Vintage Surrey Shave Soap

I recently scored a puck of shaving soap marked "Shave Soap / Surrey Inc." in an antique mall.



I understand that the Surrey brand is now the VDH brand.

1. Is this correct?
2. Any idea how old this soap might be?

I also found a partly used puck of the same soap, and it seems to deliver a very nice shave.

Saltchuck

I still have some Surrey that I bought about 25 years ago, it looks like your pic.
I like it pretty well. And you are correct, Surrey is now Van Der Hagen.

I also have some from the 1970's that came in a set with a mug and boar brush. The brush stinks, but the soap works really well.

I have two NOS pucks of Surrey identical to the soap in your picture.

While Surrey is now known as Van Der Hagen, the formula between this soap, and the current product is not the same.

The consistency of the puck is not even similar, VDH Deluxe being a fairly soft soap, while this soap is fairly hard.

My guess would be this is 1970's vintage, and that it is a tallow based shaving soap.

I haven't tried my pucks yet, but I am not surprised to read it is a good performer.

Here is the box this soap would have come in; the Amish motif is pretty cool:

(my two pucks came wrapped in cellophane, but minus the box)

Saltchuck said:

I recently scored a puck of shaving soap marked "Shave Soap / Surrey Inc." in an antique mall.

I understand that the Surrey brand is now the VDH brand.

1. Is this correct?
2. Any idea how old this soap might be?

I also found a partly used puck of the same soap, and it seems to deliver a very nice shave.

Saltchuck

Click to expand...

Hi there,

I can't tell you how old your puck is, but I have a small (44 gram) Surrey soap made in the early 80s. This one's got a faint 'S' embossed on the top. I'll include a pic of that next to a DR Harris soap.

I used one of these up already and was sorta hoarding the last one, since I had no clue who made the stuff until recently. That first puck gave me some of the best shaves I've ever had, which is saying a fair bit. I woulda bet money there was tallow in the mix, but that turned out not to be the case.

Heh, I actually recently spoke with the Company president John Van Der Hagen ( a nice guy), and he mentioned never using tallow in any of his shaving soaps. He also told me the formula was changed/improved from my version in later years.

Hope that helps,

Martin

On, no idea when the name change to VDH happened

I bought a puck at a thrift store not long ago. Packaging looks to be late 80s or early 90s. Smells amazing sort of like fresh heavy cream. Lathers beautifully. Sorry no puck pic its already in the cup! Its about the color of the one in post above but just said SURREY in about 3/8in tall letters across the middle of the puck.

Jay

PS- Mine came in a little clam shell like a VDH but was shrunk about 1/8in around the puck circumference.

L. Martino said:

That first puck gave me some of the best shaves I've ever had, which is saying a fair bit. I woulda bet money there was tallow in the mix, but that turned out not to be the case.

Heh, I actually recently spoke with the Company president John Van Der Hagen ( a nice guy), and he mentioned never using tallow in any of his shaving soaps. He also told me the formula was changed/improved from my version in later years.

Click to expand...

I think VDH bought out Surrey. They were not always the same company. Surrey existed for quite some time, there are 1970's era brushes that look very similar to the VDH Boar brush.

Just because VDH has never made a tallow based soap, doesn't mean Surrey never did. I have not seen the ingredients list, but I am almost 100% certain the puck referenced in the start of this thread is most certainly tallow based; I have read other threads talking about a tallow based Surrey as well.

Mako72 said:

I bought a puck at a thrift store not long ago. Packaging looks to be late 80s or early 90s. Smells amazing sort of like fresh heavy cream. Lathers beautifully. Sorry no puck pic its already in the cup! Its about the color of the one in post above but just said SURREY in about 3/8in tall letters across the middle of the puck.

PS- Mine came in a little clam shell like a VDH but was shrunk about 1/8in around the puck circumference.

Click to expand...

I have seen pictures of that one on Ebay. I believe that is more recent than the puck mentioned at the start of this thread, and the formulation is probably much closer to the modern day VDH.

Your puck is probably identical to these pucks sold in an 8 pack tube for the Barber trade on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BARBER-SHOP-SHAVING-BRUSH-MUG-SOAP-8-CAKES-SOAP-/230498257109?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

John,

I think your right. Mine looked identical. I saw some old posts of surrey boxes here from circa 2000ish and they look like VDH boxes but say Surrey. Probably a bunch of differnet designs over the years!

Jay

*And thanks for the link! I may pick up some of that as mine is good stuff!

Here's a picture of the one I found for $2 at an antique store. No box, it was sealed in a cellaphane wrapper, looks just like the ones in Michiganlovers picture. I haven't used it yet but plan on maybe trying it tomorrow.

michiganlover said:

I think VDH bought out Surrey. They were not always the same company. Surrey existed for quite some time, there are 1970's era brushes that look very similar to the VDH Boar brush.

Just because VDH has never made a tallow based soap, doesn't mean Surrey never did. I have not seen the ingredients list, but I am almost 100% certain the puck referenced in the start of this thread is most certainly tallow based; I have read other threads talking about a tallow based Surrey as well.


]

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Hi John,

Thanks for that very interesting aditional info. Heh, I'm more confused than ever now, but I prefer that to thinking I know the right answer and finding out that's not the case.

