I Think I'm Turning Into Obie.

Title says it all.


I met Obie at the Kenosha, WI meetup a couple months ago. He came in as quite an unassuming character, just chuckling at all our jokes. Then he opens this small case he brought with him, only to unveil two of the most beautiful Hess razors I've ever seen. After this, he starts telling us of all the travels he's been on, his time spent in Syria, fantastic stories of people he worked alongside while in Public Radio...etc, you get the idea.

Then I find out that he loves soaps, too!

So I just perused Al's website, looking at all the soaps he has to offer, not easily deciding which one I would love to try, only to (at the bottom) find a 7-day set of samples. I just about broke my jaw when it hit the floor.

Oh, and I've got a jar of Martin de Candre coming soon, too.

And apparently there's this little company called Castle Forbes that makes some good soap, too. And Truefitt & Hill. And Colonial. And Mama Bear. Not to mention Mitchell's Wool Fat, Proraso, Shave Den, SRD Custom soaps, Omega, Connaught, L'Occitane (I don't even know how to SAY that!), Trumpers, Crabtree&Evelyn, Tabac, KD Creations, CarrieM's custom soaps....

I figure that at my going-rate, I'll eventually get to try all of those within the next 30 years. Not bad!

Now all I need to do to complete the transformation is buy me some DE's!

Any advice?
Anyone else have this problem?

My dearest Derek,

I have gone to great lengths to resist this problem. It seems futile.

Kindest regards,
Lee.

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Originally Posted by hoglahoo

My dearest Derek,

I have gone to great lengths to resist this problem. It seems futile.

Kindest regards,
Lee.

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Sound advice, my friend. Sound Advice.

Now you got to take care cause the dude ain't exactly what he seems to be. Cousin Festus is investigating him right now and we'll have more to say about this down the road a piece. From what I've seen in advance it reads like one of those fellas in the Canterbury Tales.:)

Gentlemen,

You honor me. How kind of you. All of you are a class act.

My dear Derek,

I enjoyed meeting you, as well, and all the other friends. It was a great day at the meet. The two Hess razors, The Randy (named after our own Randydance, who honed it), and The Ron, (named after our own Utopian, who honed it) are as pretty as ever. They not only are gorgeous, but they are also fabulous shavers. Sweet, sweet, sweet. I must admit, Randy and Ron are first class hone masters.

By the way, I'm not from Syria. I am a full-blooded Assyrian, born in Baghdad, Iraq, and I lived in Tehran, Iran, until my early teens. If you look at my avatar, it's the image of Alaha Ashur, the god Ashur, the ancient Assyrian god, who also is the symbol of the Assyrian nation.

Yes, I miss radio. Those were fun years.

My dear hoglahoo,

in my book you will always be The Swashbuckler. Your name, hoglahoo, always reminds of Errol Flynn, sword in hand, swinging from rope on a pirate ship in the waters near Tortuga.

And my dear thebigspendur,

We must open a restaurant: you bring in the fish and I'll cook it. Uncle Festus can command the bar, and we can always use him as a bouncer. And, oh, yes, instead of a silly Karioke in the joint, we'll hold readings of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" and have young Derek hold demonstrations with the straight razor.

Ah, the good life.

Oh, one more thing: this past weekend I put my mitts on a Wade & Butcher, which is on the way to that Amazing artist Maximillian for a renaissance. I can't wait to see what he does with it. The gentleman's work is dazzling.

Stay well all, and may good fortune swim in your lane.

Regards,

Obie

Perhaps the wallet should have to have a cooling off period after talking to Obie about soaps - no purchases for a month or something. His taste in suds is exquisite. Fortunately not ALL of them cost body parts. If there's one opinion I want on a soap/cream - its Obie's.

All I know is that I'm hoping this creamy thirst will at least be mildly quenched once I has me some MdC. The way Obie speaks of it, you'd think it was concocted by Galadriel, herself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DerekC

All I know is that I'm hoping this creamy thirst will at least be mildly quenched once I has me some MdC. The way Obie speaks of it, you'd think it was concocted by Galadriel, herself.

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It is!!!!!!!!!!!
Obie is The Herald of all things Soapy and Clean!!!!:angel:

Paul

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DerekC

Title says it all.
...snip...
Any advice?
Anyone else have this problem?

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No advice... Welcome to the adiction.

let's not forget obie's number 2 soap of choice.. provence sante.. that is some lovely stuff.

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Originally Posted by Pops!

let's not forget obie's number 2 soap of choice.. provence sante.. that is some lovely stuff.

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Oh, no..that sounds new! Now i'll have to check THAT one out and see if I like it.

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Originally Posted by DerekC

Oh, no..that sounds new! Now i'll have to check THAT one out and see if I like it.

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Hello, Derek:

My friend Victor is right on that one: Provence Sante is a lovely soap. I use Provence Sante Verlaine, named after the great French poet Paul Verlaine. There is also the green tea version. I have it in the pottery tub, which resembles a small planting pot. Good stuff, this. It has luscious lather with a soft floral and soap fragrance. The cushion and glide are ideal. This is soap that, I think, belongs in every shave den. I have several pucks of it, because you never know when the world will end.

Regards,

Obie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Obie

I have several pucks of it, because you never know when the world will end.

Regards,

Obie

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And that, my friends, is why I must buy so much soap. Because you never know.

I must agree the Provence Sante is quite nice. I too respect Obie's advice relating to all things shaving, not just soap. I believe that Obie is one of the most well-versed members in regards to soap. But the pics of his shave den prove he has a passion that truly runs deep.

It was Obie's recommendation of PS that got me paying attention to his tastes in Suds. PS IS that good, and is one that isn't that costly. Bang for the buck - I've not found anything that tops it. Wallet constraints prevent trying the more costly fair, but w/ a soap this good, who cares.

Where can this new wonder-soap be had?

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Originally Posted by DerekC

Where can this new wonder-soap be had?

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Hello, Derek:

Here is a good site for you. They are good people.

Provence Sant Men's Shaving - Bath and beauty products - imported and hand crafted from Baudelaire Soaps

Regards,

Obie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DerekC

And that, my friends, is why I must buy so much soap. Because you never know.

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I am so glad to hear that other people share my sentiments (::cough::: excuses) for buying too much soaps/creams. While my girlfriend doesn't really agree that it's a good excuse, I sleep well at night knowing that if the world ends tomorrow, at least I will be one of the smoothest shaved and best smelling men in the wild blue yonder.

nobody wants to meet their maker with 2 days' stubble and a bad case of razor burn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Derek:

Here is a good site for you. They are good people.

Provence Sant Men's Shaving - Bath and beauty products - imported and hand crafted from Baudelaire Soaps

Regards,

Obie

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The site is quite inexpensive, too! Where are they shipping from?

Hello, Derek:

To my knowledge, the site, named after the French poet Baudelaire, is in the U.S. They have good stuff there.

Regards,

Obie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Derek:

To my knowledge, the site, named after the French poet Baudelaire, is in the U.S. They have good stuff there.

Regards,

Obie

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I'm definitely going to try it, right after I get my precious Martin de Candre