I keep seeing Col. Ichabod Conk shave soap. I was wondering if anybody had tried it and what they thought about it?
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I keep seeing Col. Ichabod Conk shave soap. I was wondering if anybody had tried it and what they thought about it?
Its a decent starter soap. It lathers easily and with practice you can get tons of long lasting lather from it. Col Conk Almond shave soap was all I used for many years but recently I have been switching between that and Mitchells wool fat soap
It was one of the first soaps I used. I think it was the amber. Looking back now it's not exactly up there with the best but it gets the job done.
I kind of like the Bay Rum (no surprise to those who know me:)). As has been said it lathers well and is easy to use.
It lathers very easy and is easy to find.
Like all shave soaps -- they are a very personal thing
I found that the Col. Conk I had lightly tickled my allergies. So
it now sits in a plastic bag for a better allergy season, lathering
a strop or breaking in a new brush.
It is about twice the price of Williams here and while it lathers
quicker and and easier than "W", "W" does not tickle my
allergies. I can see why a lot of people buy it...
It is one of the better "budget" shave soaps.
I confess that this morning was a MWF day.
Yesterday was "W" with a tiny bit of shave cream.
Tomorrow... well tomorrow will tell.
I like the Almond. It lathers easily and works well. There are better soaps out there, but it is not a bad one and it doesn't cost very much to try it out.
I have them all. All smell quite nice. All have a passable lather. Their performance, on the otherhand, is just not up to scratch for me. Not slick or cushiony enough for my liking. With my preferences being Tabac, MWF or the english Palmolive shave stick, a glycerine based soap like Conk could never hope to compete. Saying that there are plenty that use and love Colonel Conk.
Amber was my first shave soap and as such it will always have a place on my counter, although it rarely gets the use it deserves. You can't beat the price but the performance is pretty mediocre to be honest. For me, the best part is that I can easily find it locally in case I'm ever in a pinch for a new soap.
I started with it and it does get the job done, but doesn't measure up to the premium shaving soaps. But to its credit, its priced well and last a long time. Now, I have figured out how to make it work better and perform llike the premium shaving soaps on the market.
Use Castile Soap as as pre shave oil since it has many of the essential oils in it. Then lather up the Col. Conk Soap on top of it and watch how rich and thick it becomes. If you like lathering on the face, then this works well for you.
Pabster
I do not mean to create controversy but as far as I know, Castile soap does not contain essential oils, unless we are talking about a brand of Castile soap, is that possible? Perhaps Dr. Bronner's...? The only oil in "Castile soap" is olive oil, perhaps this is what you are referring to as many pre shave oils contain olive oil, am I getting warmer this time? :). However, after saponification, not much of the original olive oil, remains unreacted, if any. I am not sure I understand how "Castile soap" could specifically improve the performance of a particular soap like Col. Conk, could you please clarify this for me? I have used both the lime and bay rum and I got decent lather with it, it is without a doubt a good soap to start with.
Al raz.
The Dr. Bronner Soap lists out their ingredients with olive oil, Jojoba oil, hemp oil..etc. Another brand of the Castile soap lists out even more essential oils in it. Overall, they are soaps, but I have found it to work well as a preshave and with the Col. Conk. Soap applied on top, it does provide a very nice lather that has some thickness to it.
One day, I was experimenting with a Brand Castile soap as an effective straight razor soap. Decided that it wasn't good enough and better as a pre shave oil substitute. Then I decided to lather up Col. Conk soap on top of it and presto, I was very impressed with the results.
I don't have the other Brand hanging around right now, but it was a competitor to Dr. Bronners and it did have more essential oils in it.
Perhaps I should have qualified the Brands and not just say Castile Soap.
Col. Conk bay rum was my first soap. I still use it from time to time. I also have and like the almond and the lime. The Conk almond is one of the few soaps I have that my wife likes the smell of and doesn't say it smells like an old man.
I like the Conk soaps, and they work well for me. I've got every flavor here and use them all from time to time...
I believe they'd get more respect if they were more expensive... but, that just my $.02...
+1 Chris, the almond is a decent soap, the scent is more marzipan than almond, but it's cheap and easy to use.