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Shaving soaps and the cost per shave- Data mined from the 3017 thread.

Yeah, I'm surprised how fast some of you guys go through product. I must load on the light side of things, probably cause I face lather and every little bit that gets lathered gets used.

Great job guys.

I also notice many seem to use a lot of soap here. I got 76 shaves out of my last $10 tub of Proraso White. A $1.20 stick of ARKO gives me about 90-100 shaves. A $2.60 puck of VDH Deluxe lasts me about 27 +/- shaves.

I face-lather also. Perhaps this makes a difference? I don't know as I never got into bowl lathering.
 
I also notice many seem to use a lot of soap here. I got 76 shaves out of my last $10 tub of Proraso White. A $1.20 stick of ARKO gives me about 90-100 shaves. A $2.60 puck of VDH Deluxe lasts me about 27 +/- shaves.

I face-lather also. Perhaps this makes a difference? I don't know as I never got into bowl lathering.

Im sure it makes a huge difference. My tabac stick just keeps going.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Interesting stuff. I calculate that ABC soap just cost me 25 cents a three pass shave. While not one of the cheapest, it's still quite a bit cheaper in use than the initial price would suggest.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Hi folks,

Resurrecting the data thread to ask for a confirmation from someone regarding Castle Forbes. The only data I've seen in the thread is Bruce's and I'm off by a factor of 10 - on the good side BTW.

I recently acquired Castle Forbes lavender @$38 per 200g which brings it to 19 cents per gram. Bruce's data indicated he used 4.44g/shave.

What I did was take about a half almond size piece which is nominally 1/2g, and smear it on the inside of a Symmetrical Pottery dottie bowl and lather it with a 22mm M&F brush until the soap was incorporated or nearly so. I'm getting 3 plus passes and still washing a good amount out of the brush and bowl. At 1/2g per shave, that's about 9.5 cents which is a factor of 10 less than Bruce's numbers, and I believe you can get excellent results with even less.

So would someone with CF and a bowl try lathering it the same way with half an almond size chunk and see if you get the same results?

It does seem like you use more lathering on top of the soap but I haven't tried to measure that yet.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers, Steve
 
[MENTION=73183]Steve56[/MENTION]. My data for the CF was based on the cream which had almost liquefied by the time I got around to using it.

If I had been able to scoop and smear, like you had and I had done with previous tubs, my usage would have been much lower.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Thanks Bruce, that probably explains it. A factor of 2-3 can be technique or preference, but 10x requires asking some questions!

If you can go 5-7 cents a shave with CF, that would make it quite the bargain and I know I can do 9 cents a shave.

Cheers, Steve
 
It’s been interesting seeing all these numbers come in. Good idea Jim.

These are my stats for the last 10 soaps I used.








4 Oct 2013 to 6 Dec 2014 totals = 428 days
Discount that 4% for no shave days = 411 days
Cost of soaps is 87.90 USD.

87.90 / 411 = 21c per shave




Purchase cost ignores shipping, is without special packaging where available, and is not on sale or with bulk cost.

In the tables above, my costs are per day rather than per shave. It’s just easier for me to keep track this way. When I travel, I travel with my 3017 soap. I often go the whole month without missing a shave and rarely miss 2 shaves in a given month. I estimate that I miss a total of 15 days max in a year. So, to adjust from ‘per day’ numbers in the table to ‘per shave’ costs, simply reduce cost per shave by 4%.

*Extrapolated from my current use speed
While I appreciate the work that went into this the costs are way off- I don't know about the cost of those fancy soaps that cost two figures but while you may have paid those prices for Arko & Williams but no one who regularly uses them pays $3.50/$3.65 for them. Each costs $1.25 or less. That greatly changes the range in daily costs between high end and more traditional, or "budget" products.
 
My data. In case of hard soaps, I have used product as the stick to get proper measurement. All shaves with three passes.


