I currently only have three different brands of triple milled soaps. 1)L'Occitane - Good, but takes a lot of work for good lather 2)Art of Shaving - Sandalwood. Haven't used it yet (and here I am looking for another soap :rofl) 3)Crabtree & Evelyn - Sandalwood, Sienna, Almond - I tend to use the almond the most, but Siennas my favorite scent. I do have lots of glycerin soaps, and I had a puck of T&H but really didn't care for the scent so I traded it. And I also had a puck of Kent(woolfat) that I really wasn't impressed with, but that was before I had a good brush for soaps (my old brush couldn't even whip up a lather from a glycerin soap). So, any suggestions for a good, yet affordable triple mill? My budget's around $15 for a soap refill (don't really care if it comes w/a bowl or not), haven't decided on a scent yet but NO sandalwood. I've already got plenty of sandalwood stuff. So I'm pretty sure my price limit rules out DR Harris or Trumpers. I don't see a lot of discussion around Taylors triple mills, they any good?
Haven't tried any Taylor's soaps yet, but I definitely like my Floris (Elite) soap. Lathers great, and performs wonderfully. In fact, I think I'll use it tomorrow morning! :drool Also, I've recently picked up a DR Harris Arlington soap, but only used it once so far. The only time I've used it was a pleasure.
I am always pleased with my shaves with DR Harris soaps. I can recommend the following: 1) De Vergulde Hand (not sure if this is triple milled, but it is one of my favorites....and is non-glycerin based) 2) DR Harris 3) Mitchell's Wool Fat 4) Geo. F Trumper 5) Provence Sante
At $15 you're pretty limited. T&H is only about $11, but you've already done that one. Trumpers refills tend to be around $18, and Harris is around $20. Trumpers soaps are smaller than Harris and T&H and deliver inferior shaves, though they may be worth it for the scent. Gold-Dachs "Rivivage" is $9 at Classic, and it's a very good one, though it's also on the small side. Taylor's soaps have an ok reputation, but few rave reviews. I'm curious why your price limit so low given that triple milled soaps last so long (about 9 months)... $20 is pretty good compared to creams or even glycerine soaps, and there's an awful lot of great choices in the $15-$20 bracket.
The reason for the lowball price I'm limiting myself to is...well I know myself. And by that I mean I know that I'm going to end up buying more than one soap to justify shipping (since the only triple mill I can get locally is C&E and AOS). It's a bit easier to justify buying 2-3 soaps at $15 apiece to leverage shipping costs Vs. 2-3 soaps at $25-$30 apiece.
Basically, a non-glycerin based hard soap. Lasts long time, is said to be better for people with sensitive skin - but that's a debate in itself Further reading HERE
You'll get great shaves with either, and they are both excellent in their own regard. I find the following to be true: 1) -> glycerin more slick 2) -> triple milled more friendly to skin, and does superb job of preparing whisker (and these will also contain glycerin, in most cases) ~I get very close shaves with glycerin-based soap (yes it is slick) ~I also get very close shaves with triple-milled 6 eggs in one hand, 1/2 dozen in the other hand
+1 on TJ's comments. I've found equal enough performance (so far) with glycerin vs. triple-milled soaps. If you're into heavy and wonderful, in-your-face scents while you shave, then glycerin soaps are more often much more fragrant than triple-milled. If, on the other hand, you prefer a somewhat more understated, subtle type of scent (but equally as nice) then more often a triple-milled soap is your best bet for that shave. I just decide whatever I feel like using while I'm preparing my beard after the shower. I'm spontaneous like dat.
Milling involves putting soap through metal rollers and shredding it, then pressing it back together in a high-pressure press to form bars. Milling helps to distribute the color and fragrance evenly throughout the soap, makes the texture smoother and makes the final bar of soap harder and longer-lasting. "Triple milled" will have been rolled three times before being formed into bars or pucks.
oh yeah, I forgot about tabac. I'll have to pick up some of that. Would a shave stick from Tobs or DR harris fit in my budget? I haven't looked at them lately, so I'm not sure what they go for. In regards to soap overall, I'm a bit confused. I know there's a difference between triple milled and glycerin soaps, but what about tallow based soaps like erasmic sticks? Are those considered hard milled soaps or glycerin soaps, or neither? I've also got a couple of soaps that I don't believe fit into the glycerin OR the triple mill category. For instance, they don't get a lot of talk here, and they don't lather very well at all unless you add some KMF, but ogallala bay rum soaps have a great scent and are pretty darn slick. However, I doubt they're triple milled, but also found out the hard way they won't melt like glycerin soaps. Same goes for Williams. So what's the deal w/these kinds of soaps?
Taylor's soaps are great. Just not mentioned often. Also, increase the budget just a few bucks and contact Lee and get the GFT soaps. Awesome soaps. St. Croix
I highly recommend a D.R. Harris shave stick. Every time I use D.R. Harris---whether the soap's in a bowl or used as a shave stick---I think, "Man! What a great lather!" That would be a very good one to get.
What about Valobra shave sticks, are they any good? I noticed that bigelow chemists has proraso red on sale for $5, and to leverage shipping costs I was going to pick up a valobra stick, or maybe some DR Harris shaving creams.
