I hate Obie

I was out weeding my yard this morning when up drives the mailman with a box. You know how you get these boxes wrapped in tape and plastic with a note saying there was a mishap in transit and you better inspect the contents for damage? Well this box has a note attached saying sorry, I tried my hardest to destroy this box but it was so tough I couldn't do it and now the Post Office says I'm a wimp and fired me and sent me back to the Bronx Zoo-thanks buddy. Signed Louis the Gorilla.

yea I needed my big hinting knife to open this baby it was so well packed. It was the soap from France. You could smell it even with all the security tape on it. Unfortunately my wife saw it and perused the samples and the literature and unfortunately she knows French and now my entire shave budget for the rest of the year is gone. Thanks Obie.

Yes the soap is everything the dude says it is. I always say Castle Forbes is the best shave prep in the whole Universe. I still stand by that but this stuff is the best shaving prep in the multi dimensional Universe. Its that good. My only gripe is, I got the wood bowl and there is no cover! I'm gonna have to grate the stuff into the spare Oskar shave lid and use that to make the lather and use some tacky plastic wrap on top of the soap bowl.

And Louis the Gorilla? I sent him over to Obie's house.

Good choice of soap:)
Obie knows his stuff.

No need to grate it though, it works perfectly well without any lid.
I called the manufacturer(well, the missus did on my behalf. My French is not all that anymore) in France and asked about this very thing, and the kind lady told us that this soap will loose no abilities the first couple of years!

I've had it stored in the wooden bowl now for close to two months, and can't tell any difference in performance at all.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Unfortunately my wife saw it and perused the samples and the literature and unfortunately she knows French and now my entire shave budget for the rest of the year is gone.

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Sorry Nelson, ya should have got in on that group buy idea, then you'd still have a budget for the next 7 months of the year...... :w

Lets see.

Three soaps from England
Two from Italy
One from Germany
One from France
A couple from amErika.
A couple shave creams.

Three badger brushes
Three boar
Two horse hair

two shave mugs
face lathering
hand lathering

I enjoy them ALL...

Ah Spendur - would you perhaps care to divulge what the french soap is?

I would agree, Obie's taste in soaps is seriously good. I've not found anything to top Provence Sante, but I'm not in the right tax bracket for many of the nicer soaps. 'Tried Castle Forbes in a sample. Yup. Its fabulous, but I'll take PS.

'Glad you got a nice care package. If there's a brand, maybe let us know. If its only found in the dungeon below the basement in the barn of rare Alsatian farmhouses - no need.

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Ah Spendur - would you perhaps care to divulge what the french soap is?

I would agree, Obie's taste in soaps is seriously good. I've not found anything to top Provence Sante, but I'm not in the right tax bracket for many of the nicer soaps. 'Tried Castle Forbes in a sample. Yup. Its fabulous, but I'll take PS.

'Glad you got a nice care package. If there's a brand, maybe let us know. If its only found in the dungeon below the basement in the barn of rare Alsatian farmhouses - no need.

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Bob,

The soap of which these gentlemen speak is none other than Martin de Candre. If you haven't tried it, you should. Although, I must warn you, it will ruin you for all other soaps!

Hehe. Some guys brag about their razors. Some guys brag about their hones. Some guy brag about their strops.

Obie is the King Of Soap. :bow

Lori

Ah, my dear friend thebigspendur:

So you, too, have been bitten by Martin de Candre magic. It's the path to shaving heaven, for sure.

By the way, explain to the dearly beloved that shaving with this remarkable soap is a matter of life or death — or something like that. Listen, under the circumstances, I'm all for lying big.

Incidentally, Louis the Gorilla stopped by the house today. I plugged him with wine and he trundled away singing, "Happy Days Are Here Again . . ."

Regards,

Obie

Obie, your taste in suds is amazing.

Pay no attention to that screaming in the background. Its my wallet running for its life.

A quick search doesn't show up any of the usual suspects as to where to buy the stuff (I probably shouldn't ask).

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Obie, your taste in suds is amazing.

Pay no attention to that screaming in the background. Its my wallet running for its life.

A quick search doesn't show up any of the usual suspects as to where to buy the stuff (I probably shouldn't ask).

