Slowly reducing my stash

Wayne

Forum Sod
I have recently fallen out with soap. I no longer feel the urge to chase the latest and greatest and have sold or traded the majority of my collection. I really only wish to keep my 5 tubs of B&M and my 2 Turtleship soaps, MdC and possibly MWF although that may go too. I just got fed up of having so many that I didn’t get to know them and usually only lathered them once or twice before buying new ones.
So I still need to get rid of my Route 66, Wolfpac, Reef Point and a couple more then I intend to just use the 7 tubs left until they are finished. Only then will I start to see what is out there to replace them.
Where are you with soaps these days?
 

DamianJ

Forum GOD!
I've never had a massive collection of soaps and initially used 1 to completion and then replaced it. After getting up to 9 at once I've recently got this back down to 5. Nothing against the P&B I got rid of, just wasn't as keen on the scents.

I've got 3 Wickham 1912 on the go, along with P&B Coda and a TOBS Sandalwood. I aim to keep it at about 5 or 6, that way they all get used. I probably complete 4 or 5 soaps per year so keeping the numbers down let's me complete and then replace with something new.

I think using the same soaps for longer periods does let you get to know the soap better.
 

DamianJ

Forum GOD!
I have around 20 and have learnt to be patient and not jump on the soap du jour but I still like trying new ones and I hope that won't stop.
I still like trying new soaps and scents of soaps I really like. A few samples recently made me glad I'd not got full tubs of some.
 

Mr Bigmem

Forum GOD!
My problem is that all the soaps i've got (50+) all are in their own right keeps for me. I simply can't part with them. But at the same time I can't stop buying new ones lol
 

Dr Watson

James
US soaps dont interest me in the slightest so there's only three or four left that I want to try... Abbate Y La Mantia, La Savonniere Du Moulin, Meißner Tremonia, Tabula Rasa and maybe Castle Forbes (I know, a couple of these are more like creams...)

As it stands I could happily live (stop laughing you :p:) with only three soaps... LPL, Fitjar Fjellheim & SV Stella Alpina. Funny that they're all veggie, I always had myself down as a tallow lover but it seems not :meh:
 
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Batch300

Extraordinarily Uncomplicated
Before the bin man comes, I might be willing to taketh the Wolfpac

I have more brushes than soaps by a 2:1 ratio. I even have more razors than soaps/creams. Being both occasionally frugal and I have a limit to my shaving addictions has helped with with soaps. Currently have 3 soaps, 1 cream, 2 P&B shipping end of month. I do have 2 unused soaps I may try and sell.
 

Wayne

Forum Sod
Before the bin man comes, I might be willing to taketh the Wolfpac

I have more brushes than soaps by a 2:1 ratio. I even have more razors than soaps/creams. Being both occasionally frugal and I have a limit to my shaving addictions has helped with with soaps. Currently have 3 soaps, 1 cream, 2 P&B shipping end of month. I do have 2 unused soaps I may try and sell.
Shame he stopped making them, great soap. I have 3 tubs all used only once
 

alwinvrm

Guru
Counting sticks, and tubes I have probably about 40 soaps, 20 of which I use regularly depending on the season and what I feel like. So that means 5-10 soaps in regular use in a given season. That feels workable for me.

I stopped buying every new great hope artisan soap. I still buy soaps after careful consideration, hoping to keep disappointments to a minimum. My latest are Wild West Shaving comp soaps, that are different and of a high quality.

The other 20 are awful 'souvenir' creams I bought on holidays and stuff I don't like and not suitable to be given away.
 

Nishy

Forum GOD!
Staff member
I've been reducing my stash massively over the year. Now I tend to prefer hard pucks such as MdC, Fine and D.R.Harris. Going for value of base over value of scent. Saying that all the above have gorgeous scents. My mentality changed when software became as expensive as certain hardware. A perishable costing as much as a non-perishable? A tub of soap costing as much as a Fatip or a couple of Techs? Hmmm. Throw in the factor of not fully appreciating the soap's formula when rotating and then washing it down the sink.... That's why I stick to excellent brands that work for myself and pulled out the artisan vending machine. I mean when was the last time we heard a soap was bad? So can't really go wrong...
 

Lann

Forum GOD!
I think I have around 25 - 30 soaps at this point Wayne, all of which are either P&B, Wickham's or Eufros. I made a decision a while back that I would stick to those 3 soap makers and ditch the rest ( although I do have a hankering to try MdC Fougere and Rose at some point). I know that I am probably missing out on some other great soaps but the three I use are all great soaps - in my opinion anyway - and all readily available.
I know that I have already enough soap to last me a good few years but I do not have all the soaps they produce. That said, I will always be open to trying out some of the new releases Kerry, Darron and Manuel produce so I do recognise there is a bit of a collector's thing going on also.
I know that as soaps go, artisan soaps are expensive, relatively speaking, but they remain more accessible to me than say building a collection of razors, brushes or expensive aftershaves - all of which I would love to do if I could afford it!
Most of all, I like the fact that people like Kerry, Darron and Manuel put so much time and effort into perfecting their craft and giving the shaving community so many choices when it comes to putting soap lather on our faces.
 

SeanC

Forum GOD!
I've been reducing my stash massively over the year. Now I tend to prefer hard pucks such as MdC, Fine and D.R.Harris. Going for value of base over value of scent. Saying that all the above have gorgeous scents. My mentality changed when software became as expensive as certain hardware. A perishable costing as much as a non-perishable? A tub of soap costing as much as a Fatip or a couple of Techs? Hmmm. Throw in the factor of not fully appreciating the soap's formula when rotating and then washing it down the sink.... That's why I stick to excellent brands that work for myself and pulled out the artisan vending machine. I mean when was the last time we heard a soap was bad? So can't really go wrong...
I have to admit that I'm coming to a similar conclusion in that I get more consistent results from quality hard pucks, would have to include MWF though of course

Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
 

JayGee

Forum GOD!
Yep, I got to soap saturation about a year ago, learning to straight shave tipped it. Order of the day being a really good (slick) consistent lather, using different soap every day was just a hindrance, realised I needed to learn how to make a proper lather & not keep buying more soap.
The winners turned out to be Proraso Green & Tabac, not artisan soaps at all . I travel often (4 days a week typically) & take with me kit I don't mind losing & for the last 2 months I've been grinding away at a pot of Razorock XxX that I did not rate one bit & it's actually pretty decent. Put into context; pretty decent can be had for 50p in a Palmolive stick.
I do like a soap-splash combo & TBH the Proraso green pre/soap/splash/balm progression is a tough one to beat.
Fine soap/splash is excellent & then got waaay too pricey (what happened there? Like windrose handles?), it helped me rediscover Tabac.
There is an Anthony Esposito YouTube stream where he has a soap rant concluding; they're all the same, some might work or smell a teeny bit different than others, but, they all give a shave. Couldn't agree more.
 
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