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Tabac Refill Shaving Soap review (New 2021 formula)

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Next update, I have two Ace Shaving brushes that I bought many years ago. The one on the left is a smaller knot (22 or 24mm) the one on the right is the bigger knot (28 or 30mm). I don't exactly remember the sizes but it gives you an idea. Both are Finest hair.
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I started with the bigger knot. While I seem to struggle a bit with a badger, the lather improved since the first shave. I can't say if it's because I got better at it or if the soap know that I won't leave it alone yet! I believe that I spent more time loading the product which helps.
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I need to find my horse hair brush. It's somewhere. I moved 2 years ago and still have boxes... Worse... I bought new stuff...:eek2:
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Sorry, you call that improvement?
If you compare something similar yes. So, if you compare the first pictures where a badger was used and this last set with a badger also. They are better. If you compare all the pictures I posted, I would say this is the second worse of the lot.

sorry for not being clear
 
The new Tabac? So far, I'd describe it as "Underwhelming". I find the lather to be thin and bubbly regardless of brush selection or how much is loaded on the brush. Slickness is just meh.

I have soft water.

The scent is reminiscent of the old formula and lingers for a couple of hours.

I'm not giving up on it yet, it doesn't seem to have the performance of the old stuff.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
The new Tabac? So far, I'd describe it as "Underwhelming". I find the lather to be thin and bubbly regardless of brush selection or how much is loaded on the brush. Slickness is just meh.

I have soft water.

The scent is reminiscent of the old formula and lingers for a couple of hours.

I'm not giving up on it yet, it doesn't seem to have the performance of the old stuff.
First they take the fat out of my hamburger....now they ruin a perfectly fine shave....wish I could hitch a ride with Marty McFly and go back to the 60's doggone!
 
Yeah, just for the sake of fairness, we should consider this a success.
Taking a soap that basically would lather on its own, with any kind of brush, and make a new formula that would only make a decent lather using one very specific badger brush. The hair must come from a badger that lived an organic life, up in the High Mountains of China, massaged by monks, three times a day and sometimes at night as well. Only the very white tips and from behind the ears would be good enough to make a brush tabac-worthy.
Good thing they kept its name. Original.
:biggrin1:
 
Yeah, just for the sake of fairness, we should consider this a success.
Taking a soap that basically would lather on its own, with any kind of brush, and make a new formula that would only make a decent lather using one very specific badger brush. The hair must come from a badger that lived an organic life, up in the High Mountains of China, massaged by monks, three times a day and sometimes at night as well. Only the very white tips and from behind the ears would be good enough to make a brush tabac-worthy.
Good thing they kept its name. Original.
:biggrin1:

One user's specific experience doesn't necessarily reflect everyone else's though. I've personally found the soap very easy to lather with both a synthetic and a badger brush (I only use two brushes), and more to the point, find the overall performance to be quite good. I'll mention too that I have extremely hard water and that I face lather, since those facts may be pertinent.

A general point, honestly not directed at anybody in particular: confirmation bias can be a powerful force with this sort of thing. And it shouldn't be surprising that this reformulation of a beloved product is going to elicit emotional reactions from some of us (I count myself among this group).

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Yeah, just for the sake of fairness, we should consider this a success.
Taking a soap that basically would lather on its own, with any kind of brush, and make a new formula that would only make a decent lather using one very specific badger brush. The hair must come from a badger that lived an organic life, up in the High Mountains of China, massaged by monks, three times a day and sometimes at night as well. Only the very white tips and from behind the ears would be good enough to make a brush tabac-worthy.
Good thing they kept its name. Original.
:biggrin1:
They underestimate the power of word of mouth. Big problem in a world where a Haslinger (one random name amongst good cheap soaps) gives more for less. Anyway, nothing lasts forever.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
I have a puck of the new version on the way from Pasteur’s. I am not a Tabac fanboy or a tallow fanboy for that matter, though I do like the old Valobra tallow hard soaps. I’m looking forward to giving it a whirl.

There seems to be an unspoken assumption in many posts in this thread that M&W could have continued the old formula. There is a post on another forum from M&W that outlines why they changed and the testing that they did on the new formula, the normal product usability tests but also a blind test with the old and new by barbers, who according to M&W, slightly preferred the new version. I cannot post a link so you’ll have to make do with a screen shot, both the original German and the English translation.

There are a number of products whose current formulations meet or exceed the older ones, Santa Maria Novella v3, Acqua di Parma v3, and Haslinger v3 come to mind. The current, new version of ABC is a completely different soap from the last version, and I rather like it. It’s slicker and cheaper. It’s still very new, but I would say that it is the equal of the old soap, especially if you use a straight razor.

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EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I have a puck of the new version on the way from Pasteur’s. I am not a Tabac fanboy or a tallow fanboy for that matter, though I do like the old Valobra tallow hard soaps. I’m looking forward to giving it a whirl.

There seems to be an unspoken assumption in many posts in this thread that M&W could have continued the old formula. There is a post on another forum from M&W that outlines why they changed and the testing that they did on the new formula, the normal product usability tests but also a blind test with the old and new by barbers, who according to M&W, slightly preferred the new version. I cannot post a link so you’ll have to make do with a screen shot, both the original German and the English translation.

There are a number of products whose current formulations meet or exceed the older ones, Santa Maria Novella v3, Acqua di Parma v3, and Haslinger v3 come to mind. The current, new version of ABC is a completely different soap from the last version, and I rather like it. It’s slicker and cheaper. It’s still very new, but I would say that it is the equal of the old soap, especially if you use a straight razor.

View attachment 1344334
That suggests that the shave sticks will go the same way, unless that has already been confirmed.
 
Well, I'm scr#wed. I already had a fresh puck of tallow Tabac, but y'all convinced me to buy another just to be able to do the comparison. But the new one just came and it's the tallow formula, too. Two isn't enough to be a tallow Tabac hoarder, and I can't do the comparison either. Knowing my luck, I'd buy 2 or 3 more before getting one with the new formula, and then end up preferring the new formula. Arrrgh! Enough already for me, the rest of you please carry on.
 
Well, I'm scr#wed. I already had a fresh puck of tallow Tabac, but y'all convinced me to buy another just to be able to do the comparison. But the new one just came and it's the tallow formula, too. Two isn't enough to be a tallow Tabac hoarder, and I can't do the comparison either. Knowing my luck, I'd buy 2 or 3 more before getting one with the new formula, and then end up preferring the new formula. Arrrgh! Enough already for me, the rest of you please carry on.

nothing wrong with an extra puck of tabac tallow
 
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