Question about soap vs. cream....

**firefighter** · 01-08-2010, 08:36 PM

I'm starting to the the $75 or so I can save by going from a blade & stroup kit instead of a full "wet" kit might be better used up front and say to hell with it and go for broke. I gotta see right now I'm thinking of going with this kit....

Vintage Blades LLC::Straight Razor Sets::Dovo Straight Razor Sets - Carbon Steel::Dovo Ebony Spike Point Straight Razor Set

I really wish it was not gold plated but I think the Spike point looks fantastic. I can't find a plain blade with a spike point unless I spend a ton of money.

**khaos** · 01-08-2010, 08:44 PM

First off IF you get that kit, the brush and strop will serve you well into the future (obviously the razor will too) and it is quite a bit cheaper than buying everything seperate. Though what you might consider is getting a brush and strop seperate and buying a vintage razor from the classifieds. I personally have never bought a production razor and I am getting along just fine.

**firefighter** · 01-08-2010, 08:53 PM

I got my eye on a Vintage Henckle I'm just trying to figure out the best route...... I might consider a brush and stroup with a vintage blade. I'm still trying to figure this all out.

**khaos** · 01-08-2010, 09:05 PM

lol I have a story for you:

I started out with a $20 blade, a $20 strop and the $10 set of brush soap and bowl. This worked but wasn't great. Now my go to strop was $75, my brush cost $35, and I have lots of razors. The strop doesn't have to be that expensive, I still have and use the $20 one and I have another for $50.

My point is you can start cheap, but eventually you will upgrade. If you can, buy decent stuff now and it'll save you some in the long run.

**firefighter** · 01-08-2010, 09:15 PM

There is not much of a problem with the financial outlay but the principle is what is the issue. I just am a little bit leary about spending say $250 and deciding that I can't or won't do this.

**BingoBango** · 01-08-2010, 10:02 PM

If I'm not mistaken, you can get a small puck of Col. Conk soap for less than $5. Just look around. I can't comment on the Nutragena product, but Col. Conk works pretty well. There's a pharmacy near me that sells Proraso for less than $10, so if you look around you should be able to find quality products on the cheap.

**firefighter** · 01-08-2010, 10:08 PM

I know the actual soap and cream is cheap it's the brush, cup, stand, etc that adds up...... I think I may just go with the set up I linked to earlier. Unless I can get the Henckles.

**niftyshaving** · 01-08-2010, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by firefighter

I got my eye on a Vintage Henckle I'm just trying to figure out the best route...... I might consider a brush and stroup with a vintage blade. I'm still trying to figure this all out.

While you are thinking get a nice soap and a brush.

IMO, in the universe that is shaving "Wet shaving" is what it all revolves around. Said differently: face preparation is key. No matter what you select for a blade, without a good lather and face prep no blade will shave up to its potential.

Building a good lather is not hard. Having said that it does take hints and practice. Not too long ago I took a new eight dollar boar brush and a dollar fifty puck of Williams and spent the afternoon making a lather in 50+ different ways.
Not shaving just making and breaking lather, too much water, too little, light brush strokes, harder strokes, pumping, swirling.... This was after watching mantic59 on youtube.com make lathers. In some he was clearly promoting a product family. After discounting the products I learned a lot. One hint was that it is "easy to add water" was worth taking home.

YouTube - How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather

**khaos** · 01-08-2010, 11:45 PM

You don't NEED a stand plus they are cheap- and you don't NEED a bowl- a mug will work fine, and you can lather on your face if you want

**fpatton** · 01-09-2010, 01:52 AM

I'll give my newbie (Day 28!) two cents for what they're worth. I started with a tube of Proraso, a puck of Conk Bay Rum, and a Tweezerman brush, purchased through Amazon, a Filly strop from RupRazor, and Nivea Extreme from Safeway. I use a small bowl from my kitchen, and dry the razor on a shelf. Razor was shave-ready from the classifieds.

Now, I've loved the Bay Rum smell since I was a kid, so I was rooting for it. I tried both the Conk and Proraso by themselves, and very much preferred the Proraso. I have not bothered to get any glycerin or other additives yet, so I'm not whipping up uberlather. I really liked the lather from the Proraso, but found the Conk dried up too easily on my face. So, score one for the cream.

I then got a sample kit from the local Art of Shaving store (freebie!). This was a revelation in lather production. An almond-sized dollop of cream VERY quickly gave plenty of whipped-cream consistency lather for a shave, and the shave was more comfortable. Best of all, since it was unscented, I could mix in some of the Bay Rum soap for a nice scent. Score another for the cream, but give the soap some credit.

I then got samples of Lavender and Bay Rum soap from SRD. (I now own more scented products than my wife, who thinks I'm nuts.) They had a MUCH more intense smell, and made a much better lather than the Conk, but I still found them a bit too drying. The introduction of glycerin might help, but mixing with a little AOS cream made for a really luxurious shave. Cream wins again, but a really top-notch soap is a fantastic addition.

I have some Castle and Forbes Lime on the way, so we'll see how that compares to what I've done so far. It gets great reviews for lather production. I'm planning to get some of Mama Bears soap at some point as well, but I'm definitely leaning toward favoring creams.

I should also point out that in my limited experience, the smell is really more for your benefit during the shave than anything else. I don't find it to have any lasting effect, which I think is good.

Good luck!

Fred

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