Razor: Merkur Progress
Brush: Omega Boar
Soap: Stonefield Shaving Company Three Six & Charlie
Aftershave: Stonefield Shaving Company Three Six & Charlie
One day late, better late than never. I opted to skip sample Saturday this week as I have had a run of new additions to the den and I really wanted to give them a go. I had been looking at trying this set every since it was announced by our friends at the Stonefield Shaving Company.
Three Six & Charlie is their latest release. It is has notes of Bergamot, Irish Tweed, Coffee, and Pipe Tobacco. It smells FANTASTIC. Scent strength is a above average, I’d say 7-10. I get the Coffee and Pipe Tobacco notes right away. The Bergamot and Irish Tweed are subtle but they soften out the Coffee and Pipe Tobacco in a really nice blend. To me I get a cocoa vibe, reminiscent of Wholly Kaw Merchant of Tobacco, but a little more rounded. A big win for me on the scent profile.
The soap itself, I was surprised to find that is was a hard soap. A very hard soap, easily the hardest soap in my den. I don’t have a lot of experience with hard soaps so it took a little practice to get a good lather, and even now, I ‘m still dialing it in. I would suggest this isn’t a beginners soap for sure. After a few test runs with a few combinations of water and brush, the combination I had the best luck with was more Omega boar brush. I bloomed the puck with a bit of water while I hit the showers. This softened it up a bit and made for a better load. I was able to get a satisfactory lather, a bit airy for my liking (visible bubbles in the lather), still a bit too much water. As such the slickness and cushion wasn’t exactly where I would like it, but I’ll report back more as I continue to dial in the water content and lather technique on this one. I can see the potential and the scent is so good that it is going to be worth the effort figuring this guy out. I don’t have a water softener in house, so software water may also make for an easier go, you mileage may very. If you do pick this guy up, don’t be surprised if you need to spend a little time dialing it in.
The aftershave is fantastic. It matches bang on and is nice and soothing. No burn at all, just a nice smooth finish to the shave.
