Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood Shaving Soap?

What is your opinion on fine shaving creams and hard soaps? Do you like Trumpers, Coates, Taylors, Truefitt & Hill? Post your reviews and opinions here!
DGB452
Posts: 659
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:06 am

Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood Shaving Soap?

Post by DGB452 »

I was checking out the Truefitt & Hills UK website and it shows a picture of a Sandalwood shaving soap in a wooden bowl, but doesn't actually show it listed for sale yet, will be interesting to see how this develops.

http://www.truefittandhill.co.uk/
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Post by brothers »

I just checked. The Sandalwood soap refill is listed in stock right now (April 5, 2012) for around $29.00 plus shipping. The old me would have ordered one, but now I'll wait as long as it takes for some of you guys who like T&H soap and sandalwood fragrances to buy some and try it out to see how well you think it smells and performs for you. It's exciting, though, to see new stuff appearing.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
User avatar
Squire
Squadron Leader
Posts: 18932
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: North East, MS

Post by Squire »

Curiosity does not take me beyond $15 for a refill.
Regards,
Squire
LouisIII
Posts: 342
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:04 pm
Location: European Union

Post by LouisIII »

Squire wrote:Curiosity does not take me beyond $15 for a refill.
Similar, though I'd probably pay £18 for a puck if it was a tallow based soap.

btw the site describes puck as 300 grammes. Suppose its a typo or it actually comes with a bowl or something.
~ Infusing the irreducibly quotidian with sensual pleasure ~
User avatar
drumana
Posts: 5051
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 1:02 pm

Post by drumana »

The current T&H Sandalwood shave cream doesn't smell much like sandalwood. It's more of a cologne-ish high end hotel soap, IMO. I imagine the soap would smell similar.
-Andrew-
bernards66
Duke of Silvertip!
Posts: 27393
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm

Post by bernards66 »

Yes, definately time for some caution and discernment here I think. 1) As mentioned above, their current 'sandalwood' cream scent is 'modern' and 'cologne-ish', not the more traditional style fragrance that most of us are used to and favour, and as also mentioned, the price is excessive for just a soap refill. Then too, a couple of years back I tested some samples of T&H cologne scented shave soaps that they were considering and they were awful...much like that doomed Floris No 89 soap that poor Buzz got stuck with. I'm not saying that this stuff is like those samples...who knows at this point?.. ( well, maybe Chris Fisher does...chuckle ) but I'm not going to be the one to gamble and find out, and especially not at THAT price!
Regards,
Gordon
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Post by brothers »

One fellow is claiming to have received an email from someone at T&H (US?) that they're also making an 1805 soap.

Here's my obvious question of the day: if you're going to sell a soap meant for shaving, and placing your company's name and to a great extent, your company's reputation on the line, what responsible adult would focus on fragrance and completely ignore the fact that the soap simply doesn't work! I respectfully suggest that strategy is "less than prudent"!
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
User avatar
Squire
Squadron Leader
Posts: 18932
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: North East, MS

Post by Squire »

Gary the marketing gurus have their own way of thinking.
Regards,
Squire
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Post by brothers »

I'd rather buy a stick of Speick soap instead. Oh, I forgot, I've already done that. Plus a few others that also work as advertised.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
bernards66
Duke of Silvertip!
Posts: 27393
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm

Post by bernards66 »

Gary, FWIW, the samples that I had a few years ago were in the 1805 fragrance. They were sent to my by Brittney at T&H NA. After trying them I told her I thought that they were quite wretched vis a vis performance, entirely setting aside my fragrance preferences. So, what they're coming out with now could be an entirely different product....then again, maybe not. Hell, a similiar firm, Floris, sold that dreadful No 89 shave soap when it would be obvious to anyone at all used to even half decent soaps that that stuff was non-functional. So, I'm wary. But even if the soap was great, that is simply more than I'm willing to spend today.
Regards,
Gordon
cvac
Posts: 71
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:18 am

Post by cvac »

A recent puck of T&H Luxury I purchased was unlatherable, nothing but watery airy foam despite trying everything under the sun with it. The current stock of Vintage Blades and Cyril Salter soaps are just as bad. I would not get your hopes up for this one.
gruffydd3
Posts: 738
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2005 3:07 pm
Location: Baltimore, Md.

