Posted: 1/31/2021 8:40:30 PM EDT
[Last Edit: ThePontificator][Edited]
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Five days since previous shave Cold water shave ARKO stick shaving soap Merkur 34C Razor with a new Astra platinum blade Omega 13564 boar brush Alum block Skin Bracer After months of sitting on the fence about cracking open the Arko stick I bought last year I gave it a go this evening and I must say the results were pretty damn impressive. Applied shave stick directly to wetted face and used a somewhat dry boar to lather and it didn't take long for the soap to explode into lather. Soap is thirsty so I dipped brush tips into warm water as needed to get the lather to build further. I also used the stick directly on the face again after the first rinse and before 2nd pass lathering as the brush I was using is pretty small (Omega 13654). Lather was fairly slick and only got slicker with each pass and provided lots of cushion. Blade buffing was a snap. A good amount of residual slickness after rinsing but skin was left somewhat dry afterward so after the alum block and final rinse/dry a generous pat of Skin Bracer. Some sort of balm would probably have been in order. Face is amazingly smooth and soft with minimal irritation. Arko smells like soap. Good old-fashioned clean-smelling soap. Not urinal cake Not "lemony" Not citronella |
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I did a second shave using Arko 48 hours later: again cold water face lathering but this time with a synth brush with more water in it than the boar I used the first time. Lather was somewhat loose so again I'd suggest a fairly dry brush to start and dip the tips in water as needed. As far as cheapo soaps go Williams doesn't even come close. Might have to try Derby's stick soap as well. |
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Arko shave #3  Cold water shave with warm water brush soak (Omega 10049 Professional Boar), Muhle R89 Grande razor with a brand new Wilkinson Sword blade. Face application/lather. Cold water rinse and alum block then re-rinse. No post-shave product but I might use some Nivea before I head out. Arko just smells...clean. 
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After taking a week off from shaving I could stand it no more and did yet another Arko shave using a small Omega boar, Merkur 34C, and a once-used Astra platinum blade. No post-shave other than the alum block. This shave took the better part of half an hour to complete but the results were worth it. |
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I finally got around to trying Arko tonight. It did what it is supposed to do, and provided me with a nice shave with minimal fuss. My skin is pretty oily, so the drying effect isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I probably wouldn’t use it every day without lotion or an aftershave balm, but if you already do that I don’t see a downside. I don’t, so I’d probably just use it in between fancier soaps. Those make my skin a bit too oily, so this should balance them out. And have the secondary benefit of reminding me that I don’t need to spend stupid amounts of money on shaving supplies. It does not leave the residual slickness that the better artisan soaps do, so clean up needs more lather than those. But the stick cost $2.50 so who cares? Those soaps pretty much start at $18 and probably don’t last as long as this stick will. I have been stocking up on shave soap due to my desire to have several years’ supply of basic non perishable toiletries on hand (I expect 2020 may have done that to a lot of people), and Arko has definitely given me some things to think about, in particular regarding all those fancy soaps I have open in tabs on my computer but have yet to purchase. I have a stick of Tabac to try next. Will be curious to see if that is as drying. Oh, the scent definitely smelled a bit of citronella, urinal cake, and elementary school janitorial closet, but it dissipates quickly. It isn’t necessarily a bad smell, just chemical in nature. |
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A big advantage of using an Arko stick is that it's just plain convenient. You wet your face for 30 seconds, you apply the Arko stick to your face and then hit it with your damp shaving brush and BOOM. Lather. There's no need to bloom the soap There's no need to mess around with a shaving mug or lather bowl unless you want to. You can re-apply the stick between passes if you want. |
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And around 1am this morning...ARKO time! Hey, if ya can't sleep you can always shave Merkur 34C HD Wilkinson Sword blade (new) Arko shave stick Yaqi synth brush Cold water shave was comfortable enough (no irritation, nicks, cuts, or weepers) that I didn't bother using any post-shave products. |
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Arko is all I use so I ordered these off Amazon: Deodorant Containers Got tired of smashing Arko into bowls and mugs, easier to just apply with the above to wet face and lather.  How To: Make A Shaving Stick! Great for Travel or Home |
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Originally Posted By cheechako: Arko is all I use so I ordered these off Amazon: Deodorant Containers Got tired of smashing Arko into bowls and mugs, easier to just apply with the above to wet face and lather.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaTHLSY1g1YSeems kind of an extra step, it's already stick shaped. I just peel the foil off and go to town. 
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ARKO is good stuff. I bought a case of it back in 2017 and I'm still working through it. It's not my every day driver, but I keep a stick at work with an Omega boar brush in case I forgot to shave before I leave the house. I thought it was a slightly citrus-y, but pleasant scent, definitely not like a urinal cake. My older brother described it as smelling like old Ivory bar soap. I never fail to get a good lather with it doing a face lather with just what grabs on my whiskers after rubbing the dry stick on my face. I should shave with ARKO this afternoon before work. |
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Originally Posted By cheechako: Arko is all I use so I ordered these off Amazon: Deodorant Containers Got tired of smashing Arko into bowls and mugs, easier to just apply with the above to wet face and lather. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaTHLSY1g1YI’ve never used Arko (yet) but it must be pretty soft. I love Speick shave sticks and I put them in that same container for travel but I have to drill a hole in the center to get them to screw onto the center piece. If I just pushed it like that it would snap the plastic center piece. Shave sticks in those containers are fantastic though. Kell’s Original used to be available in those same containers (I’ve got 1 left and wish Kell’s was still made). |