for my upstroke passes.

It did leave me with a pleasant feeling and a not so overpowering smell.

Anyone else ever tried these products?

No, I haven't tried it yet but have a puck on order. I have read some positive reviews about this soap.

You got a deal on the tin. It's 3 bucks online. Or Mom's cash register is going to be short :<0) I could be a better shopper for soap if I knew more about the scent. Every time I try to pick I might as well toss a coin to decide. I think if I was going to try one of these it would be the lime,lavender,cedarwood. I understand what the name is saying although I have no idea what they would smell like mixed.

MrBlimp, I want to thank you for your business. It's great to see that wetshavers are out and about in the wild. However, I also wanted to offer a few clarifications:

The soap is made mainly from stearic acid and tallow with added glycerin, not the other way around. We manufacture the soap from scratch and do not use any pre-manufactured soap bases in our product. The ingredients list the components of the formula from largest proportion (stearic acid) to smallest proportion (Tocopherol Acetate, or Vitamin E). We do add extra glycerin to the formula, but it's pretty far down the list.

As for the location, my parents are graciously making the soap for me in New York until I return from San Francisco. We are indeed headquartered in Boston as that is where I spend most of my time while I attend school during the regular year.

Regarding the price of the soap, I would imagine that you are misremembering. Any soap that comes in a tin is an additional $3. The math of $25 doesn't add up because even at $2 per tin, the total would come to $14 ($12 for the Solstice + $2 tin) + $12 ($10 for the Seville + $2 tin), for a total of $26, not $25. I say this only because I wouldn't want anyone to believe that we are trying to sell them a dishonestly priced product. Please let me know if anyone has any further questions and happy shaving!

I recommend you try their Bay Rum Soap. Actually smells like Bay Rum.

Originally Posted by BarristerNMann

The soap is made mainly from stearic acid and tallow with added glycerin, not the other way around.

I guess I upset someone, but that wasn’t my intention - I wasn't suggesting the ingredients were more of one item than another. In fact I stated "You can check out the full ingredients on their web site." had I known anyone was going to quote me without doing their own research I would have said "You should check .... for yourself" but I figured what I said was enough to get people to go to the site for themselves.

As to the exact dollar of the sale I could have been wrong, or your mom could have made a mistake - I am glad you clarified the costs to everyone - I hadn't expected that anyone would quote me on the price.

I also wasn't trying to say that there was something fishy about what your mom said and what the site stated. I was just mentioning what I experienced because the site doesn't really provide the info I received.

As to the soap, I enjoyed the shave with the Seville soap. I enjoyed the scent. And I am still enjoying it almost 12 hours later.

One thing I can tell anyone considering the purchase of one of these soaps is that the tin is a great deal and well worth it.

Originally Posted by MrBlimp

I guess I upset someone, but that wasn’t my intention - I wasn't suggesting the ingredients were more of one item than another. In fact I stated "You can check out the full ingredients on their web site." had I known anyone was going to quote me without doing their own research I would have said "You should check .... for yourself" but I figured what I said was enough to get people to go to the site for themselves.

As to the exact dollar of the sale I could have been wrong, or your mom could have made a mistake - I am glad you clarified the costs to everyone - I hadn't expected that anyone would quote me on the price.

I also wasn't trying to say that there was something fishy about what your mom said and what the site stated. I was just mentioning what I experienced because the site doesn't really provide the info I received.

As to the soap, I enjoyed the shave with the Seville soap. I enjoyed the scent. And I am still enjoying it almost 12 hours later.

One thing I can tell anyone considering the purchase of one of these soaps is that the tin is a great deal and well worth it.

No offense was taken in the slightest. I just wanted to make sure that the details were clear; I strive for the greatest transparency possible in my business practices and believe very strongly in explaining exactly what is in my products and why it's there. I actually have a segment of my site devoted to that very purpose (Shaving Soap &mdash; Barrister & Mann Fine Shaving Products) and will enlarge it as I expand the product line.

I am also working on an "About Us" section in order to explain a bit more about the business, who we are, and why we do what we do. But I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed the shave and the scent and I'm glad to hear that you are satisfied with your purchase. Thanks again and best wishes!

It's good you fill in the blanks. Set the record straight. If you don't we will :<0)

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I could be a better shopper for soap if I knew more about the scent. Every time I try to pick I might as well toss a coin to decide.

I could be a better shopper for soap if I knew more about the scent. Every time I try to pick I might as well toss a coin to decide.

That's always an issue for me as well, and I could never buy a scented product without having actually smelled it myself. What I can say is that these soaps really smelled extremely close to exactly like what the names state.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I think if I was going to try one of these it would be the lime,lavender,cedarwood.

Personally I didn't care for this variety, but then again I also didn't like the Bay Rum, which stands to reason as I do not like overly smelly scents. That's not to say these products were bad, as I have enjoyed the one I have used so far. It is just my personal preference.

So after stumbling on this thread I ordered the Seville, 'cause I am a sucker for the phrase "traditional barbershop scent" and "bergamot" in the same sentence.

I was not disappointed.
Scent is an instant trip down memory lane for someone whose early childhood memories included sweeping my Grandfathers barbershop.

Performance - I did a shaving no-no, tried a new razor and a new soap in the same shave - (7/8 Hart Steel Satin Square point) - fantastic.

They included a sample of the Lime/Lavender/Cedarwood - I kinda wished now I had ordered the sampler...

And yes I know there are so many great choices out there - but I have paid more for results that were not even close. (IMHO, YMMV)