Shave stick observation...one brand missing in action?

[Rivguy]

I am very fond of shave sticks and have posted my thoughts about them a number of times. I have read many threads praising them and for the most part, agree with them. There are many fine shave sticks and I think that I own many of them and will try others in the future. I have and use La Toja, Irisch Moos, Palmolive Classic, and Wilkinson Sword (now consumed). I have an Arko stick but I have not used it yet. (I keep it in a hermetically sealed container).

When I read the threads and posts, one brand appears to be missing in action. That brand is Taylor of old Bond Street. First let me say that of all of my shave sticks, and I really like them every one of them, the TOBS sticks outperform them all in my view. They are a different type of stick in that they are a "wet" and not a dry application. They come in a 2.5 oz. sturdy twist up plastic container. Sandalwood and St. James are the two scents that are available and they are outstanding. I think that you can build a lather with them with a Q-tip.

Perhaps one of the reason they are not as popular as others is their cost although they are competitive with some of the other fine sticks. Another reason is the perceived notion that English soaps are inferior which certainly is not the case with TOBS and D.R. Harris. I understand that some members prefer inexpensive products and I certainly respect that and see where that may be a driving factor. Perhaps it is the scents they offer which I like very much but others may not.

My point in posting this thread is not to solicit suggestions for your favorite shave sticks but rather try to understand why these fine shave sticks don't get much mention here. So I am curious, what are your thoughts?

Best regards,

Doug

 

[SliceOfLife]

Hmm I haven't tried TOBS. Price probably was the reason. Also I don't think Gary's samples had TOBS back when I got samples of the higher priced soaps I wanted to try.


edit: Looking again, the ingredients list looks like I wouldn't like it. I recall being disappointed because this was the soap my grandfather used back in the day (have a couple old TOBS bowls from him).


Dr Harris on the other hand no one mentions the sticks because they are ludicrously overpriced next to the refill pucks. If memory serves more than twice the cost per gram.

 

[njpaddy]

Dr Harris on the other hand no one mentions the sticks because they are ludicrously overpriced next to the refill pucks. If memory serves more than twice the cost per gram.

You're not kidding, overpriced. I didn't like Harris in stick form and transferred it to an empty TOBS bowl. Not much soap in the stick. It barely coated the bottom of the tub.

 

[SliceOfLife]

40g if I recall... 2/5 the puck content. Price is almost the same.

 

[Absolute Mustard]

TOBS stick containers are the best....hands down

I dont know why more companies dont design containers like these.

 

[Mr B]

TOBS stick containers are the best....hands down

I dont know why more companies dont design containers like these.

Thanks for this, looking forward to trying one and then reusing it!

 

[Rivguy]

I paid $12.50 for the 75g TOBS stick the last time I purchased one recently during a vendors sale. No it isn't inexpensive but it is a high end product and some of us are willing to spend a few more front end dollars to gain long term value. If I remember correctly, Tabac is in that range and Valobra not far behind. My purpose is not to make converts, I am just curious as to why there is practically no mention of what I think is an outstanding product.

Regards,

Doug

 

[StuMcB]

I had the TOBS Sandalwood stick. A great lather and smooth shaves. The scent was nice aswell. The wrong things with it for me was

A) price
B) Price
and
C) Price.

The container does hold almost a complete Arko stick and thats what I use foe my Arko.

 

[mblakele]

Is TOBS the one where the stick soap is different than the puck soap? That idea put me off for some reason.

The price for the Harris stick includes the holder, which is probably worth $3 or so all by itself. It fits any of the small-gauge sticks: Palmolive, Wiks, etc. So while my next Harris stick will probably be a puck conversion, I expect to use the holder for years.

 

[Rivguy]

To my knowledge, St. James soap is only available in stick form. I am a bit surprised by this because it is such a wonderful scent. It is available as a cream and of course AS and cologne. I can not speak to the ingredients in the bowl version of sandalwood vs the stick version because I don't have a box that lists the ingredients of the bowl soap. I will say that the stick version is "wetter" than the bowl version. The TOBS sticks apply easily because of this bit of "wetness"...they just glide on.

Regards,

Doug

 

[mblakele]

These ingredient lists show what I had in mind.

TOBS Sandalwood Shaving Soap: Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Palmate, Aqua (Water), Parfum (Fragrance), Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Tetrasodium Edta, Sodium Silicate, Magnesium Sulphate, Tetrasodium Etidronate.

TOBS Sandalwood Shaving Stick: Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Aqua, Potassium Hydroxide, Myristic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum (Parfum Contains: Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Cinnamate, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Linalool, Oak Moss Extract, Tree Moss Extract).

 

[Rivguy]

The ingredients list notwithstanding, both of the TOBS sandalwood soaps are outstanding performers with great scents. I would have definitely expected the stick to have different ingredients than the dish soap because of the considerable difference in consistency. Obviously the soap in the dish is hard milled while the stick is not.
In any event, it certainly is a YMMV decision and my point is neither to defend or detract from what is in my view a great product. I was just curious as to why the TOBS sticks don't get much attention on B&B. The ensuing discussion has confirmed some of my suspicions.

Regards,

Doug

 

[lt114]

Interesting, I will have to try one of these.
The cost might be higher relative to other sticks, but I'm not exactly trying to save money with this hobby at this point.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Is that an old Puck ingredient list? I googled it and the ingredients for the puck on amazon (and a few other sellers) are:

"Sodium Palmate, Potassium Palmate, Aqua, Sodium Cocoate, Potassium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Parfum (Fragrance), Palm Kernel Fatty Acid, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Linalool, Coumarin, Geraniol, Limonene, Cinnamal, Citronellol, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide)"


Your ingredients list shows promise. Amazons does not.

 

[mblakele]

Thanks, Ian: I do not have the soap, but your list checks out. This is disappointing, though. Last time I was in the Jermyn St shop I asked them to let me know if they every updated any of their ingredient lists. Just when we had the wiki finished, too....

Anyway, I will update the page. I suppose it says a lot about the popularity of TOBS soap around here that I could not find a thread about the reformulation, whenever it happened. We only added the old ingredient list to the wiki about 13 months ago. Anyone know when they changed?

 

[SliceOfLife]

A lot of searching turns up almost no dates. The earliest reference on forums I can find is from March of this year referring to a "recent reformulation" removing Stearates.


Here we go

July last year bullgoose announced that the stearate based Lavender bowls were discountinued and noted that they were the only TOBS to have escaped the reformulation up until that point.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/239722-Taylor-Lavender-Shave-Soap-RIP

 

[Qhead]

Doug not sure why the TOBS sticks don't get much mention-just out of curiosity I bought a sandalwood stick (to reach the free shipping limit) and will give it a try tomorrow... The packaging looks top notch and scent seems nice.

 

[Lando]

My bowl of TOBS lavender is wonderful. My sandalwood stick, not so much. It looks like an old butterscotch candy left in the car during summer...gooey, and not in a good way. Also the scent is too herbal for my liking.

Now I'm curious about the puck

 

[Renato1]

Curious, my TOBS Sandalwood stick wasn't that big a standout for me. I'm currently more fond of the La Toya, Erasmic and Derby sticks (providing I ignore Derby's scent).

And I found the Sandalwood scent in TOBS kind of disappointing. But it does have a classy looking tube.
Regards,
Renato