I think I'm going to move away from Artisan soaps and go back to some old favorites. No more chasing the dragon for the latest and greatest. If I were to be honest with myself I'd have to say I don't need to go better quality than some old standbys. They do everything for me that I need, shaving and post shave. The list would include Harris Windsor, MWF, TOBS and Tabac. I think that would cover all my bases. I'll use up the rest of the best of my artisans and be moving on.
I feel the same, however, I seem to have what some consider "artisan" but I'm not sure. Could Taconic from SuperSafetyRazor and Stirling still be considered Artisan? They are widely distributed and used by many. Tis a puzzlement for sure
Luckily I haven't chased that dragon. I do have some Artisan soaps and see myself keeping a puck of Stirling Electric Sheep in stock for the near future. I also have about two cases of Arko Sticks to work through so I don't really see me buying much of anything for the foreseeable future.
The only artisan soaps that I use on a regular basis are Martin de Candre and Castle Forbes. I’ll occasionally use an artisan soap for the scent, but it’s not a regular thing. Cheers, Steve
Just remember, today's factory soaps were yesterday's artisan soaps. Today's artisan may soon be tomorrow's factory. As @poppi pointed out, Taconic and Stirling are on their way to be considered factory, and rightly so. They make great stuff. You can even find vendors for Taconic in Makati and Manila Philippines. I for one love seeing a small company reach for the moon, miss, and go straight to the stars. Anyway, I do see what you are saying. You could do quite well using factory stuff. I have plenty of it. I know other folks have plenty of it. There's a reason why it's a factory soap. It's good stuff and people buy it.
I need an explanation of the difference between artisan and factory soaps, I had a reply the other day from a comment I made about Bill Neumann&Co. The replier said Bill is a factory soap, but didn't go into what was meant by that.
All I've had from them is sample aftershaves....would love to try originals or the soaps. Quite intrigued by their descriptions and history. A liittle to $$$$ for me right now, but it's a classic test in budgeting.
I guess I like factory soaps. By that I mean, Van der Hagen, Williams Shave Mug, Barbasol, Colgate Shaving Cream, Gillette shaving creams Gels and Foams. Because almost all of the shaving soaps are a little pricey.
I do love my artisan soaps, for someone to say they are giving it up... it’s because they’ve been in this game for a long time and it’s been a pleasure. FWIW some artisan soaps perform better than factory made soaps and other factory made soaps perform better Than many artisan shave soaps. If I had to steer away from Artisans I would be able to manage with MDC, Nuavia & Tobs. Although I love the scents from Tobs I feel the performance could be much better. MDC is great performance but mediocre scents. While Nuavia is king IMO lol. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
to be honest i have paid more for less product on certain well reviewed products.. $3.50 u.s per oz + shipping isn t bad..
I get it, believe me. I could use only MWF the rest of my life and be happy, but trying a new artisan soap like Silisky and liking it while supporting a new company is a win win. Grooming Department too. I’m going to cut back this year but taking a flyer on a new soap now and then is kind of rewarding. I see your point, however, if you’ve been there done that. And I’ll re-emphasize, MWF is all I really want.
if i had only one factory choice it would tabac soap and a good balm and splash..or the proraso wood and spice single edge line of products..
I know it's something I'll never be able to stick with but a least it's a good excuse to buy a puck of MWF. Truthfully at 65 I'll never use all the soaps I have.
Neither will I isn't getting old fun? What you just said is probably what I need to say also. You and I are just about the same age.
Well, it's shavin' time again and all this talk of expensive soaps has helped me make my choice for today: Arko.
I'm a big fan of the "factory" triple milled soaps! I couldn't give a hoot whether it's made by an artisan in their kitchen or garage or by a sizeable factory. I have 120 soaps and that's lots of hard milled pucks in there, which I really do love. I never bought into the performance metrics because it's more about how a soap performs spending on the users preference and technique/method of making lather. Makes no difference for me as I load every soap 20 seconds and add water as required (more water for the milled soaps). Don't even get me started on post shave! I find no difference in post shave except that some butter heavy artisan soaps leave me very greasy/oily! MWF, DRHarris, Speick, LEA Classic puck, TOBS, Valobra, SV, PdP, Arran Aromatics, Bath House, Cade, Muhle/EJ, Scottish Fine Soaps, Fine...all wonderful soaps!!
I appreciate the intent to stick with what you know you enjoy. For me, that has turned into using up what I have and only replacing stuff with the 3 or 4 soaps that I enjoy most and fit into my definition of a good value. There are a few soaps I haven't tried that fit into that definition, but I'll try them one at a time as I run out of others, and preferably via samples. Over the past few years I've realized that with so many options available, you have to come up with your own ways of limiting choice. Otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy trying to choose, and even after the choice is made, wondering whether or not it was the wrong choice.
