Col. Conk Amber

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!
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Laney1566
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Col. Conk Amber

Post by Laney1566 »

When I first started seriously wet-shaving a few years back, I was searching the web and discovered the Col. Conk web-site. I bought several discs of the amber along with the apothecary mug. The smell was great and the shave seemed good as well.
Over time I began trying others. Burma Shave, Williams, Colgate. I then discovered Classicshaving soaps and thought I had gone to heaven. During this time I got a better brush. The other day my wife suggested that I put all my shave gear in the bathroom. (She was tired of seeing me go into the bedroom and get into my special bucket with all my extra supplies). Cool, I had finally broken her down. She had given up. Our epic struggle was over. See, I am one of those individuals that always has to try new things. After all, the grass is always greener right?
Well, on a whim I dipped my older long handle badger (not silvertip) into my old Col. Conk Amber.
Wow!! I had forgotten how smooth and creamy and full the lather actually was. You see, I had just been using Proraso and found that it dried quickly and caused my razor to skip.
The difference in the two was quite dramatic. In-fact, I realized that for all the searching I had been doing to find that perfect product, I had neglected what I had all along. Col. Conk amber is the smoothest, creamiest, most lubricating shave soap I have found. Guess it goes to show that the grass may always look greener on the other side, but that is only because you are not looking at the grass you are already standing on.
Long live the Colonel!!!
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McNutt
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Post by McNutt »

Col. Conk Amber is indeed a rare gem. A fantastic soap for just a little dough. My biggest complaint against the Colonel is that Bay Rum only comes in the small size. That might be the best shave soap ever.
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Post by Laney1566 »

Yeah I have noticed that. I was going to try it myself, but haven't because the bar is kinds small for any of my mugs. I was given a free sample of the almond when I bought my apothecery, but don't remember being impressed, but the amber to me has such a great scent. I am thinking of buying the aftershave. Right now I am geared up for Pinaud. I try to make all my personal grooming supplies match in scent. Shampoo, soap, talc, etc,etc. I don't think that amber has those items.
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rtaylor61
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Post by rtaylor61 »

I'm glad you like the Col Conk soaps, but on a scale of 1-10, for me they rate about a 4.

Randy
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." J. B. Books
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stuff495
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Re: Col. Conk Amber

Post by stuff495 »

Laney1566 wrote:When I first started seriously wet-shaving a few years back, I was searching the web and discovered the Col. Conk web-site. I bought several discs of the amber along with the apothecary mug. The smell was great and the shave seemed good as well.
Over time I began trying others. Burma Shave, Williams, Colgate. I then discovered Classicshaving soaps and thought I had gone to heaven. During this time I got a better brush. The other day my wife suggested that I put all my shave gear in the bathroom. (She was tired of seeing me go into the bedroom and get into my special bucket with all my extra supplies). Cool, I had finally broken her down. She had given up. Our epic struggle was over. See, I am one of those individuals that always has to try new things. After all, the grass is always greener right?
Well, on a whim I dipped my older long handle badger (not silvertip) into my old Col. Conk Amber.
Wow!! I had forgotten how smooth and creamy and full the lather actually was. You see, I had just been using Proraso and found that it dried quickly and caused my razor to skip.
The difference in the two was quite dramatic. In-fact, I realized that for all the searching I had been doing to find that perfect product, I had neglected what I had all along. Col. Conk amber is the smoothest, creamiest, most lubricating shave soap I have found. Guess it goes to show that the grass may always look greener on the other side, but that is only because you are not looking at the grass you are already standing on.
Long live the Colonel!!!
Oh man does that ever describe me. I've got way too much stuff, and I still haven't found anything better for me :(.

--Vincent
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stuff495
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Post by stuff495 »

rtaylor61 wrote:I'm glad you like the Col Conk soaps, but on a scale of 1-10, for me they rate about a 4.

Randy
Heretic!

Burn him at the stake!

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stuff495
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Post by stuff495 »

rtaylor61 wrote:I'm glad you like the Col Conk soaps, but on a scale of 1-10, for me they rate about a 4.

Randy
Not that I would talk with a condemned heretic or anything. But...ummm.....what soaps got a 10?

--Vincent
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Post by mantic »

This thread reminded me that I've got a puck of Conk Amber that I picked up a couple months ago. So I finally tried it out this morning. No scent to speak of, but I'm impressed with its performance! Copious amounts of *good* lather--I got an excellent shave out of it. For me it compares favorably to some of my more expensive hard soaps such as T&H Luxury and maybe even my beloved Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna.

