I dont get Tabac

[MaxP]

I really enjoy Tabac. NOT the product, just the discussion!

There are few products (MWF, Tabac) that elicit such varied opinions in such a hurry.

Great reading. Thanks folks.

 

[Drubbing]

Well, obviously, the longer you soak the soap, the more damage you will do. I still think the whole 'soaking the soap' habit is completely unnecessary and more harmful than good for the consistency of your soap, especially with a soap like Tabac, which is already rather soft to begin with.

I agree with this post from the linked thread:

Tabac is a soft soap? Like... wow. Damage? I've been doing this since I got my tabac and not only is it fine, I've barely made a dent in this 'notoriously soft' soap.

I've tried leaving my soap dry, but it just doesn't work, you have to leave the brush too wet to get any soap off, and it creates suds that have to be worked out and up into a lather. For face latherers that just creates a huge mess. A squeezed brush and a damp puck puts the water and agitation right at the tips, and works brilliantly.

You can believe whatever you wish, but whenever this comes up, you post the same thing, and link to guy who soaked his whole puck in hot water. You 'think' it's bad, but you don't actually know, because you don't do it. If a bit of water was bad for soap, then how would we get any off the puck in the first place?

Live and let live, and stop dismissing others experience.

 

[Topgumby]

You don't get Tabac, daddy-o. The Tabac gets you, dig?

Hit those Bongos and sax, man.

I stumbled to my bathroom
Ravaged,
By stubble and
Those creams were so square, man
So I howled and
Tabac answered, tallow and cushion
Load my brush, load that empty brush
The scent, wow, clean and musty
Darjeeling Express sniffs the drawers of my mind
Creepy and smooth
Tabac

 

[hdorne]

Make sure you're thoroughly loading the brush and using enough water.

I can't imagine getting a bad lather with Tabac. The first time I used it, I was in love. I still am. Absolutely my go-to #1 soap.

 

[jpkunst]

Live and let live, and stop dismissing others experience.

I'm not trying to offend anyone and I'm sorry if I did. The only thing I was trying to do is offering my personal opinion on the best way of handling shaving soap. After all, the point of a discussion forum is to exchange different opinions, right?

Again, if I sounded dismissive of others in expressing my point of view, I'm sorry.

 

[GoldenMonkey]

To reiterate: there's a huge difference between "wetting the top of the puck for a few minutes", and "soaking it in hot water for ten minutes"...I think that's all jpkunst is trying to say. He's not trying to be dismissive of anything...but I don't want to speak for him...lol. That's how I read it is all.

And yes...Tabac IS a soft(ish) soap, compared to the triple milled English soaps like Harris, Penhaligon's, Trumper, etc.

 

[Tom Ford]

It doesn't sound as though your loading your brush with enough. Keep loading the brush, and once you hear and see it starting to 'slurry' keep going some more before going to the bowl. Work it in your bowl for another minute or so without adding any water, and more lather will appear. Then add some more water, work it again for another minute or so, and you should be good to go.

I'm quite lucky that I have 'soft' water to work with, I have no idea if this rountine is going to work with 'hard' water?

Good luck

 

[honed]

Nothing to "get" with TABAC - Just use it

Use plenty of water. It can be used & works great with little water, but is even better with a little more.

Skip the oil, it breaks down any lather.
SImple chemistry that even the magicians at TABAC can't solve.

Beside, who needs oil, when you have the greatest soap available for money in your hands (or on your face)

 

[Disburden]

Tabac= best shaving soap I have ever tried.
It lathers very very easily, almost without effort.

Whats not to like about a manly scent that smells like unlit cigars on a summer evening with a scotch in your hand?


Seriously!

 

[cymric]

Tabac is a soft soap? Like... wow. Damage? I've been doing this since I got my tabac and not only is it fine, I've barely made a dent in this 'notoriously soft' soap.

Making a dent is not a sign of usage. If you load carefully and don't press down like a madman, the top of the puck will decrease quite evenly. The idea of Tabac being soft stems from the fact that it dissolves easily and can be deformed rather easily too. It does not indicate silly putty-like consistency.

I've tried leaving my soap dry, but it just doesn't work, you have to leave the brush too wet to get any soap off, and it creates suds that have to be worked out and up into a lather. For face latherers that just creates a huge mess. A squeezed brush and a damp puck puts the water and agitation right at the tips, and works brilliantly.

