Razor: Karve CB on B CC
Blade: Rapira Super Stainless
Brush: Tournure de bois 26mm Gelousy Badger
Soap: MacDuff Soap Company Prairie Rum Runner
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
A few beauty additions to the den recently inspired me to roll with an all Canadian shave today (well…. not the blades, I haven’t found a Canadian DE blade worth shaving with). Francis (Tournure de bois) has fairly recently started turning brushes and his work is on point. He has a maker coin, beautiful packaging and has a keen eye for detail. I was on the fence between two brushes of his after seeing them on CWS. I ended up pulling the trigger on one (not this one) and luck would have it, I won the other in a raffle. He hooked me up with this 26mm Gealousy knot for it from APShaveCo. So far, I’m really digging this knot. It is quite soft with enough backbone and the fan style bloomed out just right.
The soap is a recent addition coming from MacDuff Soap Company, an artisan I discovered while browsing Etsy for Canadian shaving gear. MacDuff is based out of Edmonton and this is a fairly new entry of theirs into the market. No aftershaves yet but that is in the works. They are also looking for feedback from the community on the soap base as they continue to try and tweak and innovate to give the best performance possible.
After browsing the MacDuff website (blown away by the awesome label art) I narrowed it down to this particular soap. Hailing from the Canadian Prairies, this was a no brainer choice. Prairie Rum Runner is their take on a traditional bay rum. Scent notes are Orange Zest, Anise, Bay Leaf, Patchouli. This is a darker take on a Bay Rum, without the clove. I’d say scent wise it is similar to the offerings from True North Shaving (Bay Rum) and Knightsbridge (Bay Rum) but a little darker tone to it. I quite liked the scent. Performance wise, the soap was OK for me. I did find it a bit trickier to load (especially with this big brush) and lather. Hydration band was a little narrow. Getting the right water content took me a few shaves. Once the hydration was dialed in, I got a rich, creamy lather with a nice sheen. Cushion was good. Slickness was very good with the residual slickness being a step down. I would be hesitant doing much buffing without visible lather. Post shave was a average, you could skip a post shave in a pinch but I probably wouldn’t (I used an unscented balm not pictured). It has a pronounced scent strength, coming in mid strong, rounding out a bit once lathered. I know the artisan has already taken some feedback and has some tweaks to the formula coming out soon but this is a fantastic early offering. I’d have no problems recommending someone buying and trying this artisan out. This combo today gave me a damn fine shave.
I always love finding new Canadian Artisans in the wet shaving space. We are doing some fantastic things and almost everyone I’ve met is really approachable and eager to bring the best they have to the table for us wet shavers. These two artisans are no exception and I couldn’t be happier about having them represented in my shave den.
All for now – J
