Thoughts for newbies using different soaps, brushes, etc.
Here's just some thoughts for people new to straight razor shaving and using different soaps and/or brushes. Not suggestions, just thoughts resulting from my limited experience. 1 1/2 years at this now so I'm not an expert at all. Part of shaving is creating a good lather. That takes practice at knowing the proper amount of soap on the brush and the correct amount of water. I use a scuttle but I guess face lathering is the same for the purposes of my suggestion. I experimented with different brushes and different soaps for the variety and to see if I liked something someone on the forum recommended for any given reason. About 3 months ago I was still very inconsistent at getting a really nice lather the way I like it. So I started using only Mitchell's wool fat soap and an Omega 66 boar brush. These are my favorite soap and brush right now. Using the same soap and brush all the time resulted in me now being able to get a perfect lather every shave. I know exactly how much water to shake off my brush after soaking it. I know how much soap to apply to the brush with the correct amount of water still in the brush. It's hard to know this when I was trying different soaps and brushes all the time. So now that I'm consistent with my lather I feel like now I can use different soaps (same brush) to see differences. I love Proraso menthol cream but so far my lather consistency is inconsistent. That's because I don't use it all the time. Now I think I'll use it every shave with the same brush. In just a few shaves maybe I'll have a perfect lather every shave by knowing how much soap and water I need. THEN I'll be more likely to know how much I like it (or not). A great soap and brush together that creates a lousy lather because I didn't use them together enough times may lead me to think I don't like the soap or brush.
My thoughts are to stick with the same thing until you know enough about it to be able to make a decent judgement. Now I'll use the Omega 66 boar with Proraso menthol soap (really a cream I think). If my lather is lousy my shave probably won't be the best and I may blame the soap. Then I'll cheat myself out of using a soap I love because I'm lousy at creating a lather with that soap. After a few shaves I may try a badger brush with the same soap. Several people like softer brushes when using softer soaps or creams I think. We all need to judge for ourselves though. That's the ONE thing that is for sure. :)
Just some thoughts.
Jack