I leave my Tabac bone dry and go at it with a brush which has been given a yoyo-shake twice or so. It is moist, but not wet. I load gently to avoid mixing in too much air which creates the suds. Works perfectly every time: I get a very concentrated lather, resembling a thin cream, in fact. This stuff is what I transfer to my lathering bowl to build further, but I see no reason why it wouldn't be a good starting point for someone building lather on his face too. So it appears there is bit of a problem in you stating 'but it just doesn't work'. For your information, when I started with Tabac many moons ago, I put water on the puck too, but switched when the puck began to show signs of deterioration. (See below.)

You can believe whatever you wish, but whenever this comes up, you post the same thing, and link to guy who soaked his whole puck in hot water. You 'think' it's bad, but you don't actually know, because you don't do it. If a bit of water was bad for soap, then how would we get any off the puck in the first place? Live and let live, and stop dismissing others experience.

I don't think this patronising tone of yours is appropriate, especially in view of the fact that you don't dig leaving the puck dry and just going at it with a moist brush. If you are allowed to make such statements, then jpkunst should be allowed to state his opinion on not soaking Tabac.

As for jpkunst 'thinking' it is bad for the soap: I'm not him so I do not know his experience. I can tell you mine, however, and point to some pretty disgusting pictures of what happens if you take the soaking too seriously. (Soaking in this context means 'following the guide on how to make lather from a soap available from this forum'.) Take a look at the pictures in this thread for how Tabac can behave under such circumstances. And yes, this has happened to me, too. Not to the extent shown in the picture, but I was certainly well underway in creating a soufflé de Tabac of my own.

I suppose there is very little wrong with sprinkling a little water on Tabac, moving it around a little, and then pouring it off so that its surface is wetted. Whether this is effective is something I don't know. I can theorise about 'breaking through the surface film' and the like, but without careful experiments this remains a wild guess. In any case: I know for a fact that with a little experience it is not necessary to wet Tabac in whatever amount prior to loading your brush. So it makes sense to recommend that others follow this mode of action too, in order to avoid problems even if people never experienced these themselves. That and letting the puck dry thoroughly before putting the lid back on.

 

[Ignatius]

I get it...I just don't want it.

 

[luvmysuper]

I'm not trying to offend anyone and I'm sorry if I did. The only thing I was trying to do is offering my personal opinion on the best way of handling shaving soap. After all, the point of a discussion forum is to exchange different opinions, right?

Again, if I sounded dismissive of others in expressing my point of view, I'm sorry.

I appreciate your input. I read the post you linked when it first came out, and I can assure you that I don't want to even risk Tabac Disease. Thank you for the post which was intended as help, that's the way I read it.
My puck is in a covered dish that allows the soap to dry between uses.

Making a dent is not a sign of usage. If you load carefully and don't press down like a madman, the top of the puck will decrease quite evenly. The idea of Tabac being soft stems from the fact that it dissolves easily and can be deformed rather easily too. It does not indicate silly putty-like consistency.


I leave my Tabac bone dry and go at it with a brush which has been given a yoyo-shake twice or so. It is moist, but not wet. I load gently to avoid mixing in too much air which creates the suds. Works perfectly every time: I get a very concentrated lather, resembling a thin cream, in fact. This stuff is what I transfer to my lathering bowl to build further, but I see no reason why it wouldn't be a good starting point for someone building lather on his face too. So it appears there is bit of a problem in you stating 'but it just doesn't work'. For your information, when I started with Tabac many moons ago, I put water on the puck too, but switched when the puck began to show signs of deterioration. (See below.)


I don't think this patronising tone of yours is appropriate, especially in view of the fact that you don't dig leaving the puck dry and just going at it with a moist brush. If you are allowed to make such statements, then jpkunst should be allowed to state his opinion on not soaking Tabac.

As for jpkunst 'thinking' it is bad for the soap: I'm not him so I do not know his experience. I can tell you mine, however, and point to some pretty disgusting pictures of what happens if you take the soaking too seriously. (Soaking in this context means 'following the guide on how to make lather from a soap available from this forum'.) Take a look at the pictures in this thread for how Tabac can behave under such circumstances. And yes, this has happened to me, too. Not to the extent shown in the picture, but I was certainly well underway in creating a soufflé de Tabac of my own.

