You know how the Tabac soap bowl had 3 or 4 "struts" which hold the puck steady... Are you supposed to push the soap down tothe bottom of the bowl or leave it sitting on them. I left it sitting and now the puck is starting to break up and sink at 1 side????
Tabac Sinking?
- Thread starter Robotack
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Mine came with the soap in the dish, original packaging. I have noticed that the top of the soap is cracking and very uneven, however it still works great. I doubt is has any affect on the product.
That's interesting. I have a Tabac puck I put in a mug. It now has one high side. Actually, it's more like a ridge on one side. I'm curious to see the replies to this thread.
Maybe I didn't do anything wrong...
Maybe I didn't do anything wrong...
J
Jarmo P
Interesting question. I am sure the 4 ribs and the unflat bottom are there for a reason.
Way I see it in the new bowl with a loaded soap it was "sitting" above the ribs. Perhaps to leave on bottom a place so that a possible water does not get in contact with the soap? Eventually of course the soap will be pushed down as you have already experienced starts to tilt.
It is not a lathering bowl and one should always go to the puck with a very well shaken brush. Perhaps the empty space on bottom is for preventing possible water corrupting the soap consistency?
Way I see it in the new bowl with a loaded soap it was "sitting" above the ribs. Perhaps to leave on bottom a place so that a possible water does not get in contact with the soap? Eventually of course the soap will be pushed down as you have already experienced starts to tilt.
It is not a lathering bowl and one should always go to the puck with a very well shaken brush. Perhaps the empty space on bottom is for preventing possible water corrupting the soap consistency?
V
VR6ofpain
As it absorbs the water, the cake of soap sort of falls apart. The good part is the shaves improve with the cake moist.
I think the struts are to promote drainage and prevent the cake from sitting in water. In my experience, Tabac can become slimy when subject to water contact for prolonged periods. Anyway, the struts don't work since the cake expands outwards to seal the puck around the bowl's circumference, preventing you from pouring off water in the bottom of the bowl.
If I were you, I'd just push the soap down hard into the bottom of the bowl. I don't use Tabac's bowl to hold the soap anymore; I use a soapstone bowl with a lid and it works great. In my opinion the struts are useless, and the concave surface in the bottom of the glass bowl doesn't help, either.
Don
If I were you, I'd just push the soap down hard into the bottom of the bowl. I don't use Tabac's bowl to hold the soap anymore; I use a soapstone bowl with a lid and it works great. In my opinion the struts are useless, and the concave surface in the bottom of the glass bowl doesn't help, either.
Don
J
Jarmo P
Well, they work sort off. You WILL of course ruin the puck if you lather on top of it with too much water. If the water gets to bottom cave and never evaporates until the next shave.
But if you work as the soap is intended and just load your damp brush from the puck and then go to either face or a lathering bowl to build the lather, then it should work very well.
Jarmo
You shouldn't use so much water when loading the brush with soap that you'd need to pour it off later. As Jarmo says, just a damp brush. Things like 'putting a teaspoon of water on top of the soap and letting it soak', as mentioned in some tutorials, are, IMHO, not a good idea with Tabac soap.
I fully agree with your opinion, as exactly this has happened to me before. As I'm shaving with many different creams and soaps, I did not notice the residue of water inside the original bowl and when I reopened it a couple of days later, I was certainly surprised. The Soap, though half of it turned into cream, was salvagable. I mashed the stuff together with my hands so the water was distributed evenly. Then I put the mash back into the bowl, evened the surface and gave it plenty of time to dry. Now it's gone back to normal, the scent ist still there and I can use it like before.
I allways soak it, just don't do it too long and pour the excess of and you will keep the cracking under control.
And pushing the soap down is the way to go, as it will change shape anyway (expand, crack, whatever).
And pushing the soap down is the way to go, as it will change shape anyway (expand, crack, whatever).
My thoughts exactly.
I pushed mine down gently to give it some stability. To avoid it dissolving from the bottom, I always pour out the excess water left in the bottom of the bowl after I load up my brush (I lather in a separate bowl).
- Thread starter
- #13
I always soak it, but I'm getting very bad cracking. Sometimes bits even break off when I'm tipping out the water before loading.
