Shaving Soap in the UK?

[andrew98]

I moved here about 3 months ago. Who sells the best selection of shaving soap in the UK?

Thanks,
-Andy

 

[valmara1971]

Well the UK has many great soaps made here T&H Trumpers DR harris etc and of course we do have t'internet so the world is your oyster fella.

 

[SHarris]

High Street here

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/UK_High_Street_shopping

Luxury

tinternet

 

[andrew98]

Well the UK has many great soaps made here T&H Trumpers DR harris etc and of course we do have t'internet so the world is your oyster fella.

Right. I've sorted the webternets here. I asked the question to save a little time. Collective knowledge is, in part, why we use B&B. I should, however, clarify a little. I have several of the UK's classic soaps (Pens, Harris, Trumpers). I was trying to find an online vendor that has a large selection of soaps. I'm looking for new ideas and maybe a soap or two I haven't heard of yet. If I received the same question in the US, my answer would be shavingessentials, shoeboxshaveshop, westcoastshaving, vintageblades, classicshaving, bullgooseshaving, etc.

The Shaving Shack seems to fit the bill, in part. I'm looking for Tabac (stick) and Speick. They have those, as well as a Musgo Real glycerin soap, which I never knew existed. Oddly enough, I can't find Wilkinson Sword (stick) anywhere in Liverpool. Palmolive (stick) is readily available, though. Ideally, I would like to find Wilkinson (stick) online from a retailer with a large selection of soap, so I can order a few soaps to make the shipping charges worthwhile. I don't want to pay 3 or 4 GBP just to get Wilkinsons. I just discovered safetyrazors.co.uk as well, but they're temporarily closed for a holiday. Web-based companies of this ilk are what I'm hoping to find.

There are also some good "mom and pop" soapers in the US. I wasn't sure if there were any highly regarded small-scale soapers here.

-Andy

 

[holiday]

I only really buy soaps online, ................ .com, shavingshack.com english shaving company are good sites. Only soap I have bought in a shop are palmolive and erasmic. As for independent soap makers I don't really know of any.
If your looking for a vintage straight or handmade strop can I recommend Neil Miller who is a member here. He often has a great selection of straight on ebay and his strops are top quality.

 

[SHarris]

WS sticks are not that easily available on the high street but they are available here.

http://www.blademail.co.uk/acatalog/wssoap.html

or you could try the UK vendor that may not be mentioned.

 

[holiday]

or you could try the UK vendor that may not be mentioned.

Why can't we metion it, I see it didn't show up in my post

 

[andrew98]

Why can't we metion it, I see it didn't show up in my post

Perhaps the proprietor is also a super-villain of some sort? I've seen that happen before but have never seen an explanation for why it occurs. I guess there's a reason the mods won't allow whoever it is to be mentioned.

Thanks for all the info thus far.

-Andy

 

[holiday]

perhaps he shaves with foam and a fusion. John Lewis also stock a good selection of shave gear, worth a visit if you have one near you.

 

[andrew98]

perhaps he shaves with foam and a fusion. John Lewis also stock a good selection of shave gear, worth a visit if you have one near you.

Ha! That may indeed be grounds for expulsion.

There is a John Lewis just down the street, so I'll definitely stop in there. I picked up a stick of Palmolive for 40p at Tesco this evening. That has to be the best deal in shaving soap-dom.

-Andy

 

[rum]

I picked up a stick of Palmolive for 40p at Tesco this evening. That has to be the best deal in shaving soap-dom.

I can't believe I paid 10% more for my Palmolive shave stick!!
44p at Asda, but lathers like anything

 

[SepticTank]

It was on special about 6 months ago - 22p in Asda... consequently I have a supply capable of sinking a container ship

 

[rum]

You'd go a long way before finding something better value than that, even if this were £1 per stick. Plus it's tallow-based as well.

I've only used it a few times so far, so I have a few shaves to go before I get to the bottom of it though. My dad tells me that back in his soap days he would use this and it could go for years. That's such good value for money and I'll be posting a review of it soon. I just need to make sure what it works best with (after shaves, etc).

My Tabac puck is currently occupying a rather nice ceramic bowl (couldn't find the Tabac bowl that I thought I had lying around). When it is gone (2015?) I'll get another with the bowl, leaving this one free to grate some Palmolive sticks in there.

 

[holiday]

+1 on the palmolive, its a ridiculous deal! I would happily pay 4 times that, just don't tell palmolive!
I've been stocking up on it recently just incase they decide to reformulate. It worries me that tallow based soap is soon going to be a thing of the past.

 

[English]

John Lewis sells Kent which is MWF with a different wrapper. They also sell an unboxed, paper wrapped, lavender scented,puck of soap (100gram standard size) which I think is Truefitt and Hill's soap unlabelled. It is £2 to £3. Often Kent will sell off some soaps on E Bay (.co.uk). If you look hard in a TK Max store you "may" find some half price TOBs creams in the tubs, but check the soap hasn't dried out.

The following UK supplier I have used and they are just great and well stocked with the traditional soaps.
www.gentlemans-shop.com
This guy sells some of the hard to find items and soaps
www..................com (Do a search for ......... shaving)

Happy shaving and enjoy your stay. The scousers are great people to be amongst.

 

[rum]

John Lewis sells Kent which is MWF with a different wrapper. They also sell an unboxed, paper wrapped, lavender scented,puck of soap (100gram standard size) which I think is Truefitt and Hill's soap unlabelled. It is £2 to £3.

Isn't that the L' Ome brand? I think they do an own brand as well though.

+1 on the Gentleman's Shop. Great place to buy from.

 

[English]

Isn't that the L' Ome brand? I think they do an own brand as well though.

No, it's definately a tripple milled English soap. I had a used Trufitt bowl and the John Lewis soap fits perfectly. They sometimes have the smaller 50 gram size pucks in as well. They fit the old china shaving brush and soap bowl stands. It's a bargain if you like a lavender scented soap. I didn't think much of the L'Ome soap

I didn't say it but, because its quite expensive, but they also sell "FLORIS" shaving soap which is my favorite. I think it is just total quality from the packaging to the shave. The JF scent won't cause offense. The No89 is a wonderful scent but the soap got a lot of bad press in the US. Maybe it only works with Welsh water.
(That's what you drink in Liverpool). I was born in the Wirral so I was brought up on the stuff. They also sell REN products and that Company does what I consider to be the best shaving oil you can buy. The after shave cream in a similar tube/box is also great for dry skin. The REN products are special but again they are expensive to buy but last a long time because you need to use very little to get the benefit. Great stuff if you get chapped skin in the Winter. Finally, on the shelves they have some tubes of shaving cream that are really good and relatively inexpensive. I forget the names. So much good stuff and so little time. John Lewis is a great shop. You just need money.

 

[NatJag]

this company has some stuff that I'd not seen before. Thats not a great statement as I've only ever walked down Jermyn St and seen the three T's.

http://www..................com/index.html

Ah perhaps that was the name not to be mentioned. Sorry didn't know.
If you look on mantic59's blog, you can find this company and other in UK as they supply blade sample packs.

 

[andrew98]

Wow. Thanks for all the advice. This is very helpful.

-Andy