"That Lather"

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!
User avatar
TRBeck
Soapgeek
Posts: 5358
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: "That Lather"

Post by TRBeck »

fallingwickets wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 8:53 am ATTENTION moderators

I hereby nominate Tim for "The Geek". :D :D

I hope you add it, or something similar to his avatar

respectfully

clive
:lol: :lol:

Hey, what can I say? This is what I've done for the last five years: obsessively read soap ingredient lists and try to guess at how they got there and what they mean. It's a much more harmless pastime than some I've had.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
CMur12
Posts: 7461
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:41 pm
Location: Moses Lake, Washington, USA

Re: "That Lather"

Post by CMur12 »

I certainly think Tim deserves a title. "SMF Soapmaster" would be a good one.

- Murray
User avatar
drmoss_ca
Admin
Posts: 10731
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:39 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by drmoss_ca »

You name it, Tim. I'll fill it in.

C.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
User avatar
fallingwickets
Clive the Thumb
Posts: 8813
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am

Re: "That Lather"

Post by fallingwickets »

You name it, Tim. I'll fill it in
361 thumbs up.

Thank you, Chris

clive
de gustibus non est disputandum
User avatar
TRBeck
Soapgeek
Posts: 5358
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: "That Lather"

Post by TRBeck »

I'm honored, guys.

And I'll wear the moniker Soapgeek with some measure of pride (and some measure of sheepishness).

Used that Salter soap again today. I hope somewhere Gordon did, too. Classic scent, classic performance.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
User avatar
drmoss_ca
Admin
Posts: 10731
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:39 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by drmoss_ca »

Done!

C.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
CMur12
Posts: 7461
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:41 pm
Location: Moses Lake, Washington, USA

Re: "That Lather"

Post by CMur12 »

Congratulations, Tim. That's a moniker well earned!

- Murray
EL Alamein
Posts: 3102
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:55 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by EL Alamein »

Congratulations, Tim!

Chris
EL Alamein
Posts: 3102
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:55 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by EL Alamein »

I was able to dig out the Palmolive stick and today was able to use it.

It produced a fine lather, very protective. Yet it still had that gumminess to some degree that I mentioned before. I don't know what it is but I could feel it even after the shave.

I got a great shave though with the exception of one weeper on the adam's apple. The scent was nice and clean though it reminded me faintly of a dryer sheet.

I imagine a lot of guys can get on with this daily and it does definitely produce "that lather". A very worthy soap for those that use it.

Just that slight gumminess that is a turn-off for me. Maybe it's something in my water or maybe something my skin exudes? I don't get any of that with the hard milled cakes I use, even the palm based cakes.

I just like something that's slicker yet protective.

Chris
User avatar
TRBeck
Soapgeek
Posts: 5358
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: "That Lather"

Post by TRBeck »

Chris,

The dryer sheet thing sometimes bothers me. It's like this great fougere scent, a little fresh, a little piney, and then the musk in the base of the fragrance comes through, and it's a weird "clean" musk that doesn't work with the rest of the scent that well. Some days it's really in your face and I take a break from the soap for a day or three, but I've gone as long as 2-3 months using nothing but that soap.

Chris Moss, thanks for the title. I appreciate it and all of you guys here. SMF's been great to me over the years.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: "That Lather"

Post by brothers »

Tim, that title is spot on and well deserved in the most positive way. Good work!

I've used a lot of Palmolive but I'm never prepared for that scent, and it's a turn-off for me. My only other criticism is that being so inexpensive, I've never expected it to be slick on the final pass, and it's never been slick for me.
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
TRBeck
Soapgeek
Posts: 5358
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: "That Lather"

Post by TRBeck »

Here's a question: did Vitos get gummy? It's the only other soap I can think of that has hydrogenated tallow in it. Couple of things I've been thinking about that could be causing the gummy factor. Gary, you've used Vitos a bunch. Chris Moss, you've used everything. Is there anything else that gets that texture, particularly Vitos?
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
EL Alamein
Posts: 3102
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:55 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by EL Alamein »

Just for the record, I love the Palmolive scent. I could definitely use something that smelled like that daily.

The gumminess is the only drawback for me.

Went back to the Taylor's today and I could feel that the skin was a little raw from the drag caused by the gumminess of the Palmolive the day before.

I think that the Palmolive might be excellent for a one pass shave though. Very close cut on that first pass, maybe that's what it's engineered to do?

Chris
User avatar
TRBeck
Soapgeek
Posts: 5358
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: "That Lather"

Post by TRBeck »

Good point, Chris. Not everyone is a two or three-pass shaver. It was made as a budget item for daily use by the average guy, like Barbasol or Williams mug soap, but it's just a lot better than those.

