Thread: Using Col. Conk Soap

I use Colonel Conk lime shaving soap. I put hot water in the soap cup enough to cover the bar and let it sit at least five minutes. (usually I do this before getting in the shower) I also have a cup I fill with hot water and soak my badger hair brush in it for the same amount of time. When the soaking is done I pour out all the water and shake the brush until there is no water dripping from it. Then I start swirling the brush on the soap in both directions and occasionally push it up and down while twisting it back and forth on the soap. I do this until the soap cup starts forming a nice lather in it and the brush has a nice thick foam on the ends. Then I splash my face with hot water one last time and start the lathering on my face. Fast small circles until it lathers up nice and thick, and I get complete coverage. This usually takes at least a minute, maybe two. I get a lather that is at least as thick as foams from a can, and it's much slicker and provides a far superior shave. Hope this is helpful.

Truckinmann

I like Col Conk's, especially the bay rum.

Here's my technique and it seems to work pretty good.

I soak the brush in hot tap water while I take a shower. Also during this I have a small dab of water sitting on top of the soap (which I melted into a shave mug). When done I gently squeeze the excess water out of the brush, empty the bowl, then pour the little bit of water that's been sitting on top of the soap into the bowl I use to built lather in.

Load the brush for roughly 60 seconds. If the brush is too damp, it will start building lather. It shouldn't at this point. Instead the bristles should be quite loaded with thick soap.

To make lather I start to both swirl and pump in my little bowl, adding dabs of water as I go.

The trick seems to be to load the brush with most of the water squeezed out, load it a lot, then add water gradually as you build the lather in a separate bowl. I have not tried face lathering so I can't speak to that technique with Col Conks.

Keep at it, the Col really is a decent soap.

Charlie

Originally Posted by modul8r

"Charged"?

"Loaded"?

Also, is there a step by step guide for making lather using this kind of (glycerine-based?) soap? I have the same soap and I'm a newbie and I've had a hard time finding detailed, hand holding level instructions.

I ordered Lynn's DVD so hopefully it's covered in there. Still, I'd greatly appreciate any other tips or references.

One of my major problems last time (the first time) I shaved was the lather and since I understand that a good lather / good prep is important, I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

Charging and loading refer to essentially the same thing: getting soap worked into the bristles of the brush. If you're working up the lather in another container such as a bowl, scuttle or whatever, you should shake out as much water as you can before you start working the puck with the brush. This is because however much soap you put into the brush, it will work into a much larger volume of lather than if you were to work it directly in the mug then transfer straight to your face. If your lather is too thin and soupy, you should probably keep working it a little longer to get it to thicken up.

Keep after it. You'll eventually get the hang of it!

Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

This is what helped me a lot and I was having problems similar to yours at first. I don't have much experience with brushes but I think it varies, I tend to need more water than shown in this wiki because I have a relatively low quality synthetic. Just work with it and you'll get it pretty quickly.