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Hello, Pinklather:

Thanks for the kind words, my friend. I know what you mean about your wallet running for its life. Then again, Martin de Candre should be, at least, a once in a lifetime experience.

Here is the link to the site: http://www.soaps-martin-de-candre.ic...ving-soap.html

Stay well.

Obie

It sounds appealing. Looks amazing. I'll have to add it to my winter spending money purchase list.
Obie, have you shaved with Al's soaps? If so, how does it compare? Al's is the best stuff I've used yet and I'm in awe of it. The prospect of something better kind of scares me...

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Originally Posted by bharner

It sounds appealing. Looks amazing. I'll have to add it to my winter spending money purchase list.
Obie, have you shaved with Al's soaps? If so, how does it compare? Al's is the best stuff I've used yet and I'm in awe of it. The prospect of something better kind of scares me...

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Hello, bharner:

Al doesn't not make soaps, does he? I thought his were all creams.

I'm afraid I have only a scant knowledge of Al's creams. A friend sent me some samples and I especially liked Calypso, which gave me some lavender notes — and I really like lavender. I passed on the Bay Rum, however, because I don't like the Bay Rum fragrance in any product, soap, cream or aftershave.

Al's creams are highly regarded here. I do have them on my list to try.

Regards,

Obie

Indeed, Obie, they are creams. Kind of a hard cream, compared to some I have tried. I know soaps and creams tend to lather differently but the photos of bowls full of lather on the Martin de Candre looked more creamy than soapy. If that makes sense...

bharner,

Al's Bomb and MdC are very different in many respects. First, as noted, they are creme vs. soap. I will tell you that MdC does not lather the way I've always experienced soaps to lather. I get the larger, lighter bubble type of lather from most soaps. MdC is much more of a thick, structured lather IME. Al's Bomb, of which I am a HUGE fan, develops a thicker lather, and is incredibly slick. The MdC leaves a "lighter" consistency, but gives incredible cushion and glide.

One advantage Bomb has is the tremendous variety of scents available (literally limited only by your wallet in terms of breadth of scents) whereas MdC has but a single scent (which I happen to love) or unscented versions. The MdC is quite simply, probably the perfect soap IMHO; Bomb is pretty darn close to being a perfect creme IMHO.

Bottom line, if your wallet can support it, you'd be crazy not to have some of both in your den!

I may have to give this a try after the gorilla delivers my bowl of La Toja

OK Spendur,

Great read! I am afraid I am missing something. You exceed your shaving gear budget, the Missus finds out and is p***ed off, where does Obie fit in?

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Originally Posted by Kees

I am afraid I am missing something. You exceed your shaving gear budget, the Missus finds out and is p***ed off, where does Obie fit in?

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How does Obie fit in? He's the one spreading the gospel of Martin de Candre, letting all of us know that we are missing out on a divine splendor of the universe - that's how Obie fits in. He won't be happy until we have been converted, too - and our wallets are a little lighter just like his! :roflmao

I attempted to enter Martin de Candre shave soap heaven yesterday, but alas heaven--at least in the 170g size--was out-of-stock and back ordered. :cry:

What can a man in search of the perfect shaving soap do to be saved?

I have dubbed Obie "The Lord High..err....Soap Dope".

I've already got RAD and BAD. If I keep reading this forum I'll be SAD too.

Lori

lori dont fight it just go with it, think about it, you could spend all your money on high end teas, and pipe tobaccos, oh wait, thats me, or just buy soap, ones enjoyment comes in many forms.

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Originally Posted by LegalBeagle

The MdC is quite simply, probably the perfect soap IMHO; Bomb is pretty darn close to being a perfect creme IMHO.

Bottom line, if your wallet can support it, you'd be crazy not to have some of both in your den!

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Dang it... Now I gotta figure out how to sneak some MdC in to my den in a few months when I let my budget build up again...
My folks are on a two week cruise down the Rhine and I gave them a list of soaps to find for me if they get some time to explore... I'll have to see how poor I am when they get back :)

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Originally Posted by wvloony

lori dont fight it just go with it, think about it, you could spend all your money on high end teas, and pipe tobaccos, oh wait, thats me, or just buy soap, ones enjoyment comes in many forms.