Name of the productPortion (g)Price per shaving ($)
Saponificio Veresino Dolomiti Shaving Soap0,600,10
Saponificio Veresino Manna di Sicilia Shaving Soap0,600,10
Crabtree&Evelyn Moroccan Myrrh Shave Soap (10.2015→)0,700,09
Floris London Elite Shaving Soap0,480,14
Wholly Kaw Fougère Bouquet Premium Shaving Soap0,800,11
Truefitt & Hill 1805 Shaving Cream1,500,19
Los Angeles Bespoke Shaving Soap0,800,18
Floris London JF Shaving Soap0,600,18
Le Père Lucien Rose de Pushkar Shaving Soap1,000,21
Martin de Candre Scented Shaving Soap1,200,42
Eufros Premium Rosa Bourbon Shaving Soap1,200,42
Arran Aromatics Bay Citrus Shaving Soap0,600,10
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Herbal Soap0,600,09
Mitchell´s Wool Fat Shaving Soap0,830,09
Dr. Harris Sandalwood Shaving Soap0,600,11
Dr. Harris Windsor Shaving Soap0,600,11
La Savonnière du Moulin 30% Shaving Soap0,600,12
Strop Shoppe Black Tie Shaving Soap1,000,12
Catie's Bubles Le Piment de la Vie1,200,11
Taylor of Old Bond Sandalwood Shaving Cream1,500,16
Taylor of Old Bond Street Rose Shaving Cream1,500,16
Geo F. Trumper Sandalwood Shaving Cream1,500,23
Maggard Razors London Barbershop Shaving Soap1,000,11
Vulfix Persian Musk Shaving Cream1,500,15
Baume.be Shaving Cream1,500,25
Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna Shave Cream1,800,30
Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood Aromatic Shave Cream1,800,30
Barrister & Mann Cheshire Shaving Soap1,000,14
eShave Verbena Lime Shaving Cream1,200,24
Geo F. Trumper Rose Shaving Cream1,800,27
The Art of Shaving Shaving Cream Lemon1,500,25
Dr. Jon's Black Label Shaving Soap1,500,11
Simpsons Shaving Cream Citrus Burst1,500,34
Castle Forbes Lavender Shaving Cream1,500,29
Musgo Real Classic Soap0,600,06
Esbjerg Vienna Rasiercreme Grapefruit1,200,20
Ach. Brito Shaving Cream Lavanda1,500,09
OSMA Shaving Soap Shaving Soap0,600,11
Mondial Shaving Cream Tabacco Verde0,900,08
Haslinger Schafmilch Shaving Soap with Sheep Milk0,700,11
J&E Atkinsons I Coloniali Shaving Cream Mango0,600,11
Soap Commander Shaving Soap Passion1,000,09
Le Père Lucien Le Savon du Barbier1,000,12
RazoRock Bee’s Knees Beeswax Shaving Soap1,000,07
Figaro Maestro (Gold) Shaving Soap1,000,10
RazorRock Don Marco Shaving Soap1,200,07
Lebelle Soaps Barbiere Italiano1,200,15
Phoenix Amber Shaving Soap1,000,11
Shannon Soaps Silk Pajamas1,250,10
Queen Charlotte Basilica Shaving Soap0,800,12
Jack Black Triple Cushion Supreme Shaving Cream1,500,16
Captain's Choice Bay Rum Shaving Soap1,000,11
Boellis Panama 1924 Shaving Soap0,600,14
Queen Charlotte Fougere Shaving Soap0,800,12
The Art of Shaving Sandalwood Soap0,600,19
Tiki Fougere Tallow Shaving Soap1,200,13
L'Occitane Shaving Cream Cade1,600,27
TVB Shaving Lebelle Soaps Sweet Vetiver1,200,26
