Vintage soaps

[Rivguy]

I have been wet shaving for many years so I have used quit a few shaving soaps. For years I alternated between Shulton Old Spice and Yardley's Lavender. I still have and enjoy Old Spice soap. Recently I discovered a box of old shaving products that I have not used in a number of years and were, quite frankly, forgotten. Among the soaps I rediscovered were Franklin's Barbershop in a few scents, an unused OS round, Avon Gentlemen's Regiment, Surrey, and a new Seaforth mug and soap.

I really enjoy some of the vintage soaps which for the most part still have some scent left. Most, if not all, contain tallow and are excellent performers. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy some of the current offerings, but some of the vintage soaps were very good. I would be interested in hearing from some of you who also enjoy some of the vintage soaps. I am sure that you will have many that I have not listed.

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Vlad]

Pictures! Pictures! I'm just getting into vintage soaps. I've always wanted to, but just never got around to really hunting and paying for them. Old Spice is on my list, but it's going for $30 a puck, and I don't want to pay that. I have a vintage La Toja Manantiales, and I'm expecting some Colgate in the mail.

 

[Rufust445]

I have a puck of vintage Williams (Cranford, NJ, 1977-82 somewhere) that I snared on eBay for a more reasonable price than what they're going for today. It makes great lather, but the scent is gone, and it left my Turkish horse hair brush Nr. 7 smelling a bit funky. I now use the Williams with a TGN synthetic knot which rinses out much better. There was a puck of Old Spice listed on eBay a while back, new in the cellophane wrapper, and by a seller who agreed to local pickup, as he was just a few miles away. Bidding ended in the $28-30 range, however, which is far beyond my range.

My father used Yardley lavender soap with a Schick injector, and probably the cheapest boar brush he could find. I tried it once as a teen and ouch! Started shaving as a teen with a 2-rotor Norelco, and used that and a "foil shaver" for the first ten years. Got a travel kit with a Travel Tech as a Christmas present somewhere along the way and tried it in the early '70's, with canned Colgate, and liked it, until one horrendous nick while rushing in the morning to get ready for work. From there it was Wilkinson Bondeds, Trac II's, Atras, Schick Tracers, and Mach 3's until a few years ago. I was running low on M3 refills, prices were getting outrageous, and I stumbled on the DE shaving retro-trend while looking around the Web for alternatives.

I still enjoy using the vintage Williams, but such items are limited in supply and are receiving much more attention than when I got mine.

I have a Wilkinson Sword stick besides the vintage Williams, along with several creams that I still use. There is a stick of Irisch Moos on the way for $11 including shipping, and that is the most I have or likely ever will pay.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I've stated several times that vintage Williams is my favorite soap, period. I have pucks from every era, including 4 menthol and 1 stick. I also have Barbershop, Surrey, Colgate (Mug, Cup and Barbers), Old Spice and Rawleighs. They are all great performers, and finding vintage soap is my favorite item to find in the wild.

 

[SuperChris]

I've stated several times that vintage Williams is my favorite soap, period. I have pucks from every era, including 4 menthol and 1 stick. I also have Barbershop, Surrey, Colgate (Mug, Cup and Barbers), Old Spice and Rawleighs. They are all great performers, and finding vintage soap is my favorite item to find in the wild.

How are the menthol Williams? I have seen them on the bay but never bought any, do they still have the cooling effect?

 

[Rivguy]

For no reason that I can think of, I have never used either Williams or Colgate. I think that in large part it was due to my satisfaction with what I was using at the time. A friend of mine gave me an unused and unpackaged round of Williams a few years ago but I have not tried it yet. I will do so soon. Is there anyway to tell the vintage by just looking at the puck? I am enjoying the Barbershop soap and looking forward to using the other scents of it that I discovered. For some reason an aunt was fond of sending me Barbershop sets of products for birthdays and Christmas. I had forgotten about them.

Regards,

Doug

 

[hokahay]

Here is my "Brief history of Williams Soap." I have only used the last one though.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

How are the menthol Williams? I have seen them on the bay but never bought any, do they still have the cooling effect?

None that I can detect.

For no reason that I can think of, I have never used either Williams or Colgate. I think that in large part it was due to my satisfaction with what I was using at the time. A friend of mine gave me an unused and unpackaged round of Williams a few years ago but I have not tried it yet. I will do so soon. Is there anyway to tell the vintage by just looking at the puck? I am enjoying the Barbershop soap and looking forward to using the other scents of it that I discovered. For some reason an aunt was fond of sending me Barbershop sets of products for birthdays and Christmas. I had forgotten about them.

Regards,

Doug

The pucks from the Glastonbury and Cranford plants have The J.B. Williams Co. USA imprinted on the back, as do the ones from the Glen Rock plant I believe. The ones from Pittsburgh have Beecham Products on them. The modern version from Combe are usually blank.

The Barbershop soap is a really great soap, I hope you have a supply of them because they're a lot harder to find than Williams and Colgate.

 

[mhdena]

How much better if at all are the vintage soaps than current
AOS?
DR Harris?
Tabac?
MWF?

If not much, I don't think it would be worth the premium the vintage costs.

 

[FL shaver]

I've tried vintage OS and '02-'03 Williams. The Old Spice is as good as some of today's best performers. That era of Williams left me wanting, well, Old Spice performance. The Old Spice is better than Arlington, I think, but just a smidge below Tabac and MWF. I haven't tried AOS yet.

 

[strop]

Had my first shave this morning with vintage Williams, Glastonbury era. For me, it's performance ranks with DR Harris and AOS.

I'll be on the lookout for more, but I suspect Hoosier Trooper already has every existing puck in southern Indiana!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Had my first shave this morning with vintage Williams, Glastonbury era. For me, it's performance ranks with DR Harris and AOS.

I'll be on the lookout for more, but I suspect Hoosier Trooper already has every existing puck in southern Indiana!

If I don't, I will!

 

[Rivguy]

I think that I have four or five rounds of the Barbershop soap including the one in rotation Tom. All but two are the standard scent.

Regards,

Doug

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Then you're set for awhile, the Barbershop pucks are pretty big. That's a great aunt you have there Doug!

 

[Rivguy]

Yes, I am set for a while Tom. While I enjoyed the gifts of shaving items from her, I did not appreciate them as much as I do today. Especially the vintage soaps and the Ralph Lauren Safari hardware items.

Regards,

Doug