New Tallow+Steel

If you want a preview of the new Tallow + Steel soaps you can check them out at The Groomatorium. Looks like the soaps as well as the after shave toners will be available on: 6/6/2017 at 9:00:00 but you can pre-order now.

West Indies, Morocco, and Boreal look particularly interesting to me.

...West Indies, Morocco, and Boreal look particularly interesting to me.

Yes, but the price is a tad steep IMO. Pass.

Looking forward to the new formulation. Early testers rate it very highly but then again it will be over $25 delivered. None of us have used it yet. There will always be comparisons.

I think Phoenix & Beau is one of the top soaps made today and that's delivered stateside for under $17.

Preordered Maya, Boreal, and Morocco from Groomatorrium, free shipment.

A while back, Ryan sent me some of the older version Tallow & Steel soaps for a soap sample passaround I do on another forum. Like many vendors do he asked me for my honest opinion of it. I really liked the soap and shared with him that it was one I'd rate toward the top of my excellent category, better than hundreds of other soaps I've tried, but that it lacked the moisturizing and over the top slickness that it would take to get into my exclusive outstanding category. He thanked me for my assessment and we exchanged a few more emails. I sent him some samples of my favorite soaps so that he could compare them himself. We exchanged a couple more emails back and forth and I bought a couple of his soaps. He's a really nice guy.

A few months back I get a "Challenge Accepted" email from him stating that he was gunning for my top spot. I love it as I'm constantly looking for soaps that can hit this category so I was really excited that he was determined to create the best soap ever made. He was kind enough to ask me to help him test the new formula (along with some others) and I was really looking forward to it. This is a really talented soap maker that was motivated to make the best soap ever made, how could I not be excited about this?

After some time went by I was honored to participate in the testing and provide feedback as to where I thought it could be improved. I was sent version one to test and share feedback, a couple weeks later version two, then a couple weeks later version three. Each time providing daily feedback, emails conversations back and forth, and challenging Ryan to further improve it with each test batch. We critiqued the living hell out of the soap and tested it thoroughly. He was going for perfection and wanted it better in every category than the very best soaps I've ever tried.

I'm not a soap maker but at this point every change you make to improve one quality can and does negatively impact something else . This is what separates the really talented soap makers from the less talented ones, just how far you can push it. I think he pushed it about as far as one can in making a soap. To squeeze out every last bit of improvements that can be made. We stopped after the third version and a couple months of testing. At this point the slickness and moisturizing was as good as it gets, he was going to make a couple more small tweaks but he had all of the information he needed.

While I've only tried the test versions, the final test version is about the slickest and most moisturizing soap I've ever tried. I've tried just about everything out there and this is a serious contender for my top spot. Since I've only tried test versions and not the final scents I'm holding off on giving it my top spot but I think it's something that's going to happen once I try the final formula. Think of a soap that's slicker than L&L and more moisturizing than Sudsy Soapery. Outstanding slickness and It'll actually change your skin after only a couple uses making your face feel the best it's ever felt.

Sudsy Soapery, PannaCrema and L&L are outstanding soaps and the only other soap makers currently in my exclusive highest tier. I've compared it to these in testing because I find them to be the very best I've found. There are a ton of excellent soaps out there that have no obvious weaknesses but to hit my top tier they have to stand out as being far superior.

Before finalizing the formula Ryan made the soap a bit easier to lather which also made it even slicker. So, I anticipate the final product will be better than the third and final test version and that it will take my top spot as the very best soap I've ever tried.

I haven't smelled any of the scents yet, but performance wise this stuff is absolutely outstanding. I suspect that you guys are going to be really impressed with this one. I know that I'm excited to try the finished version myself.

Well I'm sure the new formula will be superb, but to me it's tragic. T&S was the BEST Hard soap available in my opinion....i never once thought it did not moisturize or was lacking in slickness. OPP is also really good, and now will take the top spot in Hard Soaps imho. Anyway T&S was the BEST, albeit is a category not as completely flooded as the softer soaps. In softer soaps I have found MANY MANY MANY that are really good...Midnite & two, Bufflehead, L&L, CRSW, TurtleShip, all just outstanding soaps. I just find it hard to believe, actually I just don't think it's possible to make something that will clearly put him on top of all those.

