A Test of Four Soaps

[Shutterbug57]

As it happens, I finished a tin of Mike’s Orange, Cedarwood and Black Pepper (and started a new one) at the same time I got a tub of MdC Rose and was gifted a bar of Mogno and a stick of Arko. Therefore, given that I could start all four soaps at basically the same time, I figured it was a good time to test a few things.

First, I will see how long each soap lasts, i.e., how many shaves each gives per tin/tub/bar;stick, how many shaves per gram and how many US$ each costs per shave.

Secondly, I will be looking at the shave quality of each soap with three razors - a DE 1934 Artsiocrat, SE 1912 Gem and a shavette Feather AC SS.

Thirdly, I will be looking at how each soap performs with 2 brushes - a Rudy Vey custom with a large badger knot and a Wee Scot. To keep things even, each soap will get the same number of Wee Scot shaves as the Wee Scot uses far less soap than the Rudy Vey.

This will be a long term test as I plan to use each soap to extinction. I suspect this will be about a 2 year test. I will use the Rudy Vey brush for most of the shaves so the test does not run on into 4 years. I will update this thread periodically.

FWIW, I have been using Mike’s Orange, Cedarwood and Black Pepper for years, mostly exclusively. I have not, before this test, used any of the other three soaps. Two of the soaps are tallow based and two are vegan. As I get used to each soap, it will be interesting to see how that fact plays out.

I have signed up for the Arko August thread, I should have a good perspective on Arko. Each soap will get a similar time solo to form an opinion. Then the soaps will enter a rotation so they can be compared essentially back to back.

 

[ksblazer]

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on these soaps.

 

[GNR]

I have three of those soaps and the other in cream form. I’m interested in reading your thoughts to see if they are similar to my own. Sounds like a fun experiment. How often are you thinking about updating with your “current” thoughts and usage data?

 

[old_school]

Looking forward to your findings. What fun!

 

[Shutterbug57]

I have three of those soaps and the other in cream form. I’m interested in reading your thoughts to see if they are similar to my own. Sounds like a fun experiment. How often are you thinking about updating with your “current” thoughts and usage data?

In the initial phase where I will be using 1 soap for a month, probably 2-3 times in the month. After I am in the rotation phase probably weekly. Could be more often if I have some new observations.

 

[sugardaddy]

Mogno and Mike's would be my two favorites of that group regarding performance!

(Sent from mobile)

 

[sugardaddy]

Mogno and Mike's would be my two favorites of that group regarding performance!

(Sent from mobile)

 

[Shutterbug57]

OK, time for an update. As noted above, starting in August I will be using Arko for the month, then September through November, I will be using on of the other soaps. I am 17 shaves in, 15 before August and already know I am not looking forward to one of these months - see below for more.

With 2 shaves on Arko, I have managed to find the right amount of soap to provide an outstanding shave. I have a stick format and if I were to buy more Arko, it would be in the tub rather than the stick. I simply prefer to pick up the soap with a brush rather than my whiskers. By the second shave I had already made a soapy mess of the wrapper, so I peeled that off and have the stick sitting in an empty Mike's tin to contain the mess.

Initial impressions are:

Arko - 2 shaves - gives an outstanding shave once I found the proper amount of soap rubbed on my face. My early impression is that I see why so many folks like this soap. It works well and is dirt cheap.
MDC Rose - 4 shaves - gives an outstanding shave if you get the lather right. This took a couple of tries, but I like this soap.
Mike's - 3 shaves (but I have been using this for years) - all outstanding shaves. This is my go to soap.
Mogno - 8 shaves - 4 shaves were good, 3 very good and 1 outstanding. The outstanding shave came with my Aristocrat, but so did one of the good shaves. This soap is very finicky about the soap to water ratio. It also is drying to the skin and most of the time leaves your face feeling dry and uncomfortable. I am not looking forward to the month with this one. Hopefully, I will find the right set-up with this soap... This soap may be one that works well for a DE, but a SE & SR not so much. We shall see over time.

