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Loving cheaper soaps!

Stirling is generally considered cheap, not high end. It's good soap, don't get me wrong, but one of the things people really like about it is that is very fairly priced.

You may or may not know that there are people on these forums that are spending upwards of $50 and even $60 or $70 on a puck of shaving soap.
Nobody will ever convince me that a $50 soap is worth the performance compared to the far lower cost options available; i.e. Stirling mutton. Heck, i'd say his beef soaps are good enough. This is why Stirling will be around for a long time- they've carved out a business model for themselves and have stayed the course.

But- i keep in mind that this is a hobby, so i don't know knock anyone for spending X on a soap that isn't going to make much of a difference in performance in the grand scheme of things- ultimately you want a great shave and there are many products that will get you there, Williams mug soap included.
 
Stirling is generally considered cheap, not high end. It's good soap, don't get me wrong, but one of the things people really like about it is that is very fairly priced.
Agreed, hence my "higher" was in quotations regarding it as a higher end soap. Even better is that their button base is the same price as their beef base, but performs better (for me).
 
I would actually like to try one expensive soap, MdC, but my regular shave soap is neither expensive nor cheap. It is Stirling, which has great scents and performance. Second place goes to Captain's Choice, only because he has less variety of scents, especially for my wife (she uses a DE with shave soaps). However, I still want to try the ultimate in cheap soaps one day ... Arko and Cella. I have already tried Proraso and find it is a fine shave soap. I suspect I will enjoy Arko and Cella as well.
 
I'm firmly in Camp Value. My soaps have all been under $20, with the exception of Tabac in a bowl and TOBS in a bowl. These latter two were just slightly over $20 (IIRC, I paid about $21 for each). Of all the soaps I've tried so far, my absolute favorite is Captain's Choice (Venture). Next comes TOBS (I liked it so much I picked up 5 more pucks, granted they were $5 each). I'm just starting to use Tabac (tallow) and liking it quite a bit. PdP 63 is also excellent, as are Cella, Proraso (I have used the three croaps and the blue cream), and Ariana & Evans Peaches & Cognac (Kaizen base). What the Puck?! is also really good. Van der Hagen Luxury soap punches well above its weight (or at least it did before the prices doubled).

In fact, the only inexpensive soap I've tried and about which I have anything negative to say is Arko. I struggle to get a lather I like with it. I'm not saying I can't get it to lather. To the contrary, it makes an okay lather. I just struggle to make a lather that works best for me and my preferences with it. (Oh, and for @Owen Bawn, it smells like an urinal puck! 😉)
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
I've been at this since... 2007 or so. I'm at a point right now, where I realize I'm happy with my "top drawer" of soaps. There's a range of price, but all of them I enjoy. Some more often than others. I have other soaps tucked away that I quite like, but these are the ones I enjoy the most and actively use. And I do need to get me a pamolive stick. I have just a little space left.

Le Pere Lucien - Rose de Pushkar
SV Desert Vetiver
Stirling Varen
Proraso Green
Razorock Santa Maria de Fiore
La Toja stick
Lea stick

There’s that Sterling Varen. Again. Arrrgh. GRUME. Must resist.
 
I think one of the reason some people like to pay more for a shaving soap, is because for them the scent is very important just as the quality of the soap and expensive soaps tend to have unique scents compared to soaps like Arko or Proraso. I wouldn't mind if a soap has a good scent, but I don't really care unless it's very strong or I don't like it. When I shave, I pay attention on my technique, pressure, angle and what not and i'm almost blind to the scent.

If the scent is what some people care about, then good for them and they should buy what they want, but even though I consider my facial skin to be somewhat sensitive, I just don't believe that getting a more expensive soap is going to improve my shaving expirience 10 times like some people often claim that some soaps do. If my prep is done properly and I use any of my favorite blades and razors, I can get a great shave even with a low quality cream or a soap, but I just don't see how a more expensive soap is going to compensate if my prep isn't done properly and if I use a dull blade or a razor that has lots of blade chatter.
 
I'm not sure anyone else here is this way? But after a few shaves with a more expensive soap. I switch it up and use a cheap so. When I'm done shaving I think I could get by with just using cheaper soaps.

Then after using the cheaper soaps for a few shaves. I use a more expensive soap and enjoy it and think that's why I paid the extra $$ for it.

I guess I just like variety in my shave soap rotation.

But as far as removing whiskers, and everything else I use is the same. I can't tell any difference. As far as that goes.

Use what you like and enjoy your shaves, is becoming my motto.
 
I would actually like to try one expensive soap, MdC, but my regular shave soap is neither expensive nor cheap. It is Stirling, which has great scents and performance. Second place goes to Captain's Choice, only because he has less variety of scents, especially for my wife (she uses a DE with shave soaps). However, I still want to try the ultimate in cheap soaps one day ... Arko and Cella. I have already tried Proraso and find it is a fine shave soap. I suspect I will enjoy Arko and Cella as well.

I completely agree on all points! Arko is quite a good performer for the price. Personally I wasn't that impressed by Cella---regular or bio. Don't get me wrong---both Cellas are very good, but I'd grab Proraso red before either. I'd suggest getting one of the Pre de Provence hard pucks before Cella.
 
