Col. Conk Shaving Soap...

[koreysmith]

I was looking at Col. Conk shaving soaps and wondering what others have experienced with it? Does it provide a good level of slickness? What about cushion?

Korey

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[Lightcs1776]

I tried some samples. It wasn't bad, but I can't say it compares to my usual soaps, such as Stirling or Jon's.

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[Ron R]

Part 1 Top 5 great soaps you & I use!(your Favorite soaps)Top 5 great soaps you & I use!
Part 2 Top 5 brush shave soaps below $10.00 US, You and I use!
Thought I would like to touch on Soaps that are under $10.00 US that could be on sale to reach the under $10.00 threshold and there are lots of them, Part 1 was higher end soaps that I really enjoy.
Arko : One of the first soaps I bought and still have most of 3 sticks left, its been around for some time and it delivers a great lather with slickness and scent is very strong citrus lemony cleaning scent that settles down if left out in the open. This is a thirsty soap and When first using it I had the lather to dry, Arko likes water and to get great results lather should have a wetter hydrated texture if possible IMO. (Some folks are not happy with the scent as you might already know but I don't find it offensive) $3-4 per stick.
Colonel Conk Bay rum: Just bought this one recently on a order and its a glycerin base soap and thought for the price and a Bayrum soap that I have none of. It has mild spicy sent that is pleasant but not that strong IMO. Slickness was there IMO and it helped deliver a nick & weeper free shave. Post shave was also good. $3-6 per tub and they have 2 sizes.
Nivea : Started using this soap very early in my DE ventures and have to say it's alright a cream with a soft clean scent. The slickness is up there in the lower excellent range and post shave is also excellent, Nivea makes great moisturizers and so they deliver in the shave soap department IMO with not a whole lot of residual soap slickness to remove for final wash clean up. $3-6 dollars per tube and a mixing bowl not needed, just put a almond size portion in the wet middle part of the brush and face lather.
Proraso Green Eucalyptus menthol: For a Greenhorn learning this soap it was a challenge, at first I did not care for it because it made my skin cool off when rinsing so I shelved it for a while and revisited it for another try 4 months ago. The soap is a thirsty one and I did not have the right moisture ratio in the lather, it has to have a moist lather texture and the slickness is great when you add the right amount of water. Water seems to reactivate the slickness from my experience so to dry a lather is not producing the desired slickness I like for a enjoyable shave with this soap. Folks love to use this soap in the summer which gives a Menthol cooling effect after rinsing after each pass. Post shave is all right and scent is milder IMO. $5-9 dollars is a good deal for this one.
Razorock "What the puck": Just bought the 3 pucks on sale for $8.99 and that is a really good deal for the Quality of soap. I had the Blue barber stick and it worked good when on the road and took a chance with the Lime & Orange pucks. The soaps are triple milled and deliver great lather with nice high citrus scents for the orange and lime and the Blue barber also has a great scent . The protection slickness is fabulous and will protect your skin well, you will notice the slickness while rinsing after each pass.(good test for any soap is to re-moisten with just water a area after shaved to feel the protective slickness and run the razor across the slick-end area to test it for glide of razor.

 

[sugardaddy]

For the price, I think it's a very good soap. I found the lather slick and enjoyable. And I didn't have any trouble loading up Soap with my very soft badger silvertip brush.

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[VerbaVolant]

I tried Col. Conk Bay Rum some years ago and I found it sub-par. A quick and easy soap to lather but not enough cushion and zero residual slickness. The scent is weak and did not like it. I would consider this soap usable but at the bottom of the heap.
I would not buy it again.

 

[BigJ]

Good value for the $ IMO.

 

[fast shaver]

I tried Col. Conk Bay Rum some years ago and I found it sub-par. A quick and easy soap to lather but not enough cushion and zero residual slickness. The scent is weak and did not like it. I would consider this soap usable but at the bottom of the heap.
I would not buy it again.

There are other soaps out there that I do not shave over again without re- lathering. When Conk is on the face it provides good cushion & slickness for me. Zero nicks tells it all.

 

[dfoulk]

It's a below average soap that a lot of people try when they're starting out because it's inexpensive. I could fairly easily list 100 soaps that are better than it (I won't though). It would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to list 100 that are worse.

