Vintage Colgate

[Big Jim]

I grabbed another mug that I haven't used for a while. My label on the bottom says Old Colgate. I don't know when I used it last. It is in a pewter mug that Williams pushed for the bicentennial. The puck was sort of dehydrated, so I covered it with water overnight. All the water was absorbed when ready for use this morning. Since it is a narrow mouthed tall mug, I grabbed the long handled 18 mm finest badger brush and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of lathering and quality of the lather. Wonderful shave.

When that mug was new, Williams also lathered with ease. I wish we still had nice dependable low priced tallow soap available.

Old Spice mug shown for perspective.

 

[geneaut]

I grabbed another mug that I haven't used for a while. My label on the bottom says Old Colgate. I don't know when I used it last. It is in a pewter mug that Williams pushed for the bicentennial. The puck was sort of dehydrated, so I covered it with water overnight. All the water was absorbed when ready for use this morning. Since it is a narrow mouthed tall mug, I grabbed the long handled 18 mm finest badger brush and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of lathering and quality of the lather. Wonderful shave.

When that mug was new, Williams also lathered with ease. I wish we still had nice dependable low priced tallow soap available.

Old Spice mug shown for perspective.

View attachment 1889183
View attachment 1889181

Have you looked at the Cyril Salter tallow pucks?

 

[Big Jim]

Have you looked at the Cyril Salter tallow pucks?

Doesn't look like it meets the low priced criteria.

 

[Lane101]

Doesn't look like it meets the low priced criteria.

Hi Jim, Great mug that looks really nice. I also love using my apothecary mugs, the extra vertical capacity makes lathering hard pucks a lot easier.

Saw @geneaut 's recommendation for Cyril R. Salter. You are right that it's not budget priced though I've found it well worth the its moderate price. Connaught Shaving sells 100 gram pucks for 4.50 British Pounds each, around $6 U.S. plus shipping. Ideal if you order a few as the incremental shipping costs for 1 or 2 extra pucks is minimal. I've found that this soap produces great lather and has a nice scent that holds up into the lather. Great alternative for Williams or Mitchell's Wool Fat tallow. Great price considering the pucks have twice as much soap as Williams.

Within the budget range Arko is really the only tallow option now at $1-$2 per stick. Razorock What-the-Puck, that is often on sale for $3 for a 100 gram puck, similar price per gram to the Williams pucks that were half the size is another alternative though it is not tallow based. My lather from this soap is as good or better than that from Williams alone.

I remember your Dove experiments from a few years back. Is there a favorite soap or two you use these days?

 

[GR5233]

I do enjoy the old Colgate (cup soap) shave soap. For a vegan alternative Haslinger is an excellent choice

 

[Tallships]

I grabbed another mug that I haven't used for a while. My label on the bottom says Old Colgate. I don't know when I used it last. It is in a pewter mug that Williams pushed for the bicentennial. The puck was sort of dehydrated, so I covered it with water overnight. All the water was absorbed when ready for use this morning. Since it is a narrow mouthed tall mug, I grabbed the long handled 18 mm finest badger brush and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of lathering and quality of the lather. Wonderful shave.

When that mug was new, Williams also lathered with ease. I wish we still had nice dependable low priced tallow soap available.

Old Spice mug shown for perspective.

View attachment 1889183
View attachment 1889181

A great low-priced Tallow-based soap at a low price is Arko stick, I just slice and press it into my favorite ceramic bowl and have a wonderful Arko puck. I find that Arko, it's just as good if not better than the Williams or Old Spice pucks from the '50s and '60s

 

[geneaut]

Doesn't look like it meets the low priced criteria.

I toss one onto any order I make at Connaughts. They aren't at Williams' price point by any means, but I'm not sure very many tallow soaps are this affordable at the moment. Since the Derby stick and bowl seem to have disappeared from the market, it does, as others have mentioned, seem to mostly leave Arko.

It's a pretty good soap if you ever get the chance to try it.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I love vintage soaps and you have prompted me to finally use one of my oldest for the very first time - Colgate Barber Soap. I rubbed the edge of the dry puck against my wet face in the style of a shave stick and then face lathered so as to preserve the logo which is on both sides of the puck. The soap lathered very well despite not having seen water in 80 years and produced a wonderful lather. As I have eight pucks I think I will actually put one in a mug and load the brush that way in future which I suspect will make it perform even better. Very nice

Here is an advert from 1944 showing the exact same soap.

