So, I have to take back everything I said about Stirling Soaps. I said in several posts on here that I found them mediocre. It turns out, the fault was mine and I still wasn't lathering them well even though I had been in the hobby several months (they were probably the second soap I tried). I've now been in the hobby over a year and tried Stirling again, mostly because they came out with another batch of Peach soap which I really like, and no one else that I've found makes a Peach scent.
I've now been shaving with them all fall and they are hands down my favorite. Somehow they manage to be protective AND slick at the same time, without sacrificing either. I think I even like them better than my other favorite, MWF, and I also like them better than Haslinger Schafsmilch.
If you, like me, had written these soaps off when you were new to the hobby, maybe give them a try again. I think you'll be glad you did, especially given the variety of scents you can get nowhere else. I've currently got a Christmas Eve puck in the mail now that I've finished destroying my fall Red Delicious puck.
PS - I have to give the [MENTION=22302]Marco[/MENTION] method credit for improving my lathers. Once I tried that and switched away from bowl lathering to palm lathering, they got a lot better. I don't think there's anything wrong with bowl lathering, but I've come to believe it's probably not the best way to start the hobby, because lack of tactile feedback you get from palm or face lathering makes it harder to learn.
I've now been shaving with them all fall and they are hands down my favorite. Somehow they manage to be protective AND slick at the same time, without sacrificing either. I think I even like them better than my other favorite, MWF, and I also like them better than Haslinger Schafsmilch.
If you, like me, had written these soaps off when you were new to the hobby, maybe give them a try again. I think you'll be glad you did, especially given the variety of scents you can get nowhere else. I've currently got a Christmas Eve puck in the mail now that I've finished destroying my fall Red Delicious puck.
PS - I have to give the [MENTION=22302]Marco[/MENTION] method credit for improving my lathers. Once I tried that and switched away from bowl lathering to palm lathering, they got a lot better. I don't think there's anything wrong with bowl lathering, but I've come to believe it's probably not the best way to start the hobby, because lack of tactile feedback you get from palm or face lathering makes it harder to learn.
