Hey guys, I haven't had much experience with vintage soaps, only vintage Williams. At least a few years ago when I started classic wetshaving, vintage soaps were very highly regarded, such as Yardley, Colgate, Old Spice, etc. Most seem to be high quality tallow soaps, but do they compare in your experience to new artisan soaps from makers like Mike's, Barrister and Mann, and others? It seems that with the multiple "butters", lanolin, and other ingredients, the new artisan soaps have to have some advantages. My vintage Williams is a good tallow soap, but I honestly don't see any advantage over something like Cella for instance and it doesn't compare to Mike's in my estimation. What are your thoughts?
Vintage vs Artisan soaps
- Thread starter TacticalPanda
- Start date
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
I have limited experience with vintage, but my thoughts are consistent with yours.
That said, when you talk soaps/creams, start at the top so you'll have good benchmarks by which to judge. ABC/Boellis, Valobra/C&S hard soaps, AdP, Castle Forbes.... These are superior to most artisan soaps IMHO. Maggards has samples of ABC and Castle Forbes, Old Town Shaving has XPEC samples and more.
Cheers, Steve
That said, when you talk soaps/creams, start at the top so you'll have good benchmarks by which to judge. ABC/Boellis, Valobra/C&S hard soaps, AdP, Castle Forbes.... These are superior to most artisan soaps IMHO. Maggards has samples of ABC and Castle Forbes, Old Town Shaving has XPEC samples and more.
Cheers, Steve
I have extensive experience with vintage and moderate experience with artisan soaps. I spend the majority of my soap hunting time chasing the vintage stuff, mainly because it is so scarce and not easily found.
I don't get the feeling that artisan soaps are trying to compete with vintage soaps at all. In my opinion, most guys that use vintage soaps do so for nostalgic reasons, the collecting/hobby factor and because those soaps still perform the intended job, not because they are vastly superior. If you don't have the budget or interest for tracking down vintage soaps you will be served just as well using any of the widely available artisan or commercially made products.
Vintage soaps are like vintage cars. It's the "vintage", not the performance that attracts may hobbyists. Not to say vintage cannot perform well, but it is not the primary driver.
Vintage soaps have great performance and the nostalgia factor also, but artisan soap makers nowadays have stepped their game up and have been making great products that will work just as well as the vintage soaps. Bottom line, both have great performance, artisan soaps usually have stronger scent to them, since the age of the vintage soap it looses scent over time.
If you want a strong scented soap, go with artisan. If you want a classic that your great grandfather may have used, go with vintage.
If you want a strong scented soap, go with artisan. If you want a classic that your great grandfather may have used, go with vintage.
I started with vintage soaps - Old Spice, Colgate, Williams, etc. However, I never had the urge to go hunt for them since so many newer soaps are out there.
So many great soaps around. I never felt the urge for vintage.
There is a bit of chemistry involved here as well. Soaps do age. They don't get rancid necessarily, but they do age with time and temperature. Their performance will decrease over time. They will loose scent and moisture over time. They may still be usable, but will not perform as they did when they were fresh off the assembly line.
For that reason alone, I stick with new product.
For that reason alone, I stick with new product.
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