50+ soaps reviewed by a new DE shaver.

dfoulk said:

I'm not seeing you wanting to try every sample as some sound better in the description than they do when you get them in front of you. I've bought several samples that I ended up giving away once I gave them a smell.

The vendors you chose do have some very good scents though.

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Yes, I anticipate this. I do have 2 other wetshavers in my office who are family so I will be sharing with them as well, I hope you do not mind me stealing your salsa bowl idea.
Unfortunately these 2 guys probably won't join B&B as one is my 64 year old dad and the other is my cousin who really doesn't care about scents, he will probably like the ones that "smell like soap"

ackvil said:

Just imagine how much you would be spending if you couldn't get samples!

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No kidding! I think all of us have had to go through this at the beginning, I am just so lucky most soap makers offer samples. Speaking of more samples...

Make sure you're doing test lathers before you shave.
These soaps all have different requirements as far as loading, water, and lather technique to get the ideal lather. That's why many old timers say to stick with a set of products for at least a couple weeks so you can get the hang of them. When I'm testing a soap, I always test lather before I make a review vid, and I try to go with a razor and blade that I know and trust to not screw with my assessment of the soaps performance. YMMV

docjude said:

Make sure you're doing test lathers before you shave.
These soaps all have different requirements as far as loading, water, and lather technique to get the ideal lather. That's why many old timers say to stick with a set of products for at least a couple weeks so you can get the hang of them. When I'm testing a soap, I always test lather before I make a review vid, and I try to go with a razor and blade that I know and trust to not screw with my assessment of the soaps performance. YMMV

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Thanks for the advice, I know that i need a lot more experience which is why ill be reviewing them again once I know what I'm doing and what I like. It's nice being a newb to a hobby, I remember when I had no idea how to reload ammunition and now I do 2000 rounds per session.I hope to get that good with DE shaving.

Col. Conk Bay Rum

This is my 3rd time using this soap, the other 2 times I was in north Carolina on business and I didn't like it. Today was a much better experience, I soaked the puck in hot water with my brush for 5 minutes, this made a huge difference. It still lathers like a melt and pour soap but that is likely my fault. My father hates this soap, he only uses TOBS and T&H so he isn't used to glycerin soaps.

Col. Conk Bay Rum

Slickness 6/10
Cushion 5/10
Moisturizing 5/10
Smell 5/10 my father hates it, my wife gives it a 5 I give it a 6 or 7.
Total 5/10 average soap, not bad for the price but I hope I enjoy the other scents more. I am excited for lime.

One note for the members here. I would like feedback from members with experience. Let me know what I can do to improve. Let me know how you rate the soap I just rated so I know if I'm missing something.
Some common helpful points you can give me:
If my lather looks off let me know what am I doing wrong with my lather, what can I do to improve it.
If my technique looks off please correct me. If my ratings are off please put in your own and explain why. I would really appreciate the feedback and have already learned a great deal from what feedback I have received so far. Thank you!

rockclimber said:

Col. Conk Bay Rum

My father hates this soap, he only uses TOBS and T&H so he isn't used to glycerin soaps.

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Your Father sounds like a smart man when it comes to Col. Conk. There are a lot better soaps out there than TOBS and T&H though.

dfoulk said:

Your Father sounds like a smart man when it comes to Col. Conk. There are a lot better soaps out there than TOBS and T&H though.

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He loves all things English, English soaps and razors, English scuttles are on his list now. I am trying to convince him that the Georgetown Pottery G12 would be better for him. I am excited to try out some of these soaps with him.

mdevine said:

This looks very interesting and I'll be watching closely. Don't discount the "brand name" soaps. To me, it seems we sometimes judge them more harshly than we do the artisan soaps. For my money, D.R. Harris, Martin de Candre, Tabac and Arko are all excellent, and Art of Shaving shave soaps (the now discontinued tallow formulation) outperform everything else I've tried.

Enjoy your journey. If I were to make one suggestion, keep track of your top four or five, and revisit them once you're more experienced. That way, you can get a good idea of how they compare. Like I said, AoS is my favorite, but I'm interested in hearing what your final opinion is.

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I had my AoS Lavender puck on the back burner for awhile. I used it last night. What a great shave. Even with plenty of water, if you keep the brush on your face for a minute, it gets dense and creamy. Great shave.

Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood:

Slickness: 8/10 not T&H advertising thin lather with a cart slickness, but once you lather it up it is very slick.
Cushion: 8/10 you have to love triple milled soap.
Moisturizing: 7/10 great but Tabac is better.
Smell: 8/10 The sandalwood is rich and potent. On my way to work the A/C wafts the scent into the car making for a wonderful drive.
Total: 8/10 and so far my highest rated soap. This soap is a hard puck that lathers easily and keeps it's lather on your face even if you let it sit for several minutes. I would call it my gold standard at this early stage in my DE hobby. I almost rated some categories a 9 but I didn't want to commit to that A rating when I still have 60 soaps to try. A solid performer and T&H will always be in my den as both a soap and cream.

rockclimber said:

Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood:

Slickness: 8/10 not T&H advertising thin lather with a cart slickness, but once you lather it up it is very slick.
Cushion: 8/10 you have to love triple milled soap.
Moisturizing: 7/10 great but Tabac is better.
Smell: 8/10 The sandalwood is rich and potent. On my way to work the A/C wafts the scent into the car making for a wonderful drive.
Total: 8/10 and so far my highest rated soap. This soap is a hard puck that lathers easily and keeps it's lather on your face even if you let it sit for several minutes. I would call it my gold standard at this early stage in my DE hobby. I almost rated some categories a 9 but I didn't want to commit to that A rating when I still have 60 soaps to try. A solid performer and T&H will always be in my den as both a soap and cream.

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This is one that's completely unusable for me. I have it and I absolutely love the scent of it, though is smells more like fresh laundry or fabric softener than it does like sandlewood, in fact it doesn't smell like sandlewood at all. The scent I do like but it doesn't lather for me at all. I get thin weak quickly dissolving lathers every time with this one and I can lather just about any soap without issues. I've read several reviews and none rate it high at all. The cream rates high but the soap does not. I'm surprised you gave it an eight because for me it's about a four or five. I'd give the scent an 8 but everything else would be much lower.

If you have some secret to lathering this one let me know and I'll try it. Or maybe perhaps you have an older version that was replaced by the garbage version I have.

I think the version I have is new. I melted/pressed it into that larger wooden bowl so I have more surface area to load. Perhaps it is because I have used this soap 20+ times and have it dialed in? I also put hot water on top to soften the soap. I love this site, I can't wait to come back and compare my notes in a year, it'll be funny. I know T&H doesn't get much love around here so I was going out on a limb rating it a solid 8. We will see where I stand in a year. I'm sure it doesn't get much love for a reason and I just don't see it yet.





Random pick, WSP Blackbeard:
Slickness 8/10
Cushion 8/10
Moisturizing 7/10 this soap needs tallow I think. Let me use a few more samples and I will have a better review.
Smell 7/10 This smelled amazing in the tub. I definitely get tobacco, some cherry and vanilla. After lathering I loved the smell, just not as much as the organic sandalwood. I might love this more than 7, it may just be to manly to rate right away, it was definitely a kick in the nostrils. I'll use it another 20 times and rate it again in a year.
Total 7.5/10

I've been peaking into your thread periodically. And honestly your lathers look really dry and thin. Except in the WSP post.

I would recommend adding a little more water to your lather and go for yogurt consistency. You'd be surprised how much water a good quality soap can take on. Plus it will increase your slickness.

Obviously this is my opinion and ymmv. Good luck on your shaves

cvargo said:

I've been peaking into your thread periodically. And honestly your lathers look really dry and thin. Except in the WSP post.

I would recommend adding a little more water to your lather and go for yogurt consistency. You'd be surprised how much water a good quality soap can take on. Plus it will increase your slickness.

Obviously this is my opinion and ymmv. Good luck on your shaves

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Thank You!

rockclimber said:

Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood:

Slickness: 8/10 not T&H advertising thin lather with a cart slickness, but once you lather it up it is very slick.
Cushion: 8/10 you have to love triple milled soap.
Moisturizing: 7/10 great but Tabac is better.
Smell: 8/10 The sandalwood is rich and potent. On my way to work the A/C wafts the scent into the car making for a wonderful drive.
Total: 8/10 and so far my highest rated soap. This soap is a hard puck that lathers easily and keeps it's lather on your face even if you let it sit for several minutes. I would call it my gold standard at this early stage in my DE hobby. I almost rated some categories a 9 but I didn't want to commit to that A rating when I still have 60 soaps to try. A solid performer and T&H will always be in my den as both a soap and cream.

