Frederich Ern & Co
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| An absolute pleasure to work on and hone. |
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
WSO Shave of the Day!
Monday 4/28/2014
Schick Type E Injector
Schick Injector Blade
Shave Factory Small Horsehair Brush
WSO Pre-Shave Oil (new batch)
WSO Vetiver Premium Shave Sop
WSO Vetiver Aftershave Blash
So today I used some new products and an old blade. I knew the Blade in this Type E injector pretty much had it but I wanted to see how the shave would go using the WSO products and a known beat blade. This is my favorite if the Schick Injectors, one of the most aggressive. I like the way this razor shaves very much.
The brush is a Shaving Factory $10 shipped horsehair brush. Now there has been debate that this is not horsehair at all but boar. I am not certain how anyone could question if this is horse of not once it gets wet. This smells like wet horse. Doubts erased. Rarely can I leave anything alone I get and thats the case with this brush. I sanded the cheap finish on it and coated it with 3 coats of spar urethane, sanding between all coats. If you are looking for an intro to horse brush this one is a great value at only $10 and is not a bad brush. It only shed a few hair in the beginning then stopped. Its prob got 40 test lathers and a few shave uses under its belt. Hey for $10 shipped- its a darn good value. Its no Vie-Long , but it isnt bad at all.
Today's shave was interesting. I mainly wanted to see if the Pre-Shave Oil and the Soap could help to overcome a blade that needed replacing. I will be honest, it cant 100%. It can help, but it cant overcome it. I did half my face in Pre-Shave Oil, half with none. The half with none was less comfortable to shave and there was more pull for certain. The side with the Pre-Shave Oil was better but I could still detect the blade needed replacing. I was sufficiently satisfied that indeed the Pre-Shave was making a difference.
On to the soap. this is a new vetiver scent of WSO Soap that may be released shortly. It is out with testers right now, probably just a formality as the real boss, my wife, likes it. As you may have heard me say before, if she likes a scent you might as well just go with it. She seems to have that knack. Plus she provides that ever important spouses opinion that can result in the pleasant purchasing experience of a product. In all seriousness Im liking this scent. In fact it is one of those that initially I liked it and thought yes I think this would be we received to now smelling it often thinking there is something about it I really like but haven't figured out yet.
The Vetiver Aftershave Blash offered a great finish to not the smoothest shave. It was a great way to test the soothing properties of the balm, the dull blade that is. In spite of a fairly rough shave, my face feels pretty good.
Actually in spite of the poor blade condition overall the shave outcome is not that bad. All in all it was an interesting shave experience and I very much enjoyed the new scent and the performance of the Pre-Shave Oil. I accomplished my goal and look forward to a shave tomorrow with a finely honed & stropped straight or a new med prep, feather or personnna lab! lol
I hope you all have fantastic shaves today!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession
Sunday, April 27, 2014
WSO Shave of the Day!
Sunday 4/27/2014
Vintage 4/8" Severin French Point Straight
Vie-Long Peleon Brown Horsehair Brush
WSO Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil
WSO Bill the Barber Soap
WSO Green Irish Tweed Balm
I will keep this short and sweet. Had a fantastic shave tonight, This Severin was everything I hoped it would be and more. The razor came to me in fantastic condition. I washed it and lightly hand polished scales and then blade. I freshened it with 40 laps with green compound then stropped it, then it was ready to shave. Arm hairs were flying. I was very fortunate to receive a razor that was so well taken care of.
This razor provides excellent maneuverability and great audible feedback. I could hear the whiskers slicing, it was very very nice.
I am very pleased and proud of the new Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil. It works wonderfully. Both softening and conditioning the whiskers while acting on the pore of the skin causing the whiskers to extend and stiffen then slightly. I attribute this to the very minimal amount of SD40 which is just enough to keep menthol is solution and maintain product sterility. That being said its astringent qualities def assist the menthol in exerting its effects on the pores of the skin.