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The McC sounds wonderful. Lavendar and mint. What scent does Bomb have? Is there a link for their site?

Lori

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Originally Posted by LoriB

The McC sounds wonderful. Lavendar and mint. What scent does Bomb have? Is there a link for their site?

Lori

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The Bomb can be found at Al's Shaving Products or you can PM AlRaz here on SRP. He produces several scents, and will do custom scents as well!

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Originally Posted by LoriB

The McC sounds wonderful. Lavendar and mint. What scent does Bomb have? Is there a link for their site?

Lori

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Al's Shaving Products

If you like menthol, do the custom scent and ask for "Chillwhip". It smells like Noxzema. Also, the Clary Sage is amazing.

Honestly I am not sure who is more to blame here Obie for finding the Soap or TBS for starting this thread. But I was just googling the MdeC to figure out costs.. so I am tossing both of you under the bus to the Missus :)

When she sees how smooth and supple your face is after shaving with MdC, Mrs. SixGun will forget all about what you spent!

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Originally Posted by LegalBeagle

When she sees how smooth and supple your face is after shaving with MdC, Mrs. SixGun will forget all about what you spent!

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Glen:

My good friend LegalBeagle speaks wisely. Martin de candre is that good. Don't forget, if the dearly beloved is pleased with your handsome and smooth face, she in turn will want ladies products for herself from Martin de Candre. After that you're free to buy out the store.

Regards,

Obie

You know Obie, I think we cleaned them out of all their shaving soap. I'll bet their scratching their heads trying to figure out what's going on.

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Originally Posted by jhenry

I attempted to enter Martin de Candre shave soap heaven yesterday, but alas heaven--at least in the 170g size--was out-of-stock and back ordered. :cry:

What can a man in search of the perfect shaving soap do to be saved?

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My wallet is so happy to hear this. :p:angel: !

In looking at their site I was happy to see that they
discussed how they made their shave soap. That in
turn reinforced my long held opinion that a well
made well compounded classic soap is a winner.

It pays to read and keep track of the ingredients in
your shave soaps. I believe that we will all find a family
of soaps that match our likes and expectations.

For Martin de Candre it might pay to read this:

Marseille soap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A blend of olive oil and palm oil or a palm and
copra oil mixture will make a fine thick lather. This
is why I commonly mention Kirks soap in discussions
on grating and mixing hard soaps. The budget minded
might find that grating Williams and a bar of Kirks
will result in a grand shave soap for little $$. After grating
and tossing to mix perhaps with a touch of clay then
spritz to moisten and then press into a handy container
and test shave.

Or place an order for Martin de Candre and give it a test shave
when your back order arrives. FWIW: The French shave soaps
moved up a big notch for me when I tried "Pre de Provence"
shave soap.

Edit:
This link is interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleppo_soap
It tells me why olive oil alone does not make
a good shave soap and also why the old
pucks of soap can be so valued. I am going
to store some pucks of Williams in my soap
cellar and make a killing in 20 years selling
vintage shave soaps.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You know Obie, I think we cleaned them out of all their shaving soap. I'll bet their scratching their heads trying to figure out what's going on.

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My dear thebigspendur:

You are right. I can just hear them saying, "Who are these people?" Ah, but if they only realized they've put smiles on a wedge formation of straight shaving swashbucklers.

What's more, I think we've caught them at their most vulnerable point. Now if the noble Lynn Abrams knocks on their door and asks to carry Martin de Cande at Straight Razor Designs and if they agree, I'll be the first in line to stock up on the soap — for me and my two-year-old grandson. For the next few years I can continue to show him how to use the soap, and by the time he is ready to shave, I'll be ready to order another boxful of that good stuff.

Oh, noble Lynn: I hope you're listening.

Regards,

Obie

Dog gone, Obie! You really know how to hurt a guy. Now I've gotta try this soap!

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Originally Posted by GeauxLSU

Dog gone, Obie! You really know how to hurt a guy. Now I've gotta try this soap!

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My dear Wayne:

I get the feeling you will like it. The soap is incredible. Think of it as heavenly nectar for the shaver's soul.

Regards,

Obie