I want to try something new !

[Trudo1]

I just don't ?
Currently using, Tabac, Qed lime, L'occtane as far as soaps go.
I have also used T&H 1805 cream and a variety of Taylors creams.

Suggestions, maybe old school ?
Arko
Mama Bears
MWF
Williams..ha

Also on a mild budget, just need to change it up.

Green / Red Clay ?
Hydrosols ?

Tell me the can't miss items !!!

[DMac]

Speick. Phenomenal soap, and cheap. I also happen to love the scent. If you're not into sticks, you can always press it into a bowl, as I did.

[Gruder]

Spieck's a good call. Also Musgo.

As for soaps, Ogallala's Bay Rum and Sandalwood is nice. I also think that QED's Special 218 is a must-have.

[cleancut]

Mama Bears offers very affordable soaps in an almost endless variety of scents. Try the "Orange Orange", Dragons Blood and Aged Spice.

[Sabledog]

I'm a big fan of Mitchell's, but if that's beyond budget, SCS, Mama Bear, QED are all worth trying.

My most recent way of extending SSAD (Shave Soap AD) is turning it into SSAD (Shave Stick AD), that got me more Tabac, Moos enroute, SCS, and more when I get a chance! :biggrin:

[elveeskee]

Proraso (CO Bigelow)

35889

[joshmpdx]

great post!

+1 on Proraso

[Wishoot]

Arko makes me gag.

[crocto]

any of the col conk soaps. or some williams (you'll be pleasently surprised). crabtree and evelyn nomad. and pretty much any of the mama bear's scents.

[thebikingengineer]

+1 on the Ogalla, although I personally prefer the Bay Rum & Sandalwood scent.

[Milton]

Mama bears, speick, and nancyboy signature.

[JohnnyKent]

Proraso is #1

[prewt]

TGQ soap and cream sampler.
Ogallala Bay Rum sampler
Tabac

[DavidB]

You should try soaps from Mama Bear (Hydrogen, Turkish Mocha, Toasted Coconut are current faves) or Honeybee Spa (Jasmine is out of this world; Sandalwood Vanilla is really nice). I also love Vulfix Sandalwood shave cream.

Dave

[GardenWeasel]

Be sure to try Susies Bubbles N Squeak soap! VERY nice and nicely priced!

[petr]

You are ready for...Institute Karite Shaving Soap

[Venom8431]

I'm a big fan of Mitchell's, but if that's beyond budget, SCS, Mama Bear, QED are all worth trying.

My most recent way of extending SSAD (Shave Soap AD) is turning it into SSAD (Shave Stick AD), that got me more Tabac, Moos enroute, SCS, and more when I get a chance! :biggrin:

I forget who pointed this website out to me, but you can get MWF pretty cheap here (http://www.shaving-shack.com/shop/catalog/Shaving-Soap-p-2-c-168.html).

I think the 14.99 pounds for the soap and dish comes to about $30.00 US. On amazon the soap and dish goes for $60.

[Snoopy]

Hi, if you really want to try out something new there is a new maker in Austria, Wienna called StoBa. http://stobasoaps.com/

I have just ordered som stick's from them along with some La Riana oliveoil soap from a german site : georgs-barbershop.de - Just waiting to try it out.

The oliveoil soap can also be found at Bareria Italiana. I have tryed a normal oliveoil soap and it is very nice. Does'nt lather much but gives you an enourmously good moist and comfort on the skin.

Can also recomend Valobra stick.

- Neewbee on the forum

[SRock]

Mama Bears offers very affordable soaps in an almost endless variety of scents. Try the "Orange Orange", Dragons Blood and Aged Spice.

+1

Mama Bear offers a ton of great soaps at affordable prices. I was fortunate enough to sample a few of Sue's soaps. I recently tried the Lemongrass and it is awesome!

[mdunn]

mwf!!

[AJS]

Joris is at the top of the heap when it comes to performance.
The Gentleman's Quarter is very good too, I got some very early samples from Matt at the Thomas Anthony Co. and they were superb back then, I would imagine that the final formula is something very special.
Speick stick is great as already mentioned, you may also want to try the La Toja stick.
If you like the L'Occitane you have, you may also want to try Provence Sante, Institut Karite or L'Othantique.
Floris is also worth trying, fairly pricey, but they often have sales.
Snoopy, let me know how you like StoBa, I have some of their speick extract shaving soap soap on it's way to me.

[Sullybob]

I would suggest getting a MWF refill that way you save the expense of getting the ceramic container.

[Trudo1]

B&B members are awesome... you guy's are the sh!t...... My mind has been slowly pried open like an oyster..hah. I shaved with Williams & my trusty "Simpson-Duke" not to forget King Gillette's 1949 S.S !! Lot's O lather, a little thin but BBS was achieved !!
I ordered Mama Bears, lemon coconut, I am starting to come around to the Mom and Pop companies. MWF still on wish list, thanx for all the links. Snoopy,,, StoBa ,,, I have to lock-up my credit card, really interested in the reviews, my prediction.... Superb !
Institute Karite yess... AJS..... "Joris" the metal tin sold me by itself !!! Tell me some Joris stories, where is it made, of course soap performance, cost to ship to U.S. ??
I have been more focussed on vintage DE's, blades, brushes and yes the frustration of STR8'S, it can't be that hard, tell me I am wrong, please. I have DE usage down to a science and love it. Now the world of "consumables" has called.
I never realize B&B members are not all from the U.S. (excuse my So.Cal ignorance)

Many Many Thanx Brothers !!! For real !!! Moving to Colorado soon at "39" wish me
luck !!!!

