If you're talking bang for your buck, Van der Hagen. If you don't mind the smell, Arko. TSD with lanolin is another I'd put up as well worth what you pay for. My opinion (worth only as far as you can throw me) about Stirling-good soap, does what it should, gets too much hype. But that's me.
Lots of great soaps out there (Stirling included). I’m with Steve. Stirling gets a lot of hype that others don’t. Better? Stirling has an excellent product so those that are better are probably only by degree and loyalists will defend their favorite to the death. We could put together a pretty good list without too much effort. Besides Arko, TSD Lanolin, and VDH Luxury I’ll add GoldDachs, Los Angeles Shave Soap, Martin DeCandre, and Barrister & Mann.
I wholeheartedly agree with the above. An addition to the list is Cella. Wonderful soft soap. Excellent, creamy lather. Lovely scent (reminds me of Di Saronno amaretto) but please resist the urge to take a bite...
What? No plug for De Vergulde Hand (which is a great performer but doesn't like my skin)?! As far as performance and value I'll vote for Arko. Yes, the scent does take some getting used to, but once it wears down a little I don't mind it.
Last night I was digging through a box of soaps and noted an extra tub of De Vergulde Hand and immediately thought that I should have mentioned it in my initial post on this thread.
Hmmmm..... Sounds fishy to me. But then again, I'm a penguin. Everything sounds -- and smells -- fishy to me.
I am definitely a fan of Stirling. It is one that will always be in my rotation of soaps. I also find Captain’s Choice, Cella, and Taylor of old Bond (not typically one for creams, but this one is fantastic). There are plenty of others out there that you would likely enjoy. I recommend keeping Stirling on hand while trying others out as well.
Arko is one that I haven’t tried yet but intend to eventually. Just have to pair down what is in the cabinet.
I gotta ask... About your question here, are you looking for opinions of what may be better than Stirling? Or is a rhetorical question, the unspoken answer being, "nothing"?
If you want to go full MacGyver get some vegetable oil and and table salt. Vegetable oil as long as it is soybean oil is higher in stearic acid than most shave soaps. You need the salt to create the lather when you combine it with the oil.
Apparently the Van Der Hagen basic soap pucks in the green box are no longer available. They would have been my answer if otherwise. I used to get them for around $1.00 a puck when you bought them in 20 packs. Maybe I should try to sell them for $40 a puck like some people do with Williams mug soap. Looking around Van Der Hagen luxury soap pucks still are about the cheapest I found at $3.65 for a 3.5oz puck. These are also good soaps that I've used before. The cheapest though is the Viking collection 4 pack of 2.5 oz soap pucks at $9.88 or $2.47 a puck. If they lather well then they will be the best bang for the buck and even better if the scents are any good.
Oops, I wasn't aware that Cella has multiple flavours. I was talking about this one : (also available in blocks of 500 grams - about 1 lb)
I think there is only a vegan option. But I do enjoy me some disarno and would have hated getting the wrong one. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk