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Vanderhagen soap. Good, bad, meh?

Williams and Vanderhagen are the two shaving soaps that are sold in my local grocery store. If I could not order online, those are the only two I would ever use. I've tried Williams but not VDH. What do you think of it?
 
I've used their blades and they shaved nicely with my Tatara
I didn't know they made blades. I've seen the "shaving kits" (bowl, brush, and soap) and their soap. They probably make a lot more things than I know from the grocery store. I was surprised at all that Pinaud Clubman made when I went to their website. It the store here, they have only the one aftershave.
 
Try the VDH Luxury soap. It seems better that the other one they have. The ingredient list has things like propylene glycol, triethanolamine, sodium laureth sulfate (detergent) and other synthetic ingredients, so not a fan of that aspect. It does work fairly well as a shaving soap, though.

Williams is a more traditional soap.
 
I have only tried VDH Deluxe, which is perfectly capable of providing a good shave. I find Williams to be superior, though. Although keep in mind that I have only moderately hard water
 
It's not really soap, per se, in the chemical sense, and appears to be based on a melt and pour base that is mostly surfactants and foaming agents.
That said, it lathers ok and it shaves ok. So, for me it is meh.
I actually like the scent of VdH Deluxe, which is somewhat similar to the classic Grey flannel cologne.

That's true, I love Grey Flannel and have a couple of bottles of the cologne and a bottle of aftershave balm.
 
My first shave soap was a VDH Luxury soap. It was part of the VDH Boar Brush Luxury Shave Set. I loved the smell and wound up picking up a bottle of Grey Flannel as a result. It also provided me with some good shaves. Of course, I've come to have better shaves with other shave soaps.

The soap was well-priced at around $2-3/puck. Unfortunately, the price has now jumped to $7/puck. For that price, there are other better shave soap options (just check your local TJ Maxx, Ross, Marshall's or Burlington Coat Factory).
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
VDH Unscented is great if you use enough water and not great if you don’t. Williams is on my to-try list because hordes of the people from Excalibur group use it, but it’s initial citronella scent is stronger than ARKO!’s, so it scared me away for now.
 
I have used "Glycerin", "Deluxe", and "Luxury". I find them all to be very useable soaps, even enjoyable. I prefer a bit stronger sent. How ever VDH is one that I replace when it runs out.
 
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