Misunderstood products

There have been a couple threads where the drooling mob tried to attack, but they were quickly thwarted by the efforts of both members and admins of DFS. Those types of attacks aren't tolerated here, regardless of the person or vendor they are against. Attacking in general is frowned upon, as it should be, and it tends to keep those that would have it otherwise at bay...for the most part...

And I agree...anyone with a modicum of "google ability" should easily find all the accusations, all the factuations, and all the in-betweens of the mostly-contrived Scarecrow in PAA's closet. In fact, I believe links have been shared on this forum to most of the mashups AND the clearups...

I would like to be a fly on the wall if some of those attackers were given unnamed samples of a variety of artisan soaps to try. It would be nice to see the unrestrained reactions...

An interesting thread.

As I get older and probably more grumpy, I react in one of two ways; I either blow through the Cornball and look at the product for what it is, or the Cornball behaviour stops me in my tracks. the first was Oneblade (and I have since eaten lots and lots of crow, I love that razor) and the second was PAA. I absolutely HATE being sold too and I certaionly felt that way in the beginning, but there are several products that actually do hit the hype. Some of the best long lasting scents come out of PAA and I love the Prismatic razor. I can only speak about me, but the reason I have so few PAA soaps is not becuase of the past, but because there are sooo many soap choices, and i have but one face! I am however temped to grab the planet Vetiver...

Any other "misunderstood" products anyone can think of besides PAA?

Generic blade banks and brush stands. The primary purpose seemingly is to round up an order to benefit from free shipping when all those XX.99 items leave you a heartbreaking .27 short. Forum archives are filled with Swiftian egg cracking debates citing chemical engineering papers that water evaporates up and therefore hanging a brush is wrong and equally unintelligible tomes for the opposite. New shavers buy those cheaply chromed stands that resemble nothing less than a Antideluvian warrior herald and a bank to assuage their social conscious that come October 31 nobody can point fingers for the urban myth of blade laden treats. I have no issue with the many lovely shave den racks or repurposed pipe stands. Some of the collections out there beg for no little order short of a gunsafe.

My first post on another major forum years ago was praise for the customer service response I'd received from Petal Pushers Fancies, a predecessor to Phoenix Shaving. I'd ordered three products, one of which (a pre-shave oil) was only partially filled. I sent Frances a photo and a request as to how to proceed. She responded immediately by saying to keep all three items, and gave me a total refund for all three items. I responded by ordering three new soaps. This happened right about the time the drama started. So the forum deleted my post...

I have about 120 aftershave splashes in my collection, all in full bottles, and I have more PAA bottles than any other vendor (about 18 at last count). And my experience with the PAA DOC Evolution in both stainless and aluminum has been memorable. In my book, Phoenix Shaving is absolutely awesome and trustworthy. It feels good to say that.

The fool who deleted your post probably bought 1984 Cliff Notes for his English class ( after completing dummy English for freshmen) and is unhappy with our political climate, holding himself a prince among lesser men.

Williams Mug Soap. Most people think they know how to lather soap till you hand them a puck of Williams and they run back to the warm bosom TABAC.

Vintage mustache mugs. Almost every antique dealer thinks they are shave mugs. Even when you explain to them the difference, the label stays the same.

Me. My wife never understands why I am almost running out of shave soap and need to buy more.

There have been a couple threads where the drooling mob tried to attack, but they were quickly thwarted by the efforts of both members and admins of DFS. Those types of attacks aren't tolerated here, regardless of the person or vendor they are against. Attacking in general is frowned upon, as it should be, and it tends to keep those that would have it otherwise at bay...for the most part...

And I agree...anyone with a modicum of "google ability" should easily find all the accusations, all the factuations, and all the in-betweens of the mostly-contrived Scarecrow in PAA's closet. In fact, I believe links have been shared on this forum to most of the mashups AND the clearups...

I would like to be a fly on the wall if some of those attackers were given unnamed samples of a variety of artisan soaps to try. It would be nice to see the unrestrained reactions...

The problem I had with most of that whole fiasco was posters that called his soap, "Fantastic, AWESOME, the best soap I have used to date." Then a bunch of accusations come out and a WEEK LATER the same posters: "The soap SUCKS, WORST I have used, wouldn't buy it, etc." I'm pretty sure the soap formula didn't change much in a weeks time.

I could make a case about how other artisan soap/razor creators suck with the way they handle things now, but then that would bring out the fanbois that would defend them crying about how they don't. Then that would lead to me saying that they need to get out a pair of knee pads and the thread being closed because they can't handle the fact that their favorite artisan is being criticized.............so I have decided that I just don't care to even post any criticism anymore. It won't change an already made up mind. Such is life.

to be open about the issue, when I first started DFS back up, myself and a few of the mods had some serious reservations about Douglas (CaD314) because of his past that we saw floating around online. I went directly to Douglas, told him about our reservations and he thoroughly explained everything and had proof to back up his explanations.

myself and the mod team believe that everyone deserves a second chance and told Douglas that DFS was going to be different than the other forums out there: it's not owned by someone who has a wet shaving business (therefore no inherent reason to stifle discussions), I'm very relaxed and like to keep things simple but orderly (this is how I try to live my life outside of the online realm), and lastly - and I believe the most important - we believe forums should be around to discuss ALL aspects of wet shaving including ALL items within the wet shaving realm...if using a $500 razor works for you, great...if using a $3 antique shop find or something that was given to you works, great!

the one thing about Douglas that I appreciate is he's very accessible online. if you have a question or concern, pop him a message on facebook and he usually replies within a few minutes.

When I first started out in this hobby, I did a bit of research, which ones to buy etc; I came across some info regarding PAA, some are good and some not so much, which unfortunately delayed me a bit from trying their products or at least enjoying the few I had and really testing them.

It shouldn't have.

Doug has always replied to my queries, albeit sometimes very succintly but still he does, very politely and I appreciate that. I had another question, through email and Frances was very helpful and was very quick to respond.

All my orders from them are shipped very quickly. Never had any issue.

Interestingly, compared to a previous order I made with another well liked artisan that was delayed for almost 2 weeks; PAA's service is topnotch. Never had something like this happen with them.

As for the products:

Many of the aftershaves has a remarkable staying power.

I tried the PAA soap formula, it's great.

I tried the CK formula yesterday and it was excellent. Surprisingly creamy so I accidentaly I overloaded a bit, but it was a joy to use.

Heck just for novelty, I even tried the old formula's in the tin, and it gave me a great performance. I'm still looking for them now, I'm digging the old tins.

I mean basing from what I heard, I shouldn't be enjoying their products and services as much but personally, I actually am.

Though we should respect each other's opinions, ultimately the best judge for what works for you and who gave you the best service is still you. A well loved provider can give the best service and products to many others, but that does little if you don't experience it personally from them.