I have shaved 3 times now with Tabac. Very nice lather. Builds quickly. Rich. I have loaded twice with the Marco method, and this morning with a drier boar brush and face lather to build. Once again good lather. My complaint is there seems to be a lack of slickness. Perfectly good shave, but the blade just does not glide. I don't know if my water is hard or not. Cella seems to be a bit better for me that way. Also, Sterling soaps. So, is it just Tabac, or is it me? Folks rave about Tabac, so I want to give it a good try. I just bought a puck of Mitchell's Wool, which people claim has a terrific slickness and post shave feel, so I will see about that. Thoughts here?
Tabac and slickness
- Thread starter dndrich
- Start date
That is a common report. I have hard water, so lathering MWF produces thin and airy lather. Tabac isn't as slick as others, but its scent makes up for that, IMHO. I use the EdC too.
You might want to add a bit more water. I use Tabac regularly for straight razor shaving. Just put a puck in a bowl, dampen a little, toss out the excess, and hit it with damp (boar/synth/badger) brush. Put some lather between thumb and forefinger and rub together. It should feel slick. If not, play with proportions.
A test would be to pick up a gallon of distilled water and use that instead of tap. That should tell you if it's a hardness issue.
Yeah check your water. Or add more water to brush and whip longer I've used Tabac for years am on city water and find it plenty slick.
I'd add more water. Love TABAC, my top 3 soap easy - find it to be very slick. I can achieve a very shinny lather - it can absorb a huge amount of water. Try adding more water.
I also live is a very hard water area. I have used distilled water to soap my bush/bloom soap. It's added to my enjoyment of classic wet shaving...
I also live is a very hard water area. I have used distilled water to soap my bush/bloom soap. It's added to my enjoyment of classic wet shaving...
I agree with almost everything you said...Tabac is the king of slickness and cushion for me.
Now, about the phrase marked in RED above...way TMI!!
Luckily, we don't do a picture thread for that too! 
Tabac is not slick unless you are comparing it to Williams.
I use the Tabac shave stick and I find it very slick. I just have a wet face and do not add any more water than I do with any other soap.
Tabac is very slick for me, I'm finding out that it works very well with straights.
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Tabac, one of the slickest soaps out there.
Easy to lather, and a great scent.
Easy to lather, and a great scent.
As everyone else said, Tabac loves water. Also, try using a little less Tabac when loading your brush. A little Tabac goes a long way as opposed to most soaps.
I love Tabac. Its in my top 5 of over 60 soaps. I find it very slick in my artificially softened water and it worked well in some of the hardest water in the world in the middle east. It was much harder to lather over there but slickness was never an issue.
Well said!
+1 ... all soaps like soft water. MWF especially is partial to soft, clean water, and you should keep the puck well-hydrated in between uses.
It lathers quickly and you will benefit from taking your time and adding plenty of water.
Great soap.
Great soap.
I would change that to "It lathers quickly but you will benefit from taking your time and adding plenty of water." Tabac is one of those soaps that lathers up fast, but it's not done. As pretty much everyone who has tried making it with more water says, it's real slick if you make it with more water. I can only imagine that the "Tabac isn't slick" contingent hasn't tried that yet. The straight razor guys love the stuff, and they want serious slickness.
Also, Tabac has EDTA, which ought to make it work better in hard water. So I'd try making it with more water and see if that works first, then try distilled water.
Usually when this happens for me, I'm not using enough product and often not enough water. I have noticed so far that when I am loading the product on the brush, it's only pulling about half as much as I expect. Perhaps the puck is too dry and needs to be soaked a bit? I'm going to try this for tomorrow.
I find that lathering technique is King to producing wet slick heavy lather that is cushioning as well - in any water.
My technique is to have the brush fully saturated with really hot water and swirl it on the cake over a bowl or mug to let the hot soapy water run into the bowl.
After about twelve swirls (I count) I mash the brush on the cake of soap until the brush has completely given up it's water. I then use the soapy water to form my lather on my face until it's slick and thick. This seems to produce the best lather from any soap when dialed in. Tabac is no exception.
Chris
My technique is to have the brush fully saturated with really hot water and swirl it on the cake over a bowl or mug to let the hot soapy water run into the bowl.
After about twelve swirls (I count) I mash the brush on the cake of soap until the brush has completely given up it's water. I then use the soapy water to form my lather on my face until it's slick and thick. This seems to produce the best lather from any soap when dialed in. Tabac is no exception.
Chris
Tabac likes and needs water and can hold a lot of water so don't be bashful about it, add water. It will get very slick with enough water.
Make some practice palm lathers until you get it right. As pointed out, distilled water will eliminate all hardness issues so give it a try.
Make some practice palm lathers until you get it right. As pointed out, distilled water will eliminate all hardness issues so give it a try.
