The elusive good lather - Geo F Trumper soap

I've been trying out using soap to get lather. My gear is an old onion soup mug as scuttle, a cheap Wilkinson Sword boar brush from Boots, Geo F Trumper sandalwood soap, very soft water.

My routine is as follows:
Soak the bristles in warm water in the mug while I shower.
Tip out the water, leave a couple of drops in the mug.
Shake out the brush pretty thoroughly.
Put a little water on the soap, build up a bit of paste/thick looking lather on the brush for a minute or so.
Whisk the lather up in the mug for a minute or two and apply it to the face.

The problem I have is that the lather just doesn't last on the face, I apply it, then strop the razor, by the time I'm done stropping the lather is all gone and I have to keep reapplying frequently. I just can't seem to get a nice thick lather that sticks around, can anyone advise me on where I could improve? Is it the cheap brush? Not enough water? Soap brand? I'm intending to upgrade to a nice Thrown in Stone Scuttle come birthday, but I feel the scuttle has probably the least impact on this process, am I wrong?

Thanks.

I follow a very similar routing to what you described. Your routine should be fine.

Trumper soaps have a reputation for being horrible. The creams are said to be good, though. May I suggest you try your routine on a different soap, like Tabac or D. R. Harris Arlington?

A badger brush would help, as the badger holds water. Strop your razor before you lather, then shave. Time is not on your side, it would seem, with lathering first, then stropping. Never used a scuttle, but I would surmise that your thoughts about it being the least impact on the process is correct.

Er, yeah. I missed the part about lathering and then stropping. Strop first. Lather. Shave.

It still sounds like the soap is a dud. I am a slow shaver and none of my lather dries out, or disappears before the shave is over.

Trumper soaps have been this way for a few years now, a reasonable but not great lather that fades almost immediately. Consign it to the shower and try a different soap - D.R. Harris, Mitchell's Wool Fat, or Taylor of Old Bond Street are decent English soaps; Truefitt & Hill has similar problems to the Trumper. Every French soap I have tried had been very good to excellent.

Can't argue with what everyone else has said. For sure strop before you make your lather. I do that the night before.

There are certain soaps that just will not give an acceptable long lasting lather no matter what type of brush you use. Just went through the same thing you are going through but with a version of C&E shave soap. Apparently they changed the formula to make another version that does work now.

I have found over the years that the type of brush does not have a huge impact on making a lather from a soap/croap/cream.

Tabac is a not too expensive hard soap that is easy to produce a good lasting lather with. Some do not like it's scent though. Haslingers make soap that is easy to make a good long lasting lather with also.

As you are in the UK where Palmolive shave sticks are inexpensive, you could grate a stick or two into a bowl, press it into the bowl, add a bit of water and let sit till set. Makes a great soap puck.

Bob

If you can make a lather but it does not last then I would say it's 99% likely to just be a lousy soap. I've only ever tried the tiny tubs of GFT creams and they've all worked well. Get your paws on some sample tubs. Edwin Jagger also have sample tubs available for free.

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Thanks everyone. I'll definitely try a different soap, then, although I may stick out the current puck, as long as I know that it's the soap, not the technique. I'll strop first, as well, I'd thought lathering first gave it longer to soften the beard up, but I guess the shower does the heavy lifting there, really.

Is cream a drastically different process, or just the same, get a bit on the brush and froth it up with some water in the scuttle? I only haven't tried creams yet since they tend to come in plastic tubs, which I try to avoid.

While there are plenty of poor performing soaps and creams on the market, there are also a lot of great ones as well--prices for good ones range from reasonable to expensive. With that said, opinions about even good ones can vary widely as well.

The thread I've linked to below goes on for days, but there is a lot in it about different products and differening opinions on those products. Bang in searches of the thread for soaps or creams you may be interested in to see if there have been comments and etc.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...ps-creams.html

At the end of the day though, choices and opinions about soaps and creams are very individual. :) The link below is to a U.K. firm that sells hundreds of samples at reasonable prices. It's a much cheaper option than buying a full puck or pot and a great source for harder to find soaps and creams--one can try out a variety of stuff and discover what works and is liked and then decide if a product will earn one's money.

Home - ShaveDash.com

I love Trumper's creams. Great stuff.

I can't make a lather from the soap. There are lots of soap makers with good to great lather quality. Geo F Trumper's line is not one.

Yes, creams load differently than soaps. With Castle Forbes cream I just get a little bit on the tip of the brush and give it about five seconds of of swirling in the bowl then proceed to face lather. A dollop somewhere around between a peanut and an almond should be adequate. With hard soaps like Tabac or D. R Harris I load the brush up to 30 seconds before I start to face lather.

Some creams come in glass jars like Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet. Baume.be might come in a glass jar, I think. I understand not liking plastic tubs but one of the best creams, Castle Forbes, comes in plastic tub.

Yes, creams in general are easier to get a good lather from than hard soaps. I can't recall having a dud cream unlike some hard soaps.

If you have a Body Shop store nearby you should be able to get a free sample of their Maca Root shave cream which is good.

Bob

I have tossed two soaps over the years. One was a Trumper puck.

It is worthless.

Thanks very much, all, I'm trying a D R Harris soap now, and it lathers so much better! A couple of times I've found the lip and chin had dried out rather than disappeared by the time I got to them, so just dabbed some more on, but I've had it last okay as well, so is that just a matter of using a bit more water in it?

Also, anyone have any tips for getting the label off of one of these wooden bowls? I've tried heating with a hairdryer, didn't work, I was pondering a tissue soaked in vinegar laid over it for a while next...

For what it's worth, I couldn't get Trumper soaps to lather, ended up using them in the shower.

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Originally Posted by AMarsReject

Thanks very much, all, I'm trying a D R Harris soap now, and it lathers so much better! A couple of times I've found the lip and chin had dried out rather than disappeared by the time I got to them, so just dabbed some more on, but I've had it last okay as well, so is that just a matter of using a bit more water in it?

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Yeah, more water while lathering might help. When the lather on the chin dries out how, how long is it between lathering and the drying?

I have a tub of Trumper Almond cream and it works well. I have not tried their soaps based on negative comments by fellow SRP members.

I have DR Harris Windsor soap and can recommend that. When this puck is gone, I will try one of the other flavors.

I haven't tried Trumper's soaps. But at one point, I was chatting with a vendor who always had a problem lathering with it, and I recommended covering the puck with hot water a few minutes in advance of lathering with it. Soon after, he wrote me back to say that that made all the difference in the world.

My Trumper soap ended up as shower soap, tried for weeks and weeks and never made a decent lather, so rather than keep after it I just grabbed some MWF or similar and never looked back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Yeah, more water while lathering might help. When the lather on the chin dries out how, how long is it between lathering and the drying?

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Generally a couple of minutes, maybe 3 or 4, I'm still not terribly fast at the cheeks and jaw...