Thoughts on Arko? Looking to try it.
- Thread starter StubbleOfSteel
- Start date
I l love Arko. I've been DE shaving about 7 months now and it's the best soap I've found. I've tried much more expensive soaps and creams but arko is my favorite. Lathers fast and easy. Super slick. And it's dirt cheap. I even like the scent. To me it's just a lemony, soapy scent very pleasant and not offensive at all.
Along with Astra blades Arko is the best bargain in wet shaving.
Along with Astra blades Arko is the best bargain in wet shaving.
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I thought it was from Arkansas...
Apparently they moved to Arkansas. Oh well, they used to be from Texas, lol.
I never tried Williams so I cannot compare. Arko is the only soap I have used, and I see no reason to switch. It is Arko, or it is one of the creams in my rotation.
Scent. It smells like soap. Old-time soap, without pretense. It has been described as Ivory on steroids. It reminds me of a scent I remember when I was in Turkey 35 years ago. It may be from the Turkish barber. They use Arko. It may simply be the smell that wafted from any store that sold toiletries. Personal care products have a long history in Turkey that goes back to a hamam (bath house) tradition. If you are pre-acquainted with such fragrances, especially if from pleasant memories, then you may become an Arko cultist. If your heretofore exposure is more to westernized products, you may or may not like the "surprise" fragrance.
Lather amount. Arko is cheap. Put a puck in an old vintage mug. Lather with the brush right on the soap. Keep lathering until you have plenty. If you mess up the lathering, dump and restart (rarely have to do that). It is cheap. If you use a stick, scrape on a good film and face-lather. Arko is a "thirsty" soap, so you have to use quite a bit of water. If you need more, add a few drops at a time to the brush.
Slickness. I stopped using pre-shave oil when I started using Arko. The oil was unnecessary and soap breaks it down anyway.
I usually use it alone, but I have supplemented it with Arko cream. It worked, but the additional effort was unnecessary. Now it's Arko or cream. It's your shave so do what you want.
RAD avoidance. Taking up one addiction will not necessarily replace another. You may end up with two.
Spieck, Musgo, Cella, and Tabac.... IMHO Arko is all that is necessary. It, along with that mug, is the closest thing to my father's Old Spice in its trademarked mug. His shave was simple, and from what I was told he kept the undying old-fashioned habit to his dying day.
Someone else will have to chime in on Tabac scent.
Scent. It smells like soap. Old-time soap, without pretense. It has been described as Ivory on steroids. It reminds me of a scent I remember when I was in Turkey 35 years ago. It may be from the Turkish barber. They use Arko. It may simply be the smell that wafted from any store that sold toiletries. Personal care products have a long history in Turkey that goes back to a hamam (bath house) tradition. If you are pre-acquainted with such fragrances, especially if from pleasant memories, then you may become an Arko cultist. If your heretofore exposure is more to westernized products, you may or may not like the "surprise" fragrance.
Lather amount. Arko is cheap. Put a puck in an old vintage mug. Lather with the brush right on the soap. Keep lathering until you have plenty. If you mess up the lathering, dump and restart (rarely have to do that). It is cheap. If you use a stick, scrape on a good film and face-lather. Arko is a "thirsty" soap, so you have to use quite a bit of water. If you need more, add a few drops at a time to the brush.
Slickness. I stopped using pre-shave oil when I started using Arko. The oil was unnecessary and soap breaks it down anyway.
I usually use it alone, but I have supplemented it with Arko cream. It worked, but the additional effort was unnecessary. Now it's Arko or cream. It's your shave so do what you want.
RAD avoidance. Taking up one addiction will not necessarily replace another. You may end up with two.
Spieck, Musgo, Cella, and Tabac.... IMHO Arko is all that is necessary. It, along with that mug, is the closest thing to my father's Old Spice in its trademarked mug. His shave was simple, and from what I was told he kept the undying old-fashioned habit to his dying day.
Someone else will have to chime in on Tabac scent.
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It is funny how it smells differently to every member, from urinal deodorizing puck to Dove soap
Just ordered some today and I'm very intrigued at the scent that I'm going to come up with, lol....
Just ordered some today and I'm very intrigued at the scent that I'm going to come up with, lol....
Bingo. Arko is a plain and very easy to use soap. It face lathers super easily and gives a great shave every time. It's one of my all-time favs.
Arko is a good product at a good price, but IMO, both a regular bar of Cashmere Bouquet, or the Godrej Shave Round are better.