Edwin Jagger Premium Shaving Cream Sandalwood1,600,34
Mike's Natural Soaps Vetiver Shaving Soap1,500,20
Meissner Tremonia Himalayan Heights Shaving Paste2,000,35
Santa Maria Novella Shaving Soap1,300,46
Meissner Tremonia Moroccan Rhassoul Shaving Paste2,500,44
Proraso Sapone da Barba Protettivo e Idratante Blue Shaving Cream1,500,07
Cella Crema da Barba all’Olio di Mandorla1,200,06
Fix-Model Shaving Cream (Creme de Barbear) Eucalipto1,500,04
La Toja shaving cream1,500,07
Bozzano Creme de Barbear Pele Sensivel1,500,12
LEA Classic Shaving Soap0,600,08
Phoenix (Synergy) Unscented1,000,08
Edwin Jagger Shaving Soap Lime & Pomegranade0,700,10
Old Spice Classic Shave Cream1,500,09
Tabac Original Rasierseife0,800,10
Tcheon Fung Sing Blue Jar Shaving Soap1,000,07
Mystic Water Wild Lavender1,000,09
Joris Shaving Soap0,600,13
Petal Pusher Coconut1,000,10
The ShaveDoctor Ultimate Shaving Creme1,500,14
Mondial Shaving Soap Bergamotto Neroli0,600,17
Rose of Bulgaria Shaving Cream1,500,14
Acca Kappa 1869 Shaving Cream1,200,25
Geo F. Trumper Violet Shaving Soap0,800,18
Mama Bear's Hinoki Woods Shaving Soap1,800,13
Valobra Fougere Shaving Soap1,000,28
RazoRock XXX Italian Shaving Soap (125 ml)1,200,15
Dr. Selby Lavender Luxury Shaving Cream1,200,24
La Rive Brutal Classic Shaving Cream1,500,04
Proraso Sensitive (white)1,500,08
Mil Mil 76 Figaro Shaving Cream1,500,06
Figaro Crema da Barba1,500,06
Proraso Barbe Dure (red)1,500,08
Florena Men Comfort Shaving Cream1,500,06
De Vergulde Hand Scheerzeep (shaving soap)0,600,06
Prep Shaving Soap1,500,08
La Toja Shaving Stick0,600,06
Arturro Barbiere Propoli1,200,12
Col. Conk Bay Rum1,500,05
Organique Face Shaving Soap1,200,10
Col. Conk Lime1,200,07
Ogallala Bay Rum Shaving Soap2,000,23
The Body Shop Maca Root Shave Cream1,500,13
Palmolive Classic Shave Stick with Palm Extract0,600,04
Palmolive Classic Shave Cream with Palm Extract1,500,11
Arko Men Shaving Soap (stick)0,600,02
Wilkinson Sword Shaving Stick0,600,05
LIder Classic Shaving Cream2,000,06
Proraso Menthol and Eucalyptus (green)1,500,08
Parker Sandalwood with Sheabutter1,000,06
Dr K Peppermint soap0,600,10
PILS Rasierseife0,650,10
Tesco Value Shaving Cream1,500,02
Wilkinson Sword Rasierseife (Shaving Soap)0,800,04
Barbus Classic Shaving Soap1,000,05
Wars Classic shaving cream2,000,06
van Der Hagen Deluxe Shaving Soap0,700,03
Omega Shaving Cream in bowl2,100,09
Aquagena Shaving Stick1,300,08
Portland General Store Whiskey Shaving Soap (puck)0,600,06
Truefitt & Hill 1805 Shaving Soap0,600,16
ZEW Shaving Soap1,000,10
Crabtree&Evelyn Moroccan Myrrh Shave Soap (2014)0,800,10
Penhaligon's Shaving Soap English Fern0,700,21
Body Store Shaving Soap1,500,14
Williams Mag Shaving Soap0,800,02
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Thank you Mirx,

