Soap to try

[kevstock]

Hi,

Looking for some help. I'm new to the hard soap way of shaving. I picked up the blue wilkinson sword bowl from the supermarket. It's ok, but I would like to try some others. Any ideas guys. Cheers.

 

[mulligano]

What's your budget?

Palmolive sticks are available in Tesco and Asda for 50p and are genuinely great, Arko is a "must try" that is practically impossible to mess up, but has a scent that divides opinion.

Mitchell's Wool Fat is another old favourite that costs around a fiver, I think. The Kent shaving soap is the same, just rebranded, and is available from John Lewis.

Going up the budgets, I can highly recommend DR Harris soaps and Wickham Soap Company (a member here that makes, possibly, the best soap I've tried) but both of these are in the £15 range - well worth it in my opinion.

I see you're in Dundee - go down to The Gentleman's Groom Room and have a check of the soaps yourself. I've yet to go, but am toying with the idea of a trip in next week at some point.

 

[kevstock]

I've heard good things of The Gentleman's Groom Room. I think a visit is on the card. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Sezer74]

Also from local savers Erasmic soap bowl is not bad and its around £3, another one is Boots own brand Freshwood soap bowl its around £3 as well and I think its good. But please be careful I am talking about the Erasmic soap in bowl Not the stick!! Erasmic stick is absolutely useless in my opinion.

 

[Shemen Zait]

Like all the above.

The one soap that do tick the boxes in many ways is the Tabac, the stick is a 100g which I think is the biggest stick out there, good value at £7.5 from ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310178962537?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[Reevers]

One of the first soaps that I tried which Iw as able to get a nice lather from was Cella.

It's considered by some to be a must-try soap for any serious wetshaver, the almond/marzipan scent might leave you divided but the performance is unquestionable.

http://connaughtshaving.com/cella.html

 

[kevstock]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll have a look and I'll try a few. Cheers.

 

[longplay]

Arko is a "must try" that is practically impossible to mess up, but has a scent that divides opinion.

No it doesn't, it's awful, the ones who like it are just wrong.

I picked up a couple of Edwin Jagger refills for around £4 on Amazon. Only tried the Sandalwood so far, and does a good job.

I also have a Boots Original soap (in a bowl), which works, but isn't the best, and smells odd, but it was cheap.

 

[smoose89]

Are the ej soaps pretty slippery like mwf? Love that from the fat

 

[eneville]

Keep checking eBay for "professor blighty" soaps, they're great. I don't know much about soaps, but his contain a lot of glycerine and I'm told that's a good thing.

 

[Taypsie]

I see you're in Dundee - go down to The Gentleman's Groom Room and have a check of the soaps yourself.

+1 on this advice Kev, get yourself down there and you can touch, feel and smell the goodies.

G.

 

[Gairdner]

Erasmic stick is absolutely useless in my opinion.

Ain't that the truth!

I'd go with Mulligano's choices and add in Sezer's option of the Boot's Shavebowl which to me, smells and works great as does the Boot's Stick. Wickham Soap Co & NSS olive oil formula hard soap are utterly fabulous and very difficult to choose between. Yesterday, I used a vintage American soap made by Surrey that was very kindly gifted to me by Dodgy Martin of this parish. One of the slickest slick things in all slickdom but you gotta be pretty slick in trying to track 'em down.

 

[mulligano]

I agree with Graeme on Nanny's soaps. Having used one today I'd add it to my list - and it fits nicely, budget-wise, between the MWF and Wickham Soap.