MY ACCOUNT
Hey everyone, I’m Jeremy Tyler from Utah. I just turned 40 and have been wet shaving for just about three years. I generally travel all over the country for work (pre-pandemic, and hope to get back to traveling soon) and enjoy getting to see what this country has to offer.
If you have been following my posts on the various Facebook groups, it’s no secret that I am a big fan of WSP. As soon as I tried my first shave soap from WSP, it instantly moved to my top five artisans. Black Amber Vanille is my absolute favorite scent in all of shavedom (as well as my wife’s). Today I want to talk about how WSP became my go to soap for testing new razors and blades.
I first became aware of WSP when I won a rather large PIF (pay it forward) from a forum. This happened shortly after I started my wet shaving journey. In this box of goodies was a splash of Black Amber Vanille. Upon the first use of the splash, I was instantly impressed by the scent and longevity of the scent. It was not uncommon for me to smell the scent the next day as I was getting in the shower. However, it took me a bit before I picked up any soaps from WSP. They were always on the list of artisans to try, but for some reason I just never pulled the trigger.
That changed when I was fortunate enough to go to Phoenix on a family vacation (I had been to Phoenix numerous times for work, but that was prior to discovering wet shaving). I told my wife that I had a few goals while in Phoenix, one was to eat at my favorite restaurant in the entire country (Bobby Q’s), and visit the soap artisans in the area. I was fortunate that Mel was available to meet me at their shop one day, so I jumped at the chance to visit. After a tour of the shop area and seeing where the magic happens, I picked out a few full-sized tubs and some samples of soap (I finally had Black Amber Vanille to go with my splash). That night I used one of the samples and was instantly sold on the quality of the soap. I put the samples in my dopp kit and continued to use them extensively during my travels.
The first time I used a new razor (a shavette), I just happened to have WSP as the soap in the rotation. Since I had been using WSP extensively, I was able to quickly dial in the lather I wanted for that shave. Because of this, I was able to concentrate on the shave and the razor and not the soap and lather. In yet another coincidence, the next time I had a new razor to use, WSP was up in the rotation. After that happened again, I decided to officially use WSP soaps any time I get a new razor or try a new blade. Because I have used the soap so frequently, I know how much to scoop out of both bases to build my lather in a bowl, how much water to add to get to get the lather consistency I want for a DE, SE, shavette, or straight razor shave.
Since I continually use WSP soaps to test razors and blades, I feel that I am better able to judge the characteristics of the razor/blade during the shave. And because I can get a good feel for the razor and blade during the shave, WSP continues to be my go-to soap (with few exceptions) any time I use a blade or razor for the first time.