Review - Knize Ten Shave Soap
I just received a bowl of the Mythical Knize Ten Shave Soap. Boy where to start? I got mine in a trade on another forum and all I can say is WOW, this stuff is amazing. I’ve read tons of bad reviews of this soap on every shave forum I frequent, but I'm wondering if any of the reviewers tried anything but a badger brush. It will become apparent as to why I ask that question later on. i gave the following scores regardless of TSN Scoring system, because that's how I roll and i didn't know it was automated...LOL
Latherability – I give this a 6 with a badger brush, but a 10 with a boar brush. Let me explain;
I couldn’t get this soap to work well with any of my Badgers, not my Grosvenor 3-band or Douglas 2-band, not my M&F blonde, and not even my Shavemac D01 3-band. But boy, oh boy, whip out the Semogue 1470 ($15 shipped) and BAM loads of silky smooth whipped cream lather was built in no time. I’m wondering if all those reviewers were using badger brushes when they did their reviews. I had a BBS for the first time in Months using my 23C a Personna 74 Tungsten my Semogue 1470 and Knize Ten Shave Soap with just two passes and a touch-up on my neck. I got a small nick from a mosquito bite I got last night, but that was not the soaps fault…maybe my fault for using a funky angle there.
Slickness – I give it a 9.
Knize ten Shave soap made gobs of slick cream. I loaded my Semogue 1470 for around 10 seconds (until the froth streamed over the edge of my bowl. I used a new Personna 74 (my last one) and got a beautiful shave. This soap is slick and does not require tons of water to make a slick lather.
Moisturizing Characteristics – I give it a 9.
This reminded me a lot of the Black Label Yardley that my dad gave me when my son was born. It was a creamy lather that left my skin soft and supple and not needing a moisturizer afterwards. When the Yardley was done I searched all over for another and then decided to concentrate on my DR Harris soaps as the next best thing. i shave this morning at 6:30am and am still caressing my cheeks to feel how soft they are…I may be giving my colleagues a bad impression…lol
Scent – Easily a 10
This scent works! It is much “less powerful” than the AS or EDT, but smells exactly the same to my nose. The scent is wonderful during the shave and can remain on the skin for about an hour afterwards, but also can be used with your chosen AS since it is not overbearing. The scent is complex, but not overpowering. It is lively, but not comical. It is very masculine citrusy floral with a strong Ambergris note. The silage is quite good being that it is a scented soap. My wife commented when she stepped into my bathroom that it smelled quite good, and that was at 7am, so a good 30 minutes post-shave.
Bowl Presentation – I gave this a 4
For all the goodness this soap brings they sure did not do a good job with the bowl. It is an unfinished hunk of wood. It is raw and unrefined, and IMO, not worthy of this fine soap. I wish they had finished the bowl in Mahogany like T&H, or Harris, or even (gasp) GFT! It’s a pity to have such a fine soap in such a crappy bowl…YMMV
Overall – I give it a solid 9 IF used with a boar brush!
This is my dedicated Boar Soap. I got mounds of gooey slick lather with my least expensive Boar brush and a BBS to boot. I know there are many factors that contribute, but believe that this soap was among the biggest factor. If you have a chance to buy some I would. I saw that a puck went on the bst of another forum for $12, and whoever got that one got a steal of a deal on a fantastic soap, but they may not enjoy the true goodness of it using a badger brush…so folks like Jeremy (CessnaBird) please take note…You need a piggy to make this one squeal!
I’m looking for another puck, so if anyone has one they don’t want…send me a PM! Comments as always are welcome and invited! I'll post a pic or two when I get home this evening.
Cheers!
Matt
I just received a bowl of the Mythical Knize Ten Shave Soap. Boy where to start? I got mine in a trade on another forum and all I can say is WOW, this stuff is amazing. I’ve read tons of bad reviews of this soap on every shave forum I frequent, but I'm wondering if any of the reviewers tried anything but a badger brush. It will become apparent as to why I ask that question later on. i gave the following scores regardless of TSN Scoring system, because that's how I roll and i didn't know it was automated...LOL
Latherability – I give this a 6 with a badger brush, but a 10 with a boar brush. Let me explain;
I couldn’t get this soap to work well with any of my Badgers, not my Grosvenor 3-band or Douglas 2-band, not my M&F blonde, and not even my Shavemac D01 3-band. But boy, oh boy, whip out the Semogue 1470 ($15 shipped) and BAM loads of silky smooth whipped cream lather was built in no time. I’m wondering if all those reviewers were using badger brushes when they did their reviews. I had a BBS for the first time in Months using my 23C a Personna 74 Tungsten my Semogue 1470 and Knize Ten Shave Soap with just two passes and a touch-up on my neck. I got a small nick from a mosquito bite I got last night, but that was not the soaps fault…maybe my fault for using a funky angle there.
Slickness – I give it a 9.
Knize ten Shave soap made gobs of slick cream. I loaded my Semogue 1470 for around 10 seconds (until the froth streamed over the edge of my bowl. I used a new Personna 74 (my last one) and got a beautiful shave. This soap is slick and does not require tons of water to make a slick lather.
Moisturizing Characteristics – I give it a 9.
This reminded me a lot of the Black Label Yardley that my dad gave me when my son was born. It was a creamy lather that left my skin soft and supple and not needing a moisturizer afterwards. When the Yardley was done I searched all over for another and then decided to concentrate on my DR Harris soaps as the next best thing. i shave this morning at 6:30am and am still caressing my cheeks to feel how soft they are…I may be giving my colleagues a bad impression…lol
Scent – Easily a 10
This scent works! It is much “less powerful” than the AS or EDT, but smells exactly the same to my nose. The scent is wonderful during the shave and can remain on the skin for about an hour afterwards, but also can be used with your chosen AS since it is not overbearing. The scent is complex, but not overpowering. It is lively, but not comical. It is very masculine citrusy floral with a strong Ambergris note. The silage is quite good being that it is a scented soap. My wife commented when she stepped into my bathroom that it smelled quite good, and that was at 7am, so a good 30 minutes post-shave.
Bowl Presentation – I gave this a 4
For all the goodness this soap brings they sure did not do a good job with the bowl. It is an unfinished hunk of wood. It is raw and unrefined, and IMO, not worthy of this fine soap. I wish they had finished the bowl in Mahogany like T&H, or Harris, or even (gasp) GFT! It’s a pity to have such a fine soap in such a crappy bowl…YMMV
Overall – I give it a solid 9 IF used with a boar brush!
This is my dedicated Boar Soap. I got mounds of gooey slick lather with my least expensive Boar brush and a BBS to boot. I know there are many factors that contribute, but believe that this soap was among the biggest factor. If you have a chance to buy some I would. I saw that a puck went on the bst of another forum for $12, and whoever got that one got a steal of a deal on a fantastic soap, but they may not enjoy the true goodness of it using a badger brush…so folks like Jeremy (CessnaBird) please take note…You need a piggy to make this one squeal!
I’m looking for another puck, so if anyone has one they don’t want…send me a PM! Comments as always are welcome and invited! I'll post a pic or two when I get home this evening.
Cheers!
Matt