The Obie Memorial First Tier Soaps and Creams Thread.

[Gasman]

I've tried out the Baume.be now a few times and this is my take...
The Pre-shave gel leaves an oily feel to the skin. To the point that if you try to stretch the skin it hard to get a grip. Even with using a bit of Alum on the fingertips. Not happy with it from that point but it does soften the whiskers nicely. I normally would work up a wet lather on my face then brush teeth and strop. Then with warm water massage the lather into the whiskers and skin then re-lather. This does about the same thing but a little quicker but I'm not too happy about the oily feeling.

The Shave cream is very nice. Very soft so that you got to be careful as to not pick up too much on your brush when loading. The lather feels nice but I'd say its a step down from the Castle Forbes. Not as slick IMHO.

For what its worth, this is my opinion!

[Obie]

Gasman,

I have yet to find any shave cream that can match Castle Forbes in overall quality. Baum.Be is a fine shave cream. So is Xpec. And a few others. All are First Tier. Still, none is on the same level of overall quality as Castle Forbes. To me, anyway.

Actually, the Castle Forbes triumvirate — pre-shave, shave cream and aftershave balm — is top of the line in every respect. That's why I use them as the standard of quality when judging other products. Love the stuff. All this, of course, my opinion.

[Gasman]

Gasman,

I have yet to find any shave cream that can match Castle Forbes in overall quality. Baum.Be is a fine shave cream. So is Xpec. And a few others. All are First Tier. Still, none is on the same level of overall quality as Castle Forbes. To me, anyway.

Actually, the Castle Forbes triumvirate — pre-shave, shave cream and aftershave balm — is top of the line in every respect. That's why I use them as the standard of quality when judging other products. Love the stuff. All this, of course, my opinion.

Well, Thanks for your opinion. I don't normally use any pre-shave stuff. I just thought I'd give it a try. I still have a few more soaps on my list to try but the list is getting very small now days. Guess that is good but I still have enough soap for a couple years to go thru before I can just use the good stuff. ha. Thanks @Obie.

[SemperFi]

It's been about 10+ days since posting for slick cream recommendations, and I've been test driving Castle Forbes' lavender shaving cream and lavender AS balm for just over a week, so figured I'd post a small update.

I'm sold--awesome stuff! Or as you put it a few posts back, Obie "celestial!" I now also have CF lime cream and AS on order (likely will pass on their cedar/sandalwood, as those are scents I don't particularly care for).

Rather than form an opinion of a soap after a use or two, I always like test driving a new soap for about 1 to 2 weeks so that I really get a feel for the product and I extended that process to CF. After using CF for just over a week, wow, its slickness is superb and it's overall performance is outstanding. I've been able to concentrate on improving technique rather than fighting/figuring out lathering for a straight!

Again all, thanks for the CF recommendation--will keep using it for the next few months until I feel my SR technique is truly solid, then will start returning to some favorite soaps and see how well they and I perform w/ straights.

[MedicineMan]

It's been about 10+ days since posting for slick cream recommendations, and I've been test driving Castle Forbes' lavender shaving cream and lavender AS balm for just over a week, so figured I'd post a small update.

I'm sold--awesome stuff! Or as you put it a few posts back, Obie "celestial!" I now also have CF lime cream and AS on order (likely will pass on their cedar/sandalwood, as those are scents I don't particularly care for).

Rather than form an opinion of a soap after a use or two, I've always like test driving a new soap for about 1 to 2 weeks so that I really get a feel for the product and I extended that process to CF. After using CF for just over a week, wow, its slickness is superb and it's overall performance is outstanding. I've been able to concentrate on improving technique rather than fighting/figuring out lathering for a straight!

Again all, thanks for the CF recommendation--will keep using it for the next few months until I feel my SR technique is truly solid, then will start returning to some favorite soaps and see how well they and I perform w/ straights.

That CF Lime is GLORIOUS!

[SemperFi]

That CF Lime is GLORIOUS!

Looking forward to it, Jer!

[Gasman]

Im sure loving the lime. The scent is right on not counting all the important stuff. Great stuff. Id buy a case of it if I could.

[Pete123]

Right now Baum.be is my favorite. I'll have to break out the Castle Forbes to remind myself.

In my opinion, many of the American artisans have improved their soap base to the point that they are awesome. Yes, they are a few points below the Baum.be, XPEC and Klar's of the world, though from a close comfortable shave perspective, they are really good.

[Obie]

Gentlemen,

I soared to heaven this morning with Castle Forbes lime shave cream and aftershave balm and am not leaving until they throw me out.

Castle Forbes shave cream sets the standard by which I judge all shave creams. For me, it is close to the perfect shave cream, offered in three scents: lavender, cedarwood & sandalwood, and lime. Each is perfect in its own scent.

With the warm weather uplifting the mood at my chateau, I begin to lean toward the lighter scents and especially those with abundant lime and orange notes. Thus Castle Forbes lime shave cream and aftershave balm. The fragrance of lime in these two products is clean and fresh. Like fresh squeezed lime. And it is intoxicating.

This morning I closed my shave with a splash of Taylor of Old Bond Street's Number 74 Victoria lime, an aftershave with its own complexity. The pre-shave was Castle Forbes unscented; the brush, the Simpson Chubby 2 in super badger; and the razor, the Gotta 120 6/8 with its silky edge.

Indeed, I am still in heaven.

[thebigspendur]

Sacre Bleu! You dethroned MDC????