You will note that I an not making notes on the scents of the various soaps. This is for 2 reasons. First, whether you like a scent or not is a highly personal metric. My notes would be essentially useless to anyone else. Secondly, due to an accident years ago, I no longer have a sense of smell. This can be a blessing in an outhouse, but has its risks as well - can't smell chemicals or fire etc. Due to this, I really have no basis for making scent statements. THBS, I prefer Mike's Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper over his other offerings, most of which I have tried, because of the way it feels on my face.

 

[old_school]

@Shutterbug57

Unless you really want to keep Arko as a stick just make it a puck instead.

 

[lasta]

Diminished sense of smell? Or completely anosmic?

 

[Shutterbug57]

Diminished sense of smell? Or completely anosmic?

Let’s put it this way. My wife & I were RV shopping and I got ahead of her. I went in this camper that I liked the looks of. I was sitting in the living room when my wife caught up. Now this was in the summer, so it was hot out. My wife got in the door and immediately got out of there. It seems that some ignorant rube had dropped a deuce in the toilet and, having no water in it, could not flush it. I guess the rig was pretty ripe. It was a nice rig otherwise. But I could not smell it.

 

[lasta]

Let’s put it this way. My wife & I were RV shopping and I got ahead of her. I went in this camper that I liked the looks of. I was sitting in the living room when my wife caught up. Now this was in the summer, so it was hot out. My wife got in the door and immediately got out of there. It seems that some ignorant rube had dropped a deuce in the toilet and, having no water in it, could not flush it. I guess the rig was pretty ripe. It was a nice rig otherwise. But I could not smell it.

Ahh, sorry to hear that. Before BB I was an early member of Basenotes, so much to smell out there!

That being said, you would be the perfect objective judge on soap performance! Without scent bias, what's your best performer?

 

[DaveHStone]

OK, time for an update. As noted above, starting in August I will be using Arko for the month, then September through November, I will be using on of the other soaps. I am 17 shaves in, 15 before August and already know I am not looking forward to one of these months - see below for more.

With 2 shaves on Arko, I have managed to find the right amount of soap to provide an outstanding shave. I have a stick format and if I were to buy more Arko, it would be in the tub rather than the stick. I simply prefer to pick up the soap with a brush rather than my whiskers. By the second shave I had already made a soapy mess of the wrapper, so I peeled that off and have the stick sitting in an empty Mike's tin to contain the mess.

Initial impressions are:

Arko - 2 shaves - gives an outstanding shave once I found the proper amount of soap rubbed on my face. My early impression is that I see why so many folks like this soap. It works well and is dirt cheap.
MDC Rose - 4 shaves - gives an outstanding shave if you get the lather right. This took a couple of tries, but I like this soap.
Mike's - 3 shaves (but I have been using this for years) - all outstanding shaves. This is my go to soap.
Mogno - 8 shaves - 4 shaves were good, 3 very good and 1 outstanding. The outstanding shave came with my Aristocrat, but so did one of the good shaves. This soap is very finicky about the soap to water ratio. It also is drying to the skin and most of the time leaves your face feeling dry and uncomfortable. I am not looking forward to the month with this one. Hopefully, I will find the right set-up with this soap... This soap may be one that works well for a DE, but a SE & SR not so much. We shall see over time.

You will note that I an not making notes on the scents of the various soaps. This is for 2 reasons. First, whether you like a scent or not is a highly personal metric. My notes would be essentially useless to anyone else. Secondly, due to an accident years ago, I no longer have a sense of smell. This can be a blessing in an outhouse, but has its risks as well - can't smell chemicals or fire etc. Due to this, I really have no basis for making scent statements. THBS, I prefer Mike's Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper over his other offerings, most of which I have tried, because of the way it feels on my face.

My thoughts on Mogno, if that helps: Ach. Brito Mogno, a new Old School classic - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/ach-brito-mogno-a-new-old-school-classic.593821/post-11351851

Great thread BTW, keep it up!

