Artisan rant

[samhain666]

Okay so many of you will not agree with me and many will hate me but I just have to share a few of my thoughts about artisan soap makers with the world. Please note that everything written here are MY PERSONAL observations, thoughts, issiues, etc, I wish no one no harm and plese feel free to agree od dissagree.

So in the past few years I noticed a big shift in the soap talk here on the forum. When I started out, and it is about 6-7 years ago, maybe bit more, most soap talk was centered mostly around tripple milled pucks from old English makers (T&H, D.R. Harris, TOBS,...) and a few other wet shaving staples as Williams, Cella, Arko, Palmolive, Proraso, Tabac and so on. Croaps were pretty unpopular here, general consensus (as far as I was able to detect from posts, I could be wrong) was to either make a puck or cream, not some crossover. And in past 5 years...

CROAPS...there is croaps everywhere. And we all know what it means to have soapy product saturated with water, specially tallow based. Leave it out too long ant it goes RANCID! Now take someone like me. I shave 2-3 times a week, mostly 2. I don't like to 3017 soaps, because I get bored and always have 3-4 in rotation. I will use some and throw the rest away which adds up cost pretty f**** fast. (you will understand degree of my frustration later)

Another thing are scents. We have gazilion artisans, with multiple bases that come in array of scents that range from unscented sensitive skin friendly formula to insane scent formulations where only thing missing is unicorn farts. Scents are becoming so bizarre that no one can image what will it smell like when you open the tub. I read a lot of people here that had problems with this. Either scent was too offensive to them or they got nasty reaction. (Out of everything this irritates me the least)

After shave feel of soap has also become greatly popular. And I am sorry but I just can't wrap my head around the idea that soap should (according to some people):
- have pleasant scent
- be easy to load (3 swirls on soap tops, I guess 95% of forum has arthritis or carpal tunnel)
- be easy to lather (again arthritis/carpal tunnel)
- have cushion of a goose feather pillow
- be slick as snail snot
- protective to a degree you can get shot in the face with 12gauge shotgun point blank range
- condition your face in the same way as if you put on phoenix tears AS balm

And finally the thing that irritates me more than Derby blade on shave 25 in old vesion of R41...PRICE!!! Cheapest artisan soaps are hard pucks from RR for 5-6$, I can get behind that (but not anymore when you add shipping. Other croaps are like 15$ up to 50$ per tub that last for like 60 shaves and I can get much more shaves out of cheaper soap locally (and we are talking the business here like Tabac and other old makers with superb performance). I cannot justify to myself that kind of expense for a soap that might not be slick enough or burn my face of with fragrance. And when you take into account that Americans just LOVE shipping costs and those rates are 25$!!!!!! I can get products from all round the world for shipping that is less than 10$! Why this irritates me? To lower shipping cost to be normal per unit (like 5$/soap) I need to buy at least 5 soaps and I just can't have that kind of volume of soaps laying around.

And when you put all of this together what also pulls my nerve is when some snobby Simpson chubby wielder says one soap is not good enough for not moisturizing as AS balm? Say "not good enough for me" and please do not generalize. Also keep in mind we are talking about SOAPS not BALMS here. Soap should not dry your face to the point when you think your skin shrunk 3 sizes but also no need for a soap to be hydrating. As said, we have balms an moisturizers for that.

Anywys this is my rant about artisans/US shipping rates/forum snobs. Note again those are my PERSONAL views and this is my outlet to vent not to attack anybody specifically.

 

[Shutterbug57]

I like Mike’s Natural Soaps‘ orange, cedar and black pepper offering. I buy 4-6 at a time and will continue to do so til I can no longer shave or it becomes unavailable. I have tried several other brands and scents; this is the one I like.

 

[Stubblebum]

samhain--
I disagree with a couple of your points, but thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[Esox]

Well, I hope you feel better now! LOL

I'm with you on most points, especially this;

And finally the thing that irritates me more than Derby blade on shave 25 in old vesion of R41...PRICE!!!

Thats funny right there lol.

A 114g tub of Wholly Kaw, shipped, cost me $39.99CAD. A 165g tub of CRS cream cost me ~$15CAD, shipped. Performance during my shaves is virtually identical. CRS easily wins in the scent department.