I've found that it is completely unnecessary to soak Tabac beforehand, a damp brush, with some water left in it, will do just nicely. It just takes a bit more effort in getting the brush to gorge itself on luscious soapy goodness 
. But carefully swirling and pumping and occasionally swiping the sides of the bowl clean is really all it takes. Tabac dissolves fairly easily, much more easily than for example TOBS Sandalwood or Wilkinson.
As for the OP's question: I let the puck sit on the ridges until I've used so much soap that I can press the remainder into the bowl: at that time you run the risk of 'punching through' what is left necessitating the bit of molding anyway. After you've made lather a few times the space between puck and bowl will be filled with dried, dense lather to begin with, and this provides a good enough seal to prevent any excess water from seeping in.
And yes, Tabac also cracks rather quickly. Just don't use soak the soap, wipe the surface as clean as you can after loading the brush, let the soap dry to air without the lid, and you'll be fine. It won't affect the soap's properties.
. But carefully swirling and pumping and occasionally swiping the sides of the bowl clean is really all it takes. Tabac dissolves fairly easily, much more easily than for example TOBS Sandalwood or Wilkinson.As for the OP's question: I let the puck sit on the ridges until I've used so much soap that I can press the remainder into the bowl: at that time you run the risk of 'punching through' what is left necessitating the bit of molding anyway. After you've made lather a few times the space between puck and bowl will be filled with dried, dense lather to begin with, and this provides a good enough seal to prevent any excess water from seeping in.
And yes, Tabac also cracks rather quickly. Just don't use soak the soap, wipe the surface as clean as you can after loading the brush, let the soap dry to air without the lid, and you'll be fine. It won't affect the soap's properties.
I read the title properly the first time ... but I like your interpretation better.
I wanted to bump this thread up because this happened to me!
My Tabac looked like this:
So I pushed it all the way down, and viola!
Needless to say I will be careful about how much water I add directly to the puck in the future.
My Tabac looked like this:
So I pushed it all the way down, and viola!
Needless to say I will be careful about how much water I add directly to the puck in the future.
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The Tabac should be pushed all the way down to the bottom of the bowl, leaving no space below. The ribs are there to keep the soap from sliding around during the first few uses, until it glues itself to the bottom, and to keep it centered until it swells from water saturation. If you leave it on top of the ribs then water simply accumulates down there and gets slimy, and you get the other tilting and cracking problems. With the soap sitting at the bottom of the bowl some small amount of water may remain along the sides but it won't be nearly as much. Some will evaporate and the soap absorbs some, and eventually it will expand to the sides of the cup making the issue moot.
Hard soaps don't need to be soaked before use. This trick helps beginners who need all the assistance they can get, and it helps if you've got a fresh hard soap that's been sitting in a warehouse for years and has developed a bit of a skin. Once you've used a soap for a week or so you will have worn through any skin and it will have absorbed enough water to soften it considerably. As long as you use it regularly it will remain soft and easy lathering. Extra soaking simply wastes soap and makes a mess. You don't soak your hand soaps before using them, after all. Yeah that first time you use a fresh hand soap it's a little tougher to get it to work, but once you get past that point they work fine, and shaving soaps are the same way. Sometimes I think we overthink things around here.
Hard soaps don't need to be soaked before use. This trick helps beginners who need all the assistance they can get, and it helps if you've got a fresh hard soap that's been sitting in a warehouse for years and has developed a bit of a skin. Once you've used a soap for a week or so you will have worn through any skin and it will have absorbed enough water to soften it considerably. As long as you use it regularly it will remain soft and easy lathering. Extra soaking simply wastes soap and makes a mess. You don't soak your hand soaps before using them, after all. Yeah that first time you use a fresh hand soap it's a little tougher to get it to work, but once you get past that point they work fine, and shaving soaps are the same way. Sometimes I think we overthink things around here.
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you got to the bottom of the bowl ???? 
I wanted to bump this thread up because this happened to me!
My Tabac looked like this:
So I pushed it all the way down, and viola!
Needless to say I will be careful about how much water I add directly to the puck in the future.
OMG!!!! What have you done with your Tabac? It looks nasty!
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