 

[BigJ]

Great test!!

I predict you will need more than 2 years to finish. MdC would be good for at least 1 year for me..

 

[Shutterbug57]

Well, I put the naked stick in an empty Mike’s tin after using it and it stuck to it, so I decided to use it like a puck without pucking it. In the pic below you can see the soap in my brush after face lathering. This is the soap left for round 2 & following, it’s plenty.

With the exception of the first shave where I was figuring out the soap needed, all shaves with the Arko have been outstanding. The first was simply very good.

For this test, I am using outstanding, very good, good & fair as the ratings. This is not the same as BBS, SAS, etc. The level of shave is only 1 part of the overall evaluation. I am also looking at how the soap protects, how slick it is, how it leaves my face feeling and the overall shave experience it provides. This is a somewhat subjective rating system.

 

[Shutterbug57]

Great test!!

I predict you will need more than 2 years to finish. MdC would be good for at least 1 year for me..

You may be right. I weighed all 4 soaps in whatever container I am keeping them. I will reweigh periodically and estimate the total time needed.

 

[Shutterbug57]

Through 23 shaves, we have the following stats. Remember that with the exception of Mike's, I had no experience with any of these soaps, so the first shave or two was trying to dial in the soap.

For Arko, that first shave I had lather that was a bit weak, but it still brought in a Very Good rating for that shave. All the rest so far have been outstanding. Arko's shaves to-date have been 4 Feather AC SS, 2 Aristocrat & 2 GEM. This soap has a love it or hate it appeal, so far, I rather like this soap.

MdC Rose has had 3 shaves with the Feather AC SS and 1 with the Aristocrat. The first couple of shaves were dialing in this soap. It is way too early to form an opinion on this one.

Mike's - has had 2 shaves with the Feather AC SS and 1 with the Aristocrat. This has been my soap for several years.

Mogno - has had 5 shaves with the Feather AC SS, 2 with the Aristocrat and 1 with the GEM. The only outstanding shave was with the Aristocrat. This is a finnicky soap on the water/soap ratio. It also is the only soap in this test that leaves my face feeling dried out.

We are still early in the testing, so I have not drawn any conclusions as yet, but if the data continue to trend as shown below, Mogno may not fare so well. Arko may well end up being the penny-pincher's pal.

 

[Shutterbug57]

The outstanding shaves with Arko keep rolling in. One thing I have noted is that Arko requires additional time/attention to cleaning my brush. Failure to put in a bit of extra effort results in a slick film staying on the brush. It’s not a big deal, just a point I noted.

 

[Shutterbug57]

OK, we are half way through the month of Arko. Of the 14 shaves I have had, 8 were with the the Feather AC SS. Time to bring in more DE & SE shaves. All but the first shave have been outstanding. I really like this soap. It is not likely to move me off of Mike's but it is a solid performer. Most of the rest of the month I will be using the Aristocrat or GEM for several days in a row. Based on what I have seen so far, I expect more outstanding shaves.

 

[Shutterbug57]

Well, Arko August is over. I used Arko exclusively in August and got in 27 shaves, 9 each with 3 different razors - see below. Arko impressed me. It is a budget soap, but it performs well. I only had 1 shave that was less than outstanding and it was the first shave of the month when I was dialing in the lather properties of this soap. I would not rate its performance as being on par with Mike's, but its not far behind. As a tallow-based soap, it works well and I like the feel of my face when the shave is over. The only unusual thing I noted about Arko is that you really have to rinse your brush or it leaves a residue on it. Its not a big deal, but it needs to be done.

I won't be using Arko again until December as I have 3 other soaps to use in the next months. October will be the MdC Rose. Again, I will try to get a pretty even mix of the razors throughout the month.

Tomorrow I will post a picture of the Arko and its weight. I recorded the weight, container and all early in the month, this will allow me to guestimate the number of shaves it will provide. I will wait til tomorrow to do the weigh in so the soap can dry out and lose any water weight. It was dry at the starting weigh in as well.