Newby Question - How long does puck of shaving soap last ?

[bdsii]

Newbie question here......how long does a standard size puck of shaving soap last ? I know there are many variables that could effect it so assume a standard size puck of 2 1/2" diameter by 1" tall and net weight 2.25 oz. and shaving 7 days a week and bowl lathering.

As I said, I am new to all this and it seems like a lot of fun to try the different soap brands and scents but if a puck will last 6 months I will have to be careful not to buy more soap that I could use any time soon. I am thinking that the puck will last less than that if used every day but wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Vlad]

You're only on post #3, so we'll overlook your naive assumption that you will be able to resist Soap Acquisition Disorder. I predict by post #20 you'll have more soap than you can use in five years.

 

[bdsii]

Thanks Vlad....you are most correct I probably will succumb to SAD (Soap Acquisition Disorder). However, my inquisitive and analytical nature keeps asking the question anyway!

 

[Vlad]

I think 6 months is average, but I know some guys load really heavy and can get through a puck in 3-4 months. I have no personal experience to go on...it will be a long time before I see the bottom of a soap bowl.

 

[bluemantra]

I have to agree with Vlad, but for curiosities sake I believe your looking at 4-6 months with daily use, maybe 3 months depending on how much you load the brush.

Edit: Vlad beat me to it!

 

[cymric]

Basically once you start to discover Ye Olde School Wetshaving, the first few years will be spent collecting and sampling dozens of products, so the question how long a puck lasts doesn't really come into play.

I am amongst the voracious users here (at least, that I know of), and get about 80 to 100 3-pass shaves out of a puck weighing 125 grams using a fairly modest brush. I do not economise and could probably, with care and effort, increase the amount of shaves by 20, perhaps 30; but quite frankly I don't see the need. I spend about €20 to €25 on soap per year, that's not going to break the bank.

 

[djh]

I believe that you will get through that soap puck a little faster than the others are suggesting. I think that somewhere around 3 months with shaving every day and you should be able to see the bottom of your bowl. Of course, very hard soaps last longer than softer soaps and some soaps are so great that you want to lather them a few times each day so........

 

[DaveAri]

Once SAD sets in the answer is never. Since I have have joined B&B, I have yet to finish a soap. Welcome to a great board with a great bunch of international shavers. Enjoy.

 

[Shavely Manden]

Newbie question here......how long does a standard size puck of shaving soap last ? I know there are many variables that could effect it so assume a standard size puck of 2 1/2" diameter by 1" tall and net weight 2.25 oz. and shaving 7 days a week and bowl lathering.

As I said, I am new to all this and it seems like a lot of fun to try the different soap brands and scents but if a puck will last 6 months I will have to be careful not to buy more soap that I could use any time soon. I am thinking that the puck will last less than that if used every day but wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks in advance!

It probably depends on the soap, the brush used, and your lathering technique. Really, the only way to know for certain is to figure out how to lather to your satisfaction, weigh the brush before loading, and then re-weigh immediately after loading. That should tell you how much soap you're using (approximately -- you've probably squeezed out water onto the puck and maybe spilled some &c...), which, divided into the net wt. of the puck, should tell you how long it lasts.

 

[dpm802]

There is no law that says you have to use the same soap day after day, just to use it up. If nothing else, you'll probably want to rotate your soaps with the seasonal weather changes, and have one or two others set aside for special occasions.

But to answer your question ... I've been wet-shaving for 2.5 years, and I have yet to use up a whole puck of soap. In that time, I've gone through about 6 tubes of Tabac cream, but I'm not even halfway through my Tabac soap.

 

[RaisingTheBar]

You're only on post #3, so we'll overlook your naive assumption that you will be able to resist Soap Acquisition Disorder. I predict by post #20 you'll have more soap than you can use in five years.

^listen to this. Been at this for about 2 months and I got a box of 5 new soaps sitting at home right now. I don't even remember exactly what I ordered I just remember I ordered a bunch.

 

[Go West Young Man]

If you used the same soap exclusively, I'd say that a soft one life VdH would last about 3 months while a hard one like DR Harris or AoS could probably go 9 or 10 months.

 

[mandoman]

Hard to finish one puck when you have more then one to choose from but i would say about 4-6 months

 

[Darth Indiana]

a few months is about right, depending on how dense the soap is.

It probably depends on the soap, the brush used, and your lathering technique. Really, the only way to know for certain is to figure out how to lather to your satisfaction, weigh the brush before loading, and then re-weigh immediately after loading. That should tell you how much soap you're using (approximately -- you've probably squeezed out water onto the puck and maybe spilled some &c...), which, divided into the net wt. of the puck, should tell you how long it lasts.

nah, man. you weigh the soap in its container, before adding any water(if you do it that way), then do the same the next day, again before adding water.

 

[kingfisher]

Out of curiosity, I have been keeping track of my shaves with one container of soap I got from Mama Bear. Every day after finishing a shave with that soap, I put a mark on a little piece of paper I keep with the soap.

I do two-passes plus touch-up.


So far, I have had 95 shaves with this soap, and I still haven't even hit the bottom of the puck in the middle, although the color is starting to get lighter there (the bottom of the container is white).

So I could have used it every day for 3 months plus, and I still have quite a bit left.

I'm gonna guess that I'll end up getting at least 150 shaves out of that puck of soap, which would be approximately 5 months. And this is a glycerin soap (they are used up more quickly than triple-milled soaps).

 

[michiganlover]

If you used the same soap exclusively, I'd say that a soft one life VdH would last about 3 months while a hard one like DR Harris or AoS could probably go 9 or 10 months.

Sounds about right. The only thing I have ever finished was a puck of VDH. It last for about 90 shaves; I load heavily though.

I have been lathering on the puck using some Godrej Shaving Round, which is smaller than an average size puck. Even with lathering on the puck (which is wasteful of soap) I am going to get 30 shaves from the small puck.

 

[edwinguz]

A puck of VDH should last you more than 2 months. I got almost 3 months of shaves out of one VDH Glycerin soap. I have 11 more to go since I bought a 12 pack. Since I've started, I've also acquired a number of different soaps to try out. Conservatively, I'd say I have well over 5 years worth of shaving soap.

 

[RayH]

VDH is the one soap I was thinking about when I saw this thread. It's the one that you can go through fairly quick using a boar brush. Col. Conk should be the same as it is made by VDH.

There is no law that says you have to use the same soap day after day, just to use it up. If nothing else, you'll probably want to rotate your soaps with the seasonal weather changes, and have one or two others set aside for special occasions.

All in all I must agree with dpm802's assessment on this subject.

 

[reyrascon]

I finished a tub of Omega soap, that's only because I forced myself to not buy anything for about 4 months. Now I have MWF, Tabac, Proraso tube, tube of AoS lemon, and recently had a flood of samples arrive (T&H, Vulfix, Trumpers, TOBS). I have no more room!!!

 

[flycbyrd]

I have had my soap forever and im only half way through the puck of mama bear sandalwood vanilla.