Worthwhile vintage soaps?

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by Slivovitz, Mar 4, 2011.

  1. Slivovitz

    Slivovitz Well-Known Member

    What vintage soaps do my fellow Shave Den-izens think are worth trying?

    I've used vintage Williams, and like it a bit better than the modern version (which is also good). It's not as much better as some people claim, and it's hard to find at a reasonable price. I paid $30 for two Old Spice mugs that also came with a puck of bicentennial Williams.

    Vintage Old Spice. I haven't used up the one puck I have yet. Very nice lather, and I think the scent has faded over time, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned; I like faint scents. Probably would never buy it at the prices I've seen lately. Mine was $20 including another OS mug.

    What else? I gather that Yardley is some sort of holy grail soap, but no soap is worth the prices I've seen for this. Still, if I ever can find some at a bargain price I'd like to try it.

    Colgate? Easier to find, but doesn't seem to have much of a reputation. Anyone tried it?

    Apparently there was an old tallow version of Surrey that was pretty good. I have one puck of the newer glycerin version, which is basically VdH under a different name.

    What am I not mentioning? What discontinued soaps do people recommend?
     
  2. thevez2

    thevez2 uses Gillette's new Tarantula Razor - 8 blades!!

    I've only used vintage Williams and OS myself.


    Borrored this list from another site:

    Aramis (Aramis), 1970s, tallow, Aramis family scent
    Avon (Avon), Gentlemen's Regiment; Today's Man, Skin-So-Soft
    Aywon Shave Stick, est. 1950-1065, tallow
    Boellis Panama, 1924
    Burgandy (Marks & Spencer)
    Burma-Shave (Burma-Shave)
    Colgate Tonsorial (Colgate)
    Corvette
    Courtley
    Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood (Crabtree & Evelyn), 1980s, sandalwood scent
    Currier & Ives (Williams)
    Cusson's, Imperial Leather; Royal Guard
    Dubarry Silkashave
    Erasmic Shave Stick (Erasmic)
    Fenwicke (Fenwicke), est. 1950s-1960s, tallow, lavender
    Harwick (Hawick?)
    Hoffritz
    Houbigant Fougere Royale
    House of Croydon
    House of Men HIS
    International Badger Corporation
    Kanon
    Langlois, pre-1963, lavender scent
    Lentheric
    MacGregor
    Macy's
    Morning Pep
    Norseman
    Old Spice (Shulton)
    Oowana Shave Stick (Oowana Soap & Candle Co., Ltd.), est. 1900s-1920s
    Paisley's
    Pear's Shave Stick
    Penhaligon's English Fern; Blenheim Bouquet (Tallow 1st; Tallow 5th)
    Potter & Moore
    Po-Do (Walgreen Co.), 1930s
    Ralph Lauren Safari (Ralph Lauren), tallow
    Rawleigh
    Roger et Gallet L'Homme
    Royal London Silver; Gold
    Seaforth! ;Heather & Fern
    Sportsman
    Stag
    Tally-Ho
    Tawn
    Valor
    Vintage Wrisley Spruce Soap
    Wembden
    Whisk-Off, est. 1930s.
    Williams Mug Soap (Williams), 1930-present
    Williams Shave Stick (Williams), est. 1920s-1940s, tallow, rose scent
    Williams Tonsorial (Williams)
    Williams Currier & Ives bowl
    Woods of Windsor
    Wrisley Lavender; Saddle Club; Spruce
    Yardley (Yardley), est. 1930s-1970s, tallow, lavender scent; English Lavender shaving Stick
     
    brit likes this.
  3. BullGoose

    BullGoose Well-Known Member

    I really like the tallow versions of Trumper and Penhaligons. I don't know if I would call them "vintage" but they are no longer made.

    Vintage Yardley is also an excellent soap.
     
  4. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    I've only tried OS - $3 a puck. Wish I had grabbed all four instead of just two.
     
  5. Hiya,

    My experience with vintage soaps is sadly limited to maybe 3-4 items. That would include Williams, Yardley, and Surrey. I've also tried Burma Shave soap, but that's only recently become extinct. Heh, I'm waiting for some 30-35 year old Halston soaps that I recently found, but no idea how they're gonna work or smell.

    Speaking of scent, don't plan on much being left if the soap was exposed to the air. Even if it wasn't, the fragrance might well have faded somewhat anyway after all those years.

    My suggestion would be to try as many of the old pucks of whatever you might run across....long as the price isn't nuts. They're gonna be a crapshoot anyway, and you don't wanna sink a bunch of cash into a nasty old piece of awfulness. Chances are, whatever you find will perform well, but you never know. Heh, no returns on sales like this if you don't like the performance or scent.

    I've read lots of various vintage soap reviews over the years, and the vast majority were positive. My experience with em would echo those opinions.

    Martin
     
    Billyfergie likes this.
  6. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    Here are a bunch of vintage soaps, as well as shave sticks, but they are not from North America--they are from Europe.

    1) Shavallo (England)
    2) Masculin (France)
    3) Splendid (Greece)
    4) Barnangens Parba (a stick from Sweden, and great)
    5) Hega (a stick from Sweden, and great)
    6) Gibbs (a stick from France, and great)
    7) Dalli-Werke (a stick from Germany, and great)
    8) Springreiter (a stick from Germany, and great)
     
  7. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    I tried the Colgate. I had high hopes for it. I was disappointed. I will try it again just to be sure though.
     
  8. Michaelshane

    Michaelshane New Member

    I love this stuff.....
    It's worth whatever you have to pay to get it.
    These were both still sealed and smell heavenly....

    [​IMG][/IMG]
    [​IMG][/IMG]
     
  9. rodd

    rodd Knotty Boy

    Awesome. I saw your vintage aftershave too in today's SoS, how do you like that?
     
  10. Michaelshane

    Michaelshane New Member

    It's great,Lady said it was in her fathers basement for 40 years.I believe it,I had to twist the top off with pliers.
     
  11. moviemaniac

    moviemaniac Tool Time

    THE best vintage shaving soap is Old Spice. They don't make 'em like they used to anymore.
    I only have one so I use it on special occasions only - a great shave each and every time!
     
  12. sas71

    sas71 Member

    you've just been itching to copy and paste that havent you? lol
     

Share This Page