I was saddened that T&S decided to go mainstream and fall in line with just about every other artisan. I believe cost & profit played a role in this decision too, and I won't knock him for that. Dude is obviously talented, he should be compensated...but I would have paid 10$ more a tub for the hard formula. Making hard soap is more costly and time consuming , way more so than the main line soft ones.

To me, T&S went from Elite to being just another softer soap. From above the competition to back in the pack. I hope it works out for them, and I'd bet it does, I'm just one of the weirdos who prefer HARD soaps, pucks that I can really utilize my badger brushes on and build up thick creamy lather.

They are a rare breed, the Hard Soap Artisan. Appreciate them while they last.

Like I said Obsessive Soap Perfectionist continues the fight and in my eyes now carries the torch. Long Live OPP

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OSP is a great soap and the texture is just right. I will agree with you about harder soaps. They appear to be disappearing.

On further use I am finding the new base produces a wonderful lather and post shave. One of the best. The problem I'm having with it is it's far too soft. Goopy to the point where I'm questioning whether it's a bowl of porridge or a shaving soap.

I think tomorrow I need a reprieve with some AOS Tallow.

OSP is a great soap and the texture is just right. I will agree with you about harder soaps. They appear to be disappearing.

On further use I am finding the new base produces a wonderful lather and post shave. One of the best. The problem I'm having with it is it's far too soft. Goopy to the point where I'm questioning whether it's a bowl of porridge or a shaving soap.

I think tomorrow I need a reprieve with some AOS Tallow.

Can you send me a photo of the soap to my email ryan@tallowandsteel.com . Our new soaps are nowhere near "bowl of porridge" soft. They are slightly softer than our previous formula but should still take some pressure to push a thumb in. Perhaps high heat during shipping affected it.

Thanks

Still at work. Might have been the heat then. It was outside and the east coast had a heatwave that just broke. Could have been that.

Well I'm sure the new formula will be superb, but to me it's tragic. T&S was the BEST Hard soap available in my opinion....i never once thought it did not moisturize or was lacking in slickness. OPP is also really good, and now will take the top spot in Hard Soaps imho. Anyway T&S was the BEST, albeit is a category not as completely flooded as the softer soaps.

As I explained in my reply to your Facebook message, you are the minority here. I appreciate you sharing your opinion, but know that you are the only person who has EVER told us they preferred a harder soap. "Easier to load" was number 1 in the customers we spoke to on how to improve our formula.

Midnite & two, Bufflehead, L&L, CRSW, TurtleShip, all just outstanding soaps. I just find it hard to believe, actually I just don't think it's possible to make something that will clearly put him on top of all those.

You should read the reviews on the T+ S thread in the Merchant section. You shouldn't have any reason not to believe what people are saying about our new base - we have done nothing to solicit reviews, and everything you read are honest opinions.

I was saddened that T&S decided to go mainstream and fall in line with just about every other artisan. I believe cost & profit played a role in this decision too, and I won't knock him for that. Dude is obviously talented, he should be compensated...but I would have paid 10$ more a tub for the hard formula. Making hard soap is more costly and time consuming , way more so than the main line soft ones.

We did not go "mainstream" or fall in line. Have you even bothered to look at our website or ingredients? We went the opposite of mainstream - our ingredients, scents, and themes are unlike anything on the market. We purposely created a soap that was easier to load.

To me, T&S went from Elite to being just another softer soap. From above the competition to back in the pack. I hope it works out for them, and I'd bet it does, I'm just one of the weirdos who prefer HARD soaps, pucks that I can really utilize my badger brushes on and build up thick creamy lather.

I have yet to read a comment saying anything other than our new base is an improvement. The consistency of the unlathered soap does not move us anywhere in the pack - what does is a soap that is very easy to load, has greatly improved slickness, and has a really moisturizing post shave. Thanks