Grandpa’s Wonder Pine Tar Soap

Hahahahaha! It's true!!!!!!! All of it!!!!!!!
Be very careful. I made the mistake of trying to melt it in a coffee cup. Now I can't eat out of my microwave.
Do not do that.
I guess boiling it would have been a better option.
I'll try the zip lock bag trick since the cupboard under my sink now completely smells of Pine Tar.
It's in my rotation. I do use it occasionally. It will WAKE YOU UP!

I agree the soap performs as well as William, slick and protective, but the smell was too much for me. Imagine roasting marshmallows on a bonfire made with railroad ties.

americanarmsdealer;2606610 said:

Used this soap for the 1st time tonight. Shaved with the Fatboy on 7, and was impressed with the results. Had to add lather to my face a couple of times, but this soap provided more cushion and was a lot slicker than I had anticipated. I thought it performed about a step and a half above Williams, and gave a good, comfortable, close shave. For some reason, the scent reminded me of camping in the mountains with my parents when I was a kid. Kind of a campfire meets burning log cabin kind of odor. A pretty good soap, and one everyone should try at least once just because they can.

I have to shout out a huge "Thank You!!" to Mike H for PIFing this soap to me. Guess he didn't like the scent.

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Used this soap for the 1st time tonight. Shaved with the Fatboy on 7, and was impressed with the results. Had to add lather to my face a couple of times, but this soap provided more cushion and was a lot slicker than I had anticipated. I thought it performed about a step and a half above Williams, and gave a good, comfortable, close shave. For some reason, the scent reminded me of camping in the mountains with my parents when I was a kid. Kind of a campfire meets burning log cabin kind of odor. A pretty good soap, and one everyone should try at least once just because they can.

I have to shout out a huge "Thank You!!" to Mike H for PIFing this soap to me. Guess he didn't like the scent.

Where do I start with this stuff...it's great!
I love the smell left on your clothes from the campfire so of course the smell was the first thing that turned me on to this soap when I saw it at the whole foods store. This is just about what this soap smells like and I can't get enough...I wish they made an AS.

I've used it a few times for shaving and I must say it is not that bad. The only complaint I have in that area is that if you're a new guy you may want to hold off on using this for shaving as the lather will disappear on you more quickly than some of your standard shave soaps. Other than that though it isn't drying, has decent cushion, and is slick enough to shave with. I will vouch for above posts it will leave your face feeling tight.

This stuff is great for travel because it works as a shampoo bar, body soap, hand soap, and shave soap. This way you save a lot of space in your dopp kit. Only real complaint I have is that it is between $3-$4 per bar and since I've gotten my girlfriend hooked on it for washing her face as it clears skin well, we definitely burn through it. However considering the cost of some other shave soaps and bathing products it's not bad for all of its uses.

What a great initial review! Hillarious. I don't use this soap in my regular rotation, but if I have any coal mining, bronco breaking or oil drilling to do, the author is right, this is just the soap for the job.

The scent is very unique. Smells more like tar than pine but it's still spicy enough to be enjoyable to me. It lathers pretty average, dries a little quick in my opinion but applying twice per pass is pretty average.

Not bad, worth a try for its originality if nothing else.

I purchased at Whole Foods after reading about it here. Very unique scent. I like it, however it does linger in the air a bit. Actually better smell than I anticipated after reading some other reviews. It didn't smell like a burnt house to me. Seems to lather fairly well and is ver SLICK.
ingredients:
Coconut oil, palm oil, purified water, pine tar oil, vegetable glycerin.

4 years ago, my apartment burned down. This soap brought it all back.

In fact, they must have harvested the old place and made soap from it.

That said, it does lather great - not for shaving though. I use it as a dandruff shampoo and when my skin is particulaly dry. interesting stuff for sure!

Are you fellas kidding? This is the ONLY bar of soap I have ever bought then thrown away after two uses! It works fine but I CANNOT get past the scent. Made my bathroom smell like there was a house fire. Seriously. Avoid this soap.

This stuff is not for the faint of heart. I have to store it in a ziploc bag under the sink, if not the scent will take over the bathroom.
I love using this soap when taking a shower after mowing the yard. I can wash my hair, body and then shave with it. While the smell might not be for everyone, I like it. As a shaving soap, the lather is not thick, but it works well. For $3.99 at Whole Foods, this is a great soap.

