Newbie PIF

OK then - may as well jump on this thread with my opinion!

I agree about Arko and Cella being great although I would note if you don't like the scent, just let them air out for awhile as it moderates significantly. When I first opened my tub of Cella it drowned me in sweet almond so much I wanted to eat it. But after about ten shaves it was much less - the same goes for Arko, which IMO has a nice scent but is just too much when new. Let it air out for awhile uncovered (it's a great air freshener!) and it's fine. I can also recommend the Palmolive stick. Speick is great too although starting to get pricey... I also love MWF used as a shave stick but some people just can't make it work so that could be a bit riskier.

For the absolute best bang for buck for the pure cheapskates among us it would be hard to beat Palmolive sticks from Connaughts... you get a lot of shaves out of one. But Vitos Red could just pip it if it's any good...
 
gthomas04 said:
ARKO!!!!! King of soaps
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littleaussiebleeder said:
You wouldn't be jerking my chain there, would you, Mate! ARKO? :LOL::joyful::kiss::shame:;)(y):)
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Sorry guys I have to say Palmolive Classic shave stick European version is 100 times better the Arko stick and it does smell wonderful and far better than Arko ;)(y)
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Palmolive stick is nice. Even the Aussie stuff isn't bad at the price.

How is your water @littleaussiebleeder
Best I've been able to see MWF had trouble lathering if your water is hard, here in Canberra I have no issues with it at all.
If I had a spare puck I'd PIF it to ya but I don't so I can't.
 
RazorPlay said:
Hi @littleaussiebleeder - I don't want to derail @Nightguard's excellent PIF thread here so perhaps start a new one and we can all pile in. I have particular desires to actually not spend too much money on soap but still get excellent results so I'm also not fussed about scents. A worthy new thread but this probably isn't the place...
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Newbie, this is how you derail a thread in the classic sense. By accidentally introducing another angle that other members are passionate about. Though in this case tightarsed about.

So apologies to @Nightguard already

@Ferret619 @SpeedyPC @littleaussiebleeder @gthomas04
You forgot about Derby sticks?
 
Ferret619 said:
Palmolive stick is nice. Even the Aussie stuff isn't bad at the price.

How is your water @littleaussiebleeder
Best I've been able to see MWF had trouble lathering if your water is hard, here in Canberra I have no issues with it at all.
If I had a spare puck I'd PIF it to ya but I don't so I can't.
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Tankwater... and scrupulously cleaned tanks used in rotation. Nicest bit of rural plumbing in Australia, I reckon!
 
As long as it's not crazy hard it should be sweet
 
Well I shaved with Arko today because of this thread just to remind myself how great it is.

Positives:
- It just keeps taking on water without breaking down. Using it very wet gets it nice and shiny, slick and protective. It's called "wet shaving" and IMO the more water the better - this is where a lot of (expensive) vegan soaps / creams fall down for me - they can't take enough water without breaking down. Adding water just generates lots of bubbles which then dissipate to nothing - but not with Arko and this is one consistent feature in all my tallow soaps that only one or two vegan options can emulate so far.
- Because it's soft it's easy to get enough on your face, particularly if you dip the stick back into the water a few times. Can be an issue with sticks.
- Nice post shave feel - nothing stellar but I didn't need an AS/ASB today. Has a drying feel though if you don't use enough water - it sucks it out of your skin instead!
- Cheap as chips to try it out.
- I actually like the artificial lemon scent - once it has aired out for awhile! Too strong otherwise... but I like less scented soaps.

Negatives:
- The ingredients list is a bit "iffy" - I'm valuing a simple, short list of ingredients these days and all the mass produced sticks like to squeeze in a lot of chemicals - in the case of Arko there's a bunch of stuff to keep the soap white and for the artificial lemon thing - in this sense I'm not a big fan of the artificial nature of the scent. This is one reason why I'd like to try 3P (just benzaldeyde) although the lack of tallow worries me when blind buying a kilo of it!
- I was using a synthetic today so I had to start with a pretty dry brush (I find synthetics leak out of the base of the knot when too wet), which meant dipping back in the sink for more water rather a lot to get enough hydration into it. I've been spoilt by my big boars and badger...
 
That lucky so n so!
 
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