SV longevity test part 1

[Steve56]

I’m close to the numbers poated, but also keep in mind that the brush makes a difference.

0.5g hard milled soap
1.0 - 1.5 for croap
0.5 - 1.5 or more for creams, they’re all over the place.

Usually MdC for me is about 0.5 - 1.0g depending on the brush, I averaged 1.4g over 9 months but was exclusively using a Chubby Super.

Acqua di Parma v3 (the latest yellow tub version) I can do well with around 1/2g with a moderate brush, as I can Castle Forbes. Proraso takes at least 3x as much. That;s why there are many mentions that one can shave with Castle Forbes for about a 1/2 cent per shave more than Proraso - it’s much more concentrated. The higher end products, soaps, creams, or fragrances also rend to be much more concentrated than their drug store counterparts, so cost per milliliter is not an especially valuable comparison.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

So 0.25g for hard soap.
0.33-0.5g for soft soap.
1 ml of cream.

This is certainly much, much better than i get. I can say for sure that i use 2-2.5ml for cream.

I shave about 3/4 of my face (partially bearded), and not my head (hair down to my elbows). However, those soap/cream quantities will easily give me a three pass shave ... and I only tend to decide whether I'm doing two passes or three, during the second pass. As such, even I'm wasting some soap. I am using synthetic brushes though, which can make a difference.

For clarity, those figures are derived from getting 500 shaves from a 125g puck of Mitchell's Wool Fat and 200 shaves from a 50g Palmolive shave stick. Soft soap usage is derived from getting 20-27 shaves from 7.5g samples, and for creams I serve up a dollop approximating the equivalant of a 1cm (3/8") cube into a lather bowl, and load from there.

 

[dabrock]

Your probably right there. 3 months is an average. The soft stuff goes faster maybe two months. When used daily the hard stuff gets softer with use. I might get 3-4 months from the really hard stuff. Big brushes loaded heavily.

One caveat with daily use and Tabc...don't!

 

[Roy]

I'm always amazed when people say they get months of shaves from any soap. Even with the hardest soaps, they only last 2 months. I do load heavily as I don't want to use lather which gives my face a stingy experience! I have tried using less but the shave was poor by comparison.

 

[Burundian Hawk]

I'm always amazed when people say they get months of shaves from any soap. Even with the hardest soaps, they only last 2 months. I do load heavily as I don't want to use lather which gives my face a stingy experience! I have tried using less but the shave was poor by comparison.

Dear sir, by now, i think it is clear, it is all YMMV. It is probably a combination of water, lather consistency, brush, face dimensions and what not. I have seen people saying they "swirl the brush on the soap for 5, 10 seconds", others do "10 circles on the puck" and lather just fine. If i do any of this, i don't get lather for not even 1 pass. With any soap i have tried. It is like MdC's website. It doesn't tell you how much the jar it will last you. They don't take this claim upon themselves. They write "One jar may last for over 1 year, as many of our customers claim". Clever approach on the matter.

For the record, when i was bowl lathering, i was consuming less soap for sure compared to face lathering. Because in face lathering, with a small brush, especially a boar, you might unload the brush quickly and then have to reload. If you have lathered in the bowl though, all the lather is available there, so you don't need to reload.

 

[DaveHStone]

It never stops to amaze me how folks who have never tried a certain product know exactly why it is bad / not worth it / overpriced / a waste / fill_in_the_blanks… hilarious, isn't it?

 

[Burundian Hawk]

It never stops to amaze me how folks who have never tried a certain product know exactly why it is bad / not worth it / overpriced / a waste / fill_in_the_blanks… hilarious, isn't it?

And yet another pearl of wisdom. I am glad if you manage to laugh thanks to me, sir! I will see you again the next time you will be giving advice to people who want to buy brushes.

P.S. Where do MdC and SV stand in the top 10 residual slickness chart? But mind you, i want the absolute ranking, not a subjective one.

 

[RenoRichard]

Kudos for the OP; I've never had the patience to count the shaves I get. When a soap seems to give me lots of shaves and I like it, it makes me happy. It's always interesting to hear the mileage another member gets from a particular soap, even if the results are not generalizable or scientific. It's all a fun part of the hobby. LOL- ARKO stick could be considered a luxury, if compared to canned foam or gel. But luxury or not, it's a YMMV determination. I learn a little from each thread like this- mostly how other shavers are reacting to and using particular products. Like many here, the quality for me tends to outweigh price considerations. However, it's always fun to find something that's both good and low cost- I learned about Mogno in that regard.

I've been considering an SV purchase for sometime this year, so keep chatting and I'll keep learning. Thanks all!

 

[dabrock]

It never stops to amaze me how folks who have never tried a certain product know exactly why it is bad / not worth it / overpriced / a waste / fill_in_the_blanks… hilarious, isn't it?

As a side note, I always cringe when I see a bunch of fake ratings/reviews where you see someone say something like, "My husband just ordered this and can't wait to try it! 5 stars!" Yeah, sterling review.

 

[anoop]

MdC has no moisturizers, yet people call it "the best soap i have ever shaved with" anyway.

Does glycerine not count?

