Thread: SRD Shave Soaps...

Many of us purchased the wonderful Rose Otto Shave Soap from our friends at SRD. If you were impressed by that soap, then you need to try SRD's other offerings. I recently pulled the trigger on a beautiful Bergisher Lowe. A great shaver at a great price. SRD has them at a discount off there already low prices. At the same time I got a tub of SRD Lime and SRD Patchouli. I would have bought all of them, as I have SAD and SCAD.
(Soap and Shave Cream) but I was cautious. I was very pleasantly surprised. These soaps are so rich and wonderful, they just explode with lather. I'm a scuttle shaver, so I transfer the lather to my scuttle. With SRD, I could have easily gotten away with one pass at the puck. I normally do 3 passes from the puck to the scuttle. With SRD's I did two passes and I had enough lather to shave multiple passes. It's nice and slick, doesn't dry out, and the fragrances are as advertised. They did not skimp anywhere on these soaps. These are soaps made by Straight razor users for Straight razor users. I'm a soap and shave cream nut. I look for things like tallow in soap. These are the best Glycerin based soaps I have come across. Currently, I have about 50 or so soaps and creams in my rotation. I just can't believe how good these soaps are, really.

So, the next time your looking for a new soap, Give SRD's a try. I promise you will not be disappointed. I have the Rose Otto, The Lime and the Patchouli. I will get the rest of their fragrances, and I will do a formal review on that section too...Way to go SRD!

This is exactly the experience I had, great soaps.

I really enjoy there soaps.

I have the rose otto, lime and blood orange in my rotation. I leave the otto bowl open and the aroma has really opened up over the past several months. The other 4 tubs I have are sealed. In my opinion they really need a month or two to get rid of the "chemical" odor but when it's gone it's a really great scent. I also find I don't need shaving oil. I just lather up for several passes and enjoy every one. I'm no expert, but it seems that the essential oil of the otto does the trick.


The other two are also great scents. All have GREAT lather that doesn't take long to make. Every time I go past a bowl I open it up and take a whiff. They never disappoint......

I'd like to try one of the SRD soaps. The only thing that worries me is that the really hard water (lots of calcium and magnesium carbonate) here has meant I've always had bad results with any of the 'hand made' glycerin based soaps, I've tried Colleens, Mama Bears, Honeybee Sues, QED etc and all were unusable.

Don't get me wrong, the soaps and scents were superb, it's just that on every one the lather would collapse and fizz away to nothing before I could even do a single pass. It was such a huge disappointment as I loved all the varieties I tried, and I prefer to try to support the smaller vendors whenever possible.

So I have to stick to Proraso, Trumpers, Tabac etc which seem to work acceptably with our horrible water here.

So, you leave the Otto open? That Rose Otto is the most addicting scent I've come across. It should come with a warning....

Steelforge, I'm sorrry to hear about your troubles with the soaps. If it's any consolation, I too have had lot's of trouble with TGQ, or Colleen soaps and Mama Bear's. I tend to Uber them because I enjoy the fragrance. By adding a shot of Kiss my Face and some Glycerin should help you. I can't guarantee that you'd have any better luck with SRD's Glycerin based soaps, but they do work well on their own, probably the best I've come across. Also, Prarie Creations is making/selling Tallow based soaps....

My dear Zib,

Thank you for recommending the SRD soap. I have meant to get that for a while, but somehow managed to forget. Old age, I'd say.

And also thanks for your thoughts on the Bergisher Lowe, another razor I've had in mind for quite a while. Your opinion means a lot.

Regards,

Obie

SRD Lime and Blood Orange....great stuff!

Originally Posted by Obie

My dear Zib,

Thank you for recommending the SRD soap. I have meant to get that for a while, but somehow managed to forget. Old age, I'd say.

And also thanks for your thoughts on the Bergisher Lowe, another razor I've had in mind for quite a while. Your opinion means a lot.

Regards,

Obie

Well Thank you Sir, Glad to help. That Bergisher Lowe is one sweet shave.
Not only is it a good looker, It's a great shaver. The spine work is awesome, and the scales really set it off.....

Originally Posted by Steelforge

I'd like to try one of the SRD soaps. The only thing that worries me is that the really hard water (lots of calcium and magnesium carbonate) here has meant I've always had bad results with any of the 'hand made' glycerin based soaps, I've tried Colleens, Mama Bears, Honeybee Sues, QED etc and all were unusable.

Don't get me wrong, the soaps and scents were superb, it's just that on every one the lather would collapse and fizz away to nothing before I could even do a single pass. It was such a huge disappointment as I loved all the varieties I tried, and I prefer to try to support the smaller vendors whenever possible.

So I have to stick to Proraso, Trumpers, Tabac etc which seem to work acceptably with our horrible water here.

I've got an idea for you .... can't you get a ceramic coffee mug and heat up some bottled water in a microwave? You can dampen the brush and create the lather from that, maybe bypassing your hard water problem?

I have medium-hard water here in the Delta area of California, and I like my scuttle VERY warm when shaving. I fill my Georgetown Pottery scuttle with lukewarm water in both the water jacket and the bowl, then nuke it for a minute or two .... then when it is good and hot pour out the water in the bowl, refill the water jacket, load my brush and build the lather in the bowl. I think you could use bottled water in a mug on the side and get the lather you have been looking for.

Hope this helps,

Steve