I got the Bill the Barber lather to my desired "straight shave" consistency and it performed beautifully. I had way more than required for the single pass and multiple touch ups.
This was a full straight only shave , my 2nd in a row, and it came out better than yesterdays. I think my straight technique is improving.
Now usually I use a blash post straight shave, but today I decided to go with the Balm. What a pleasant choice. Bot only do I love the Green Irish Tweed scent, the balm is rich and soothing without that greasy feel. My skin feels very soft and moisturized and well protected at the moment.
All in all this was a very good shave. im thrilled with the new straight and pleased with the product performance. I enjoyed this shave very much!
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsesssion
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is NOT Sodium Laureth Sulfate !!
Sadly sometimes in forums information gets passed around that is often inaccurate. I don't think this is intentional at all, but it happens all the time. The thing that is frightening about it is it gets adopted, accepted, and regurgitated as fact.
I am specifically referring to some confusion I recently observed regarding Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate.
You see Sodium Laureth Sulfate is a synthetically derived detergent that is synthesized using sulfuric acid. It can be a potential skin irritant and I would never use it in my soap.
Now Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a completely different animal. It is a very mild, skin friendly, foaming agent that is naturally derived from palm and coconut oil. It has virtually no irritant properties whatsoever in the concentration used and I use it in my soaps without hesitation.
Now it is easy to see where some serious misinformation could be perpetrated given the closeness of the names of the 2 substances and how people might assume based on that that they were the same thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would strongly encourage those that have any questions regarding ingredient or ingredient properties to go ahead and email me or contact me via twitter or pm me on the forums. I will be more than happy to accurately answer any questions you might have.
This actually ties in well as I have been considering doing a featured ingredient of the month write up here on the blog. This write up could be on Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate this month; The all natural , skin friendly, mild, irritation free lathering agent used in WSO Premium Shave Soap!
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaaveObsession
I am specifically referring to some confusion I recently observed regarding Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate.
You see Sodium Laureth Sulfate is a synthetically derived detergent that is synthesized using sulfuric acid. It can be a potential skin irritant and I would never use it in my soap.
Now Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a completely different animal. It is a very mild, skin friendly, foaming agent that is naturally derived from palm and coconut oil. It has virtually no irritant properties whatsoever in the concentration used and I use it in my soaps without hesitation.
Now it is easy to see where some serious misinformation could be perpetrated given the closeness of the names of the 2 substances and how people might assume based on that that they were the same thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would strongly encourage those that have any questions regarding ingredient or ingredient properties to go ahead and email me or contact me via twitter or pm me on the forums. I will be more than happy to accurately answer any questions you might have.
This actually ties in well as I have been considering doing a featured ingredient of the month write up here on the blog. This write up could be on Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate this month; The all natural , skin friendly, mild, irritation free lathering agent used in WSO Premium Shave Soap!
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaaveObsession
Pre-Shave Oil Back & Mentholed Pre-Shave Oil Released!
Our Original Pre-Shave Oil is back in stock: WSO Ultimate Pre-Shave Oil
Our New Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil is now released: WSO Ultimate Skincare Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil
For those users of Pre-Shave Oil take your Pre-Shave Oil to the next level. For those that have tried Pre-Shave Oils and said they make no difference, try one that is designed to truly make a difference!
Thanks to everyone for their patronage and support. It is only due to that that new product offerings such as the Ultimate Skincare Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil are possible. For that I am truly grateful.
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession
Our New Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil is now released: WSO Ultimate Skincare Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil
For those users of Pre-Shave Oil take your Pre-Shave Oil to the next level. For those that have tried Pre-Shave Oils and said they make no difference, try one that is designed to truly make a difference!
Thanks to everyone for their patronage and support. It is only due to that that new product offerings such as the Ultimate Skincare Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil are possible. For that I am truly grateful.
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession
Saturday, April 26, 2014
WSO Saturday Straight Shave of the Day!
