The absolute best soap for both glide and cushion that I have EVER used is vintage Yardley. I have three from three different eras with the Black Label one walking the tallest. Of current soaps...MWF, Czech & Speake, Tabac, and one or two others that my age addled brain can't bubble up at the moment. P.s. right behind the Yardleys for me is vintage tallow Penhaligon's.
Cold River Soap Works, hang on to your razors tightly boys... slickest soaps out there. For extra fun try the Oliva!
ABC is very, very slick, but, IMHO, lacks some cushioning. MDC is very cushioning, but could use a touch more slickness.
A lot of contenders pop up over and over again. Great choices! Something to add to the list for the visit to the States next time.
The problem with this type of question is that nobody has tried them all. I have tried about 15 different soap makers, and my current top five (In alphabetical order) are: Barrister & Mann Jabonman/ Eufros Jeeves of Hudson Street Route 66 The Shave Den There are some I have tried that I didn't care for, or were more work than I was willing to invest in to get a good lather. These ones are all pretty easy to lather, are slick, and provide good cushion. All have great scents. I can't pick a top soap, so I have just worked on narrowing it down to the top five.
I agree, it's a bold one to ask! But none-the-less, there are a few that goes again all the time, with Route66 being mentioned the most alongside Mike's. Lets say Route66 had it's haters and lovers, I don't think I'd ever get it, due to the difficulty and/or high price and possibility I could be a hater, but since everybody raves about it, I could be tempted to import it since I doubt I'll not like it. Same goes for TSD... nobody doesn't like'em, hence I must like it as well or at least there's a good chance I will! I dunno if it makes sense. A soap for 8 USD plus free shipping for you is a soap for 55 USD to me once customs, fees and what not has been cleared. So I can't just try and see what I like - I simply need to bet on the "best horses out there" if I choose to import and not wait until I visit the US. That has and was been the intent with this thread - to lure out the greatest performers. And there has indeed been shed some light on the topic, so thank you very much all of you!
I just looked at Route66 - I know they state they only do CONUS at the moment, but international is available upon request. I know many things can be shipped here for around 16 USD, so for the fun of the game let's assume that rate stands, one Route66 soap shipped here, customs and fee included ends in 70 USD to me... that limits the game quite a bit. Just for info, not complaining.. not much that is
I agree that I haven't tried them all. There are others that I like, for example Mike's and TSD. I also have some others that are very good. YMMV comes into play as I don't like MWF all that much, which I know is sacrilege around here. The thing about Route 66 is that it has killed my SAD, as I'm no longer hunting for "that soap". I have some samples of other soaps that could surprise me, but am happy with what I have and will always suggest people try Route66.
The less it weighs (for example, a refill puck rather than a soap in tub) the cheaper it is to ship. A TSD refill would cost less than 20 USD to ship to Denmark. Not sure what the customs would be on that.
Route 66 is pretty slick. I've only got the one soap from them, Lumberjack, and I've been forbidden to ever use it again. The pineapple vibe from it disagrees with both me and my fiancée. WSP is probably the slickest soap I've used. I tend to use creams all but a few days a month. Saponifico Veresino is right behind WSP in slickness, and the scents are better, in my opinion. MWF is more cushiony than slick, compared to the above two that I mentioned. Adding Unscented Kiss my Face Moisture Shave Cream to your lather is the surest way to have the slickest shave soap of all time.
