Hey all, It took me a few uses to understand that blooming this soap is important when it's been sitting around for a while. Also, loading it with a largely dry brush before face lathering is the best way. 1, So, bloom for several minutes. (the dryer the soap, the longer you should bloom, up to 10 minutes) 2. Wet brush, but ring out water as much as possible. 3. Load the brush for about 10 seconds. 4. Apply to face. 5. Add just a few drops of water and re-lather to explode the soap into thick/rich custard-like-foam 6. Then paint smooth. The Klar Seifen soap is as good as Catie's Bubbles creams. I had a tremendous shave with this stuff without using any pre-shave oil this morning. The post-shave is fantastic as well. Now, I'll get to the reason to follow these steps listed above. Unless you perform these steps the soap won't perform as good. The slickness is what this procedure brings. Slickness that is very, very, very nice. One of the best combinations of slickness and protection that I've encountered in all my soaps. Highly recommend this stuff. It's a bit pricey though, but at least the soap delivers. You've got to get the puck out of the tin and into a mug or bowl so that you can bloom the soap and load it properly. When I first got this soap I tested it from the tin it came in. It's top surface is paralell to the rim of the tin, so there is no way to bloom the soap. Also, when trying to load the brush a ton of lather that should build gets lost down the sides. If Klar Seifen were wise, they would at least offer a mug for the soap in order to properly prep it for loading. That is the main weakness.....the tin container being way too small. I have to imagine that this is why Klar Seifen soap hasn't caught on as one of the best soaps on these forums because most people are likely trying to load their brushes directly from the tin, which is not going to deliver the performance this soap is capable of. I rate this soap a 10 out of 10. The Sandalwood scent is one of the better sandalwood scents (although I never found an 'elite' level scented soap) in the various soaps I tested for this shave set. It's extremely difficult to pair a soap with Diptyque's Tam Dao EDP fragrance because Tam Dao is the very best sandalwood fragrance I found in a vast dragnet test of various samples of many fragrances. It's the best of the best in terms of sandalwood-centered scents (runner up #2 was Killian's Sacred Wood). I initially selected the Klar soap only for the scent profile being 'compatible' with my Tam Dao fragrance, never once suspecting that once I got it into my custom Cadman bowl I would discover it is an 'elite' performing soap with the proper preparation. I just wanted to share this with the forum upon having today's fantastic shave.
It is pretty good for sure. I sold mine. I think it was mostly because of the small tin...Pre de Proveance tins are just as aggravating. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hmm, I'm sure if you're really asking seriously. Looks like you've been on here a while. Here is a decent youtube tutorial on what I'm talking about (only you can apply the bloom water to your face instead of pouring it in the bowl when you're doing a face lather): I usually put a little more water than this guy and make it as hot as the tap can get in hopes of loosening up a layer or two. I think blooming definitely will cause more soap to get used than if you didn't bloom, but for soap like this it's worth it (but only for the hard soaps). Softer soaps and creams have no problems loading and lathering for me. Another soap that I bloom before loading is the Gold Dachs. Tough as nails triple-milled soap. Even after blooming it takes a while to build the lather to the thickness I want. However, Klar's soap is not quite as tough and doesn't need as much work after blooming to load. Each soap is different and will take a little trial and error to figure out blooming times. I try to bloom for as little time as possible to prep the soap in order to prevent waste. All I care about is getting the brush loaded with enough soap to perform well.
Sorry Tim. I was being facetious. The term "bloom" is a pet peeve of mine. Call it what it is - soaking. I'm not against soaking soap. It's your soap. Do what you want with it. I'm just against the term "bloom." Not in any dictionary could I find where the term "bloom" was associated with "soak," or "soak" associated with "bloom." Excellent write-up on the soap, though!
Interesting note on the Gold Dachs. One of my favorites but I didn't use it for quite awhile having acquired several others. I had never needed to soak it previously but I definitely noticed it took some extra work the last time I pulled it out.
It's secret code to keep enemy spies from infiltrating. Kinda like when I tell my wife I need to "go see a man about a horse". That's not really what I mean or really what I plan to do.
Tim @Tim Spencer - there's a bit of leg pulling going on. Our friend Steve dislikes the "B" word, so we started calling the soaking or wetting of a soap puck by other terms. Souse seems to have stuck. I have a tin of Klar Mandel. It's their almond scented offering. If you enjoy Cella or other marzipan scented soaps, try the Klar. Strongest almond scent available and I suspect it's the same soap base. We are in agreement on the difficulty loading from the small tin. I bowl lather so it's just part of the process and doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the great lather.
Ive tried Klar in the past and it was just OK for me. Its got good slickness and good cushion but the scent was kind of ho-hum. Its a good soap, its just no-frills. In the world of German soaps, its not one of the better ones for me, simply because of the scent. IMO, Tabac and Speick are better.
Along with Tabac, Klar is a top favorite of mine. I guess I got lucky in that when I got my Klar soap, it came with a bowl and brush set that they offered years ago. (NOS)
I feel lucky to have run across Klar Seifen due to my auditioning of various sandalwood soaps for my shave kit. I'm beyond satisfied with the Klar soap that I forcefully hand pressed into the bowl (my hands were cramping trying to mold it like clay). I got a 10 out of 10 soap, so I got really lucky to find it. I think Klar soap deserves WAY more praise from the shaving community.
Klar is one of my favorites as well. It performs exactly like a shaving soap should; cushion, glide, a great face feel during and after the shave. I never feel the need for an aftershave when I use Klar.
I have another West German boar brush that I recently bought. The quality of both knots are very good.
Yeah, theyre great brushes and the fact that they say, "made in West Germany" on them is pretty cool, IMO.