Saturday 4/26/2014
Wm Elliot & Co Straight Razor
Simpson Colonel X2L
WSO Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil
WSO White Lightning Soap
WSO White Lightning Blash
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| Nice Consistency Straight Razor Shave Lather for me. YMMV |
This was a very pleasant shave from start to finish. This is one of the few straight razors I have that I got pretty much already restored. Most of them need at the very least need a serious cleaning, blade and scale polishing, and serious honing. This razor came 100% shave ready and in beautiful condition. It is a Wm Elliot & Co 5/8"and it is a very nice shaving razor in my opinion.
Now I am no straight razor expert by any means and it is only recently I got back into shaving with a straight. I have to say it has rejuvenated my excitement for wetshaving, not that it needed it, but it has! I am enjoying both the shaving and in many cases the razor restoring and the razor preparation as well.
Prep for todays shave was a hot water face wash and WSO Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil. This is actually being released today as a new product. I will be posting a write up upon its release so I will not say too much here. I have been using this for some time, many of you if you follow my SOTD have seen me using it. I will say one this. I have heard many, many, times that Pre-Shave Oil does nothing for someone's shave, or, "I have tried it and it didnt make a difference". This Pre-Shave Oil is actually designed to do something. For me it makes a difference during the shave, it makes a difference in the end result.
The soap used is WSO White Lightning, a favorite choice of mine for straight razor shaves. It and the Lime seem to be my go to's when I use a straight for some unplanned, random, reason. Perhaps because I really enjoy the Blash after a straight shave and I have matching Blash in those 2 scents! The soap scent is not a conscious one, the Blash use post straight shave definitely is.
The shave went very well. I did one pass and several touch up passes id say. Not full passes but areas that needed going over. The side of my chin both right and left. One portion of my neck, and a couple other small places. I am happy to say it was a full straight razor shave that went very well. As I am feeling my face now it seems there is one small area where I could have done a tad better but overall I am pleased.
The post shave inspection/Blash application went well. I definitely like the soothing of the blash after a shave, especially so after a straight razor shave. My skin feels very good right now.
Everything went very well with todays straight shave and again thanks to my beautiful wife for allowing me the time to enjoy it. Im off to take the kids for Water Ice, its a pretty nice day here in Southeast PA today, off to enjoy it a bit!
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession
Friday, April 25, 2014
WSO & Knockout Shave...Quite the 1-2 Punch !!
I am extremely humbled and honored to make this announcement. WetShaveObsession has partnered with Knockout Shave, or Knockout Shave has partnered with WetShaveObsession, however you choose to look at it. At any rate in the coming weeks Knockout Shave will be carrying WetShaveObsession Premium Shave Soap.
I have been approached by several retailers about the possibility of them selling WSO Premium Shave Soap. My response has always been the same, I barely am able to keep up with my direct orders and my margins are not set for a wholesale/retail scenario. Everyone politely replied that they understood and if the situation were to change to contact them.
Everyone that is, except Knockout Shave. He continued to talk to me, to develop a relationship with me, allow me to get to know him. We spoke in depth and he shared how he will not sell anything he does not personally try or use and believe in himself. We talked in depth about our shared passion of wetshaving. We established and developed a friendship based on our shared passion. We also spoke in depth about business and about my concerns of how it was getting harder to keep up with customer demand. The last thing in the world I want is a customer wanting to use my soap or aftershaves or pre-shave, and not being able to get it.
The conclusion we came to was that if I somehow could do a couple bulk batches of soap and wholesale them to a retailer that would agree to sell them at my fixed price point, it would offer my customers an alternate source for product should I run out of stock. We both agreed this would help. If I was going to do something like this it was becoming more and more clear who I would want to do it with.
