Arko - Love/Hate
- Thread starter Adis653
- Start date
Nope not for me. The smell alone made me not want to use it. Irish moos is my favorite but it is almost gone. 
Thank you! In Michigan our mosquito problems are legendary! I can be bit in July and still be itching in December! I will have to start bathing with Arko, and only partially rinsing.
I will only use February fat, it’s post holiday richness is the most cushioning there is...
This here is a smart man y'all.
Arko is ok, but you get what you pay for. Case of 12 sells for something like $15 online and it will last for many years. The scent is tolerable, like something you'd find at a decent hotel if you stayed in a foreign country. Performance? Eh, it works but it's nothing to call home about. I started with Arko and Williams but quickly moved on. It's a good way to get your feet wet in the world of traditional shaving but I wouldn't recommend it for the long haul. The benefit is its stick shape, offers travelers convenience if water, space, or time is a factor. So it's not great but it isn't terrible either. It will get the job done, I don't have anything bad to say about it. Plus it's been around for like 75 years, the logo is kitchy, and the price point is terrific if you're on a budget.
Love? Nope. Hate? Nope, although the way it stunk out my place I have every right to hate it.
I dislike the scent with a passion. Life's to short to hate a soap, I got rid of it and moved on.
I dislike the scent with a passion. Life's to short to hate a soap, I got rid of it and moved on.
For what a daily shave costs, even with a luxurious soap, it's not worth trying to make something work that just doesn't work 100%. You can try to air Arko out all you want but it's still Arko. Shave with what you love 100%, it might cost you 30 cents a shave vs. 10 cents, but you're probably spending $1 somewhere during the course of the day on something nowhere near as enjoyable as your shave soap.
For someone who calls himself "BudgetShaverGuy" to reject a soap considered by many to be THE BUDGET SOAP or at least one of them, is saying something. Perhaps it is time to change your moniker.
February fat is posh only for the uninitiated nouveau riche. What am I, a chav?
You speak the truth! I have lived in Northern Ontario for most of my life. You do not mention blackflies ( the horrible little beasties). The mosquitoes and blackflies get so bad, they will chase a 1500 lb moose out on to the highway just so the breeze can provide some relief from the clouds of insects. Spring is the worst. I'll have to try a stick of Arko in my pocket. As an added bonus, if I ever get lost, you won't need a bloodhound to find me.
Those who buy soap mainly for the scent will hate Arko, even though I think the performance is FAR above its price range.[/QUOTE]
I agree!
I agree!
Arko will give me roughly 6 months of daily shaves for just over $1. No other soap comes close.
I mean I more or less agree with you and use nicer soaps most of the time now, but from a budget perspective it's a no-brainer. There are for sure people who got into wetshaving to save money, I know lots of them (they don't post on forums and aren't insane collectors like us), and for them Arko is the obvious choice
I had alotta fun using Arko for Arko August....but for those who like the price & performance of Arko, but can't handle the scent....you should try the Derby stick instead. It's basically the same exact thing, both Turkish, same shape, same wrapper type, same great lathering and slickness...but the Derby stick can sometimes be found even cheaper than Arko.
The only big difference is that Derby has more of just a nice clean typical soapy soap smell, it doesn't have what most Arko haters refer to as the industrial lemon cleanser vibe.
The only big difference is that Derby has more of just a nice clean typical soapy soap smell, it doesn't have what most Arko haters refer to as the industrial lemon cleanser vibe.
Last edited:
I like Arko. The scent went away in a few weeks when I let it air out. The lather, slickness, cushion, and post shave care were all adequate for me.
And don't forget, the Arkoman model is the young Santa Claus!
If you can handle the scent...
Great travel soap. Convenient format (stick), works well in any water hardness, makes great lather with any brush or even no brush, protective, slick lather, good shaving results. And, it’s cheap if you leave it behind in your hotel room..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Great travel soap. Convenient format (stick), works well in any water hardness, makes great lather with any brush or even no brush, protective, slick lather, good shaving results. And, it’s cheap if you leave it behind in your hotel room..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is the reason Arko is my travel soap.
After doing Arko for the month of August. It's making it into my Mon-Fri work day rotation.
Sure saves you time with the lathering!
Similar threads