My tub of WK is more than half gone. My first tub of CRS isnt even half gone and I've used it a lot more often.

Wickham 1912 is another. 140g tub, $22.50CAD shipped and it outperforms WK in my shaves. Both are artisan soaps, one British, one US.

I dont see myself buying a WK soap again. Personally, I feel my money would be better spent paying for MdC. Or perhaps, I'm trying to talk myself into spending more than $100CAD for a single shave soap lol.

 

[Ivo4u2]

Sorry I had too But Well you pointed why I do not like big sized soaps (which you can not finish before it is a stinky waste product). Just binned a shampoo bar stored in the shower for that reason. Though..... I have 3017 Ed Many because I did no longer like them in comparison to the rest and just a couple which smelled bad.
what you can do... split your soap, vacuum wrap it and store it in a freezer. In general soap does not like heat nor moisture.
Making someone else happy with that spare piece works too.

Somehow I always get a nasty dry feeling of a hard soap and are not fond of cream either. So croap works for me. And if I had to switch back to 1 on a budget I think 1kg of vitos good for 800-1000 shaves for around 20 euros it could be.

and keep in mind if you are happy with what you use and how you use it nothing wrong and better to ventilate overhere as with a blade in your hand in the bathroom

 

[samhain666]

Well, I hope you feel better now! LOL

I'm with you on most points, especially this;



Thats funny right there lol.

A 114g tub of Wholly Kaw, shipped, cost me $39.99CAD. A 165g tub of CRS cream cost me ~$15CAD, shipped. Performance during my shaves is virtually identical. CRS easily wins in the scent department.

My tub of WK is more than half gone. My first tub of CRS isnt even half gone and I've used it a lot more often.

Wickham 1912 is another. 140g tub, $22.50CAD shipped and it outperforms WK in my shaves. Both are artisan soaps, one British, one US.

I dont see myself buying a WK soap again. Personally, I feel my money would be better spent paying for MdC. Or perhaps, I'm trying to talk myself into spending more than $100CAD for a single shave soap lol.

My point exactly! Where I live it is still dark ages in many aspects of life but we try to kid ourselves we are developed country. Best performing cheapest soap I can get is Palmolive stick for 1,5€, that is 3€ for 100gr
Now why would I pay 5$ for RR What the puck and 25$ for shipping when there is chance that performance will not be the same as Palmolive? I use this soap as a measuring stick and if you expect I will shell out more than 3€/100gr then your soap must be at least as good performer as Palmolive

I hear nothing but great things about MdC but I just can't push myself to pay that much for a tub of soap. And since my best experiences were with tallow soaps I am reluctant to pay 50€ + shipping for non tallow soap

 

[ackvil]

We seem to go through cycles when it comes to shaving. When I first joined B&B MWF, MdC, and Fat Boy Razors were the hot topics. Now all of that has changed to artisans.

I have tried only two artisan soap makers: Grooming Department and Murphy & McNeil. The only thing I have noticed is that they sure get used up faster than the classic soaps. On 12/20/19 I began to use Haslinger Coconut (old tallow formula) and GD After the Fire on alternate days. The GD soap has a substantial hole in the bottom but the Haslinger has little evidence of use. The M&M Claddagh was gone after only 65 shaves.

 

[cw62803]

I've got a tub of Tabac that I use once every week or two. I started it in 2015 or 2016 and it is still going strong.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting thoughts!

Guess that I am not much of a trend follower. I tend to try things, find items I like, then stick with them!

In terms of soaps, my current ‘rotation’ (really more of a collection) includes:
Haslinger (all eight, mainly their old ‘tallow’)
MWF
Fine (several)
’Croaps’ (Cella and Vito’s, for variety)
La Toja stick (to provide a ‘vegan’ option)

With an occasional ‘interloper,’ I should be happy for a long while!

 

[GaryTha]

I see no reason to use any lathering product other than Williams.

 

[steveclarkus]

Shaving soap is shaving soap but for some
A hobby. To me it is just shave soap.

