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Firm Soap Options for a New Batch of Shave Sticks. Any Recomendations???

I'm at the tail end of a 2 year 3017 project for my soaps. I'm down to 1" of Arko. Time to make some new shave sticks! I'm looking for a few "firm" soap options.

I find that croaps like the RazoRock branded ones sold by IB are just a bit too soft for my liking. They tend to "smear" when added directly to the face. Same thing with soaps like Cella (unfortunately). On the other hand of the spectrum, triple milled soaps are too much of a pain to grate with a cheese grater stuff into a tube.

Granted there are quite a few soaps in stick form already, but I'm looking for some tubs I can convert in order to open up the selection a bit.

My ideal "hardness" is Arko in stick form, but a bit softer is just fine. Any suggestions as to soaps that are a bit firmer than Cella, but softer than triple milled?
 
You might consider some Cella, especially from the brick! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Interesting. Is brick Cella firmer than the Cella that comes in a jar?

That would be awesome. I love Cella, it's just softer than I prefer in a shave stick.
 
My brick (which was sliced awhile ago) is definitely firmer than Cella in the jar.

That's great to know. I might have to give that a shot. I just have to find a way to hide it in the bottom of the chest freezer. Maybe I'll label it "feta" so I don't have to explain to SWMBO why I have a non-food item in the freezer... 😋
 
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Mike's has shave sticks for most of his scents. I think that Stirling would be a good candidate.
Yep, but having them in stock is always questionable. It sounded like the OP is open to cutting/shaping his own sticks, so if Mike's doesn't have any sticks in stock but has pucks or tins, could be a good option!
 
I think that Stirling would be a good candidate.

Stirling seems like a great option. I've heard nothing but good things about them, but I've never tried any of their soaps. As an added bonus, the shipping is cheap direct from the manufacturer, and no sales tax.
 
Stirling seems like a great option. I've heard nothing but good things about them, but I've never tried any of their soaps. As an added bonus, the shipping is cheap direct from the manufacturer, and no sales tax.

Good choice. If I lived in the US that's what I'd try.
 
Any suggestions as to soaps that are a bit firmer than Cella, but softer than triple milled?

Mitchell's Wool Fat soaked in water will soften up. Add an amount of water about +5-10% of the soap volume? When I made a MWF stick I added too much water and it came out a bit too soft.

Most hard soaps should soften with water. Probably... Might take a few days to absorb it all.
 
Haslinger works great for soap sticks. MWF grated and mixed with a little warm water will work. Razorock "What the Puck" soaps (they do sell sticks, too, though). Mr. Fine soap pucks.
 
Here is a vid of Stirling soap pliability if anybody reading this is looking for the same thing I am. It looks much firmer than most croaps that I've tried. Relevant part starts at 1:40. Firmer would be even better, but I think this will do nicely for a shave stick.

 
Mitchell's Wool Fat soaked in water will soften up. Add an amount of water about +5-10% of the soap volume? When I made a MWF stick I added too much water and it came out a bit too soft.

Most hard soaps should soften with water. Probably... Might take a few days to absorb it all.

That's really interesting! Do you just pour the measured volume of water into a mug, drop the soap in, and then flip it every day? Any tips?
 
That's really interesting! Do you just pour the measured volume of water into a mug, drop the soap in, and then flip it every day? Any tips?

I had a round plastic container with a lid just a little bit larger than the puck so I filled it up with water until it just covered the puck, closed the lid and left it for several days. It might have taken up to a week to fully absorb all the water. Can't remember exactly.

You'll have to experiment to get the perfect consistency. 5-10% is just a rough guide. I didn't measure anything.

As you say Arko is a nice texture for re-molding. I managed to stuff some into an empty lipstick container to make the world's smallest shaving stick. Probably not much use to most people but I do a lot of cycle touring and the lighter your load the easier it is to get up the hills.

Arko-lipstick-smaller.png
 
I've never heard of CBL, but their website looks interesting. Using Wagyu beef tallow is certainly a novel approach. Any soaps in particular you would recommend from them?
The wagyu tallow formula (I think they call it their premium line) is a pretty soft soap. It’s a great performer, but probably not the consistency you’re looking for.
Their tonsorial/master barber formula is I believe meant to be a harder soap.
 
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