Whats wrong with my Tabac? is it old?

[SilverKarn]

So my Tabac sat on my bathroom counter for a good 2-3 months before i decided to use it again. I do my usual routine: Brush goes in hot water, a little hot water on the soap, after the shower i dump the water from the puck into my bowl, squeeze my Shavemac finest out and go to town on the puck.

Brush is usually as dry as i can get it after soaking for 5-10 minutes, LOTS of soap on the brush after 1-2 minutes of rubbing it on the soap.

Its not slick, LOTS AND LOTS of soap on the brush, i grab a bit with my finger and rub my fingers together and my fingers just stick to each other, its not slick at all. No matter how much water i add in my lather bowl the lather is thick and rich, but there is no slickness at all.

will grating the soap back into the container help? Or is my soap gone bad?
I'm used to using soaps like VDH, Williams, and C&E. I have NEVER been able to get a really slick lather with Tabac, but i remember it being a lot more slick than this.

 

[cymric]

The other day I shaved with a puck of Tabac which had been sitting in its original container untouched for at least half a year or so. It had lost so much of its moisture that instead of fitting tightly into the mug, I could now rotate it in place: the rims were not holding it in place any longer. The result: effortless slick, shiny lather as usual, even with a lot of brush moisture probably going straight to the underside of the puck.

To be honest, I think you never loaded Tabac correctly in the first place. First, you mention squeezing the Shavemac dry. Don't do that: the idea is that soap dissolves and not be scraped off, and for that you need water. So instead of squeezing, make a few gentle yoyo-motions, and then a few very gentle shakes. There should still be some water in the brush which you could get out if you flick your wrist. This also means that soaking for 5 to 10 minutes can be cut down to at most a minute or so. Then load, but be gentle for the first few moments as you don't want too many airy suds. Fold them back into the bowl. Soon you should get a thick proto-lather, then you can be a bit more lively while loading. Now you are en route to a gorgeous mass of slippery goodness.

What puzzles me is that you mention that your fingers stick together if you take some off the brush. To me that indicates exceedingly dry and concentrated proto-lather, more like a paste in fact. Upon addition of water it should lose that stickiness and become smooth and slippery: there can be no other consequence. (It's the same soap I and many others shave with.) But you then mention that the lather you make is 'thick and rich, but [without] slickness at all'. That simply is impossible. What is slickness to you, precisely?

 

[mdunn]

Could just be that the top layer is a bit dry. Go for another lather or two and I suspect you will get down to the good stuff

 

[gaseousclay]

Its not slick, LOTS AND LOTS of soap on the brush, i grab a bit with my finger and rub my fingers together and my fingers just stick to each other, its not slick at all. No matter how much water i add in my lather bowl the lather is thick and rich, but there is no slickness at all.

i've had this same problem. in fact, I used Tabac earlier this week and had the exact same result - the lather was thick and rich but it wasn't slick at all. Tabac seems to absorb water like a sponge. either way, it's really put me off Tabac, even if it does get high praise around here

 

[bacon.jay]

Sounds to me like more water is needed too.

 

[New Madrid]

Williams has a slickness that I have never been able to match with Tabac. However, I choose Tabac for the superior cushion, ease of generating the necessary lather, and--of course--the addictive scent.

 

[Gruder]

+1 on too much soap, too little water. My brush is on the soap for only 10-15 seconds with tabac (I place a bit of water on top of the puck for a few minutes beforehand).

 

[Topgumby]

The idea that anything in the two to three month age range could be considered old has me deeply depressed.

 

[mretzloff]

The idea that anything in the two to three month age range could be considered old has me deeply depressed.

If two-month-old soap is old, what is Yardley considered?

By the way, congratulations on your 4000th post. I enjoy reading your posts.

 

[tlanning]

Weird, maybe it was a bad puck to begin with. No matter how much soap I decide to use, can always adjust it by the amount of water, I normally do a 3 or 4 pass shave and like my brush to be way loaded in the beginning.

For $12 try a new puck maybe after lathering it up a few more times

 

[Topgumby]

If two-month-old soap is old, what is Yardley considered?

By the way, congratulations on your 4000th post. I enjoy reading your posts.

Thanks!

I never considered Tabac super slick to begin with, BTW. There are some glycerin soaps that are plenty slick, almost too slick for me. I prefer something that gives a little more feedback. I'll go for cushiony over slickerer any time.

 

[New Madrid]

". . . I'll go for cushiony over slickerer any time." -Topgumby

Indeed, Topgumby. Agreed.

 

[SilverKarn]

sorry about no replies since OP, i've been having PC problems.

Anyway, i'm going to try again tomorrow with the brush more wet when i load up with soap. I dont face lather, so i do add water into the bowl while building a later, last time i tried i added water until it was slick just from the water, but by then the lather was so runny i could do nothing with it.

 

[Drubbing]

1-2 minutes on the puck is a lot of Tabac IMO. Using a damp silvertip or boar, I find it's one of the few soaps where, 6-10 swirls will pick more than enough for a shave. Or two.

Aside from that, probably a dried out puck. Just do some practice lathers till you notice some difference.

 

[global_dev]

Williams has a slickness that I have never been able to match with Tabac. However, I choose Tabac for the superior cushion, ease of generating the necessary lather, and--of course--the addictive scent.

Williams is slicker than Tabac in your use? I haven't used Tabac... but thats a curious comment to me since I have been using the new formulation Williams the past 2 days and found it functional, but not really that slick... maybe i need to revisit what slickness means in wetshaving lingo. As a point of reference, i find Cremo Cream slick.

I wanted to try tabac, but if it's less slick, but more cushiony that doesn't sound like a must try right now.

 

[Drubbing]

I wanted to try tabac, but if it's less slick, but more cushiony that doesn't sound like a must try right now.

I wouldn't go off one experience as definitive. Tabac is a benchmark for hoards on here. Personally, I find it both slick and cushioning.

I've never used Williams, not being in the US, but it seems it's so bad it doesn't have fanboys, but a support group.

 

[Slartibartfast]

My puck of tabac is over a year old, i dont think it should be a problem.

 

[New Madrid]

Williams is slicker than Tabac in your use? I haven't used Tabac... but thats a curious comment to me since I have been using the new formulation Williams the past 2 days and found it functional, but not really that slick... maybe i need to revisit what slickness means in wetshaving lingo. As a point of reference, i find Cremo Cream slick.

I wanted to try tabac, but if it's less slick, but more cushiony that doesn't sound like a must try right now.

When I say Williams is slick, I mean in lubrication terms. Even though I have trouble getting lasting lather from a Williams puck, the faux-lather that remains still is slicker under my razor than any of the other soaps in my rotation. The thing really glides over the Williams ghost-lather.

But two things: (1) I'm not really looking for ultimate slickness; and (2) Tabac and even VDH, while not quite as slick as Williams in my experience, provide much more cushion and require far less effort.