Martin

Used Surrey for the first time this morning, even used a Surrey brsuh, and this is some good stuff. Lathered like crazy and gave a great shave with a Single Ring. I will be using it again!

michiganlover said:

Your puck is probably identical to these pucks sold in an 8 pack tube for the Barber trade on Ebay:

[/IMG]

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Thanks for that pic John. I went ahead and ordered the stuff, so we'll see what happens. The pucks I had were wrapped in that clear plastic, similar to what the picture shows. Heh, if the soap turns out well I''ll send you a puck for a finders fee..........

Martin

L. Martino said:

Heh, if the soap turns out well I''ll send you a puck for a finders fee..........

Martin

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Sweet. Thanks for your generosity sir.

Hiya,

Sigh....... here's a quick update on the stuff I ordered. Turns out the picture shows something different than what would be shipped. As a result I cancelled the sale.

Very good communication with the seller after I emailed a question regarding what the soaps looked like. I'd asked if they were exactly the same as shown, and he determined the soap was made or distributed by someone other than Surrey. The current puck being sold has no name or emblem.

He mentioned changing the picture to avoid confusion in the future and seemed like a reputable seller. I had no problem with cancelling the order and would do business with him in the future.

Meanwhile.....................sheeeesh! This little search might take a while longer, or maybe not. I did buy a few pucks of what I hope will be something good, but who knows. We'll see when it gets here.

Martin

That's a shame. I've used the Surrey twice now and it does perfrom very well. Good luck, hopefully some will turn up.

I guess it might be like a vintage razor but what's so special about Surrey Soap?

They seems to be good but why would I pick a Surrey over a modern soap?

-re-reading the last question it's almost like asking why would I pick a Gillette NEW vs. Merkur OC... I know, I know...

HoosierTrooper said:

That's a shame. I've used the Surrey twice now and it does perfrom very well. Good luck, hopefully some will turn up.

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Good deal,

I'm glad that soap's been a good one for you. I have a feeling your puck amd mine were made at different times during the Surrey evolution, but who knows.....heh.

Yeah, I'd like to find some extras similar to the last one I have, or try a puck like yours. Heh, that way, maybe I could finally crack open the remaining one I've been hoarding.

Nice typing at you,

Martin

L. Martino said:

Hiya,

Sigh....... here's a quick update on the stuff I ordered. Turns out the picture shows something different than what would be shipped. As a result I cancelled the sale.

Martin

Click to expand...

Martin, here is another potential source for the Surrey Shaving Soap, assuming that what's in the picture is the product you receive. I would probably call them on the phone first to check.

Note that when you order you can select either regular, or glycerin.

http://stores.atlantabarber.com/-strse-283/Shaving-Mug-Soap/Detail.bok

michiganlover said:

Martin, here is another potential source for the Surrey Shaving Soap, assuming that what's in the picture is the product you receive. I would probably call them on the phone first to check.

Note that when you order you can select either regular, or glycerin.

http://stores.atlantabarber.com/-strse-283/Shaving-Mug-Soap/Detail.bok

Click to expand...

Hi John,

I appreciate your help in my quest, and I did order from that site a while back. Sadly, the item wasn't as pictured, and I received a box of eight currently made VDH Deluxe pucks. Yeah, I was a little irritated at the time, but decided on keeping em anyway. I like The VDH soap anyway, and will find a use for the multiple pucks..maybe give one away with a razor I sell or something like that. The other reason I kept the box is because shipping probably woulda been a fair bit to do a return

Heh, your suggestion about calling that site first woulda been a good idea. I did learn from that experience though and have since saved myself some further grief when trying to buy this older soap.

What I did end up finding was some Surrey branded soap that looks like the stuff HoosierTrooper has. I've used it twice now, and it's very good stuff. It's an easily (microwave) meltable soap, so no tallow I'd guess. I'd bet money it's different from the original small puck I showed earlier, but still fun to use.

Very slick performance and excellent cushion. The scent is faint.......clean and soapy sorta fragrance. It actually reminds me a bit of a very toned down MWF, which I like. Post shave skin care is much better than usual.

I'm gonna keep trying to find more of the pucks I have, but it ain't looking very good. Here's a few pics of what I've come up with so far. Obviously, the box contains those VDH soaps.

Martin

Luc said:

I guess it might be like a vintage razor but what's so special about Surrey Soap?

They seems to be good but why would I pick a Surrey over a modern soap?

...

Click to expand...

Hi there,

Well, it's a weird thing about old soap. Some of the stuff is still fun to use, plus the idea of shaving with a 20-50 year old puck is sorta interesting. The main thing though, is that some old soaps can perform like crazy......better than most soaps being made today.

My interest in Surrey isn't a new one. I'd been trying for about six months to find some info on that small puck of mine, with zero luck. I didn't even know the 'S' stood for Surrey until recently though. Heh, yeah, I found that out in another shaving forum after I started a thread about the goofy stuff. I still know nothing about when the stuff I have was made, and little chance of finding any. What a goofy 'hobby'.

I recently bought some of the beige pucks like HoosierTrooper has, and it's a very nice soap. I was happy with the performance, and especially liked the scent. It'll be a pleasant addition to the shaving arsenal, and one I'll use fairly often. Sadly, I have no clue when this batch was made.......sigh.

Now, the three NOS pucks ran me just under $14 total. That to me is a nice deal on a soap that's difficult to obtain, and it's something that'll last a while. Mainly though, it's something that makes for an excellent addition to my rotation.

Hope that helps answer the question,

Martin