I used it today. I had to dose additional water a couple of times during the initial lather and then again during the relather for the second pass. The shave was good, though. This is different water than I have at home. I do wonder sometimes how water chemistry beyond the level of simply hard vs. soft water affects things. I have hard water but the soap did act a little differently today than at the house.
Regards,
Tim

Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: "That Lather"

Post by brothers »

Today I went for shave #2 with the tub of Morning Ghost (vetiver) shaving cream soap from Cold River Soap Works. This is an American artisan product. On my first use a couple of days ago, I mistakenly kept loading the brush on the soap longer than usual (15 seconds +/- a couple of seconds). Today I went for the minimum and built the lather on my face as I gradually added water to the mix. The lather was totally within my understanding of "That Lather". Never any suds or bubbles. Not gummy or pasty as I posted after the first usage, only a thick rich yogurt that lasted. Slickness was at the top of the charts. Good stuff worth keeping.
Last edited by brothers on Sun May 20, 2018 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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
Gene
Posts: 1508
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:58 am
Location: Buda, TX

Re: "That Lather"

Post by Gene »

TRBeck wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 8:54 pm This is different water than I have at home. I do wonder sometimes how water chemistry beyond the level of simply hard vs. soft water affects things. I have hard water but the soap did act a little differently today than at the house.
This is an interesting point, and one I have seriously begun to think about. Living in the hill country - as you do - our water is seriously hard. We use a whole house filter and a salt-based water softener and I think that treats our water to the point that every other bathroom I use to shave in has what I perceive as hard water - and the shave is usually mediocre to fair at best.

Or maybe the hotels I stay in when I travel factor in to the equation somehow.
Gene

"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress."
Mark Twain

"People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people."
Alan Moore
User avatar
blantyre
Posts: 401
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:01 am
Location: Chicago Area

Re: "That Lather"

Post by blantyre »

About a year ago I picked up a bowl of Morny Chaminade soap on ebay. It turned out that not only was the bowl in excellent condition but so is the soap. I haven't been able to find out much about this soap. The scent is listed on Basenotes as being for women. It's quite old school - lavender with some soapy leather - mild but pleasant. I am guessing that this soap is 40+ years old and it has all the qualities of a "tallow first" composition - rich, dense lather with the classic cushion/glide that old fashioned soaps seemed to be give. Definitely a soap that gives "that lather".
The attachment IMG_1170.JPG is no longer available
IMG_1170.JPG
IMG_1170.JPG (915.53 KiB) Viewed 4385 times
Rick
EL Alamein
Posts: 3102
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:55 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by EL Alamein »

Rick, nice stuff. Hope you enjoy it.

At the risk of sounding too technical and prone to believe marketing hype today I shaved with the palm version of Trumper's Sandalwood. What ensued actually reminded me of an old Yardley advertisement for the their shaving soap.

Yardley has an old advertisement about bulky lather being useless and their soap doesn't produce it. I like the Trumper's but what it did today was when I was loading the brush off the soap it made a large amount of big bubble lather that fell into the bowl. Never had that before. It's been a while since I used it so maybe a function of a completely dry cake being loaded for the first time in a while? I love the scent though and still wish they made their Sandalwood cologne smell exactly the same.

Anyway, the first pass was very good and very close. The second pass separated the old school soaps from the reformulated ones. I use only water and a light touch on the second pass and when using old formula soaps the pass is slick and protective, not so with the Trumper's palm. It was still good with no irritation but it was no where near as slick and I actually caught my lower lip a bit. Standing here now and rubbing my beard I can tell it didn't cut as close either. Still a worthy shave but a disappointment with regards as to what might have been hadn't things changed.

I think I read somewhere that Buzz acquired a lifetime supply of the old tallow version of the Trumper's Sandalwood shaving soap. Good on him I say. Would that we could all find someone selling the good old stuff.

Chris
User avatar
drmoss_ca
Admin
Posts: 10731
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:39 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by drmoss_ca »

TRBeck wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 3:04 pm Here's a question: did Vitos get gummy? It's the only other soap I can think of that has hydrogenated tallow in it. Couple of things I've been thinking about that could be causing the gummy factor. Gary, you've used Vitos a bunch. Chris Moss, you've used everything. Is there anything else that gets that texture, particularly Vitos?
I don't think of Vitos as gummy. I believe I have green and red versions (maybe more; memory fails) and I recall them as fairly typical soft Italian soaps. I'll re-use them and report back. The stuff I have will be 6-7 years old, and if there is a newer version it won't be the same.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
User avatar
drmoss_ca
Admin
Posts: 10731
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:39 pm

Re: "That Lather"

Post by drmoss_ca »

Turns out I have three Vitos soaps Red (Almond), Red (Coconut), and Green. I used the coconut this morning - the scent has degenerated into something rather unpleasant, but the soap performed just fine. Not gummy.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Post Reply