Golddachs Spezial- A VERY nice soap

There has been very little chatter about this soap in recent years. Don´t know why really. Anyway last week I ordered a bunch of soaps that I really have longed for a very long time. (apart from Golddachs I ordered a couple of Haslinger, a Calani and Dr. Dittmar).
Anyway this is a rather pricey soap especially if you go for the tin as well. I went for the tin- and was really pleased with my decision. Apart from looking very smart it´s also very "good". (Enough depth so you won´t have whipped soap everywhere). By the way- "dachs" in german is badger- so the golden badger. The recipe for the soap is from the early 70´s. On the German shaving forums GD is considered to be a classic. So why don´t this soap get much airplay in the English speaking forums? Beats me.

The scent is fantastic. Not overwhelming. I notice a little vetivier and clay in it´s palet (my nose anyway). The soap is more alkaline than the average soap. Golddachs themselves say that this makes the beard softer. I heard some people got problems with the soap (burning sensation) maybe because of it´s content with geranium. I am fortunate though. (As a side note Dr. Dittmar excludes geranium in theirs)

When I whipped up the soap with one of my badgers I got the slickest lather. Ever. Yoghurt thick. Protection and glide with the razor- terrific. This soap is easily on my list of the best soaps created by mankind.

I have some vacuum sealed. You're going to make me open it up and use it aren't you

turtle said:

I have some vacuum sealed. You're going to make me open it up and use it aren't you

Click to expand...

Well pal- judging by your location in your profile "Lost in the lather" I guess you need to break the seal to this one huh

I'd love to try it but am worried about it's scent. I've read many good reviews of this soap. Just not sure about taking a chance on it at this price. If it's in the zip code of Klar Kabinette I might bite. It comes down to scent.

the prevailing scent to my nose is a sharp lavender, but overall subtle scent. i think it's supposed to be more acidic than other soaps, iirc. it works great, the lather feels very "soft" and gentle on the face. very slick as well

Golddachs is a fantastic soap and is one of my favorites.

It lathers like a champ.

^^^^^Xillion you can lather wet concrete. Your messing with the curve here at B&B!
Nice lather!

Gosh Xillion! Now that´s what I call proper lather

rxonmymind said:

I'd love to try it but am worried about it's scent. I've read many good reviews of this soap. Just not sure about taking a chance on it at this price. If it's in the zip code of Klar Kabinette I might bite. It comes down to scent.

Click to expand...

The scent is hard to describe really. Lacking of better description I would describe the scent "soapy". The scent of fresh linen if you see what I mean. Very classic. I like it a lot. As a matter of fact I have opened the tin on several occasions just to sniff! Like you I am a huge fan of Klar´s Kabinett. Of course you have the rose scent with the KK so scent wise the GD is a different bag altogether of course. As for the strength of the scent they play in the same league. Not overpowering at all.

Thanks Henrick! I like the soap aspect and with just a kiss of scent is fine by me.

rxonmymind said:

Thanks Henrick! I like the soap aspect and with just a kiss of scent is fine by me.

Click to expand...

Pleasure! What got me with this soap was not the scent but its´fabulous performance. Look again on the lather pics from Xillion.. Now I seem like a seller from GD but I do believe that this alkaline soap has provided me with a longer lasting shave as well blink and the face feels just GREAT afterwards. After my 3:rd shave this morning I think I´ll rank it as my best soap. Ever.

I've passed this soap so far because of its relatively steep price... but I'm intrigued. I always liked the classical packaging. How does this compare to the Dr. Dittmar, does it perform the same and just the scent is different?

Is this different than the Golddachs Rivivage?

Greg1911 said:

Is this different than the Golddachs Rivivage?

Click to expand...

Really good question! From WestCoastShaving catalog, looks like Spezial and Rivivage are the same. But, what are Classic, Macho, Sandelholz and Sport? Same soap, different scents? And what are the scents like?

john parker said:

Really good question! From WestCoastShaving catalog, looks like Spezial and Rivivage are the same. But, what are Classic, Macho, Sandelholz and Sport? Same soap, different scents? And what are the scents like?

Click to expand...

Correct Spezial and Rivivage are the same. The ingredients are not listed on the box, but for me, Macho, Sandelholz (Sandalwood), and Sport perform the same Spezial but with a different scent. The pucks are bigger at 75 grams. Spezial puck in the tin and the twin pack refill weigh 56 grams.

I also noticed that there is a Classic scent refill puck, linked below, that weighs 60 grams. Haven't smelled this one but it is probably another repackaging of Spezial/Rivivage.

http://www.royalshave.com/p/422-030-00/gold-dachs-rivivage-shaving-soap.html

xillion said:

Correct Spezial and Rivivage are the same. The ingredients are not listed on the box, but for me, Macho, Sandelholz (Sandalwood), and Sport perform the same Spezial but with a different scent. The pucks are bigger at 75 grams. Spezial puck in the tin and the twin pack refill weigh 56 grams.

I also noticed that there is a Classic scent refill puck, linked below, that weighs 60 grams. Haven't smelled this one but it is probably another repackaging of Spezial/Rivivage.

http://www.royalshave.com/p/422-030-00/gold-dachs-rivivage-shaving-soap.html

Click to expand...

Xillion, sounds like perhaps you have smelled most of them. What are the scents like of them you have tried?

john parker said:

Xillion, sounds like perhaps you have smelled most of them. What are the scents like of them you have tried?

Click to expand...

My favorite is the Sandelholtz (Sandalwood). The scent is subtle on the puck, but it opens up once lathered. It's a woodsy dry sandalwood scent, very masculine and not too sweet or cologne like.

The Macho has a sweet musky scent, I tried it a long time ago so I may not be remembering it correctly. Sport is the only one I haven't tried yet, I'll have to rectify that soon.

I found the ingredient lists in this post by Sir Whiskers. Looks like they are a bit different, but they are all great performers.

Images by Sir Whiskers.

Macho/Sandalwood
View attachment 314979

Golddachs Classic
View attachment 314980

nwjs said:

I've passed this soap so far because of its relatively steep price... but I'm intrigued. I always liked the classical packaging. How does this compare to the Dr. Dittmar, does it perform the same and just the scent is different?

Click to expand...

In my order I also tucked in a Dr. Dittmar. The scent is terrific and in the same "soapy scent leauge" as GD (althoguh different). I have not lathered up the "Doc" yet and will probably wait a while but from what I have read Dittmar performs very similar to GD. The main difference is that Dittmar has excluded some ingredients that may cause nuisance for some shavers. Like you I fell for the classy packaging of the GD

Apparently there was some fuss between the owners of GD and it ended with the creation of the Dr. Dittmar brand. With the leaflet that came with the Dittmar soap I read that they have taken the original receipe of GD and have reformulated it twice. Both soaps get fantastic ratings. What struck me with the GD is that I get a very thick protective lather in a nick of no time. I face lather all the time.

Just bumping this thread to show some love for the golden badger. Gold Dachs is great stuff.

Yes. I still have feel the same about this soap. It´s remarkable. (I just wanted to give people my opinion today as people sometimes write a rave review about some newly acquired merchandise only to find out after some use that it really was a "meh" product). Highly recommended.

GoldDachs soap paired with a GoldDachs 5/8 straight and you flirt with or get a BBS shave every time. Of all the soaps and creams I have tried this one is the most unique. Worth the investment in a tin with puck.