Stirling soaps

I found 2 stirling samples from 2019 that I had in a box.
You know what? The lather is awesome period.
I placed and order for 10 new samples so I can zero in on a scents that work for me best.
Compare to my latest acquisition: grooming dept.
The scent is fantastic and the lather is pretty good too but for some reason I get better lather with stirling.
I am still dialing it in. For some reason no dialing needed with Stirling- go figure, maybe it is just perfect for me.
I live in Maine and the water is very soft, which makes most products perform better.

I love GD - free scents are mahvelus! But hindsight the Stirling lathers are easier to dial in and the performance is as good or better as you point out.

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Stirling  ,are the cheapest made in USA ,tallow based shaving soaps here in Greece .
Around 114 € per kilogram (2.2 lbs ) .
Given that they provide a lather which hydrates and softens the stubble in no time ,has excellent cushion and slickness and
a decent post shave care ,Stirling shaving
soaps are the absolute VFM US-made ,
tallow based croap.

Great selection of scents ,too.
Deton-8 is by far my fav .
It's addictive and intoxicating .
A dark /noir ,sweet and spicy scent,
great for wintertime  .

Deton-8 Scent Description:
This scent is inspired by Spicebomb by Viktor&Rolf.  It's spicy and a little sweet with notes of pepper, saffron, tobacco, leather, chili, vetiver, and bergamot.

Stirling  ,are the cheapest made in USA ,tallow based shaving soaps here in Greece .
Around 114 € per kilogram (2.2 lbs ) .
Given that they provide a lather which hydrates and softens the stubble in no time ,has excellent cushion and slickness and
a decent post shave care ,Stirling shaving
soaps are the absolute VFM US-made ,
tallow based croap.

Great selection of scents ,too.
Deton-8 is by far my fav .
It's addictive and intoxicating .
A dark /noir ,sweet and spicy scent,
great for wintertime  .

Deton-8 Scent Description:
This scent is inspired by Spicebomb by Viktor&Rolf.  It's spicy and a little sweet with notes of pepper, saffron, tobacco, leather, chili, vetiver, and bergamot.

Yep, one of my favorites from them too and used todays shave earlier.
Thursday December 7, 2023
Razor: Alpha Claymore
Blade: Feather Pro
Brush: Sorrentino Clown Puke/Synthetic
Soap: Stirling Deton-8
AS : Witch Hazel + Stirling Deton-8 Splash
Fragrance: Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,857

Unquestionably, Stirling makes a fine soap and I have a number of them.  For performance, their mutton tallow is best IMHO.  As to scents, I like Baker Street a lot though there are a lot of really good choices.  If you like menthol in your soap, Gin & Tonic on The Rocks is excellent.  For an all essential oil soap, try Bergamot Lavender.

That said, I do not personally rate them as highly as Grooming Dept.

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In my opinion Stirling is underrated. For my preference of use - quick on the puck load and face lather- I get excellent results and actually better than Grooming Dept that gets all the rage recently. Don't get me wrong, it's a good soap but for me- Stirling is better.

I am now going through 10 scents (plus bay rum that was thrown in) that I treated myself as a Hanukkah gift.
Today was "Texas on Fire" ? and I am definitely getting a full tub of that - for me it is the perfect winter soap.

Stirling is hardly underrated. They generally stock 40+ different shaving soaps at all times, plus a whole host of additional products. They have a large customer base. And, yes, their products are indeed excellent. Many people sing the praises of Stirling on shaving forums. 

As far as lathering goes, if you can't lather Stirling soaps, there isn't a soap out there you can lather. Stirling basically lathers itself. It has a very wide hydration band, meaning you can get away with just about any amount of water content you put into it. 

Grooming Dept. soaps are absolutely killer as well. The scents are off the charts great, and so are his bases. BUT...there is a little more of a learning curve to getting it dialed in and extracting the best performance out of it. A couple of water additions aren't going to cut it. You really need to jam the water to it (start with slow additions) to bring out the best. I generally add water 15 to 20 times. I shoot for a thinner, yet dense lather. I want it dripping everywhere. That's where the slickness is at its best. As they say on the Reddit forums, "If your lather ain't drippin', you must be trippin'."

"If your lather ain't drippin', you must be trippin'."

That is going to be my new life mantra!

Stirling is hardly underrated. They generally stock 40+ different shaving soaps at all times, plus a whole host of additional products. They have a large customer base. And, yes, their products are indeed excellent. Many people sing the praises of Stirling on shaving forums. 

As far as lathering goes, if you can't lather Stirling soaps, there isn't a soap out there you can lather. Stirling basically lathers itself. It has a very wide hydration band, meaning you can get away with just about any amount of water content you put into it. 

Grooming Dept. soaps are absolutely killer as well. The scents are off the charts great, and so are his bases. BUT...there is a little more of a learning curve to getting it dialed in and extracting the best performance out of it. A couple of water additions aren't going to cut it. You really need to jam the water to it (start with slow additions) to bring out the best. I generally add water 15 to 20 times. I shoot for a thinner, yet dense lather. I want it dripping everywhere. That's where the slickness is at its best. As they say on the Reddit forums, "If your lather ain't drippin', you must be trippin'."

Exactimundo FS. Good post

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Yeah - let me restate. I think it is not rated highly enough compared to other "top shelf" contenders.
Yes it lathers itself pretty much - and I like that.
Declaration scent is awesome but if I have to spent 30 seconds loading a brush and making lather in a bowl or whatever - its not for me. Too much ceremony for not very little potential gain.