[thebigspendur]

It seems at one time I thought I would attempt to try just about every soap out there. I was pretty sure I wasn't crazy about creams (with the exception of Castle Forbes) though they are really easier for travel. I started with the usual stuff, Williams, Burts Bees but pretty quickly decided though several glycerine products weren't bad there was a vast difference in overall feel and performance between them and a really nice milled soap. I had pretty much settled on Trumpers soap with a rotation to some QED Glycerines and a couple Castle Forbes products when I ordered a puck of haslinger.

The stuff isn't easy to get. Its made in Austria and to my knowledge Shavmac is the only place to get it. From what I can tell its not a milled soap and its not a glycerine soap its some kind of herbal type soap and the characteristics of the soap are kind of hybrid between the two. It quickly builds a very thick and very rich and smooth lather which does a great job doing what a lather is supposed to do. It hydrates and lubricates and sticks around a loooong time. It comes in a variety of very light scents. Stuff like seaweed and honey and something else and a couple others (I don't read Austrian). Its really sold as for different skin conditions like dry skin, sensitive skin etc. As I recall there are 3 or 4 varieties. Also as I recall the stuff is in the $12.00 a puck category or at least that's what it was almost a year ago.

So how do I rate it? Well first let me just say the performance is the most important factor. Then I worry about the scent and last is the ease of lathering.

I think Haslinger is superior to any glycerine soap and comes very close to the trumpers but does not exceed the Castle Forbes which I think is the best shaving prep in the Universe and the standard by which every other one should be judged. So if Castle is 100 on a scale of 1-100 I would rate Trumpers about an 85 and Haslinger at 80 and a good glycerine like the QED at 70. As for Williams I'd give it 5 just for trying and Burts bees a 10. Now some of you might say no fair because Castle is a cream and creams are different animals. But in they end they are all shaving preps and they are supposed to do the same job. And to you Williams fans out there sorry but to me its just sorry stuff in the scheme of things.