In your opinion what's the best inexpensive shave soap?

[RayClem]

Most I'll spend is $20 USD. And it better be really good "artisan" soap at that price.

There was a time when $20 was the most I would spend on a soap, but over the past few years, many soaps have gotten better AND more expensive. There are some soaps I have tried and consider to be overpriced- their performance is not commensurate with their pricing. However, I consider other soaps to be worth every penny. Although Grooming Department Nai base is expensive at $32, the performance is worth the price of admission, at least for me. One of the best bargains is Declaration Grooming Milksteak. Depending upon the scent, they are priced around $20, but performance is outstanding.

A lot of people purchase less expensive soaps and then go out and purchase pre-shave lotions, aftershave splashes, balms and serums because their soaps are not good enough. I would rather spend more on a great soap that has no need for those extra products.

 

[calcustom]

 

[Chandu]

I assume too much good stuff goes down the drain on that first pass of face lathering.

You may be right in some cases but for me this is what prevents that.

In my opinion two keys to good face lathering and not wasting soap is.
1. non synthetic brush
2. load with a dry enough brush to not develop proto lather

After you get the paste to your face start adding water. I like real brushes because synthetics seem dry and then when you splay them, out comes water from no where to give you proto lather and drips.

Good cheap soaps. Anything hard under $10 that you like. I say hard because then they last. Softer soaps may cost the same be they aren't as cheap to operate.

 

[GaryTha]

You may be right in some cases but for me this is what prevents that.

In my opinion two keys to good face lathering and not wasting soap is.
1. non synthetic brush
2. load with a dry enough brush to not develop proto lather

After you get the paste to your face start adding water. I like real brushes because synthetics seem dry and then when you splay them, out comes water from no where to give you proto lather and drips.

Good cheap soaps. Anything hard under $10 that you like. I say hard because then they last. Softer soaps may cost the same be they aren't as cheap to operate.

It's posts like this that make me wish we were real life people who could meet in person and show each other how to make lather. I use lots of water and go from proto lather to thicker lather. It seems like every time someone says how they make lather, there is an equal and opposite way. Oh well...

(Notice I didn't mention Williams.)

 

[Chandu]

It's posts like this that make me wish we were real life people who could meet in person and show each other how to make lather. I use lots of water and go from proto lather to thicker lather. It seems like every time someone says how they make lather, there is an equal and opposite way. Oh well...

(Notice I didn't mention Williams.)

Well, you all should meet me. I'm a really cool guy, modest too

I get on fine with proto lather in a bowl, but I don't like to bowl lather because I don't like doing dishes when I shave. For me the issue I have with the "W" is usually under-loading so if I do that, the absence of water doesn't punish me and allows me to work what soap I have into useable lather on my face rather than have most the soap I do have falling into the sink as proto lather.

As you say one of the fun things about shaving is how there are so many ways to do the same thing.

 

[GaryTha]

Well, you all should meet me. I'm a really cool guy, modest too

I get on fine with proto lather in a bowl, but I don't like to bowl lather because I don't like doing dishes when I shave. For me the issue I have with the "W" is usually under-loading so if I do that, the absence of water doesn't punish me and allows me to work what soap I have into useable lather on my face rather than have most the soap I do have falling into the sink as proto lather.

As you say one of the fun things about shaving is how there are so many ways to do the same thing.

I must be doing something right. In 49 shaves, I've only used 4 grams of soap.

 

[Chandu]

I must be doing something right. In 49 shaves, I've only used 4 grams of soap.

No scale here so I have no idea how much I use or don't. I'll have to take a puck and divide the weight by the shaves when it's gone. I use Williams but not consistently enough to get perfect lather as much as I'd like. It's never a bad shave because it's always slick, but I like the days I get the creamy persistent lather.

 

[Hepcat]

No fans of Wilkinson?

The last time I comparison checked at Walmart it was cheaper on a per gram basis than Williams. I like both.

 

[marshmellow]

Williams. I got 240 shaves on my last puck. Only 26 pucks to go.

I don't think you can get 240 shaves out of a 1.75 ounce puck.

 

[GaryTha]

I don't think you can get 240 shaves out of a 1.75 ounce puck.

It doesn't matter what you think. I did it.

 

[marshmellow]

It doesn't matter what you think. I did it.

How?

 

[camoloc]

D.R. Harris

replacement puck.

I have beat up my marlborough in wood bowl. abused and test lathered a million times. it still hangs in strong. and it's a good soap to me.

camo

 

[Atlantic59]

How?

I can take a guess. The idea is to use it like people used to in the old days. Use the same soap every day, in a mug. Dampen the brush, load only enough soap for one pass. Paint a layer of soap on the face, add a bit more water to build a thin lather. Do a one pass shave. Squeeze the excess lather out of the brush onto the soap puck in the mug. No rinsing the brush, it goes back in the mug till the next day.

 

[RayClem]

It doesn't matter what you think. I did it.

1.75 oz is 50 grams. If you got 240 shaves, that would be only 0.208 grams per shave. That would be sufficient for a one-pass shave. If you used that amount of soap for a three-pass shave, your lather would have to be incredibly thin. If you can use a lather that thin, you might as well be shaving with hand soap.

 

[BigJ]

I can take a guess. The idea is to use it like people used to in the old days. Use the same soap every day, in a mug. Dampen the brush, load only enough soap for one pass. Paint a layer of soap on the face, add a bit more water to build a thin lather. Do a one pass shave. Squeeze the excess lather out of the brush onto the soap puck in the mug. No rinsing the brush, it goes back in the mug till the next day.

That would work! People who grew up during the Depression learned to make stuff last!

 

[Chandu]

Number of passes and brush size certainly factor in. I am of the opinion that most of us tend to overload and make way more lather than we need. I can get a three pass shave from a Wee Scott. Think about that amount of soap vs what something like a chubby is going to take per use.

 

[GaryTha]

Actually, it was 242 shaves and 347 passes. A new 1.75 ounce puck of Williams weighs 55 grams on the scale. I guess the extra five grams are like a baker's dozen.

I face lather with a Cremo horsehair brush which is only 20 or 21 mm.

I shaved every day with the same soap except for a 30-day break when I was in the hospital.

I'm squeezing the excess lather back into the cup with my current puck, but I didn't on the last puck.

 

[andromeda673]

Arko Puck
Proraso Bowl
Cella

 

[fast shaver]

The soaps used in my rotation are: Conk,VDH, PdP Arko, Derby ( TUB ) & Cade. Please remember that triple & quad milled soaps even though expensive at first will actually give you more shaves per OZ.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

So far I have yet to see anything come close to beating Tabac in the cost-per-shave category. Especially if you get the soap pucks from European vendors, about $10.