 

[malocchio]

Have you looked at the Cyril Salter tallow pucks?

Real truth geneaut !... When I started shaving in 1963 all the American made pucks were great . Williams , Barbasol , Palmolive , Colgate and a few others all whipped up instantly and gave superb lubrication .

 

[honeycutt]

I too have 2 old pucks of the Colgate. Also, 2 pucks of the old Williams. Both do well, and are in the weekly lineup. Colgate is good but can't hold a candle to Williams.

 

[sarimento1]

Nice stuff!
Enjoy my vintage Colgate shave sticks and pucks!

 

[bigbrucefan]

Nice stuff!
Enjoy my vintage Colgate shave sticks and pucks!

View attachment 1889780

Cannoli of the holy!

 

[sarimento1]

Cannoli of the holy!

no cannoli around, how about a nice panettone?!

 

[Big Jim]

Hi Jim, Great mug that looks really nice. I also love using my apothecary mugs, the extra vertical capacity makes lathering hard pucks a lot easier.

Saw @geneaut 's recommendation for Cyril R. Salter. You are right that it's not budget priced though I've found it well worth the its moderate price. Connaught Shaving sells 100 gram pucks for 4.50 British Pounds each, around $6 U.S. plus shipping. Ideal if you order a few as the incremental shipping costs for 1 or 2 extra pucks is minimal. I've found that this soap produces great lather and has a nice scent that holds up into the lather. Great alternative for Williams or Mitchell's Wool Fat tallow. Great price considering the pucks have twice as much soap as Williams.

Within the budget range Arko is really the only tallow option now at $1-$2 per stick. Razorock What-the-Puck, that is often on sale for $3 for a 100 gram puck, similar price per gram to the Williams pucks that were half the size is another alternative though it is not tallow based. My lather from this soap is as good or better than that from Williams alone.

I remember your Dove experiments from a few years back. Is there a favorite soap or two you use these days?

I have several that I really like. The one I like the most at the moment is one I made by blending SFIC melt and pour shaving soap base with Cremo Distiller's Choice body wash. 4 0z of melt and pour with two tablespoons of Cremo. Another Cremo blend I really enjoy is SFIC with Cremo Burbon Oak body wash.

I have an New Old Stock Old Spice that I intend to use tomorrow morning. Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat, and Arko are always enjoyable.

To be honest, a very recent favorite is Classic Shaving Bay Rum Wool Fat. I keep reaching for it even though I have many other great soaps.

 

[Big Jim]

I love vintage soaps and you have prompted me to finally use one of my oldest for the very first time - Colgate Barber Soap. I rubbed the edge of the dry puck against my wet face in the style of a shave stick and then face lathered so as to preserve the logo which is on both sides of the puck. The soap lathered very well despite not having seen water in 80 years and produced a wonderful lather. As I have eight pucks I think I will actually put one in a mug and load the brush that way in future which I suspect will make it perform even better. Very nice

View attachment 1889697

Here is an advert from 1944 showing the exact same soap.

View attachment 1889701

Back in the day my barber recommended buying a ten pack of Williams Tonsorial from his supplier. He used it in his lather machine. It was wonderful stuff. I bought it until it was no longer available.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I do not have a vintage Colgate mug so I went with this Seaforth! mug which suits the Colgate well. I never bloom soaps but after being unused for 80 years I decided a few drops of water on top of the puck for a couple of minutes would be a good idea. Unusually, the water turned yellow and I decided to use it as a pre shave. I then loaded the brush and face lathered - the result was superb, this is a top soap for me and up there with the best, it will join Yardley, Tabac, and Old Spice in my regular rotation. Thank you to Bill @AnimalCatcher for gifting me this lovely soap.

 

[AnimalCatcher]

I do not have a vintage Colgate mug so I went with this Seaforth! mug which suits the Colgate well. I never bloom soaps but after being unused for 80 years I decided a few drops of water on top of the puck for a couple of minutes would be a good idea. Unusually, the water turned yellow and I decided to use it as a pre shave. I then loaded the brush and face lathered - the result was superb, this is a top soap for me and up there with the best, it will join Yardley, Tabac, and Old Spice in my regular rotation. Thank you to Bill @AnimalCatcher for gifting me this lovely soap.

View attachment 1890578
View attachment 1890577

It was my pleasure, Richard. And thank you again for helping me add that rare Old Spice mug to my collection.