[expatCanuck]

Check out my sig.
HoneybeeSpa Soaps (Eucalyptus & Ye Olde Barbershop are my scents of choice) or Proraso green soap. I'd be happy with any one of them.

[cybrok]

Another vote for a sampler pack from The Gentlemen's Quarter.

At the moment, I'm happy with TGQ, Tabac and Proraso... at least for the soaps.

I'm curious about Ogallala though, especially the Bay Rum and Sandalwood.

[Hawkeyeted]

Taylor of Old Bond Street - Eton College.
$13.50 @ QED.
$14.00 at West Coast Shaving.
The 5.3 oz. jar should last you for about three months.

[Snoopy]

Hi

I had to reactivate my PayPal account, so you probably have to wait a while for the StoBa reviev. The mail delivery time slows down before x-mas.

So long !

[Snoopy]

Stoba review

I ordered a Speik stick, but since they were out of stock I got a Cedarwood in a can for the same price.
The soap came in a tin can and the smell was very nice. Smells like soap with a hint of cedar. It's more soap than warm cedar, and when lathering it had more a hint of spice than cedar, but still a very pleasant smell for those who like a natural scent.
I used my normal setup with my Hoffritz slant with a swede, using my bore brush. Swirled 5-7 times on the soap after thorougly wetting my face and brush as well as the soap. Then lather direct to the face.
At first it felt very moisturizing and lathered quite good. But the lather dryed a bit after a while. However the shave was quite smooth with no nicks, but the soap felt a bit sharp. Could be this soap has a high pH value. I got some irritation on my neck from the soap. So it might not be so good for sensitive skin, or maybe I should have used more wather, or less time.

All in all quite good but I need some more go's before I decide wether this would be one of my favourites. It would probably do better with a badger brush, aldo my bore brush is of good quality and quite soft.

[Jimbo]

A nice list:
Col Conk- Amber, Bay Rum, Almond (cheap -- $4.50 -- and works very well, smell great)
Arko - stick only, as far as I know (very cheap -$2- and works well)
Speik - stick (around $7 I think, smells delightful and work great)
Proraso - Aloe and Green Tea (subtle scent - works well) or Classic (cool and clean, must try) both are soft soaps
Ogallala - haven't tried the soap yet but the aftershave smells great

If you want to splurge a little: Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood (delightful scent, lathers well, one of my favorites, refill is maybe $15)

If you want to splurge a lot, Trumper's Extract of Limes (hard soap, luxury, nice scent, $20 for the refill or go all the way with the super nice wooden bowl for maybe $35-40)

There are lots of good creams also ($10-15 range, all lather nicely):
Musgo (must try)
TOBS (Lots to choose from St James is may favorite)
Proraso (clean and green and cool)
Speick (nice earthy scent)

[jrouse]

Just picked up Honeybee soaps (lime, lavender, old spice) used the lavender for the 1st time today and it lathered up like a dream! Picked up 3 pucks for 16 bucks shipped to California. Love that lavender scent too!

[andrew98]

+1 on the Ogalla, although I personally prefer the Bay Rum & Sandalwood scent.

+1 on the Bay Rum and Sandalwood scent. Great combination.:punk:

Pre de Provence soap is also a favorite of mine... moisturizing. A good value too. 150g in a tin for less than $14 (shavingessentials.net).

-Andy

[Jim]

Stoba review

I ordered a Speik stick, but since they were out of stock I got a Cedarwood in a can for the same price.
The soap came in a tin can and the smell was very nice. Smells like soap with a hint of cedar. It's more soap than warm cedar, and when lathering it had more a hint of spice than cedar, but still a very pleasant smell for those who like a natural scent.
I used my normal setup with my Hoffritz slant with a swede, using my bore brush. Swirled 5-7 times on the saftoap er thorougly wetting my face and brush as well as the soap. Then lather direct to the face.
At first it felt very moisturizing and lathered quite good. But the lather dryed a bit after a while. However the shave was quite smooth with no nicks, but the soap felt a bit sharp. Could be this soap has a high pH value. I got some irritation on my neck from the soap. So it might not be so good for sensitive skin, or maybe I should have used more wather, or less time.

All in all quite good but I need some more go's before I decide wether this would be one of my favourites. It would probably do better with a badger brush, aldo my bore brush is of good quality and quite soft.

Baron, swirling 5-7 with your brush is far far too little, Try 30 times,50 times, really load up the brush with soap. The irritation on your neck may be razor burn from not enough lather.

[andrewinman]

+1 on the Honeybee Spa soaps

[Jarmo P]

Baron, swirling 5-7 with your brush is far far too little, Try 30 times,50 times, really load up the brush with soap. The irritation on your neck may be razor burn from not enough lather.
+1 to that.

[expatCanuck]

Baron, swirling 5-7 with your brush is far far too little, Try 30 times,50 times, really load up the brush with soap. The irritation on your neck may be razor burn from not enough lather.+1 on more soap. Tho' I personally find that a couple dozen swirls will do.
But definitely more soap. Much more. And, as you've noted, probably more water as well.