I have been wanting to try a shave stick but don't know which one I should pull the trigger on. Does the Arko Shave Stick smell the same as the cream? If so I might be interested in that one. I do like how they are pretty cheap though so I guess if I try one and don't like it I'll just PIF it.
I haven't used the Arko stick yet as I haven't had the opportunity to order one, however I have read numerous times that it's quite different from the creams. From what I gather it has a kick of citronella in it, and I own most (If not all) of the tubes of Arko available and can't find anything that fits a description similar to that. At the price it is though, there's no reason not to try it- it's one of the most inexpensive soaps on the market. There's also Speick, Tabac and Palmolive shave sticks which all have very high reviews, and are relatively inexpensive compared to something like Harris or TOBS sticks.
I've heard many good things about Speick, Tabac, Palmolive and I might be interested in La Toja. I thought about making one out of my Mike's Natural Soaps bar too and read the tutorial on here...
to me the arko stick smells like ivory soap x 10. while the scent is disagreeable to some I don't mind it at all, as for performance, it's fantastic. in my opinion it's the best bang for the buck in the shaving world.
Arko stick is a great place to start as it's cheap and lathers like a dream. The scent, however, may leave a lot to be desired depending on your sense of smell and that of your 3 nearest neighbors. As to the scent compared to the cream, I can't say as the creams come in different scents. The stick smells a lot like cleaner + ivory soap + urinal puck, but that's my description. Valobra stick is more expensive, but lathers wonderfully as well and is also tallow-based. Erasmic stick (make sure it's the tallow one) is also a dream and priced between the two.
I actually used Arko tonight. It's super cheap, lathers like crazy, and I think the lemony scent smells "clean." The scent is a take it or leave it thing I suppose. Also I got a Ogallala Bay Rum shave stick and it's fantastic. Great lather, good slickness, and the smell is terrific. I will say it doesn't lather quite as easily as the Arko but it's still a great product and I think it was like $6 so only a little more than the Arko.
Considering I like scents like Williams (Even the modern) I should really get my butt in gear and try Arko as well. Could be great taking a stick on my next few exercises and on my upcoming deployments.
I use the Arko stick when I travel. When I first got it I found the smell to be very pungent and not at all pleasant. I left it in the pantry with the wrapping open for a couple of weeks until the next time I travelled and the small had mellowed out considerably to the point that I don't mind it at all. I wouldn't say that I particularly enjoy it, but it is just a subtle hint of scent nothing strong enough to be particularly good or bad IMO. For the price of the stick I don't think they can be beat.
This thread inspired me to give the palmolive shave stick one more chance tonight. Nope, still hate it.Love the scent, hate the performance, which seems strange because I know some folks have very good luck with it. YMMV I guess. I think it's going to make me a very fine bath soap.
Haha sorry for your bad luck buddy. I think I'll be leaning towards Palmolive or La Toja and cross my fingers.
at a few buck a stick you should find some where that sells the 3 you want and get them all at once shipping is going to be the highest price item on your invoice.
Shave a Buck sells this one. It's the old formula Lea shave stick: The sticker peels off easy and you can use the container with other shave sticks. He also has a nice selection of cheap shave sticks. I've done business with him twice and he ships quickly. Just my 2 cents.
Agree with Richard... the Valobra, made in Italy, sticks are exceptional. I'd definitely recommend the Palmolive sticks as well - the ones with the GUT label on the boxes. Those are made in Germany for Europe and seem to be better quality than the other one without the GUT label. Erasmic sticks are good if you don't end up getting the non-tallow old-stock, which there is still alot of out there on the market. To me, only the old-formula-which-they-got-rid-of-then-brought-back-so-it's-now-called-the-new-formula is good. So if you go with Erasmic, make sure it has tallow listed in the ingredients. If it doesn't, it's old stock - and again, to me, not a good soap.
Hey, I just got one of these in the mail from that very vendor yesterday, and used it for my shave this morning! It is far from the lather monster that the Arko is, IMO, but performance was on par with the other products I've tried (I have yet to find anything that lathers near the Arko). Scent is much more mellow than the Arko, too. Truth be told though, I really just bought a container for my Arko and it came with a shave stick in the packagine...
This one and the new Lea stick with tallow arrived yesterday. +1 on the fast shipping. Hope to try the tallow stick this weekend.
Nice one, Jody! I'll be odd-man-out here and say I dislike sticks. I've tried Speick and Irisch Moos and really like the scent of both, but I don't like what really boils down to face lathering. Just not for me. I've grated both sticks into a bowl and now use them like a standard puck of soap. I'll even be an odder-man-out and say I really don't like hate the Skeeter-be-gone scent of Williams. Sounds like Arko is the same scent. Pass. Note that the above is just my two cents. Take it (or leave it) for what it's worth.
I got the same Citronella Candle Mosquito repellent vibes from Williams. When I was told the Arko stick smells the same but stronger, I also passed. I've read that leaving it unwrapped for a week does a lot to get rid of the scent, but I'm still not going to chance it. There are better (for me) soaps and creams out there for me to try and use.
Thank you very much Jody, I messaged you my info. I will pay it forward when the opportunity arises. Not meaning to get to sentimental here, but I've been following this site and it's mind blowing how eager everyone is to help everyone. I will definitely be looking to re-pay this generosity to someone in need.