The next issue we had to overcome was that of the profit margin of the soap. The pricing of WSO is by no means set up for a wholesale/retail scenario. The ingredients are the finest and in almost all cases 100% organic raw materials available. The soapmaking process used is so labor intensive, however that labor is a labor of love and a passion, so it has never been appropriately valued when it comes to a product pricing standpoint. It was at this point motives and objectives became perfectly clear. The goal here, with him and me, was not to be greedy and make a ton of money. It was exactly the same for both of us, to be able to provide the customers that wanted it, WSO Premium Shave Soap.
I would be able to provide an alternate source of stock for my customers. Customers that otherwise would have to either wait or choose not to purchase WSO Premium Shave Soap. He would be able to (and these are his words not mine) carry the best soap there is out there. We both were willing to take a significant cut in profit margins in order to accomplish this end.
To say I am excited about this relationship is an understatement. I have no doubts that it will work and work well as it is founded upon sound ethical principles, not greed. Its motives are good, thus its outcome shall be as well. Its an honor to be associated with a gentleman with the morals, ethics and character displayed by Knockout Shave. When you find a retailer whose ultimate goal is the same as yours, to provide people with the best possible shaving products possible, and not to try to make the most money possible, that is someone you better align yourself with as soon as possible. That is exactly what I did.
So keep your eye out in the next week or two and visit Knockout Shave. It will be an honor having WetShaveObsession Premium Shave Soap for sale by this fantastic retailer, wet shaving enthusiast, and one heck of a good human being!.
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession
I have been approached by several retailers about the possibility of them selling WSO Premium Shave Soap. My response has always been the same, I barely am able to keep up with my direct orders and my margins are not set for a wholesale/retail scenario. Everyone politely replied that they understood and if the situation were to change to contact them.
Everyone that is, except Knockout Shave. He continued to talk to me, to develop a relationship with me, allow me to get to know him. We spoke in depth and he shared how he will not sell anything he does not personally try or use and believe in himself. We talked in depth about our shared passion of wetshaving. We established and developed a friendship based on our shared passion. We also spoke in depth about business and about my concerns of how it was getting harder to keep up with customer demand. The last thing in the world I want is a customer wanting to use my soap or aftershaves or pre-shave, and not being able to get it.
The conclusion we came to was that if I somehow could do a couple bulk batches of soap and wholesale them to a retailer that would agree to sell them at my fixed price point, it would offer my customers an alternate source for product should I run out of stock. We both agreed this would help. If I was going to do something like this it was becoming more and more clear who I would want to do it with.
The next issue we had to overcome was that of the profit margin of the soap. The pricing of WSO is by no means set up for a wholesale/retail scenario. The ingredients are the finest and in almost all cases 100% organic raw materials available. The soapmaking process used is so labor intensive, however that labor is a labor of love and a passion, so it has never been appropriately valued when it comes to a product pricing standpoint. It was at this point motives and objectives became perfectly clear. The goal here, with him and me, was not to be greedy and make a ton of money. It was exactly the same for both of us, to be able to provide the customers that wanted it, WSO Premium Shave Soap.
I would be able to provide an alternate source of stock for my customers. Customers that otherwise would have to either wait or choose not to purchase WSO Premium Shave Soap. He would be able to (and these are his words not mine) carry the best soap there is out there. We both were willing to take a significant cut in profit margins in order to accomplish this end.
To say I am excited about this relationship is an understatement. I have no doubts that it will work and work well as it is founded upon sound ethical principles, not greed. Its motives are good, thus its outcome shall be as well. Its an honor to be associated with a gentleman with the morals, ethics and character displayed by Knockout Shave. When you find a retailer whose ultimate goal is the same as yours, to provide people with the best possible shaving products possible, and not to try to make the most money possible, that is someone you better align yourself with as soon as possible. That is exactly what I did.
So keep your eye out in the next week or two and visit Knockout Shave. It will be an honor having WetShaveObsession Premium Shave Soap for sale by this fantastic retailer, wet shaving enthusiast, and one heck of a good human being!.
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession
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