Creed soap and wooden bowl

Flash G · Post by **Flash G** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:10 am

My wife gave me a Creed GIT soap for xmas. I love the scent and the soap, though I get a slightly thinner lather than from MWF and D.R.Harris.

Also the wooden bowl it came in was not sanded/polished in any way. I thought this was a bit rough and strange coming from a high end firm, but I like it now. Its really easy to hold while lathering and the puck seem to sit very well in it and not spin around at all.

I was wondering on how Creeds soaps compare to other French soaps? And do you have any thoughts on polished-unpolished wooden bowls?

Post by **Sam** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:14 am

Eric, were it not for the scent, the Creed soap would have no redeeming value. To me, the best soap is the Joris/Plisson variety. As far as the bowl, well, I like the bowls that are darker stained and have shellac over them.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:35 pm

Eric, I agree with Sam, in that the best 'French' shave soap I ever used was Joris ( it's actually made in England I found out after I bought it ). I never tried the Creed because it's VERY expensive and I strongly dislike the GIT scent anyway. Regarding the bowls, well, Knize still uses that rough unpolished style bowl as well, and many of the vintage English soaps come in bowls like that, but personally, I prefer them finished as they mostly are today. The very nicest wooden bowls, IMO, are the ones from D R Harris's.
Regards,
Gordon

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:34 pm

+1 to Sam's and Gordon's posts regarding quality. I've never contemplated the rough or finished bowl but now that I think about it I probably prefer the rough bowl for the same reasons you cite. It's a matter of taste, though, really.

I tend to think Gordon may be right about the better bowls and would defer to his judgment. One draw back to the rough bowls is that the lids always warp. The finished bowls, I take it, do not. The one finished bowl I have from AOS does not.

Hope that helps.

Chris

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:39 pm

Chris, No, the don't. I still use a Trumpers bowl that I bought in the late '90s, and the lid is fine.
Regards,
Gordon

Crhis · Post by **Crhis** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:50 pm

I'd always thought the Penhaligon's bowls with the etched lids were the most desirable if one were to be sure to fill them with the matching soap.

I'd put the DR Harris ones behind Floris, and perhaps Acca Kappa, though I can only judge the latter based on pictures.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:10 pm

The Penhaligon's bowls are also unusually nice. Don't particularly care for the newer Floris ones though. Those Acca Kappa ones, well, I don't even usually think of those, as they're in another price league entirely.
Regards,
Gordon

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:24 pm

The bowls are nice, irresistible almost, but I have exhausted all my uses for the used ones so won't be buying any more.

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:08 pm

bernards66 wrote:Chris, No, the don't. I still use a Trumpers bowl that I bought in the late '90s, and the lid is fine.
Regards,
Gordon

Gordon, I'm glad that I'm mistaken about that! I'm guessing that it's a special variety of wood or has been treated. Either way, it sounds nice.

Chris

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:16 pm

Chris, Yes, it's identical to the current Trumper bowls, so I think the treated, finished ones do hold up better, as you suggested above.
Regards,
Gordon

Flash G · Post by **Flash G** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:43 am

Thanks all,

I gathered the the soap was not in high regards as I haven't been able to find anything about it. I was wondering because of all the Creed talk over on Colognes & Afteshaves

I agree that the D.R. Harris bowls are really nice. I have the Almond (thanks Gordon). The Penhaligon's look very nice too, but I'll have to wait a while before I get my hands on one of them.

Chris, yes the lid warped very quickly