These are the very best I've encountered and pretty much all I use now. If you choose one of these your face will thank you:
Grooming Dept
Tallow & Steel
Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations (new Premium formula)

These would be in just about everyone's tier 1, still outstanding but not quite as good:
Declaration Grooming
Wholly Kaw
PannaCrema Nuavia
Sudsy Soapery
Barrister & Mann (Reserve or Excelsior formulas)

Any of these would be a very good choice. My top three are all in the $25 range. The ones in the bottom section range from around $14 for the Sudsy Soapery to $65 for the PannaCrema Nuavia. Nuavia comes in a nice ceramic crock with a good amount of soap and the scents are very high end. The others are all around the $20 to $25 mark.

If you're looking for a dirt cheap very decent performing soap choose Arko over Col Conk.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Arko over Col Conk any day. Arko is head and shoulders above Col Conk in terms of performance.

 

[cyberdog]

Col Conk, the Bay Rum particularly, was one of the first soaps I used, after finishing off the VDH puck and tube of Proraso Red, after I returned to wet shaving a few years ago. It wasn't bad, but there are a lot better soaps out there in my opinion. My two gripes with the Col Conk were as follows:

1) They didn't last very long, maybe I've become accustomed to triple milled and higher quality soap, but those pucks practically evaporated in the bowl.

2) The lather didn't stay wet/slick as long as some others, and on a slow relaxed shave, it would be sort of dry by before I was done with the pass. (I tired more water, less water, same results).

 

[njpaddy]

Arko over Col Conk any day. Arko is head and shoulders above Col Conk in terms of performance.

I agree, and I once threw a stick of Arko under my shed hoping the scent would make the groundhog find another home. However, several years into wet shaving and being a bay run lover, I decided to try Conk and bought a small tub. Conk holds the distinction of being the only soap I ever tossed after only one use. I didn't like the performance or scent.

 

[Pepin]

After many years of DE shaving I finally picked up the Col Conk Bay Rum.

For me it is an excellent soap. The fragrance is nice (could be a little stronger), and the slickness and protection is very good.

It is an easy soap to lather.

As always the shaving items are YMMV.

 

[Colonel Conk]

This could get ugly....

Try some and see for yourself! I think most issue (scent aside) come from an inadequately prepped/rushed lather. In such a "YMMV" driven niche its hard to decide something like this based on others opinions.

 

[syngent]

I use Conk, as well as many others. Other than not lasting as long as a triple milled soap, I've never had issues with my shave. Having been doing this for a while now though I don't usually rate protection properties as my technique improved enough not to burn up my face anymore.

But I started with Conk, it was great for the price and ability to try a lot of different scents out. They're scents don't last long, bit that also means it won't interfere with your A/S scent, and is also less likely to cause irritation as high levels of essential oils can cause some shavers skin

 

[Gaznix]

I have both arko and bay run colonel. Arko is way better but you can never have enough soaps, I like the scent, it’s easy to use and I get an enjoyable shave at a low price! What’s not to like? I will try all the different conk scents for sure.

 

[BravoFoxtrot]

I've shaved with a bunch of Conk soaps and have enjoyed them. No problems here.

 

[Maritime Storm]

YMMV is true, however a puck of Colonel Conk Bay Rum is in my rotation every summer. I am very happy with the scent and performance. It doesn't last a real long time, but it is priced accordingly making a good value in my opinion. @Colonel Conk is always available to answer questions about their product, which is a statement to their customer service as well.

 

[PeteVK]

I've been using a puck of Col Conk Bayrum since I started DE shaving in the beginning of February. Currently I'm trying to finish the puck off in the March Madness challenge. Reading the very different opinions in this thread surprised me. Here are my thoughts...

• Definitely not easy to lather, especially if you're new to traditional wet shaving. IMO, the puck needs to be bloomed with hot/warm water a few minutes prior to shaving for best results.
• Slickness is great and improves with each pass, by the end of my third pass, I really don't need to add any additional lather to my face for a quick pick up pass.
• The scent is all relative in my opinion, I enjoy it and I will say the scent strength is very mild, like all of their soaps that I've tried.
• It's in no way a bad soap, but it's not an amazing soap either. For the price, it's a solid performer and does what I believe it intends to do. Once I figured out how to get the best lather out of it, I've been perfectly content using it for the March madness test of stamina.
• My overall experience with shaving soaps pales in comparison with many here so take that for what it is worth.

Cheers!

 

[steveclarkus]

Haslinger Schafmilch

 

[H4nk]

It's a good-smelling soap that doesn't dry out my skin.