I suppose there is very little wrong with sprinkling a little water on Tabac, moving it around a little, and then pouring it off so that its surface is wetted. Whether this is effective is something I don't know. I can theorise about 'breaking through the surface film' and the like, but without careful experiments this remains a wild guess. In any case: I know for a fact that with a little experience it is not necessary to wet Tabac in whatever amount prior to loading your brush. So it makes sense to recommend that others follow this mode of action too, in order to avoid problems even if people never experienced these themselves. That and letting the puck dry thoroughly before putting the lid back on.

I also go at it with a dry puck and a normally wet brush. I've never had a problem with copious amounts of lather and never felt I had to resort to wetting or soaking the puck. As I said earlier, I face lather.

As in all things B&B related - YMMV, but I am certainly appreciative that someone is willing to speak up and try to help other members by relating possible issues that they have come across.

 

[brianw]

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with Tabac. Love the lather, somewhat detest the scent. SWMBO was a lover of the scent and went as far as to buy me a couple of pucks near the end of Tabactober when my one puck was nearly gone. I was shocked by this.
In November started using another soap exclusively and all others have been gathering dust. Shocker of shockers is the SWMBO is sneaking using it as well...but thats a different story

 

[DirtyDave]

No one seems to be neutral about Tabac. You either love it or hate. Amazing how opinions on one product can vary so much among users. It's what makes boards like so interesting.

I like the stuff. Lathers well and easily, lasts a long time and it smells like my wife's snicker doodle cookies, which is good.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Between March of 2007 and November of 2009 I had used 2 pucks of TABAC.. Just opened my third ever puck this morning. MMMMMM...... TABAC!!!

 

[AJ72]

Tabac= best shaving soap I have ever tried.
It lathers very very easily, almost without effort.

Whats not to like about a manly scent that smells like unlit cigars on a summer evening with a scotch in your hand?


Seriously!

I never thought I could love Tabac more than I do, but the cigars and scotch connection really makes me love it more now

 

[Tricky]

I have found no better soap. I use a fairly wet brush (three shakes) and a dry puck. I get more soap than I need. I am a face latherer and have enough for four passes and touch up. Works great even with my really hard water.

 

[Drubbing]

I don't think this patronising tone of yours is appropriate, especially in view of the fact that you don't dig leaving the puck dry and just going at it with a moist brush. If you are allowed to make such statements, then jpkunst should be allowed to state his opinion on not soaking Tabac.

As for jpkunst 'thinking' it is bad for the soap: I'm not him so I do not know his experience.

Message boards are great aren't they? There's always plenty of people who will analyse everything to the nth degree.

It's nice of you get get offended on his behalf, despite the fact he didn't appear to be at all. And jp can think what he likes, but let's give people advice based on actual experience, shall we? His opinion is gained 2nd hand.

You've had a bad experience; yes, I'm aware of the 'souffled' puck. But it apears a one off, and even if it wasn't and there were one or two more episodes floating around somewhere, it's hardly indicate of a real issue, is it? Let's keep it in perspective, please. If I happen to be wrong (as well the thousands of others who do the same), I'll continue what I'm doing - I've always wanted to live on the edge...

And as I mention that - it is soap we're talking about here, as sad as we all are for doing so. And who hasn't got a spare puck lying around?

 

[richmondesi]

Message boards are great aren't they? There's always plenty of people who will analyse everything to the nth degree.

It's nice of you get get offended on his behalf, despite the fact he didn't appear to be at all. And jp can think what he likes, but let's give people advice based on actual experience, shall we? His opinion is gained 2nd hand.

You've had a bad experience; yes, I'm aware of the 'souffled' puck. But it apears a one off, and even if it wasn't and there were one or two more episodes floating around somewhere, it's hardly indicate of a real issue, is it? Let's keep it in perspective, please. If I happen to be wrong (as well the thousands of others who do the same), I'll continue what I'm doing - I've always wanted to live on the edge...

And as I mention that - it is soap we're talking about here, as sad as we all are for doing so. And who hasn't got a spare puck lying around?

Please excuse me, I'm not picking on you, but why is it bad to give an opinion based on someone else's experiences? We learn all the time from the experiences of others. I know that Zeepk straight razors are no good because experienced users have had a bunch of bad experiences and none report good experiences. Is it wrong for me to adopt the opinion (and share it) that Zeepk razors should be avoided if people are wanting a good razor to shave with?

Like I said, I'm not picking on you necessarily... I just don't understand the reasoning employed. Thanks for your understanding

 

[Topgumby]

I think the phrase, "Oh, go soak your puck!" has a nice, derisive ring to it.