Basic cheap soap for a budget

I have tried many of the mass market soaps, gels, foams while perfecting the art of straight razor shaving and to date the best shave by far was with a tub of Wilkinson Sword soap in a blue bowl and for £1.49 I cannot grumble at all!

So if money is tight and you want a cheap shave then this is the best I think.
I must say it wont hold a thick foam but what it does do is leave a slick surface for the razor to glide over and I am sure with a couple of drops of glycerin it will as I have yet to try that. :borg:

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Originally Posted by Thechef

I have tried many of the mass market soaps, gels, foams while perfecting the art of straight razor shaving and to date the best shave by far was with a tub of Wilkinson Sword soap in a blue bowl and for £1.49 I cannot grumble at all!

So if money is tight and you want a cheap shave then this is the best I think.
I must say it wont hold a thick foam but what it does do is leave a slick surface for the razor to glide over and I am sure with a couple of drops of glycerin it will as I have yet to try that. :borg:

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Glycerine does not increase the foaminess of the lather, it will increase its affinity for water.

ARKO and Williams Mug are both cheap & both great shaving soaps.

The ARKO stick is very easy to make a first class lather out of.

The Williams requires a bit more effort and a brush on the firmer side might be advantageous. I soak my cake in hot water ( tap water ) while i shower. Drain off the water & get after it. Load your brush & go to your face & finish the lather there.

Amazon.com: Arko Shaving Soap Stick - 15+3 free pcs.: Health & Personal Care

TheChef,

For economy and performance, the tallow based Palmolive shave sticks (made in Germany) are great:)

I get mine form Connaught Shaving.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Sorry mate, I did not notice that your in the UK. Palmolive shave sticks are incredible and ASDA flog em for 44p.

I started making my own and It works fine,especially a soap I call "MIND CHILLIN MELON".I dont know why but it leaves my face cool after the rinse.:D

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Originally Posted by Thechef

I have tried many of the mass market soaps, gels, foams while perfecting the art of straight razor shaving and to date the best shave by far was with a tub of Wilkinson Sword soap in a blue bowl and for £1.49 I cannot grumble at all!

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The black bowl one is also very good, if one can still find it.

my experience with the blue bowl was the opposite. Most likely a difference in water, but I got very thin lather from it. My go to cheapos are Williams and VDH deluxe.

I agree. I've seen Williams Mug Soap get a bad rap several times, but I've found it to lather up great, and my water is so hard I have to clean the spout on my coffeemaker once a week because it gets filled with mineral deposits that quickly.

I use the blue bowl WS soap as well, also got the WS brush at the same time. Don't have any problem with it, does take a while to get a decent lather up but smells nice.

I notice BodyShop do a soap as do Lush (both places my other half likes) so might have a look and smell to see if I like them. If thye aren't too bad on price I might try them.

I don't use cheapo soaps. Given the number of uses you get for a cake of tripple milled soap, they're all cheap. :)

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Originally Posted by loueedacat

I don't use cheapo soaps. Given the number of uses you get for a cake of tripple milled soap, they're all cheap. :)

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+1

The puck of $12 Tabac I've had for about two years now (and have only gone through < 1/3 of it) is as "cheap" as I'll go. Williams, for me, is a low quality lather, and it goes rather quickly even if you do decide to use it, and I wouldn't be surprised that in the end, it would come out to be the same or even more expensive than the Tabac on a per-shave basis.

Thanks for all you replies.
As for those that mentioned Palmolive have used that for a while and found personally it lacked enough lube for my shaves.

But its all a case of Horses for courses.

I agree with Craig in that the great majority of soaps on the market, even the "high-end" ones, are very economical on a cost-per-shave basis.

I pay $13.50 for D.R. Harris Arlington; top-shelf stuff. If I use it daily, it'd last me the better part of six months, which equals a little over $.07 per shave.

VDH Deluxe is a great locally available soap if you're looking to spend less money up front, though.

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Originally Posted by Thechef

Thanks for all you replies.
As for those that mentioned Palmolive have used that for a while and found personally it lacked enough lube for my shaves.

But its all a case of Horses for courses.

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Arko Arko Arko Arko

Tabac. For the money there's nothing better.

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Originally Posted by Allen

I agree with Craig in that the great majority of soaps on the market, even the "high-end" ones, are very economical on a cost-per-shave basis.

I pay $13.50 for D.R. Harris Arlington; top-shelf stuff. If I use it daily, it'd last me the better part of six months, which equals a little over $.07 per shave.

VDH Deluxe is a great locally available soap if you're looking to spend less money up front, though.

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I love DRH Arlington too. Just keep reaching for it.

+1, even Mitchell's wool fat lasts, and that's available in the UK...

Not tried a lot of the other shave sticks, but at 44p (Asda) and with Tesco doing them for an eye-popping 22p on special offer here in Blighty, the Palmolive Shave Sticks are very hard to beat.

Easy lather, some good slick when you get the water quantity right and a very respectable scent for most people.

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Originally Posted by Fozz7769

Arko Arko Arko Arko

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Very thick lather, cheap and fun - I love to rub that stick on a brush...