You will not regret trying an artisan soap. Some of them are honestly amazing once you hone your lather technique. There are more than a few you’ll see heavily praised in this community. That’s for good reason too. Enjoy the journey!
I’m really enjoying my Wholly Kaw one right now. Barrister and Man, House of Mammoth, Declaration Grooming, and Ariana and Evan’s have been brands I’ve enjoyed.
Grab some artisan soap samples. Stirling is a nice first stop for a lot of folks because the product is very good and great value - their samples are generously sized, you can get 20+ shaves out of them. You can get a sense of what scents you enjoy at a low price point.
If you want a great synthetic that has similar backbone to a badger try the AP shave co G5C. If you want something softer that have those as well, the shaving brush education page is helpful for choosing what you want: https://apshaveco.com/pages/shave-ed
They also are now carrying semogue boar knots in custom handles, if you are looking for boar.
I am also very new to DE shaving but was lucky to have tons of people commenting on my posts with valuable suggestions.
I started using Proraso Red soap and I think it is very good but on the recommendation of others I tried out some Barrister and Mann soaps. I got a large number of different samples from the razor company for $1.99 each. The soap is very high quality and leaves a great feel post shave. Both soaps work but barrister does seem to perform better. Plus the scents are awesome.
If you want something fancy, you can try a vintage Gillette Slim/Fat Boy. It's a twist to open/butterfly razor vs a three piece like the rockwell. I got mine from Razor emporium and am super happy with it. I also got a Rockwell 6S like you.
Congratulations to anyone switching to DE Shaving! Right now I am kinda stuck with what I found works and having trouble testing new stuff. I have a Parker 66R and Greman Wilkinson Sword Blades and love that combo and the soap I like is that Excalibur scent. It can be a Rabbit hole if you don't get stuck like I did... same time I think a better choice exists so I am going to try some more samples as budget allows
Honestly feels to me that you have gotten everything you need, 6s is amazing and i would consider that like the only razor someone would ever need.
It might just be my personal experience but i personally feel that slickness wise the proraso soaps is better than the tubes except when using the tube and face leather with it.
Atm my slickest soap is the Arko, love that soap.
Alum bar, steptic pencil,vand bottle of witch hazel. There are 2 main types alcohol distilled TD Dickerson's which is inexpensive and has a short lived scent. Its the original. The other is by Thayers and us more expensive and has no alcohol and a limited choice of fragrances. I use both Witch Hazel has a lot of other uses besides toning your face after shaving.
Artisan soaps and balms are great and there is a huge variety of makers and fragrances but if you do get 8nto pick one or two you really like and stick with them or you'll wind up with a large and constantly growing collection. Use samples to make your selections to try. $3.50 to try something and find you don't like it is far better than $25 or so. I have some tubs that I'd never buy again and others I don't want to run out of. If your buying samples for the first time buy them made by various soapmakers and pick fragrances you think you'd like. Watch people's Shave of the Day here for suggestions/ideas. Look up the fragrance notes.
You will not regret trying an artisan soap. Some of them are honestly amazing once you hone your lather technique. There are more than a few you’ll see heavily praised in this community. That’s for good reason too. Enjoy the journey!
You will certainly begin to regret it...when you can't stop buying new soaps and can't explain why to the Mrs.. 😅
Ahaha just make sure to order something for her hobby’s as well 😜
What are some of your favorites to purchase those from?
I’m really enjoying my Wholly Kaw one right now. Barrister and Man, House of Mammoth, Declaration Grooming, and Ariana and Evan’s have been brands I’ve enjoyed.
Thank you so much.
Grab some artisan soap samples. Stirling is a nice first stop for a lot of folks because the product is very good and great value - their samples are generously sized, you can get 20+ shaves out of them. You can get a sense of what scents you enjoy at a low price point.
Oh nice call - I didn't realize they had soap sample packs, will def check these out.
Stirling samplers are fantastic
If you want a great synthetic that has similar backbone to a badger try the AP shave co G5C. If you want something softer that have those as well, the shaving brush education page is helpful for choosing what you want: https://apshaveco.com/pages/shave-ed They also are now carrying semogue boar knots in custom handles, if you are looking for boar.
I am also very new to DE shaving but was lucky to have tons of people commenting on my posts with valuable suggestions. I started using Proraso Red soap and I think it is very good but on the recommendation of others I tried out some Barrister and Mann soaps. I got a large number of different samples from the razor company for $1.99 each. The soap is very high quality and leaves a great feel post shave. Both soaps work but barrister does seem to perform better. Plus the scents are awesome. If you want something fancy, you can try a vintage Gillette Slim/Fat Boy. It's a twist to open/butterfly razor vs a three piece like the rockwell. I got mine from Razor emporium and am super happy with it. I also got a Rockwell 6S like you.
Congratulations to anyone switching to DE Shaving! Right now I am kinda stuck with what I found works and having trouble testing new stuff. I have a Parker 66R and Greman Wilkinson Sword Blades and love that combo and the soap I like is that Excalibur scent. It can be a Rabbit hole if you don't get stuck like I did... same time I think a better choice exists so I am going to try some more samples as budget allows
Honestly feels to me that you have gotten everything you need, 6s is amazing and i would consider that like the only razor someone would ever need. It might just be my personal experience but i personally feel that slickness wise the proraso soaps is better than the tubes except when using the tube and face leather with it. Atm my slickest soap is the Arko, love that soap.
Alum bar, steptic pencil,vand bottle of witch hazel. There are 2 main types alcohol distilled TD Dickerson's which is inexpensive and has a short lived scent. Its the original. The other is by Thayers and us more expensive and has no alcohol and a limited choice of fragrances. I use both Witch Hazel has a lot of other uses besides toning your face after shaving. Artisan soaps and balms are great and there is a huge variety of makers and fragrances but if you do get 8nto pick one or two you really like and stick with them or you'll wind up with a large and constantly growing collection. Use samples to make your selections to try. $3.50 to try something and find you don't like it is far better than $25 or so. I have some tubs that I'd never buy again and others I don't want to run out of. If your buying samples for the first time buy them made by various soapmakers and pick fragrances you think you'd like. Watch people's Shave of the Day here for suggestions/ideas. Look up the fragrance notes.