Pre de provence no. 63 is great not sacrificing scent at all. I like the scent more than many of my artisan soaps and samples so much so I am thinking of picking up the edt. A little goes a long way since it's quad milled.
The EdT does not smell like the shaving soap, IMHO. It's still a good scent, but it is noticeably different from the scent of the soap. It lacks the touch of tobacco (and leather, IIRC) of the soap.
 
I completely agree on all points! Arko is quite a good performer for the price. Personally I wasn't that impressed by Cella---regular or bio. Don't get me wrong---both Cellas are very good, but I'd grab Proraso red before either. I'd suggest getting one of the Pre de Provence hard pucks before Cella.
I have a container of PdP 63 and agree that it is excellent. I give scent almost as much importance as performance and it is high on both accounts.
 
I think one of the reason some people like to pay more for a shaving soap, is because for them the scent is very important just as the quality of the soap and expensive soaps tend to have unique scents compared to soaps like Arko or Proraso. I wouldn't mind if a soap has a good scent, but I don't really care unless it's very strong or I don't like it. When I shave, I pay attention on my technique, pressure, angle and what not and i'm almost blind to the scent.

If the scent is what some people care about, then good for them and they should buy what they want, but even though I consider my facial skin to be somewhat sensitive, I just don't believe that getting a more expensive soap is going to improve my shaving expirience 10 times like some people often claim that some soaps do. If my prep is done properly and I use any of my favorite blades and razors, I can get a great shave even with a low quality cream or a soap, but I just don't see how a more expensive soap is going to compensate if my prep isn't done properly and if I use a dull blade or a razor that has lots of blade chatter.
 
I think one of the reason some people like to pay more for a shaving soap, is because for them the scent is very important just as the quality of the soap and expensive soaps tend to have unique scents compared to soaps like Arko or Proraso. I wouldn't mind if a soap has a good scent, but I don't really care unless it's very strong or I don't like it. When I shave, I pay attention on my technique, pressure, angle and what not and i'm almost blind to the scent.

If the scent is what some people care about, then good for them and they should buy what they want, but even though I consider my facial skin to be somewhat sensitive, I just don't believe that getting a more expensive soap is going to improve my shaving expirience 10 times like some people often claim that some soaps do. If my prep is done properly and I use any of my favorite blades and razors, I can get a great shave even with a low quality cream or a soap, but I just don't see how a more expensive soap is going to compensate if my prep isn't done properly and if I use a dull blade or a razor that has lots of blade chatter.
I pulled the trigger on SMN because they have a boutique nearby, and the shave was great and in my limited experience inferior to nothing else I've tried, but what knocked my socks off was not the scent while shaving, but the scent after shaving, mixed with Proraso sandalwood aftershave. The Proraso doesn't do it on it's own after using other soaps, but those two together, and the scent is really wonderful, like a million bucks.
 
This has been a fun thread to read- the classic question of the utility of lower-cost options versus luxury options. Bottom line, luxury goods have never provided greater utility, but that's not really the point.

As to soap, lower-cost soaps can and do provide delightful shaves. And, many of my soaps are in the lower cost arena. Yes, RR What the Puck was on sale yesterday with four pucks for $10, that's a whopping 14 ounces of soap at ~$.71 an ounce; surely this is a good low-cost option. Not the ~$.45/ounce or so for Arko in bulk, but still quite inexpensive. RR soaps, Arko, Cella, Tabac, La Toja, Mogno, and others are all in my den and fully enjoyed.

What I get from my luxury soaps are usually really lovely lathers, some with noticeably better protection, most with a finer post-shave experience, and with some- much more refined scents. Are the shaves 5, 8, or 10 times, better, no- after all it's still just a morning shave. But, the shaves are often more enjoyable, as part of this hobby for me. I'm very happy with my Canada Shave Soap at ~$8/ounce; the soap is lasting forever and gives an amazing lather and some truly epic shaves. And, I'm happy with so many others.

Looking at it another way, my luxury soap collection cost in total maybe as much as three nice dinners out would cost, and the luxury experience is lasting quite a bit longer. In this past year and a half, mostly sheltering at home, my luxury soaps and shaving hobby provided me a relief from the news and stress of the pandemic, and we're still not yet dining or going out much- damn Delta variant. My buying has slowed up now, and I'll get back to my pre-pandemic goal of using up the software I bought.

One of my son-in-laws is also into wet shaving and he copped my tin of PdP 63, and some of my other soaps he liked. It took me several years, and a couple of nice brushes, to induce him to try soaps- he was a confirmed cream user, so I'm happy about the sharing, too.

Also, and maybe most importantly, I get the satisfaction of supporting small businesses, like artisan soap makers and a few of the newer razor makers. There are so many large firms now dominating the marketplace everywhere that supporting some smaller firms is an important thing to me.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
I fell in love with Razorock Don Marco when it first came out. Even though I have a huge collection of higher end soaps now, Don Marco remains in the rotation. Love the smell. Good face feel. Decent performance. Last time it went on sale I bought a couple of tubs for under $5 each. Zi Peppino is another good one. Same thing. Under $5 a tub when on sale. Solid inexpensive soaps.
 
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