I used Octagon years ago, when I did mechanical work and needed a good, basic strong soap that was cheap, since I used a ton of it.
Last year, Mrs. B got some poison Ivy, ahem! on her lower regions ( don't ask! ) and that was the only thing that did a halfway decent job of getting the oils off of her.
It's getting hard to find around here- the area is getting gentrified by folks from the big cities, and only one Winn-Dixie still carries it.
re: the octagon or fels naptha -
I can see it for the poison ivy, but do you use it for every day soap? Or just tough duty soap? I keep a bar in the laundry room for tough stains, but that's about it...
and I can find it in the laundry section in almost every supermarket....
I used Octagon years ago, when I did mechanical work"
Lava is my soap of choice for cleaning oil and grit from my hands. It contains pumice, and really does a great job of grinding away oily dirt and grime.