Thread: Best soap anyone?

Haslinger, Tabac, Qed, GFT & CF all reign in my bathroom.

CF rocks and would be my Nr1 cream. Tabac will always be one of my top performers but the past months I've been using my Haslinger Honey soap exclusively. It's also tallow based and gives me a better cushioning and slickness then Tabac.
I love my QED soaps mostly for the EO used and besides being good performing soaps they just smell yummy. I will always have at least 1 GFT shaving product in my den as it's the brand I used through my whole shaving career and it has sort of a nostalgy and lots of memories assocated with it.

Only have one soap right now, but I have to say that I love it.

Caswell Massey
Greenbrair -
A handsome blend of artemisia, sage, thyme and lavender with a citrus bouquet of grapefruit, bergamot and lemon, all supported by the exotic woodiness of sandalwood, vetiver and amber. This perfectly realized blend was created as a tribute sophistication with the charm of yesteryear.

Yeah, something like that.

I have an ebay special on the way. Will report.

Well, lol, I guess I'm out of everyone's league here. Although I have just started shaving with a straight razor, I have been using William's shaving soap with my safety razors for nearly 30 years. At the time I first started using it, my aunt, who trained as a nurse in the 1920's, told me that it was the purest sopa there was. I have found with a safety razor, I rarely have to change blades when using this stuff. The current blade on my Schick Quattro IV has been in use for over 12 months and there is no sign of deterioration.

From reading this thread, it looks like Tabac and Castle Forbes are the most popular so I'll have to try those at some point. Are there any "cons" to using Williams?

Originally Posted by droche

From reading this thread, it looks like Tabac and Castle Forbes are the most popular so I'll have to try those at some point. Are there any "cons" to using Williams?

Cons to Williams?

The lather is a bit thin
The scent is fairly weak
The lather doesn't cushion very well
It isn't a very slippery lather
There are no moisturizing properties, its just soap.


I too used William exclusively for more than ten years. As soon as I tried a premium soap my Williams went Bye Bye. I don't know what her criteria for "purest soap" are but I'd say that there are many cottage soap makers that make a purer more natural soap, and one that works better in every way as well. All that said Williams isn't the worst shaving soap I have used, its a very good soap for its price, but being the cheapes on the market it isn't all that great.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Chris,

Have you tried the Marvy soap (vanilla-almond) yet? I can't imagine your wife not liking the fragrance of that soap as it is much, much different than the Tabac's Lysol-Aquanet-Right Guard-Old Spice-like aroma. It's a good thing Utopian likes it, as with his ability to stretch soap, the Urn of Tabac should last about 14.2 years.

I just saw your post tonight, Bruce. I have not tried the Marvy soap yet, but I certainly will; although, just today I received my sampler platter of soaps and creams from TGQ and I wish my whiskers would grow an inch an hour so I can shave and try them all NOW!

I like the smell of almond. My wife doesn't oddly enough. She does like the smell of TGQ Leatherneck though.

Chris L

My favorite is Honeybee Soap
Truly outstanding soap, and the scents are amazing. My test of a shave soap is how my face feels afterward, and Honeybee gets top honors in that field. Also, it is very reasonably priced.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

Cons to Williams?

The lather is a bit thin
The scent is fairly weak
The lather doesn't cushion very well
It isn't a very slippery lather
There are no moisturizing properties, its just soap.


I too used William exclusively for more than ten years. As soon as I tried a premium soap my Williams went Bye Bye. I don't know what her criteria for "purest soap" are but I'd say that there are many cottage soap makers that make a purer more natural soap, and one that works better in every way as well. All that said Williams isn't the worst shaving soap I have used, its a very good soap for its price, but being the cheapes on the market it isn't all that great.

Well, I ordered 2 bars of Tabac, so I'm looking forward to using it. If it lasts as long as a lot of people seem to be saying, it might be cheaper in the long run.

Dr Harris followed closely by
Truefitt & Hill luxury

I've tried most of them. I do like Castle Forbes a lot, it's a rich luxurious lather. Tabac is a good soap, so is Vintageblades triple milled stuff in the wooden bowl, for a hard soap, it's pretty awesome. If your a fan of Castle Forbes, you'll love "Nancy boy signature shave cream. It's very similar to Castle Forbes, but at half the price. It's thick, luxuriious and has a eucylyptus scent, I think. It's also very soothing on the face. I'm subject to razor burn, especially when I go XTG. Nancy Boy Shave Cream is the only one that leave my face soothed, not irritated. Funny name, but well worth you guys checking in to. I'm a fan of the Shave Creams more than the soaps. Nancy Boy and Castle Forbes both allow you to use a small amount. A little goes a long way. On your second pass, you need only place a few drops of water on your brush and your good to go again.

Tabac, DR Harrris Arlington, Pre de Provence
I'm curious about Caswell-Massey 1752 Sandalwood and Almond. I just ordered them. Has anyone tried those?