 

[dabrock]

P.S. Where do MdC and SV stand in the top 10 residual slickness chart? But mind you, i want the absolute ranking, not a subjective one.

This is rather contradictory considering you want a ranking based on people's opinions. The only way you would have objective ratings is if there were some type of objective tests and measurements.

 

[DaveHStone]

As a side note, I always cringe when I see a bunch of fake ratings/reviews where you see someone say something like, "My husband just ordered this and can't wait to try it! 5 stars!" Yeah, sterling review.

So true, lol

 

[Burundian Hawk]

Does glycerine not count?

MdC is rather low on glycerine, going by ingredient list. Most other soaps have glycerine higher. The fact that is very low in glycerine can be seen both by the fact that the soap is hard and from the "dry" post-shave that several people complain about. The coconut oil is also, according to the Nuavia's soap maker, completely saponified (potassium cocoate), otherwise the soap would be more croapy (oils reduce consistency). Read how many people don't talk about the fabulous moisturizing effect and compare to other, much cheaper soaps.

Is martin de candre overpriced and overrated?

Does it really perform the best is it really THE best shaving soap/cream around? Is it worth the price tag?etc etc thoughts?

www.badgerandblade.com

This is why other hard soap makers that also have glycerin, add other ingredients. Othewise one would put a drop of glycerin and people would rave about how moisturizing their soap feels. Arko also has glycerin, rather low in the ingredient list. Some people also find it drying.

This is an interesting read, that one can understand more:

https://www.rasoigoodfellas.com/en/i-10-migliori-saponi-da-barba-del-2021/

In particular, the different ways one can mention the ingredients. One can list ingredients prior or after saponification. The softer soaps, are also usually those that are less saponified, have more free oils or fats and why artisans prefer them. You can pour whatever you like in a croap and make it a selling point. Most likely nobody will complain about post shave. The fact that they have free oils is also why they can go bad or change color, especially if no antioxidant is present. MdC has no antioxidant, no microbial inhibitor, yet it is unanimous that it remains largely unchanged. This, logic says has to do with the low water and glycerine content and even more with the complete saponification. A soap that has no free oils, can't go bad easily, even without chemical help.

This is rather contradictory considering you want a ranking based on people's opinions. The only way you would have objective ratings is if there were some type of objective tests and measurements.

You will forgive me, sir. In Burundi we call it "irony". He is the author of the "Top 10 soaps for residual slickness", i thought by now there would be a comprehensive chart with the final results. He is also the owner of 2-3 brushes, 1 badger and 2 synthetics or something like that, who was advising newbies on which brush to buy... Instead, you could try to re-read the topic since the start and find, where i talked about: " it never stops to amaze me how folks who have never tried a certain product know exactly why it is bad / not worth it / overpriced / a waste / fill_in_the_blanks… hilarious, isn't it? ", as the exemplary british gentleman stated.

Happy shaves, sir!

 

[Burundian Hawk]

For the little that it might be worth it and having a loose relation to a proverb i mentioned, i have read in the past 10 years 4 european shaving forums in different languages than english. And there is also an evident mentality and cultural difference between them and english speaking forums. Also, something more interesting, is that non english speaking forums are more..."naive", in the sense that they are more "amateurish". Smaller markets, less youtube influencers, less vendors willing to pay to get promoted, less enablers, etc. It gives different perspective. It is a useful experience.

 

[Burundian Hawk]

And now, for the joy of everyone, let me say: Long live SV and MdC, the best soaps of the world! I hope now everyone will be happy!

 

[anoop]

And now, for the joy of everyone, let me say: Long live SV and MdC, the best soaps of the world! I hope now everyone will be happy!

Thanks. As an MdC fan, I was starting to have a panic attack.

 

[Burundian Hawk]

Thanks. As an MdC fan, I was starting to have a panic attack.

I assure you sir, even this, in other forums, is made with a sense of humour. Not that anyone would believe that Proraso white is better. It is just a form of satire, if you will, where when one buys an expensive soap, goes to show how amazing the lather shows. And of course how good per shave the soap is. Instead, nobody bothers to do the same with cheaper soaps. Which is rather counterintuitive, because those who buy €60 soaps, are those who shouldn't try to prove how good their choice was with such arguments. Those who buy Arko should be the ones trying to prove their good choice, i think. Like i said with the Ferrari.

But the author of this photo had a sense of humour, so he wanted to show, how "photogenic" Proraso can also be!

So, again, please, this is a JOKE! He didn't mean it as an insult to MdC!

 

[shavefan]

My SV soaps seem to be everlasting. My MdC too. The price of both has long been forgotten.

 

[Steve56]

I have a problem with a lot of the SV samples that I’ve tried, so I have not commented much on them lacking experience. What samples I have tried seem to indicate that the soap base is excellent.

Many of them contain aldehydes (I think) in the scents, the ‘metallic’ or ‘white fir’ component, just as Creed Aventus and Cella Bio do. I’m kind of allergic to it but not in the way that you might think.

My skin is fine but the aldehyde/metallic component tends to make me sneeze. This is not a good thing when shaving with a straight razor, lol.

 

[Atlantic59]

I'm not sure if you guys have seen the recent SV marketing campaign...