Post by gruffydd3 »

Are the Salter and T & H soaps the same? I know they seem like the same soap, but I thought I read here that they weren't.

Regards,
Rick
cvac
Posts: 71
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:18 am

Post by cvac »

gruffydd3 wrote:Are the Salter and T & H soaps the same? I know they seem like the same soap, but I thought I read here that they weren't.

Regards,
Rick
They are supposed to be similar but different. Since Salter doesn't appear to package or label it's pucks somehow with ingredients it *might* be possible that they are the same now.

In the end, I'm not sure it matters anyway, because T&H, Vintage Blades, and Cyril Salter all had the same scent and all performed equally piss poorly in my recent testing. In case you're wondering, the Sandalwood and Coconut VB soaps were equally as bad. None of these 5 soaps would produce a stable lather after much effort. I've got over 40 soaps and creams (mostly soaps now) in my den that all work fine, btw, so it's not a user issue.

These may have been okay in the past, but what is being shipped out right now is absolute garbage.
petr
Posts: 138
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:53 pm

sandolo

Post by petr »

T&H is a slick marketing machine, you have to give them that. Phenomenal packaging and website.

I do love sandalwood. Oh my I do. I saw this thread - before so much input - and ordered the soap. Doh :shock: I thought the T&H soap was well regarded, but I suppose it has been a few years since I ordered.

Since I fell weak to the sandalwood temptation and this puck is on the way to me I shall do my duties and provide a full report. Since I probably own or have tried every shaving soap in production :oops: I'll be sure to give it a thorough compare and contrast.
Last edited by petr on Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
jww
Woolly Bully
Posts: 10960
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:49 am
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Post by jww »

Not a lot of clarity around their shaving soaps, however. I missed out checking out their store when I was downtown Toronto a couple of weeks ago on business - was too busy trying to locate the GFT merchant in the same area, and they ended up with little or no stock in the end.

Will have to drop in next time I get the chance.
Wendell

Resident Wool Fat Evangelist & anglophile. Have you hugged a sheep today?
User avatar
Squire
Squadron Leader
Posts: 18932
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: North East, MS

Post by Squire »

I would like to hear about the latest version of T&H Luxury shave soap. The stuff I bought years ago was top tier.
Regards,
Squire
cvac
Posts: 71
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:18 am

Post by cvac »

Squire wrote:I would like to hear about the latest version of T&H Luxury shave soap. The stuff I bought years ago was top tier.
I know you probably don't like referencing posts from other boards on here, but here is link to my testing on UK Shave Soaps that I did recently. Pics included. Unfortunately, the current version of T&H soap is among the worst soaps I have ever tried in terms of latherability.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread ... n-incoming
gruffydd3
Posts: 738
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2005 3:07 pm
Location: Baltimore, Md.

Post by gruffydd3 »

Squire wrote:I would like to hear about the latest version of T&H Luxury shave soap. The stuff I bought years ago was top tier.
The Cyril Salter soap I bought a few months ago was excellent. It's sad to hear another product has gone downhill.

Regards,
Rick
cvac
Posts: 71
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:18 am

Post by cvac »

gruffydd3 wrote:
The Cyril Salter soap I bought a few months ago was excellent. It's sad to hear another product has gone downhill.

Regards,
Rick
Rick, where did you buy it from? It's possible your puck might have been from an older lot/run or what I got was from a really bad newer batch. Since Salter doesn't really package their soap with any kind of information I think it would be very difficult to isolate the "bad" pucks from "good" ones but I am just curious.
User avatar
Squire
Squadron Leader
Posts: 18932
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: North East, MS

Post by Squire »

Aw the Hell with it. I'm stocking up on Harris Almond and MWF.
Regards,
Squire
Post Reply