I know the YMMV thing and the whole each to own, but a urinal cake seriously? I have never once at anytime in my life stuck my nose in an urinal cake. I just think it smells like old fashion soap similar to Ivory with a hint of lemon. My wife actually bought me my Arko stick and she loves the scent.
I think someone else said it but it reminds me of my great grandmother's house when she was doing laundry. Actually brings back really good memories for me. It is a great performer also. It was because of Arko that I face lather now.
Seriously though, at the price you have to try it. If you don`t like it that is what PIFs are for. I am sure someone will want a stick or two.
I think someone else said it but it reminds me of my great grandmother's house when she was doing laundry. Actually brings back really good memories for me. It is a great performer also. It was because of Arko that I face lather now.
Seriously though, at the price you have to try it. If you don`t like it that is what PIFs are for. I am sure someone will want a stick or two.
Arko stick -- to paraphrase W. C. Fields, "Some things are better than Arko, and some are worse, but there's nothing exactly like it."
I personally like the scent quite well, but the perennial question will not die: What does Arko smell like? You will find no shortage of descriptions, but my favorite from the Arko Haters faction is "cattle car disinfectant." I think that's the funniest I've read, but the list is long.
Arko has several companions in the polarizing scent bracket; Tabac and Pinaud's Lilac Vegetal, for example, and I like both of these a lot too -- guess I'm a bit odd that way, but scent is SO subjective. At some point the discussion almost always devolves into a "blue is better than red - I just hate red" type rant.
Whichever side of the question your nose puts you on regarding the fragrance, you will find very few people denying the great performance of this affordable soap.
I personally like the scent quite well, but the perennial question will not die: What does Arko smell like? You will find no shortage of descriptions, but my favorite from the Arko Haters faction is "cattle car disinfectant." I think that's the funniest I've read, but the list is long.
Arko has several companions in the polarizing scent bracket; Tabac and Pinaud's Lilac Vegetal, for example, and I like both of these a lot too -- guess I'm a bit odd that way, but scent is SO subjective. At some point the discussion almost always devolves into a "blue is better than red - I just hate red" type rant.
Whichever side of the question your nose puts you on regarding the fragrance, you will find very few people denying the great performance of this affordable soap.
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I love Arko. It represents the bare-bones of what a good shaving soap should be. The "urinal cake" description will only scare off those who are yet to experience Arko's goodness, and i dont think that is helpful. It does smell "interesting", mind you, but i like it. It is a smell that reminds me of my childhood here in West Africa, when there was a commonly used, locally made, lye-intense detergent soap cake called "soda" in local lingo (nowadays, if not banned outright, heavy duty hand moisturisers would have been assertively recomended after use 
). As for Arko causing drying, i wouldnt really know because i shave before showering.
Arko will always be a good YMMV example, when discussing shaving products.
). As for Arko causing drying, i wouldnt really know because i shave before showering.Arko will always be a good YMMV example, when discussing shaving products.
If you are comparing it to Williams, I think they are very similar in scent and performance, but Arko wins easily in the lathering department. Much easier to get good lather from Arko. I find the scent reminds me of a very mild citronella. Not terrible, but not something I crave. I find both dry out my skin quite a bit. I'm in hard water. It may not do that for people with soft water.
+1
+1
It is funny how it smells differently to every member, from urinal deodorizing puck to Dove soap
Just ordered some today and I'm very intrigued at the scent that I'm going to come up with, lol....
Good observation. I don't detect much of a fragrance with Arko soap at all. I find the Arko lather somewhat heavier than Williams. I use Arko for a DE shave and Wiliams more for Straight razor shaves.
I've paid a lot of wampum for soaps, and the Arko lather is just as good as the high end soaps.
Exactly. Might be the same scent Ivory uses (but stronger). I too associate the smell with "clean". I was in Incirlik in the mid 70's and those Turkish barbers could rock a straight shave. Don't remember what they used.
I also like Tabac and Speick, Never tried the Veg on, but it smelled ok in the bottle, so I don't count myself among the chosen.
I don't know how many of you watched Top Gear (R.I.P.), but they always said that you could never call yourself a real "car guy" until you drove an Alfa-Romeo. To me, Arko is the Alfa of the DE world. It's a staple, and every man needs to lather his face with it before he dies.
One of the BEST soaps available. Easy to lather, slicker than whale poo, cheap at twice the price. I'll actually be ordering a dozen sticks soon to add to Active Duty PIFs, not just because it's so cheap, but because, as I said, it's a WORLD CLASS soap; it also fits dopp kits really well.
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