--Mark
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McNutt
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Post by McNutt »

It smells a lot like Neutrogena soap bars.
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Laney1566
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Post by Laney1566 »

The amber has plenty of scent for me. The classicshaving that I use in unscented. I guess I prefer that my aftershave do the heavy lifting. :D
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Post by Steve »

Tony,

Does your Conk Bay Rum have a very mild scent? I have one sitting in my bureau, still in the container. When I open it to smell the scent I get almost nothing.

Does the scent get stronger when used?
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Post by McNutt »

When I first got it I lathered it directly out of the plastic case and the scent was noticeable. It was mild, but definitely there. About a month later I melted my soap into a wooden container and the scent was much less pronounced and not as nice as the scent of my backup bar that is still in its plastic container. I think I'm going to shave with the new one next to see how it compares scentwise to the melted one.

When brushed on your face the scent is stronger than the bar itself, but it's never going to be as strong as a Trumpers or St. Charles lather.
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Post by rtaylor61 »

stuff495 wrote:
rtaylor61 wrote:I'm glad you like the Col Conk soaps, but on a scale of 1-10, for me they rate about a 4.

Randy
Not that I would talk with a condemned heretic or anything. But...ummm.....what soaps got a 10?

--Vincent
So far, the only soaps I would give a "10" to are T&H Shaving Soap, C&E Almond, Taylor's Lavender and Floris JF. YMMV. Sorry, I just don't get that excited about the Conk product.

Randy
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." J. B. Books
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Conk soaps are fine as far as they go. The bay rum has the best scent of any soap bar Trumper's Sandalwood to my nose. They melt easily, but nonetheless, they are glycerine soaps, which means they have limited lathering ability. Glycerine soaps excel at making a creamy lather that contains few air bubbles. These lubricate well, but are not stiff and do not promote a close shave. However they are easy to use and good for beginners.

Chris
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Post by DavidB »

Chris, could you elaborate on what you mean by "are not stiff and do not promote a close shave"? If glycerin soap lather is creamy and lubricates well, what's lacking?

Dave
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Dave, lather is stiffened by having lots of very small air bubbles whipped into it. You want very stiff lather, as it will help hair stand up to be cut. Glycerine itself tends to prevent these bubbles from forming and lasting in the lather. You can see this in the glistening smooth quality of the lather you make with glycerine soaps. The high lubrication also is involved - the old trade off between comfort and closeness. Glycerine soaps give comfortable shaves, but not so close as those from triple-milled soaps.

Chris
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Post by stuff495 »

rtaylor61 wrote: So far, the only soaps I would give a "10" to are T&H Shaving Soap, C&E Almond, Taylor's Lavender and Floris JF. YMMV. Sorry, I just don't get that excited about the Conk product.

Randy
No apologies needed at all :), to be honest I haven't really been all that crazy about the Taylors or C&E soaps I've tried. Go figure. Different strokes for different folks, and all that.

I really have to pick up some T&H soaps soon, I hear it's been discontinued :(.

Thanks for your recommendations,

--Vincent
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Post by stuff495 »

drmoss_ca wrote:Dave, lather is stiffened by having lots of very small air bubbles whipped into it. You want very stiff lather, as it will help hair stand up to be cut. Glycerine itself tends to prevent these bubbles from forming and lasting in the lather. You can see this in the glistening smooth quality of the lather you make with glycerine soaps. The high lubrication also is involved - the old trade off between comfort and closeness. Glycerine soaps give comfortable shaves, but not so close as those from triple-milled soaps.

Chris
I've noticed this to a slight degree -- but I think it's important to realize that any kind of good shaving soap or cream will let you get a shave that's close enough. Lots of people say creams provide more "cushion" then soap, but whenever I use them, I get plenty close shaves.

In my experience the difference in closeness I get between different soaps/creams are very small degrees. I get much more variation when changing razors, and far far more variation when I change my technique. Cutting against the grain with anything (even water) will give a closer shave then only going with the grain.

--Vincent
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Post by rtaylor61 »

stuff495 wrote:
rtaylor61 wrote: So far, the only soaps I would give a "10" to are T&H Shaving Soap, C&E Almond, Taylor's Lavender and Floris JF. YMMV. Sorry, I just don't get that excited about the Conk product.

Randy
No apologies needed at all :), to be honest I haven't really been all that crazy about the Taylors or C&E soaps I've tried. Go figure. Different strokes for different folks, and all that.

I really have to pick up some T&H soaps soon, I hear it's been discontinued :(.

Thanks for your recommendations,

--Vincent
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Post by AACJ »

rtaylor61 wrote:
Well, to try it cheap, go here.
Thank you Randy, I've been looking for this!!
Art


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