Thread: Foundation Soaps

This is inspired by the 'First Tier Soaps' thread. After years of buying, trying and evaluating soaps that worked for me, or did not, I always seem to gravitate to a couple of soaps. These soaps are what I call foundation soaps. If I had to strip my den down and rely on only a couple of 'Steady Eddie' choices, mine would be Tabac and MWF.

There are lots of great choices out there and many worthy artisans. My 2 soaps reflect what I choose when altering a variable in my equipment. If I try a new brush, I go straight to my puck of MWF. I'll know immediately how that brush stacks up against my others. If I get a new blade, or try a different hone, either MWF, or Tabac let me know how the new variables are affecting my shaving experience.

I know the properties of these two soaps inside and out. What do you choose when push comes to shove?

Tabac and Cella are my "Go To" soaps.
My $.02 Ken

Honestly, with the amount of fantastic artisanal soaps available, nowadays, it is hard to limit my soaps to just a few.
These are some of my favourites:
Mystic Water
Mike's
L&L Grooming
Jabonman/Eufros

This is an interesting premise. Pare down the variables to arrive at one standard by which brushes and razors can be judged. With all the soaps and scents that are out there, maybe it's for the guy who has tried just about everything. I'm still feasting, and still haven't tried many "classic" soaps like Tabac and MWF, but if I had to pare down the variables for testing purposes, I think it would boil down to two options right now, irrespective of scent: Haslinger and Stirling. And if it had to be just one, then Haslinger would get the nod.

I'm not saying that these are the best soaps, just that I have found them reliable and that I know them well enough to judge a razor's or a brush's performance by them. And come to think of it, I think I rated Haslinger as a "first tier" soap on the other thread.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

This is an interesting premise. Pare down the variables to arrive at one standard by which brushes and razors can be judged. With all the soaps and scents that are out there, maybe it's for the guy who has tried just about everything. I'm still feasting, and still haven't tried many "classic" soaps like Tabac and MWF, but if I had to pare down the variables for testing purposes, I think it would boil down to two options right now, irrespective of scent: Haslinger and Stirling. And if it had to be just one, then Haslinger would get the nod.

I'm not saying that these are the best soaps, just that I have found them reliable and that I know them well enough to judge a razor's or a brush's performance by them. And come to think of it, I think I rated Haslinger as a "first tier" soap on the other thread.

Thanks for sharing. And that is the premise of my post! In fact, the reason Tabac was my first soap is because people kept mentioning it favorably on another shaving forum many years ago. I hope new users can gain some perspective and experienced straight shavers can share what works for them.

Spent most of my life shaving with only one soap/cream and one brush at a time. Then I was introduced to shaving as a hobby which is a whole other thing.

If I cut back, there would be Tabac, Arko and Palmolive shave sticks in my rotation. They just plain work each and every time for me no matter the type of brush used.

Bob

Originally Posted by celestino

Honestly, with the amount of fantastic artisanal soaps available, nowadays, it is hard to limit my soaps to just a few.
These are some of my favourites:
Mystic Water
Mike's
L&L Grooming
Jabonman/Eufros

Well I'm living proof that I haven't the discipline to limit myself to just a couple of soaps. And I'm not advocating such a move. If you are comparing one brush to another, which soap do you use to make that comparison?

Tabac, LEA and Green Mountain Soaps

Originally Posted by CrownCork

Tabac, LEA and Green Mountain Soaps

The Green Mountain. The lavender/grapefruit. If paring down I wouldn't need anything else.

• TGQ Desert Ironwood
• QED Anise & Lavender (sadly, no longer in production)
• TGQ Unscented (you have to have an unscented cake of good shaving soap -- some afterscents don't need to "stand on the shoulders of giants")

This is one of those "religious" discussions: Can we accept that Castle Forbes shaving creams are also "soft[er] soaps"? I vote "Yes", so let me add their Cedarwood and Sandalwood.