Wit's End Ultimate Sacrifice: A Texan Shaves Review
Bary waited out a five-day beard while half his city sat without internet. The minute he could upload, this is what he put out. Watch it if small-batch soaps with a real story behind them are your thing, or if D&G Light Blue is already in your rotation and you want something in that lane at the shave sink.
The Soap
Every May, Wit’s End Small Batch Goods releases Ultimate Sacrifice for Law Enforcement Appreciation Month and National Police Week. This year’s version is built around a Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue inspiration, with notes of bergamot, mandarin, sea salt, rosemary, grapefruit, and Brazilian rosewood. A portion of the proceeds goes to the National Law Enforcement Fund.
The charity angle carries real weight here. Bary works directly with law enforcement every day in his regular job - building their vehicles, keeping officers safer on the side of the road. He also donates to First Line Shave’s law enforcement fund every time he orders from them. He calls the number of law enforcement artisans in the wet-shaving space “outstanding” and says he is “elated” they exist. This release is personal to him in a way that most soaps are not.
Worth noting upfront: Wit’s End sent the soap for the purposes of the review, which Bary discloses at the start.
On the note stack: bergamot and mandarin up top, sea salt and rosemary in the heart, grapefruit and Brazilian rosewood in the base. If you know D&G Light Blue, you know the territory - light, fresh, citrus aquatic rather than tropical or heavy. Bary’s take on the citrus character: “It’s not like punch you in the face citrus. It just works so well.” He calls it a summer freshy, then catches himself: “I don’t follow seasons, man. If I just like it, I like it.” By the time the aftershave splash is on, he is saying he could wear it all year.
The soap itself runs very soft - almost cream-like in consistency. That is what drives his decision to bowl lather rather than face lather. He loads it using a Soap Spoon, a multi-utensil scooping tool he introduces in this video. The idea is to load and spread without putting fingers in the puck or adding water to it during the scoop. His first impression is positive, and he mentions it will come up on Shave Masters and that the maker is a vendor at the Great Texas Wet Shavers Meetup.
He also drops a tease near the end: there is another Wit’s End release right behind this one, and he plans to review it. He calls it “glorious” and leaves it there.
The Hardware
For the razor, Bary pulls out the May Pack titanium GEM razor - its first appearance on his channel. He had expected it to land close to his Shield GEM but found it runs a notch more aggressive. He is not bothered: “I am actually glad it is a little more aggressive so I have something different.” He calls it smooth and comfortable through the whole shave. The blade is a brand new Gem Persona.
The brush is from Bobby Moffet, a 26mm SHD badger set from Maggard Razors - first use on camera, so he flags upfront that it will probably run a little lather-hungry until it breaks in. Red, white, and blue handle, which he notes suits the shave. He builds in a Captain’s Choice Obsidian Copper Bowl.
Three passes. He goes mostly quiet through them, which he addresses directly: “I’m in the zone, guys. I’m really having a fantastic shave.”
Bary’s Verdict
He is effusive on the scent from loading all the way through the aftershave splash. After the final rinse he names the notes out loud:
Every bit of it, man. The bergamot, mandarin, the grapefruit, the rosemary, the sea salt. Oh, and the rosewood. Oh, wonderful, wonderful fragrance, man. I could wear this one all year long.
The lather earns “super silky” from him. Five days of growth comes off without drama.
He wraps up the same way he started: this one is near and dear to him because of the law enforcement connection. For a reviewer who covers a lot of soap, that reads as something more than copy.
Availability
Ultimate Sacrifice is an annual limited release from Wit’s End Small Batch Goods, dropping each May for Law Enforcement Appreciation Month and National Police Week. It comes as a soap and a matching aftershave splash. Stock is limited, and availability depends on where you are in the year when you find this. Their Etsy shop link is in the video description. If this year’s run is sold out, the release comes back each May.
A portion of every order benefits the National Law Enforcement Fund.
About A Texan Shaves
Bary runs A Texan Shaves out of Texas, posting traditional wet-shaving videos on Sundays and Thursdays. His channel covers artisan soap reviews, razor comparisons, meetup content, and gear. His own description: “An old fart Texan with a passion for traditional wet shaving.” He is active in the Shave Dad community and has been at it long enough to have opinions on most artisans in the space.
Find him on Instagram, X, Threads, and on YouTube.
This video was first shared in the Shave Dad Facebook group.