 

[karacha]

- have cushion of a goose feather pillow
- be slick as snail snot

That was pretty funny. Some good observations, although it does seem like a joke post for the most part. Thanks for the laugh!

 

[NotThatMatt]

To lower shipping cost to be normal per unit (like 5$/soap) I need to buy at least 5 soaps and I just can't have that kind of volume of soaps laying around.

My strategy for the past few years has been to order all my soaps for the year on Black Friday. Lots of free shipping available.

 

[karacha]

^
That's a great idea.

 

[Atlantic59]

Funny rant.

"R-units" is a joke, in the spirit of the post, no need to be offended. For someone familiar with them, SI units are reasonable and rational. The older units, based for instance on the length of a man's forearm or soldiers marching 1,000 paces, are anything but rational. The "R" part comes in when a country refuses to adopt the same standards used in the rest of the world, even though it would be to our benefit.

 

[brucered]

I see no reason to use any lathering product other than Williams.

Proraso for me. I can buy it a mile from my house, it's never sold out and lathers as well as a $75 LE Artisan soap. Plus I know what I'm getting, the formula changes every 20y, not every two weeks.

If people would just shave, they'd see they don't have to worry about what anyone else is using or how limited edition a soap is.

I left the forum scene for a few years. Missed the comradery, not the artsian soap drama.

 

[BigFoot]

Funny rant.

"R-units" is a joke, in the spirit of the post, no need to be offended. For someone familiar with them, SI units are reasonable and rational. The older units, based for instance on the length of a man's forearm or soldiers marching 1,000 paces, are anything but rational. The "R" part comes in when a country refuses to adopt the same standards used in the rest of the world, even though it would be to our benefit.

I disagree completely. That term does not need to be used in any context on this forum and will not be tolerated whether it is in humor or not.

 

[Raissermesser]

Funny rant.

"R-units" is a joke, in the spirit of the post, no need to be offended. For someone familiar with them, SI units are reasonable and rational. The older units, based for instance on the length of a man's forearm or soldiers marching 1,000 paces, are anything but rational. The "R" part comes in when a country refuses to adopt the same standards used in the rest of the world, even though it would be to our benefit.

Actually, most weights and measures are well thought out, just from a different perspective. The only reason we have the metric system is France's weights and measures, circa the French Revolution, were a mess, with all sorts of regional and trade differences. The metric system was intended to replace that whole mess with something more concise.

The same thing happened in the US with money. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state could and did issue its own currency, so you had thirteen currencies plus national currency plus British currency still floating around plus the Spanish Real (because there was better access to Spanish than British currencies in the colonial days) for a grand total of sixteen types of money floating around. Oh, and all sixteen had different valuations. So there was a big push for a national currency, which ended up decimalized (and why the US Constitution forbids member states from issuing their own currency). But the US already had a uniform system of weights and measures, those used by Great Britain, so there wasn't the same sense of urgency. That's why the US dragged it's feet in setting up national weights and measures, to the point that some states got their own standards from Britain. There was a survey done at custom houses, for obvious reasons, and found some variation, but nothing like what had went on in France. Simply insuring uniform standards for the measures everyone was already using sufficed.

Why didn't the US go metric back then? Because France under Napoleon was starting to back away from it, and there were doubts it would last.

Some like to claim the US went to the metric system in the latter part of the 19th Century, but that's not true. What happened was something funny was going on with the British standards of reference, and it was felt that the standards used for the metric system were more reliable. So the US referenced it's weights and measures in terms of the metric system.

Aaand...that's probably more than anyone wanted to know about it.

 

[Raissermesser]

Will only note that artisanal soaps are, by nature, something different that the usual run of the triple milled soaps, and that's the attraction right there. I don't use them due to price, but don't begrudge those who do.

 

[Atlantic59]

...So the US referenced it's weights and measures in terms of the metric system.

Aaand...that's probably more than anyone wanted to know about it.

True enough. Internally a lot of American companies use the metric system since these standards are used all over the world.

However justified, a system of dual units is a pain. Everything has to be labelled using both units, signs, gauges, etc. and it's necessary to convert back and forth if you work with both units. That could be done away with, but no, the US is a special case for some reason.