ABC or MDC?

Discussion in 'Shave Creams' started by huckelberry hound, Nov 5, 2014.

  1. huckelberry hound

    huckelberry hound Active Member

    Having trouble deciding between the two have already tried mdc and loved it would love to hear from anyone who has experience with both
     
  2. Omelmad

    Omelmad My printer email address is..........

    Whats ABC? =P
     
  3. markjnewcomb

    markjnewcomb Well-Known Member

    Basically, I am just responding so that I will watch this thread. I am also very interested in ABC.

    ABC = Antica Barbieria Colla This is supposed to be an exceptionally slick soap.
     
  4. Omelmad

    Omelmad My printer email address is..........

    Is it hard to get a hold of? Never heard of it =P
     
  5. Slow Joe

    Slow Joe Relishing his obsession

    Wow. It sounds more like a disease.
     
  6. theFAT98

    theFAT98 Well-Known Member


    Sounds like what you get from bad chicken.
     
  7. markjnewcomb

    markjnewcomb Well-Known Member

    I have only seen it sold at one place here in the states. In fact, that site is the only place (until now) that I have even seen it mentioned.
     
    theFAT98 likes this.
  8. huckelberry hound

    huckelberry hound Active Member

    Yep from old town.interested in their aftershaves as well green tobacco in particular
     
  9. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    It looks like a solid product. I like to buy things not many people have heard of or used. You already have tried MdC, give ABC a go. Report back, please :)
     
    Slow Joe likes this.
  10. markjnewcomb

    markjnewcomb Well-Known Member

    I agree - you should be the group's guinea pig. Of course, you can always pif it to me if you don't like it. ;)
     
    RaZorBurn123 likes this.
  11. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Interesting. :think002:

    BTW: Who says we have too many soap product acronyms? (MdC, 3P, C&S, ABC, LPL, VDH, MWF, DRH, PDP, TOBS, SMABBSC)
    Bonus points if you can match all the soap names with these acronyms... :D
     
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  12. dfoulk

    dfoulk Active Member

    I've tried both ABC and MdC and they are completely different. If I were to purchase one I'd choose MdC.

    The RazoRock ABCBA is an ABC clone and it's extremely similar for a much lower cost if you can find some. Scent wise they are identical and performance wise ABC might be a little better but I'm honestly not sure I could tell them apart.

    I had a sample of ABC that I tried a couple times and recently sent on to another forum member. If I still had it I'd send it your way. I can send you a small sample of ABCBA to try if you'd like. This way if you do buy ABC you can compare it and share your thoughts here, and if you don't you'll have a pretty good idea what you're missing. Just send me your name and address if you're interested.

    I guess I have a hard time shelling out the money for ABC because there are a lot of great Italian soaps that are very similar and almost as good as ABC but available at a much, much lower cost.
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2014
    CyanideMetal and RaZorBurn123 like this.
  13. huckelberry hound

    huckelberry hound Active Member

    could you explain how their different? I must confess there wasn't anything I didn't like about MDC in fact i'm having a hard time going back to common soaps. lately I've been using valbora (spelling) and MWF both of which are OK but still something to be desired.
     
    markjnewcomb likes this.
  14. dfoulk

    dfoulk Active Member

    ABC is a traditional Italian almond soft shaving soap. It's similar in texture to Cella if you've ever tried that. It's a nice soap and it does everything right but it doesn't stand out to me as being way better than the other Italian soaps I've tried that run in the ten to fifteen dollar range. I guess what I'm saying is that it's an excellent soap but I don't personally think that it is unique enough to command such a high price. I do like it but I'm not sure I like it for $60. If it was a $20 or $25 soap I'd buy it without hesitation. It'll get great reviews and it's an excellent soap but I just feel like I'm paying about an extra $40 for the name with this one. If it were the only Italian almond soap available then I might buy it and think it was a fair price but it's not.

    MdC is a French soap that is unique and different from just about anything else I've tried. There are a lot of MdC clones (Catie's Bubbles, LASS, Tiki, etc) but none are similar in my opinion as I think that it has something to do with the 9 month aging process that MdC soaps undergo. I can get a great lather from MdC and it's the easiest soap I've ever lathered. The soap goes a long way and a jar seems to last forever. When I use this soap I feel that I'm using something that is actually worth the high asking price.

    The prices of soaps are all over the place and price isn't always a good indicator of quality. If you are just looking for high end soaps there are plenty to choose from that don't even carry high price tags. I have some $8 soaps that I like as well as some $70 soaps on a given day. Maybe try a Strop Shoppe SE w/tallow soap (I like Baker Street) ($20). RazoRock Mudder Focker ($10) is one of the very best soaps I've tried. Petal Pusher Fancies Coconut ($10) is outstanding. Le Pere Lucien ($30) is really nice and similar to MdC. If you like MdC you'll likely enjoy LpL. You could buy all four of these for about what you'd pay for the ABC. Or pick up another tub of MdC along a tub of Cella or the LpL and put a want to buy out there for a block of ABCBA.
     
  15. blanka

    blanka I will not eat my shaving products. Promise.

    ABCBA is an amazing soap.
     
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  16. dfoulk

    dfoulk Active Member

    I will send you a sample of RazoRock ABCBA if you'd like. It's an ABC clone that they did an excellent job on. You can try it and I think you'll find it to be a really nice soap, however I don't think it will make you feel like you've just used a $65 soap. Know that ABC may be slightly better than ABCBA however I didn't notice any difference at all myself. If you like ABCBA as much as MdC then maybe consider buying ABC (or finding a block of ABCBA), if not then you saved $65 that you can buy some other great soaps with.
     
  17. huckelberry hound

    huckelberry hound Active Member

    Thank you for your advice. putorder in for MDC and their pre shave. I have tried LpL and did like it. I currently have Tabac, Speik and the Dr harris line that I am looking forward to trying as well. However I would like to try some more Italian soaps, never been much for almond until I tried Alt Innsbruck aftershave. The two pair wonderfully
     
  18. markjnewcomb

    markjnewcomb Well-Known Member

    Excellent post. That was exactly the type of info I was seeking.
     
  19. Stubbl E

    Stubbl E Well-Known Member

    Antica Barbieria Colla is another hyper-exclusive soap that gets a lot of love around the various forums, much like the MdC in that regard. Boellis Panama 1924 is another one, Italian like the ABC, with a regional chic that's fashionable these days (Naples, in this case), but it's neither quite as exclusive nor expensive as either MdC or ABC, and so the appeal to a certain demographic is likely somewhat lessened. ABC offers both a hard soap and a soft "cream" (soft soap basically, like the Cella or whatever Italian soft soap you like) with the traditional bitter almond scent, as well a few aftershaves.

    They also apparently have a line of "hair-care" products as well. Oy Vey. [​IMG]
     
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  20. CyanideMetal

    CyanideMetal Wild and crazy guy

    I like ABCBA better than MdC but I respect your opinion to be wrong. Seriously, @dfoulk did a great job reviewing both soaps. I do like the Italian soaps better though.
     
    markjnewcomb likes this.

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