Arko, sometimes less just might be more

Just returned from a 3 week vacation and have gained a new respect for Arko. Arko was my main shave soap but along the way I picked up 2 different varieties of Palmolive shave creams, 1 Old Spice and 1 Gillette tube. The impression I got was that none of the shave creams gave me as good a cushion or lubricity as Arko did using a disposable two bladed safety razor. That impression was confirmed for me today by using a straight razor this morning and Arko.

I am sure the more expensive soaps and creams may be better but sometimes the overlooked ones that are cheap as chips offer more for less. As with everything to do with wet shaving these are just personal impressions and YMMV. There is just something about a plain Jane product like Arko that just does the job without any fanfare. It may not be the holy grail of shave soaps/creams but it really is a must try when you want to keep it simple.

Bob

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Even if its affordable price is ignored, Arko shavestick can run with anything out there. A great product for a bargain price. I'm a believer!

+1 Arko is a good product, especially for face lathering, regardless of price. It does a great job and the stick lasts a long time. It's my travel soap (using a good size prescription bottle the pharmacist will give me gratis) and convenient.

Arko, Derby, GZD....all cheap and excellent Turkish shave sticks. The scent may not be to everyone's like but there's no doubting the performance. And add Palmolive to that list too! This excellent stick, made in Germany, is possibly even better!

If my brother didn't give me a free tube of Arko a while back, then I would have never considered using an inexpensive shave cream. Arko is great and cheap! I use it as a standard for comparing against other shave creams. Arko and TOBS Lavender are the 2 creams that I always keep in my supply, even though I enjoy trying out others.

Arko is excellent tallow based shaving soap. One gets used to its smell.

I tried Arko today for the first time. You just cant beat it for the price. It lathers great, and performs as good as more expensive soaps. It is going to be a permanent member of my soap rotation.

I didn't know what to expect for the scent, as I have read some people don't care for it. I personally think the scent is fine, soapy with a lemon note.

Questions about Arko. I know it comes in a stick. How do you fellas apply it? does a brush come into play? I would like to try it, but know nothing of it or other stick soaps. And lastly, where do you get it?
Arko challenged

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Questions about Arko. I know it comes in a stick. How do you fellas apply it? does a brush come into play? I would like to try it, but know nothing of it or other stick soaps. And lastly, where do you get it?
Arko challenged

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I get mine from tulumba.com. As far as using it goes, you can either press it in a mug/bowl and lather it like any other soap, or you can use it in stick form, rubbing the stick on your damp face and face lathering with your brush.

Cool! I will try it. I have tried everything else! Seems to be the ticket for traveling to me.
Thanks!

Yea, that is what I bought it for, traveling. Seems to lather no matter what type of water you have. I like it enough that I use it at home too now. Works either way just as Theseus says. Be aware that it has a lemon laundry detergent smell to it that some don't like. Me, I don't find it overpowering and like it. A clean fresh smell to me.

Bob

It lathers nicely but as others have said, the scent isn't for everyone. A very industrial/synthetic lemon scent that smells a bit like washing-up soap.

Before I tried Arko, I heard lots of people comparing to Citronella candles (used to keep mosquitos away). I pressed on unabated and did a bulk buy from Amazon (13 sticks for $19 if memory serves). Maybe my sense of smell isn't what it once was but the smell of Arko (to me anyway) is more just the generic, clean, straight up old school soap like Ivory body soap or Williams shaving soap. Occassionally I get just a very subtle hint of a citrus type aroma but the old school soap smell is front and center.

sharptonn,
PM me your info and I'll send you a stick. I have several new sticks lying around. Would be happy to send you one.

At shoeboxshaveshop.com, you can get the Arko shave cream tubes. They sell 4 different varieties of it. They also sell the Arko shave stick.

I haven't tried the stick, but Arko Commando was one of my first, and is still a favorite. Arko Cool is also great.

IMHO, Arko is definitely the best value for the money, it performs like the top tier soaps. The scent is like that of a soap for washing clothes manually or a detergent, but nothing you can't handle, I even like it now...

Arko is a pretty decent soap on its own, and, with a bit of pre-shave or a few drops of glycerin it is even better. Personally I like the scent, too.

Haven't used it yet, but did buy it because it's inexpensive and it will travel well - and because I saw someone reference it was a tallowate based soap.

My favorite soap is cella. I bought a brick of it last year, and now my wife is using it for her legs, too. I have no clue when we'll run through the brick.

As far as I know, there is nothing about soaps that requires them to be expensive to work well, perhaps with the exception being if someone absolutely has to have some rare essential oil for a specific smell (I don't, which is another reason I like cella, it doesn't smell like much).

I like to find the inexpensive good soaps with a tallow base, i've been very happy with them in terms of their ability to do what a shaving soap is supposed to do.

Yea, from limited experience with shaving soaps I would tend to agree that I am finding tallow based soaps much to my liking. I have Cella and Vito's Red and am not too fussy about their smell/odour but they do work well.

Bob

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Cool! I will try it. I have tried everything else! Seems to be the ticket for traveling to me.
Thanks!

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I soak my boar brush, pinch the bristles together and rub the stick right onto the brush then start creating lather in a bowl. I find the soaps too hard to rub against my face. If i want to use my badger brush, i slice off a thin slice and smoosh it into a hot bowl and lather as per normal.

I like the Arko a fair bit but find adding a drop or two of glycerin greatly improves the cushion and feel of the lather!

Brooksie

Have you tried wetting your face and the end of the Arko stick before apply it to your face? I find my stubble easily takes a coat this way. I also apply some to the brush before lathering the soap on my face.

Never tried adding glycerin though. Do you do that for bowl lathering only? Might give it a try.

Bob

Since i'm military, i HAVE to shave 5 days a week, i'm getting a close enough shave each day that the next day doesn't have enough stubble to get much off the stick. I have honestly never had face lathering work for me but I imagine you could throw a few drops directly onto your brush while lathering on your face, just be sure to mix it well around so it's not concentrated in one area.

I'm a huge fan of big, cushiony lather that is thick enough to create peaks on my face so using a bowl seems to be a must for me! I'm also shaving 7 days a week at this point. Saturday is just a WTG pass and sunday night is all 3!

Well, I don't have to shave every day but I do 7 days a week so I guess I don't stand close enough to the blade because I always have enough stubble to make face lathering work. OTH maybe I just have an old goats beard. I kinda guessed you only used glycerin when bowl lathering but was curious if you had done it face lathering.

Yea, fan of big, cushiony lather also. Seem to be able to get it either way, most times that is. At home it is bowl lathering making uber lather in a scuttle but on the road it is face lathering only with a shave stick.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

I guess I don't stand close enough to the blade because I always have enough stubble to make face lathering work.

Bob

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Maybe your beard grows at an astonishing rate that would shock the rest of us?

Well no, more likely a combination of not extremely sharp self honed edges and poor technique. At least that does have the advantage of making using a shave stick easy.

Bob