Vintage Shulton Old Spice: A 40-Year-Old Soap That Still Delivers
Happy Mother’s Day, everybody. I’m pretty sure my own mom is the only mother who actually watches these videos, so: Mom, I love you. And for everyone else - don’t forget to wish your wives and your moms. You will regret it if you do. Trust me.
Welcome back to CMW. Today I’ve got something special, and it came from my friend Nick over on El Mascalero Shaves. He did a shave video with vintage Shulton Old Spice and put it to the community: is this soap as slick as he thinks, or is he out of his mind? He sent me the full trifecta - soap, aftershave, cologne - and said figure it out. So that’s what we’re doing here.
The Soap: Vintage Shulton Old Spice
This stuff is old. At least 40 years. Probably older. If a soap holds its consistency that long, something had to go right in the formula. I bloomed it in a bowl ahead of time since I had to scoop it out - it came in the classic Old Spice mug, not a puck, the way it used to be sold.
Anybody who had men in their family back in the 70s and 80s knows that smell. It was in every bathroom in America. Old Spice ran ads back then with “smell like a man” as the whole pitch - at least that’s how I remember it. Whether or not I’ve got the exact wording right, the point stands: that scent is baked into a whole generation.
I’m not a scent guru. Never have been. What I can tell you is it smells warm and a little sweet. There’s cinnamon, something that might be cardamom. Some spice in there. Nick goes deeper on the notes in his video if that’s your thing.
The lather loaded heavy. Too heavy on the first scoop - had to knock a lot off the brush. I think I added water a touch fast and ended up with something light and airy. That’s on me. But here’s what happened when I rinsed after the first pass: the slickness hit me. Off the charts. I needed a towel just to grip my own face. For a soap sitting in a mug for four-plus decades, I did not expect that.
Does tallow break down over time? I don’t know. This batch hasn’t.
The Brush: AKA Brushworx, 28mm Boar Fan Knot
First time out with this knot and I’m already ready to call it my new favorite. 28mm boar fan from AKA Brushworx. I spent the last few days breaking it in the usual way - beating it against a towel, blow dryer, all the nonsensical things you do. It’s right now. The backbone is there, the feel is good, and you know what they say about that.
The Razor: Michael Jung 5/8 “Our Special”
My Michael Jung 5/8 with the vintage bone handle. New York steel. The edge was finished on a Thuringian stone, which is a slate-family stone, and I love the feel of that. Comfortable. Not aggressive, not exciting - smooth and consistent, which is exactly where I want to be at two months into straight shaving.
Two months. That’s where I’m at. And people ask me all the time about the off-hand question: should you learn to shave with both hands? My answer is try it, at least twice. I was convinced I’d never do anything useful with my left hand. Now I sometimes prefer my left side. I think I’m too heavy-handed with my right. The left hand moves slower, more deliberately. Give it a fair shot before you write it off.
The Shave
Two passes with the Michael Jung - with the grain, then across - and the slickness kept building. I kept laying water on top and it held. I said it out loud while shaving: super slick. Nick, you were right. I had to use a towel on my face at one point just to keep a grip.
Couple spots on the chin hung on, so I finished with my Game Changer .84. Some people will tell you that breaks the purity of the straight-razor shave. Fine. If you’re still learning and your straight can’t pick up every spot yet, finish with a DE or an SE. Nothing wrong with that. Just don’t reach for a cartridge. That’s my one rule.
Witch Hazel, Aftershave, Cologne
T.N. Dickinson witch hazel first. Best stuff on the planet, I will say it every video. If anyone at T.N. Dickinson ever stumbles onto wet-shaving content on the internet: hit me up. Lifetime supply. That’s all I want out of this arrangement.
Then the Shulton aftershave - that burn came in fast and hard, which is what you want. The cologne on top, and honestly the cologne smells even better than the aftershave, and the aftershave is already good. I still had a bowl almost full of soap after this shave. Nick sent more than I’ll use in one go. If you’re local and you want to shave with some of the most vintage Old Spice you’re ever going to see, message me.
The Verdict
Nick was right. This soap still has it after 40-plus years. The Michael Jung 5/8 sang through every pass. The AKA Brushworx knot is going straight into the regular rotation - I already knew that by the second pass.
If you somehow ended up watching a straight razor video while thinking about getting into DE shaving, the Game Changer .84 is still one of the best values in the game. Stainless steel, not aggressive, good place to start. No shame in that.
Thanks for watching. Get in the comments - have you used vintage Shulton Old Spice? Do you want to? And if you’re new here, I’d appreciate the like and the subscribe. Happy Mother’s Day, everybody.