Your numbers are very close to mine where I have tested the soaps. I have not tested Savonniere du Moulin, but I have noted it takes less loading for 3 passes than most other soaps so I was pleased to see your number for SdM is what I would expect.

I think if you smear 1/2g of CF in a bowl and lather it until the solid soap is gone, you can get three passes out of less than 9 cents worth.

Cheers, Steve
 
Interesting data in this thread. I am surprised at how quickly some pucks are used up.

59 days for QCS Vostok seems very quick. I have a 100 gr. puck of Green Irish Tweed Type from her and it still going strong after a couple of months. Same for my stick of Arko.
 
I've started collecting my own data so it will be a while before I have anything to report, but it will be interesting to see what shows up. Grams/shave is an interesting comparator, considering shipping and retail costs can change the price of a soap. I'm up in Canada so costs are very different, what with the weak Canadian Dollar right now.
 
The only data I've seen in the thread is Bruce's and I'm off by a factor of 10 - on the good side BTW.
I recently acquired Castle Forbes lavender @$38 per 200g which brings it to 19 cents per gram. Bruce's data indicated he used 4.44g/shave.
I'm getting 3 plus passes and still washing a good amount out of the brush and bowl. At 1/2g per shave, that's about 9.5 cents which is a factor of 10 less than Bruce's numbers, and I believe you can get excellent results with even less.

I have no experience with Castle Forbes but Bruce is an admitted heavy loader. We both love 60g Haslinger Soap and use regularly. From what I recall, Bruce says he gets somewhere around 30 shaves per Haslinger Puck, whereas I get around 70-80 shaves.
Regardless, I can still beat him in a drinking contest! $icon_125.gif
 
Hi folks,

Resurrecting the data thread to ask for a confirmation from someone regarding Castle Forbes. The only data I've seen in the thread is Bruce's and I'm off by a factor of 10 - on the good side BTW.

I recently acquired Castle Forbes lavender @$38 per 200g which brings it to 19 cents per gram. Bruce's data indicated he used 4.44g/shave.

What I did was take about a half almond size piece which is nominally 1/2g, and smear it on the inside of a Symmetrical Pottery dottie bowl and lather it with a 22mm M&F brush until the soap was incorporated or nearly so. I'm getting 3 plus passes and still washing a good amount out of the brush and bowl. At 1/2g per shave, that's about 9.5 cents which is a factor of 10 less than Bruce's numbers, and I believe you can get excellent results with even less.

So would someone with CF and a bowl try lathering it the same way with half an almond size chunk and see if you get the same results?

It does seem like you use more lathering on top of the soap but I haven't tried to measure that yet.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers, Steve

Another data point - I am 3017'ing a tub of Castle Forbes Lavender at the moment and I am averaging 1.63 g/shave.
 
How are you lathering and with what brush please sir?

Cheers, Steve

Looking at my brush usage tracker :tongue_sm, I use a synthetic (Plisson or Plissoft) about 60% of the time. The other 40% consists of the B&B Essential, the RazoRock Amici, and the random badger/horse here and there.

I am a face-latherer and I load upside-down directly from the tub to keep water out of the cream so it doesn't turn into mush:
- Soak and squeeze brush knot
- Turn CF tub upside-down
- Load till I can see cream has moved about 1 centimeter past the tips. Depending on the brush, this takes between 15-30 seconds.

I do a 3-pass shave but I usually have extra lather for another pass if needed.
 
This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with a guy who was struggling with his Pittsburgh Penguins All Century team-- the 100 greatest Pittsburgh Penguins of all time. This guy had Gary Dornhoffer at 64 and Duane Rupp at 49. I read his list and concluded that obviously this guy knew nothing about hockey, as any true, knowledgeable fan would not have placed Dornhoffer any higher than 66th, and Rupp no lower than 51.
 
This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with a guy who was struggling with his Pittsburgh Penguins All Century team-- the 100 greatest Pittsburgh Penguins of all time. This guy had Gary Dornhoffer at 64 and Duane Rupp at 49. I read his list and concluded that obviously this guy knew nothing about hockey, as any true, knowledgeable fan would not have placed Dornhoffer any higher than 66th, and Rupp no lower than 51.
Apparently, I know nothing about hockey. Is this an analogy to soap usage?
 
No. It is a commentary on the premises upon which the entire thread is based. It is a further illustration of what logicians might refer to as an argument reductio ad absurdum.
 
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