Favorite shave stick?

[Chris]

My first Speick stick was down to a nub, I removed it from the plastic holder, scored it and the top of the new one with a knife and successfully stuck the nub onto the new stick. No wastage and I won’t have to deal with the edges of the new stick before it rounds off.

 

[R181]

My favorite soap is MWF. Gives me the best post shave, my skin doesn't dry at all after MWF.

I recently used the Arko stick and I know why all the years when I went to barbers in Turkey my face turned red and was dry. It was the bloody Arko!

Also used the Palmolive stick, definitely better post shave than Arko but not as good as the MWF.

Which stick you reckon will be close to MWF in terms of post shave? Would Speick be better option than Palmolive?

I know MWF is also possible to grind down and get into stick form but don`t have time for it at the moment.

Wilkinson's shave stick may be worth a try as it has lanolin in it. I also like the Tabak shave stick.

Bob

 

[Blademonkey]

Valobra followed by Speick and then Palmolive, all very good but the Valobra is by far the best IMO P.

 

[Randomangle]

I bought a Palmolive yesterday and will be using it today. I have had Arko but grated it into a ramekin. The problem with this was that it would sometimes release little chunks of soap — not good. There must be some sturdy cylindrical containers for storage and application available somewhere!

 

[Nisse]

releasing little chunks of soap = not properly grated

 

[Nisse]

funny how we see things differently: I binned my Valobra stick

 

[Dr Watson]

funny how we see things differently: I binned my Valobra stick

I didn't bin mine but cut the used end off and PIF'd it, seemed too expensive just to throw away. It was alright but for my face, not worth the extra over the rest, Speick in particular offering superior performance and scent YMMV

 

[Nisse]

I grate my sticks if not already in a holder like La Toja or Lea.

 

[Deleted member 1881]

Many people write negative review about sticks, simply because they don't get enough soap on the beard to get a good lather and tend to cut themselves in the second or third pass, when lather is thinner.

It is not easy to rub again the stick on a face without any hair growth (second pass) to create lather again.

The key is to dip the stick in the water many times before the first pass to have enough product to work.

Speick & La Toja are the slickest, Tabac is the most protective but I can't stand the smell of my grandmother's purse.

 

[Randomangle]

releasing little chunks of soap = not properly grated

I used the finest grater on my grater, it couldn’t get grated any finer. I think the problem was that it would dry completely out and then I would soak it. If I get on with the stick I will expand my collection of one.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

@Randomangle I think a more coarse setting on your grater would do a better job when grating soap. You don’t want it to fine.

 

[R181]

Many people write negative review about sticks, simply because they don't get enough soap on the beard to get a good lather and tend to cut themselves in the second or third pass, when lather is thinner.

It is not easy to rub again the stick on a face without any hair growth (second pass) to create lather again.

The key is to dip the stick in the water many times before the first pass to have enough product to work.

Speick & La Toja are the slickest, Tabac is the most protective but I can't stand the smell of my grandmother's purse.

You can also hold the knot in one hand and rub the shave stick on the knot to get more soap and lather. Once you get on to how to use a shave stick, they are a very efficient way to lather up. Hard to beat for travel being so compact and not prone to leaking like shave cream tubes can.

Bob

 

[Randomangle]

@Randomangle I think a more coarse setting on your grater would do a better job when grating soap. You don’t want it to fine.

I will see how the stick form goes before getting the grater out again Fozzie, it may well save me a bit of effort.

 

[Blademonkey]

Many people write negative review about sticks, simply because they don't get enough soap on the beard to get a good lather and tend to cut themselves in the second or third pass, when lather is thinner.

It is not easy to rub again the stick on a face without any hair growth (second pass) to create lather again.

The key is to dip the stick in the water many times before the first pass to have enough product to work.

Speick & La Toja are the slickest, Tabac is the most protective but I can't stand the smell of my grandmother's purse.

When you say the smell of your grandmothers purse do you actualy mean her purse P.

 

[donnie_arko]

Many people write negative review about sticks, simply because they don't get enough soap on the beard to get a good lather and tend to cut themselves in the second or third pass, when lather is thinner.

It is not easy to rub again the stick on a face without any hair growth (second pass) to create lather again.

The key is to dip the stick in the water many times before the first pass to have enough product to work.

From personal experience in addition, I've found using sticks to create a lather and the success can be down to the choice of brush. I've found brushes with too short a loft, and ones that eat lather to contribute negatively to the outcome - but these are attributes which matter less if I am loading soap from a tub.

My favourite sticks are the classics, Palmolive, Wilkinson & Tabac.