Thread: Col. Conk Glycerin Soap!

So, my first soaps just came in- Col. Conk, bay rum scent. Does anyone have any experience with the Colonel? Any tips for me regarding lathering with this brand?

Not to be a party pooper but im not too impressed with it. Ive got the lime scent. It is a cheaper soap and shaves ok. I feel its lacking in the lather department.

Oh, snap. Well, that sucks, seeing as how I bought three pucks. >_>
Even adding more water doesn't help?

It's not a premier soap, but it works just fine and will serve you well. I've had no problems getting a nice thick lather from the Col.

Hello, CommanderCrisp:

Many of us have encountered a puck of Colonel Conk soap sometime throughout our wet-shaving lives. I did a long time ago, and after finishing the puck, I moved on to far superior shave soaps and never looked back.

Some gentlemen, however, do like Colonel Conk and use it regularly. That's fine.

I suggest finishing your Colonel Conk and moving on to explore other soaps. More quality soaps. There's a colorful world of shave soaps out there for you to try. Eventually you will refine your likes and dislikes. If I may suggest, please try some of these soaps:

Michtell's Wool Fat, Tabac, Mama Bear, Provence Sante, L'Occitane, and also soaps by Truefitt & Hill, Trumper, Taylor of Old Bond Street — the list goes on. Also you'll find quality artisan soaps.

By the way, welcome to Straight Razor Place.

Regards,

Obie

Thanks, Red. I hope I can make effective use out of it, too.

Obie, I was actually going to try Mama Bear's, but the packaging was... Awful, to say the least. Haha... At best, I thought it would be a decent shave At worst, I thought it would melt my skin off. Apparently, I was quite wrong. Thanks for the welcome and I will be sure to try some of the other soaps you recommended.

Originally Posted by CommanderCrisp

Thanks, Red. I hope I can make effective use out of it, too.

Obie, I was actually going to try Mama Bear's, but the packaging was... Awful, to say the least. Haha... At best, I thought it would be a decent shave At worst, I thought it would melt my skin off. Apparently, I was quite wrong. Thanks for the welcome and I will be sure to try some of the other soaps you recommended.

Conk was my only soap (in amber) for years, before I decided to try some of the other "better" soaps. Never had a problem with lathering, irritation, smoothness or shaving close with Conk. After trying 5 other soaps (Mama Bear, D.R. Harris, TOBS, Perhaligon and Vintage Blades house brand), I still think Conk is excellent and won't switch to others exclusively; they work as well as or a bit better than Conk and all smell better, especially the Mama Bears. I recommend melting Conk and pouring it in another container, like a small mug or wood soap bowl, or whatever you want. Load your brush in the mug and lather in another mug or face lather, whichever works for you. This will help conserve the soap, which, in my experience, can go rather quickly if you lather in the mug with the soap.

Mama Bear packaging awful??? Proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I like her packaging in the tub and the labels are cute, whimsical even. Now, the Conk packaging leaves more than a little to be desired in the beauty area.

What soap did you think would be either a decent shave or melt your skin off? Conk?

Thanks for the advice, Capt. I still need to figure out what my situation will be when it comes to mugs and bowls and all that...

Conk's packaging is plain, but the labels on the Mama Bear's pucks were... Odd. Haha... Somtimes, the brand was "Mama Bears" and sometimes it was "Mama Bear's". And the Microsoft Word Wordart used for the scents... I dunno... It looked shady to me at the time. Haha

I started with Col. Conk soap and price wise, its inexpensive and it gets the job done at a reasonable cost. 30 second swirl on the puck and 30 seconds on the face produced the best lather for me.

One day when my wallet felt fat, I picked up some creams and premium puck soaps and started to enjoy them more because they resulted in a thicker applications of lather. I then found a way to thicken up the Col. Conk soap lather to my preference and I did this by using a little Castille Soap on the face before I applied the Col. Conk soap.

Overall, it works well enough for some, but many users may prefer the more premium soap pucks or creams.

Pabster

Don't write off the Colonel. His soaps are as good as the top-tier soaps, but they're not bad either and I still set aside my more expensive soaps and reach for Conks on occasion. Conk Amber was my first soap and it still has a special place in my rotation.

Mama Bear definitely deserves a try. Really good glycerin soaps.