Razor: Henson for Men Aluminium
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge Yellows
Brush: Ever-Ready 100T 24mm 2 Band Badger
Soap: RazoRock Mudder Focker
Aftershave: Maol Grooming Nothing
Mudder Focker is one of those soaps I’ve been meaning to pick up for a while. RazoRock does offer some great value products and with the exception of XXX, I think this is the RazoRock product I hear about the most. When this soap appeared on the Canadian B/S/T board I decided to give it a go.
RazoRock soaps are a great value price and can be found around that $10-$15 pricepoint (often less if you can find a sale). The base (or bases as I’ve come to find out) are generally soft croap style and quite easy to load and lather. Performance wise, they aren’t elite by any stretch but they do the job, certainly better than any can goo. Sometimes they can dry my skin out a touch, but my main knock on RR soaps is that they can be very inconsistent scent wise. I’ve found scent strength can vary wildly, even in the same scent offering. It is for this reason I don’t grab them often.
I can say that opening the tub of Mudder Focker, I was pleasantly surprised by the scent strength. I’d say this is a solid medium or stronger. Scent notes on this are Bergamot, Anise, Pineapple, Jasmine, Violet, Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Hay, Tonka Bean, Patchouli, and Thuja. I find this to be a very barbershop styled cologne fragrance. To my nose it is somewhat creamy sweet and powdery. I get that touch of Amber and Anise. It is an awesome scent. So good I instantly ordered the matching splash from Italian Barber. I’m told this is a dupe of Boellis Panama 1924 so if I ever came across that frag I’d seriously consider picking it up.
Performance wise, I was really surprised on this. It looks and loads like a typical RazoRock soap but as I added water I was able to get a richer/creamier lather than I would out of a typical RR soap. Once I got that nice sheen to it I went to work with the razor and was ecstatic when the performance. Super slick, great cushion, and post shave has been really good compared to the typical RR offerings. Whatever they did in this Tallow based soap (I know there is some thermal mud in there) they need to do more of it. A big win on the soap.
The razor today is on loan to me from my good buddy Kal Shaves. He sent me a few razors to try and this Henson aluminium razor was one of them. I was excited to try it as it was another Canadian artisan bringing a CNCed razor to market. I can say that I’ve never met an aluminium razor that I liked and this is no exception. Not that it is a bad razor, fit and finish is quite good and having multiple colour options is a neat feature. My main problems with aluminium razors is that they are way too light and I find they don’t have that smooth polish finish that glides on the skin. I tend to get more cuts and weepers when I use them as with my hair growth the lack of glide and weight causes the razor to skip in my beard growth. As such my tendency is to put a bit more pressure on the prevent it and then I can tear my face up. I also find the feel of a super light razor reminds me of disposals, just not a lot of soul there. I’ve tried with multiple soaps and multiple blades and I always have this with aluminium. Sadly this razor has been no exception since I started testing it out. I did really want to give this razor one last honest go today so I took extra care and can say the Henson does shave quite well if light aluminium is your thing. There is a touch of blade feel and it is quite efficient. Taking extra time and care today, I actually got a 3 pass BBS shave. It wouldn’t convert me, but I would have no problem recommending it for those that like aluminium razors.
As I said above I didn’t have a matching splash today so I had to figure something else out. I have just the thing, Maol Grooming Nothing. Nothing is the fantastic Maol Grooming aftershave base with no scent added. I picked it up for occasions like this where I didn’t have a splash to match and I wasn’t really feeling an unscented balm. I wouldn’t describe this as unscented as the base has a slightly sharp base smell. It goes away almost instantly and will overpower nothing. Performance is still that amazing Maol Grooming aftershave splash I’ve grown to know and love. I expect to see this get a lot of use in the den. This is one of those workhorses I would recommend everyone pick up.
All in all, a fantastic shave today. Razor isn’t a keeper but I know it will be a winner for some, and am happy to have found another great budget friendly soap offering from RazoRock. All for now – J
