One of the pleasures of vintage soaps.

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by Slivovitz, Sep 2, 2011.

  1. Slivovitz

    Slivovitz Well-Known Member

    Does something count as a whim if you keep it up for one month? On August 2nd, I shaved with my vintage (probably 1960s) Williams, and decided to [keep] it up for a while. This morning was my 31st straight shave with it. I missed one shave altogether when I had to stay at work overnight during the recent storm, and half way through, the puck was breaking up, so I stuck another puck of approximately the same vintage down on top of it. Back to a rotation tomorrow, I think, maybe with MWF, but I have a lot of choices. Counting both soaps and creams, it's more than twenty.

    The vintage Williams is great stuff, a very rich lather, and the absence of scent is fine with me. I was thinking, though, that one of the pleasures of using vintage soaps is the knowledge that they aren't going to waste. After thirty, forty, maybe fifty or more years, this little lump of tallow is finally being used for its intended purpose, and being appreciated. I don't know why that should appeal to me so much, with all the other types of wastefulness in our lives, but it does.

    That's one reason I'm not buying any more soaps for now. I firmly intend to use up everything I've got, whether I particularly like it (MWF) or not (Tabac). If I run into a real bargain on vintage Williams or Old Spice, I'll get it, and if I run out of MWF before everything else, I'd restock that. I don't plan to leave a lot of vintage VdH or Cyril Salter soap for future generations, though.

    After I get through this mug of Williams, by the way, I still have two more untouched pucks of the Bicentennial vintage. Lots of modern Williams, too, which I like, but isn't really the same as the vintage.
     
    HoosierTrooper likes this.
  2. PanChango

    PanChango Not Cute

    I would say it is a bit more than a whim as it takes roughly 3 weeks to make a habit.

    I haven't tried the vintage Williams as I refuse to pay the price for it. I do enjoy the modern incarnation and use it fairly regularly.
     
  3. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    I have bagged a few pucks of vintage Williams here and there for next to nothing. The vintage Williams that has sodium tallowate listed first is hands down a much better product than the new pucks that have sodium stearate listed first. The vintage Williams practically lathers itself while the new stuff takes a bunch more work. If the vintage formulation were still sold on the shelves today, I could see myself being a regular user.
     
    GDCarrington likes this.
  4. swarden43

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

    The only vintage soap I have had the pleasure of using is Old Spice. I picked up two pucks at an antique mall for $6.
    Great soap. The scent is still there, which makes me very happy. Gives a fantastic lather for a super shave.
     
  5. HoosierTrooper

    HoosierTrooper Steve-less in Indiana

    I'm with you on the vintage Williams. In my current rotation I am using pucks from the Glastonbury, Cranford, mentholated from Cranford, Glen Rock, Beecham era from Pittsburg and a stick from the Cranford plant. The most I have ever paid for a puck of Williams was $4 and some change at an antique store. I also have stockpiled one more from the Glastonbury plant and six from the Cranford plant.

    I also have two pucks of Colgate Cup, two vintage Surrey pucks that are tallow based, and one each of Barbershop and Old Spice. All of them came from antique stores or flea markets, with the exception of the shaving stick which was a gift from dougr and the most I've paid for any of them was $5.

    I'm always on the lookout for more of the vintage soaps and will never purchase any newly produced soaps as long as I can keep finding the vintage soaps, with the exception of Williams. I will always keep a puck of the modern stuff in the rotation.
     
  6. Nicktheswede

    Nicktheswede Member

    I've had several pucks of vintage soap but always been to scared to use them. I'd rather collect them.
     
  7. swarden43

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

    Just curious - why the fear? No harm in collecting, of course, but you may just be missing out on some fantastic lather. You can't take 'em with you, as the saying goes.
     
    battle.munky likes this.
  8. Nicktheswede

    Nicktheswede Member

    I too often live in a glass house. I'm often too scared to use or damage things that are older. I'd just hate the thought knowing certain things have lasted so long and then I come along and destroy it. Of course I know how to care for a soap it's just I'd rather see it on the shelf and use new age things.
     
  9. Slivovitz

    Slivovitz Well-Known Member

    I can understand that, in a way, but it's not the only way to look at it.

    Some folks won't shave with a vintage razor if it's in mint condition, or especially if it's new old stock. Although I don't feel like that myself, it's understandable. There are things about a razor that can be appreciated just by looking at it, and you may want to preserve it as a display item. If you're curious about how it shaves, you may be able to find one in less good cosmetic condition.

    It seems harder to apply that to a puck of soap. It's basically just a lump of tallow and other ingredients, possibly with a maker's name and logo in relief on the top. There's no craftsmanship or design to appreciate, as with a razor, or rather, the craftsmanship and design are in the combination of ingredients. Really the only way to appreciate its qualities is actually to use it as soap.

    Not to say that I'm right and you're wrong; it's just a matter of different attitudes. Still, I don't think of using up a vintage soap as destroying it, I think of it as not wasting it.:)
     
    battle.munky and swarden43 like this.
  10. ChemErik

    ChemErik Mr. Personality

    I recently picked up a puck of vintage Williams (1970's) and I've been debating trying it or selling/trading. Not feeling overly curious, I was leaning toward sell/trade, but this thread has me reconsidering.
     
  11. NoobShaver

    NoobShaver BGDAAA

    don't overlook vintage Colgate soaps. I think the puck I've been using is from the 70s. It rocks.
     
  12. swarden43

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

    I can appreciate that. It's your soap, so who am I to say how you enjoy it. Enjoy it as you wish.
     
  13. HoosierTrooper

    HoosierTrooper Steve-less in Indiana

    I found this little treasure at an antique store today. The sticker said "wood bowl with old soap" and was priced at $4. Inside was this puck of vintage Colgate Barbers shaving soap that looks unused. Can't wait to try this one!

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    Also found this Colgate Mug soap shoved to the back of the shelf at a little mom and pop grocery store today. It's not supposed to be as good as the older Cup soap, which I like a lot, but for only $1.09 I couldn't leave it behind.

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  14. Johnny

    Johnny Little Boy Blue

    I think I need to start hitting the back roads of Wisconsin to find treasures like this.
     
  15. battle.munky

    battle.munky Has the menthol.munky on his back!

    I see where you are coming from Nick, but that old Williams is really good stuff. As the others said dude, it' your soap, enjoy it your way, but it would really suck to have someone get it for a buck a puck in an estate sale 50 years from now. Not for them, us ;)
     
  16. Slivovitz

    Slivovitz Well-Known Member

    That's a great score. I really need to spend a few afternoons going around antique stores, haven't found anything in the past, but perhaps with enough persistence... That really old Colgate is excellent. I've only found one puck, paid a little more than you, and it didn't come with a bowl.

    I've got a few pucks of that, too. Similar to modern Williams for me, although there may have been more than one version in that kind of box. Definitely a decent soap at that price.
     
  17. HoosierTrooper

    HoosierTrooper Steve-less in Indiana

    Thanks. I was surprised that the puck from the Mug box has Cup Soap imprinted on it, I thought it would say Mug Soap, but I looked at pictures of others and the say Cup on them as well. I may grate it up and give it a spin tomorrow morning.
     

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