SOTD 27 March-2 April 2016

Hector, now that you are a few shaves in, how is the Roncel SE working out for you?  Good shaves?

Yes.  I have to say this is the best $25.00 stainless steel razor I have ever used.  This is a unique and clever design hands down.  

My two pass shave is super close and the razor is just amazingly easy to align and use.  This may be my next travel razor, but it would make a fine daily driver also.

Thanks, Hector.  That you are having great shaves makes me look forward to getting it even more.  I am really anxious to hear from them though I am pretty sure that I made the cut-off to get the razor directly through Roncel at the last minute so I expect to have a long wait.

What really got to me was the novelty of the razor.  The only other one that has intrigued me as much has been the OneBlade but I simply cannot get past the $300.00 price.  Maybe someday for the OneBlade but the Roncel SE's price makes it so approachable.

Hector, now that you are a few shaves in, how is the Roncel SE working out for you?  Good shaves?

Yes.  I have to say this is the best $25.00 stainless steel razor I have ever used.  This is a unique and clever design hands down.  

My two pass shave is super close and the razor is just amazingly easy to align and use.  This may be my next travel razor, but it would make a fine daily driver also.

Thanks, Hector.  That you are having great shaves makes me look forward to getting it even more.  I am really anxious to hear from them though I am pretty sure that I made the cut-off to get the razor directly through Roncel at the last minute so I expect to have a long wait.

What really got to me was the novelty of the razor.  The only other one that has intrigued me as much has been the OneBlade but I simply cannot get past the $300.00 price.  Maybe someday for the OneBlade but the Roncel SE's price makes it so approachable.

The price is definitely a plus with this razor.  It does shave differently from the OneBlade, but it is because of the double edge blade.  I'm going to try it next with a Rockwell blade.  I have read here that is thicker, so I want to see how it works.

Stirling Soap Company - Rosemary Mint | BSB-Ti w/HMW Extra Dense | Above The Tie S1 w/Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless Handle
Astra Superior Platinum (3)

[Image: o46gDLY.jpg]

[align=center]Stirling Soap Company - Rosemary Mint | BSB-Ti w/HMW Extra Dense | Above The Tie S1 w/Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless Handle
Astra Superior Platinum (3)

Looks great. How do you like the rosemary mint scent?

[align=center]Stirling Soap Company - Rosemary Mint | BSB-Ti w/HMW Extra Dense | Above The Tie S1 w/Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless Handle
Astra Superior Platinum (3)

Looks great. How do you like the rosemary mint scent?

From my review:

I ordered "Rosemary Mint" from Stirling because their sample ploy worked. With my last order, they dropped in a sample of Rosemary Mint bath soap. My wife and I love Stirling's "Sheep Soap" and I alternate with "Oatmeal Shea Butter". Since Sheep Soap, I am ruined for all other bath soaps. My wife prefers an unscented bath soap, and I just love the way the aforementioned make my skin feel. I gave her the Rosemary Mint sample expecting she may not like it. I'd forgotten about it. Last week she asked that I order some Rosemary Mint full-size bars. That's quite an endorsement. She said she really enjoys the soap because it has the skin feel of the other Stirling Soaps and the mint is refreshing. I therefore ordered a few bars of the Rosemary Mint bath soap, but I didn't stop there. I proceeded to order the lotion for her as well. Then I talked myself into adding the shaving soap to the cart. I figured I might as well top it off by purchasing the splash, too. And that, folks, is how the sample ploy works.

The order arrived earlier than I expected, so I wasn't anticipating a package. As I approached the mail box, I caught a pretty strong scent of rosemary. We have a rosemary bush about 100 yards away from the mail box, so I knew that couldn't be it. Then I opened the mail box and it all came together. Despite the rather intense rosemary aroma emanating from the package itself, off the puck, the mint drowned out everything else. In fact, it was more of a camphor smell. As I lathered it, however, that ultimately transformed to a very natural but stout green minty scent. This feels great on the skin. It's a similar effect to menthol, but instead of an abrupt shock that menthol offers, the mint is more gradual and plateaus for a longer period. During the shave, I never really picked up on the rosemary.

The quality of the shave is what I've come to expect from Stirling. Although, I must admit it's been quite some time since I've purchased shaving soap from Stirling. I thought I remembered my old Stirling soaps containing clay. Yet clay is not on the ingredients list for Rosemary Mint. Maybe someone can chime in about a formula change.

I finished with their matching splash. This is the first time I've used a splash from Stirling. The ingredients are simple: alcohol, witch hazel, EO, aloe, glycerin, and hydrovance. Like the soap, it provides a gentle, sustained cooling effect which was quite nice. The initial smell from the splash was clearly camphor to my nose. It's definitely not a fragrance I would want to have linger for long. Fortunately, within about 5 minutes, it did settle down to a fresh mint scent. It wasn't until about an hour later that I detected gentle aromatic rosemary.

It turns out the clay is, in fact, absent. It's a new formulation from a few months ago. I noticed little difference. A truly top-notch soap.

Stirling Soap Company - Rosemary Mint | BSB-Ti w/HMW Extra Dense | Above The Tie S1 w/Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless Handle
Astra Superior Platinum (3)

[Image: o46gDLY.jpg]

Excellent photo of great products.

Stirling Soap Company - Rosemary Mint | BSB-Ti w/HMW Extra Dense | Above The Tie S1 w/Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless Handle
Astra Superior Platinum (3)

[Image: o46gDLY.jpg]

Excellent photo of great products.  

Thank you!

Much appreciated Matsilainen. To be fair, I'm not getting this longevity from the blade the manufacturer recommends.

I hope you'll give SE shaving a try if you haven't already.

I did notice that you are modding the Gem PTFE blades, and I’m all for that! Nice to know that the OneBlade isn’t limited to a single blade… I began my SE journey quite recently (instruments: Gem 1912, Gem Micromatic Flying Wing, Mongoose SS, AlumiGoose 2) and have been getting some of the best shaves ever.  

Quite the nice SE lineup there Matsilainen. Enjoy them.

Thanks, SharpSpine.   In a way, wet shaving is always a journey, but these SEs have pointed me onto a path that I’m really enjoying (and hope to enjoy for a long time to come).