Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I'm surprised that Col. Conk isn't on any comments yet. Lime was my 1st soap purchase back in 08...........easy to lather and nice scent. Probably killed 2 of them before I even tried anything else......
The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
The Non-Artisan Soap & Cream Thread
- Thread starter dkeester
- Start date
Thanks for the shout out!
I said it in another thread. But for me...AoS Tallow (and UnObtanium) is the standard for commercial soaps. It's just as good and better than about 80% of the formulations out there...commercial or artisan.
As far as the sticks go...I could NEVER get Palmolive stick to work all the well for me. It was serviceable and not horrible...but just couldn't get it to work as well as what others said.
But speaking of Palmolive...if you move to their cream...that might be one of the best creams for the price! Nice and slick and performs well.
I have tried LaToja but wasn't that impressed with it. But I was young in wet shaving at the time. I need to give it another go if I ever get around to purchasing another stick.
I still think that Arko is a really good soap despite the polarization of the scent (I like it personally). Maybe a little drying, but if you said I could only shave with Arko for a year...I probably wouldn't be all that disappointed.
ksblazer
Master TSC Shave Member
Haven't tried a lot of non Artisan soaps. I started with creams then gravitated to artisan soaps.
Decided to start trying them (besides Arko which was the only 1 I tried) to compare.
Tried Cella and liked it's performance. So it's in my rotation.
Almost through a puck of Haslinger honey tallow soap. Didn't try it until they changed to the non tallow. Wish I would have tried it sooner. Probably be one of those guys that would have stocked up on the tallow pucks. As this is one of my favorites now. Will have to try the non tallow. Some say they can't tell any difference and some say it's not what it used to be?
Bought some Derby sticks. So far I'm 1/3rd of a way through a stick. It's ok, but I like my Arko better.
Have some Palmolive sticks. Not sure if they are tallow or not? Need to check now. As well as a stick of Speik. They are ready to go in the rotation soon.
I like using these non artisan soaps mostly on my work days. Seem to lather quick and easily and provide a good shave. Sometimes on weekends if I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for? I usually reach for a non artisan soap.
Decided to start trying them (besides Arko which was the only 1 I tried) to compare.
Tried Cella and liked it's performance. So it's in my rotation.
Almost through a puck of Haslinger honey tallow soap. Didn't try it until they changed to the non tallow. Wish I would have tried it sooner. Probably be one of those guys that would have stocked up on the tallow pucks. As this is one of my favorites now. Will have to try the non tallow. Some say they can't tell any difference and some say it's not what it used to be?
Bought some Derby sticks. So far I'm 1/3rd of a way through a stick. It's ok, but I like my Arko better.
Have some Palmolive sticks. Not sure if they are tallow or not? Need to check now. As well as a stick of Speik. They are ready to go in the rotation soon.
I like using these non artisan soaps mostly on my work days. Seem to lather quick and easily and provide a good shave. Sometimes on weekends if I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for? I usually reach for a non artisan soap.
Arko, MWF, Tabac, VDH, and TOBS are the ones i have tried and i like them all. TOBS creams were the first thing i tried after the VDH i started with and was getting ok lathers. I don't really use creams anymore as they tend to not agree with my face with prolonged use but i still have 2 hard soaps from TOBS(lavendar and "sandalwood") and enjoy both. Arko has been my go to travel soap for several years and always works great. I Love Tabac and wish i had tried it sooner. i never thought that the scent profile sounded good at all until i actually had the chance to smell it in person. MWF is one that i love the performance every single time and have only had 1 "bad" lather from it ever(but to be fair i was blindfolded for that shave), if it weren't for the almost total lack of scent i would use it way more often.
I’ve used the AoS cream and like it when I am pressed for time. I have a small tube of the Sandlewood and quite like the scent as does me wife, which makes it a winner.
I have an Arko stick as well and don’t mind the scent at all. I have only used it once so far so I will reserve any judgment on performance until I get more familiar with it. My first impression was positive though.
I have an Arko stick as well and don’t mind the scent at all. I have only used it once so far so I will reserve any judgment on performance until I get more familiar with it. My first impression was positive though.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
That is two votes now that I have for trying La Toja. When I am no longer doing the "S" Thing I will be stocking up. I think I will try the cream also.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
A year or so ago, someone here on TSC (was it @Cvargo ?) was talking about going back to the Col. Conk glycerin and getting great results from it. That convinced me to buy a puck of the Bay Rum with a bottle of the matching AS. That one is probably going to come out for 3017ing in the near future. I am looking forward to going back to it.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
I have a tub of Cella waiting in the stash. I open it every now-and-then to get a nose-full of that amazing aroma. I love the almond/marzipan smell. Cella was one of my first 3017 soaps and it was so enjoyable.
I have tried the reformulated Haslinger and I don't think it is as good as the tallow version was, but I may need to give it another try.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
I didn't care for the TOBS Sandalwood hard soap, but TOBS creams are some of the best out there. If you haven't tried the Cedarwood TOBS cream, you are missing out. I need to get more of those at some point. I do love creams, but don't use them enough.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
AOS creams are stellar products IMO. They are priced similarly to TOBS creams and Trumper creams, so I don't feel that they are overpriced. I love the Lemon and the Sandalwood. I hope that AOS remains in the market even though the stores are all closing.
bobmsp
0
I've got a stick if you'd like it.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
I will happily trade you for the La Toja stick. Is there anything you are looking for?
The newer formula in the blue packaging has nicer scents and better performance. Actually pretty darn good.
I haven’t seen the Lemon, I’ll have to pick up a tube for travel once my Sandlewood runs out. Speaking of creams, for the price Gillette Pure is pretty darn good and readily available as well.
Brew
Shave Enthusiast
My favorite part of non-artisan soap is how easily they usually lather in all water conditions. Hard water? No problem, just swirl a bit longer. Soft water? Lather in an instant. In either case, the lather will be very good to excellent. That makes for a great travel soap, imo.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
The Fat is a good choice. The more soaps that I use with tallow and lanolin the more I like the combination. MWF also allows for a multitude of aftershave splash options.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
You are right about this. The last time that I traveled I used a Tabac stick and had some fabulous hotel shaves. I can see using a Tabac stick, or one of the other non-artisan sticks happily on every a vacation from here on.
Back in 2016 my wife and I went to Vietnam for two weeks. I shaved with nothing but an Arko stick the whole time. It was great.
Brew
Shave Enthusiast
I've been on two trips in the last month. AoS lavender went to Florida and Old Spice went to Virginia; both performed perfectly. The Old Spice cream has been a real surprise to me. Great stuff; I love it when a "classic" product lives up to its name.
I was a big fan of the Col. Conk Bay Rum splash. Unfortunately the last bottle I purchased was a watered-down ghost of the richly-scented juice I had bought twice before. Very disappointing.