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dfoulk said:

This is one that's completely unusable for me. I have it and I absolutely love the scent of it, though is smells more like fresh laundry or fabric softener than it does like sandlewood, in fact it doesn't smell like sandlewood at all. The scent I do like but it doesn't lather for me at all. I get thin weak quickly dissolving lathers every time with this one and I can lather just about any soap without issues. I've read several reviews and none rate it high at all. The cream rates high but the soap does not. I'm surprised you gave it an eight because for me it's about a four or five. I'd give the scent an 8 but everything else would be much lower.

If you have some secret to lathering this one let me know and I'll try it. Or maybe perhaps you have an older version that was replaced by the garbage version I have.

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I got a puck in April of 2015, one of my favourite soaps.

For the first week or so of use I hydrate the puck by dribbling a little water on it. I load the brush, then begin to work the lather in a scuttle.

I finish by face lathering to get the rich yogurt-like lather. The water ratio is important. It will take a little effort, but it is worth it.

The face-lathering seems to be a key for me in getting a great lather from the T&H.

Thank you for the feedback, I will try more water in my lather. I felt like I was using a ton but everyone says add more so I will. If I've Been doing it wrong I will have to go back and review the Arko and others I started with.

WSP Vetiver:



Smells clean and refreshing, I could use this every day. Smells like springtime in a 3 piece suit to me. WSP says this contains Lemon, florals, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, and vetiver



I still would like to try the tallow version to compare against this. I think that I definitely put too much water into this lather. It contains large air bubbles which is from too much water from what I have read.





Slickness 8/10
Cushion 8/10
Moisturizing 7/10
Smell 9/10
Total 8/10 so far this is my favorite smell but I get a better shave from the T&H for some reason. Perhaps it is the tallow?

Hey brother try this next time.

Squeeze out your brush. So you are starting with just a damp brush. Load your brush. Then slowly incorporate your water to the brush if face lathering or to your bowl if bowl lathering.

Go for that yogurt consistency. I agree though the above has to much water for sure. But hey that's what makes this hobby so great!

Good luck brother

Edit: just for reference I lather like nickshaves on YouTube. If that helps at all.

I agree with cvargo, you're lather with the vetiver was way too wet and didn't seem like one I'd enjoy.

I don't buy into the wet lather thing, I want to shave with a thick rich lather and not a watered down one. I prefer a thicker lather. If I can see through it then I did something terribly wrong. A thinner lather to me is less protective and gives me a poorer shave. The lather from the Vetiver soap was pretty bad. If I'd have shaved with that the result would have been a poor shave and a misrepresentation of a really great soap.

I soak my brush while I take a shower. After my shower I dump the water in the bowl and fill it up again with hot water to warm the bristles again. Then gently shake most all of the water from the brush before taking it to the soap. You can always add more water but if you start with too much you can't take it away.

I'll lather until I have the soap about a half to 3/4 of an inch up the tips of the brush. It should be pretty thick at this point like a paste or gel. I'll add water about four drops at a time as I lather on the soap. It's more of a feel and visual thing but after a while you'll know where you're at with a soap. I'm going for a very thick protective lather.

Apply the lather to your face directly from the brush. You can add a few drops of water to the brush if you need to in order to wet the lather a bit but don't get carried away.

The lather for the first pass should be thick with the next pass and the one after that thick and protective as well.

Try a shave or two like this and let me know what you think.

Fro me, your lather with the Col Conk and T&H were quite thin. The Blackbeard lather was likely about what most people end up with, not bad but could be better. I like it like the Blackbeard lather but about twice as thick with much less air in the lather. The Vetiver lather was a complete mess.

The problem is when you introduce more water you introduce more air as well, ruining the thick rich lathers and giving you a fluffy airy lather that's not nearly as good.

dfoulk said:

There are a lot better soaps out there than TOBS and T&H though.

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I never much cared for these soaps, myself. However, I've yet to try the latest iteration (first ingredient, potassium palmate, versus sodium) of TOBS' Sandalwood Herbal puck - reviews of which seem largely favorable. Have you had a chance to try the latest one?