Thread: King of Shaves

Can anyone tell me about King of Shaves Shaving Oil? What's it for, how it's used and is this product a good one? Are there better ones on the market? This was in walmart for under $4. Is there a big quality difference between this and other brands? Would this be used directly on the skin or would I put a few dros in my shaving mug? I have been using the williams soap and am looking to expand my horizons.
Thanks, ROY

YMMV with any shaving oil. They are designed to be used alone, but it seems most people use them as a pre-shave. WHen I use one, I apply 8 or so drops to each side of my face before applying my cream or soap.

The KOS made a little bit of difference for me, but it has some cooling/numbing agents I didn't care for and it was too "oily." Try Pacific Shaving Oil. It also makes a subtle difference, especially in the dry months when my skin doesn't lube up as well. PSO smells pleasant and rinses away cleanly. Several of the top shelf English cream companies are making a shaving oil now as well, but I haven't tried them.

Roy,

If you want to use a "pre" shave treatment, I would recommend Proraso Pre-Shave Cream, available at Target in their new Spa section. It can actually be used as a pre-shave and a post-shave treatment.

RT

Originally Posted by rtaylor61

Roy,

If you want to use a "pre" shave treatment, I would recommend Proraso Pre-Shave Cream, available at Target in their new Spa section. It can actually be used as a pre-shave and a post-shave treatment.

RT

Very true. I use it everyday as a pre shave option and I love it. In addition at $7.99 works for me.

I gave that KOS oil stuff a whirl, and it's "alright." It felt pretty good on my face, kinda like when you consume something with a lot of menthol. It smelled pretty good too, which is really handy.

As far as shaving performance, when mixed with some of the GFT lime shaving cream, it kept my lather down, I felt. I wasn't able to produce as rich a lather, as quickly. However, my face remained slick and fairly moist throughout the shave process.

~kev.

I've tried the art of shaving shave oil and though it smells nice I didn't find it made any difference in my shave results. Also keep in mind many shave brush manufacturers recommend you do not use any shave oil with their brushes as it has some negative effect. Of course if your using a drug store special it doesn't matter.

Getting pre-shave oil on your brush is not really different than applying pomade or any other dressing to your own hair. If you begin to get buildup...there is a one word solution...shampoo. Richard at SMF has been using Pacific Shave Oil on all of his passes for quite some time. No negative effect.

RT

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I guess the worst that will happen is that I'll learn something first hand (or face). Thanks for all the input. I'll post results in a few days

I'm used to using that stuff when I use my Mach 3 (don't have a good straight yet) and it does make the shave a little bit smoother. It just feels a bit slicker. I also tried it on my (quite) blunt straight razors and it helped to keep the burning feeling down a bit. Don't know what it's like with a sharp straight though.

Well, I tried it and really didn't care one way or the other. The smell was OK but a bit too strong for me. I guess I'll use what's left and try something else later. Thank you all for your opinions and advice.

Regards, ROY