My votes are Martin de Candre and Antica Barbieria Colla Both fantastic cushion and glide and every soap I have is compared to them. Boellis Panama is good as well.
Fair enough, I just think you have the potential to miss out on some very good soaps that you "might" actually love. Just because 25% of people don't like it doesn't mean you won't.
That is so very true. I'm not writing them off. I'm not searching for a new soap, not yet. Just for the moment curious on "The universal best" In fact, Stirling is very high on my list when the time comes.
But, since Kathleen is such an awesome member here, and she based in the great AZ, and because her soaps are so good, I don't think you'd be disappointed if you put her soaps at the top of the list.
There is no universal best, because opinions, like all shaving, is subjective. If you're looking for different soaps to try, eufros by Jabonman, haslinger, B&M, shaver heaven tallow, crsw, mystic waters, Lebelle to name a couple. Honestly though, Stirling is the slickest I've found. Their scents aren't the most sophisticated or complex, but performance is top notch. From there, I trade off slickness for scent and cushion. Barrister and Mann have some awesome scents with great performance. You won't go wrong with many artisans nowadays. We're spoilt with great makers.
A few other honorable mentions: Tiki Soaps Wholly Kaw I Coloniali Mystic Water No particular order, but each has its own charachteristics, but all have worked out wonderfully and are very slick.
Wow....that's not a soap you hear about very often. And you've tried just about all of the big names out there Lance. Thanks for the feedback...now I'm curious.
That, and since since Stirling's last reformulation, and their tallow switch, You pretty much don't see anyone diss it anymore.
Stirling definitely gets my vote for slickest. And if slick is the top consideration, go for one of the sheep tallow soaps. They are drop your brush, rinse your hand before you pick up your razor slippery. I "sort of" agree with some of the others about the lack of complexity in the scents, but would also say you have to explore a bit through their huge line up. While my favorites tend to be the one or two note soaps, Rod has a lot of originals that are pretty deep: Ozark Mountain, Ben Franklin, Glastonbury, Autumn Glory.... That just gets me started rattling off a list. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I will. I often hear how Soap Commander is good for being vegan soap. Wrong. It is just plain outstanding soap; veggie or not is irrelevant. They have great scents, great slickness, awesome cushiony lather, tubs that magically never die, and are EASILY one of my top soaps, up there with Stirling. Like only a half game out of first. As far as Caties, I know I am opening myself up to get blasted, but: (I have heard talk of a re-formulation, so perhaps these comments are now sort of irrelevant..) Catie's scents are insanely good. The problem I found is that slickness was B+, and while the lather was explosive, the cushion was only so-so, and the soap itself was inconsistent in the tub. The last tub I had, I actually binned, because it was as if it had turned to soft cream. If the re-form rumor is true, I would try them again, but they would have to wait their place in line behind a lot of other artisan soaps who haven't gotten their chance yet. To me, (ymmv) compared to my favorites, it is almost second tier soap.
I have no problems with Stirling, I use 5 different scents in rotation. The only non-Stirling soaps I have use are R-66 Barbershop which I will re-order, and Arlington which I will not.
Either. I have both. The lanolin needs a bit less water. I'm not one who must have tallow, or vegan only. If a soap gives me a thick slick lather, smells nice, and doesn't set my face on fire, I don't care what's in it.
Haha no it's not. After I typed this yesterday I decided to use Dr Selby again this am. Just to make sure. First let me say that I am a heavy loader of soap. Did I say heavy! I then add water little by little on the puck and build lather on the actual puck. I work a ton of water into my soap to the point that it's heavy and dense. Extremely hydrated. Almost like a goop. This soap is incredible in the slickness department. Holds a lot of water and to me smells very nice. A lot of "better" overall soaps out there. Post shave and such. But slickness this one wins for me!
