Face Off: Klar Seifen vs Tabac Soap

ok, half the face with each. Straight razor. A little past 'close, comfortable shave' to a little too close. In other words, this was a torture test.

Scent: Not part of the results as preference varies. I like the Klar Sport scent. I like Tabac when it's not overwhelming, which it wasn't. Klar Sport has a more modern scent. Something like comparing Clubman Pinaud to Aqua Velva.

Prep - whipping up some suds: Big advantage for Klar in this regard. It is easier than Tabac to whip up the perfect foam and it holds the water for a long time. Tabac is a very good soap, though not as easy to get the right balance of water to soap, plus more water was needed when Klar was still perfect.

Also, the feel on my face was instantly better with the Klar. It took some face lathering to get the Tabac where needed.

Glide - I'm calling this a draw. Glide is harder with a straight for me. Both performed admirably.

Cushion - Klar wins here by a noticable amount, though Tabac is no slouch.

Closeness of shave - Equal with both

Post shave feel - Noticeable advantage with Klar. The Tabac side burned more than the Klar side when I applied alcohol based after shave. The Klar side is also more comfortable a couple of hours later.

The final call - I think of shaving soap in tiers. Klar is in the Elite tier. Tabac is in the Damn Fine tier. I'll also say the overall difference would be much closer if I were using a safety razor. As mentioned before, Tabac is a very good soap. The only advantage with the safety razor would be Klars ease of prep and ability to hold water.

Pete's Elite:

Klar Seifen, Sport

Pete's Damn Fine:

Tabac

How do you store Klar? Those little metal tins are not user friendly.

That's the one thing about Klar that gets on my nerves. I would like to see them make it shorter and wider.

To answer your question though, it fits perfectly in one of my glass tumblers.

Two great classics. Thanks for your thoughts. My preference would lean toward Tabac, but they are close in all categories.

Woe this makes me want to try Klar!
Thanks for the comparison.

Two very excellent soaps. I'd personally prefer Tabac to Klar. Curious if you're very experienced with a straight razor? I'm not, and always notice when I use a straight the side of my face shaved with my non-dominant hand feels more irritated than the side shaved by my dominant hand. In my opinion this is caused by my own less-than-perfect straight razor technique. Could this play a role in your observations as well? Or perhaps you're a very experienced straight razor shaver?


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Merkur Man , that is an excellent question. I'm not that experienced with a straight, though am getting better. Part of what made this a 'torture test' is that I used a straight. Not only am I more likely to get irritation, it takes longer and really tests water retention.

I handicapped Klar, which I suspected may be the stronger performer, by putting it on the side of my non-dominant hand.

How do you store Klar?  Those little metal tins are not user friendly.

You throw away the container and stick the soap, which is quintuple milled, into one of those plastic food containers with a cover. Once wet, and redried, it will stick to the sides and have enough room on the top to lather.

How do you store Klar?  Those little metal tins are not user friendly.

You throw away the container and stick the soap, which is quintuple milled, into one of those plastic food containers with a cover. Once wet, and redried, it will stick to the sides and have enough room on the top to lather.

Agree with throwing away the dinky container. I don't normally throw away anything shaving related, but the Klar tin just annoys me, and had to go.

When I bothered with Klars I used a smaller travel brush.