Walt's Corner

Been wet shaving for years. Lately I’ve been doing some interweb sleuthing. Deep diving into the seedy underground of wet shaving. Broadening my shaving horizon by trying out other shaving soaps.

One artisan company that caught my eye was Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements. Phoenix makes their own soaps and other accessories and there are many to choose from.

I’ve always wanted to try a menthol-laced shaving soap but had my reservations from past experiences with Amazon purchases. Before Phoenix, the best mentholated experience I had was Proraso, however, I wanted more cool. It was basically a cool-tease.

Enter Frost Byte, from Phoenix. Fans praised the icy-coldness. One telling me “This stuff is super strong! But I love it.” Another, “Frost Byte, let’s just say we hope you like it cold, because Frost Byte is super chill.” My normal shaving soaps can run from $2-12. Frost Byte weighs in at just south of $21 but I broke down and waited.

How did it stack up? In the words of Sub-Zero: Your blood runs cold. Your teeth will shatter. Cold enough for you? Your bones will freeze. Let the cold be your tomb. Ability: Freeze.

I think you get the point. This shit is amazingly chill. First pass I was like, alright now. I can feel that cold. 2nd pass? I was expecting my brush to stiffen and freeze to my face like tongue on a frozen lamp pole while singing Christmas Carols at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. By this time, the shave was already BBS (Baby Bottom Smooth, for those not versed in shaving lingo) but I had to know what that 3rd pass would feel like in terms of the cold. It did not disappoint. In fact, it was shocking! After a hot rinse, followed by a cold rinse, hoooo boy! It felt like I was holding a slab of ice to my cheeks. The final splash of some icy cool Aqua Velva was the final touch. A most satisfying shave.

Other aspects of this shave? Razor is a Rockwell T2 SS with Rockwell DE blade. Brush is a Simpson T2. The Rockwell razor is a new edition to my razor collection. More on that in a different post.