I like this stuff as a soap, even as a shampoo. But not for shaving. I've tried it with all my brushes and more/less water. Too thin a lather and it dries too quickly to suit me.

Your Humble and Obedient,

Dennis

It ain't been around as long as it has without being good and it definitely is from my personal experiences. I can't recall when I have tried an old product that was at worst good because advertising can only fool the consumers in the short run. Glad you like it; confirms what thought about it also.

Richard

Ya doan get old by being lucky.

Now that's what I call a "different" soap
I really, really like the smell of it and it works really well for shaving. It softens those whiskers, allows for a smooth shave without any irritation and leaves a great-feeling face behind. Oh, and boy, this stuff is slick!
Only downside is the lather, IMO. I couldn't get any good lather when whipping it up in a scuttle/bowl. When lathering directly on the face, it works quite well. You don't get the really creamy, thick stuff, but hey, it works and that's all what counts.

I like the scent - much. My wife, um, she doesn't.

Never used this one for shaving, so cannot rate lather, etc. But now that I see this - I will definitely try it next time I get it (from a health store only here, afair) and it better be good as if it is I will add it pretty high up in the rotation.

Cheers
Ivo

A great soap! The scent in my opinion is fantastic. Also It's usefull for me as I've got psoriasis and it really helps. Great for shaving too.

about a year ago or so i bought a case of this stuff because i liked it so much. now i don't use it as much, but it'll definately get used. great for poison ivy or several other skin problems.

Even though it is strong, I really like the smell of the soap. It smells like a serious soap for serious work. Usually use it after I have been working outside. It gives me the feeling I am really clean.

I daresay that most of us have plenty of soaps appropriate for preparing ourselves for a visit to a house of ill repute. Rose, lavender, and violet scents abound. But what if your day’s agenda includes capping a burning oil well, or capturing a dangerous criminal? Will your present soaps really prepare you for a day of such “macho” pursuits? Would John Wayne use your soap?

Grandpa’s Wonder Pine Tar Soap may be just what you need.

I saw this in a catalog and just had to buy a few bars. It claimed to be good for shaving. This stuff has been made in Kentucky since 1878. The boxes I got proudly proclaim “125th anniversary.” The box is a fun read, so I’ll quote from it.

Grandpa’s Wonder Pine Tar Soap since 1878 …is one of the world’s great soaps!

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Excellent for bathing, showering, shaving, and shampooing.

Many loyal users have been telling us for generations how “wonder”ful it cleans, moisturizes and deodorizes. They have described it as being helpful in removing the scales of Psoriasis, Dandruf, Eczema, and other skin irritations.

There are no added colors or fragrances to mask the rich brown color and distinctive scent of natural Pine Tar Oil.

“Soap from a simpler time.”

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The bar of soap itself is black as sin. It says on the front of the box “Lathers White” and I guess the lather does look white if you look at it against the jet black soap. However, if you look at the lather on the razor it is a dirty brown.

The aroma is, shall I say, unique. It reminds me of a road crew laying hot asphalt. I guess that’s the natural scent of pine tar. The box says “no fragrance added” and I can believe it.

The soap comes in bath soap size bars so I lathered up right on the bar. It created a decent lather on the bar, so on to my face. The smell was a bit of a shock, but I steeled myself and did it. I lathered up, and after stropping my straight razor came back to the mirror to see that many of the bubbles had popped in the lather and it was considerably thinner in many places. So another swipe with the brush to build the lather, and off to the shave.

It did give a good shave. After shaving and my customary splashes with cold water and witch hazel, my face felt a little tighter than usual. I thought it was going to be drying on my face from that feeling, but as the hours passed the dryness failed to materialize. My face stayed soft, similar to shaving with a soap with shea butter.

The soap shaves well, if you don’t mind having to relather once in a while.

I thought about giving it a zero for scent. The aroma is so very different that it may transcend bad, go around the corner past infinity to good, and attain the realm of something really, really different. So I gave it a 10.


It may be worth a try, just so you can say you did it. I’ve placed one of my bars in a glass Anchor-Hocking tub as part of my regular rotation.

The other bars … well I have a teenaged daughter and I think I’ll put one of the jet black, smelly bars in the bathtub soap dish for her enjoyment!