Thread: And so it begins!

Originally Posted by DFriedl

I pasted my cheapo strop when I upgraded. Everything sounds pretty good. I'm glad you're enjoying things.

That was my exact plan for when I upgrade to a better strop.

Man guys... im so pumped right now... that shave was relaxing and pretty friggin good!. so 3rd shave tonight and i finished my whole face and used both hands... still need to work on prepping the face and my lather, but overall i think im doing ok. just a few questions... i melted my bald frog soap into the sugar bowls i have been seeing on this forum, and it looks much cleaner, but am i supposed to start the lather from the sugar bowl then continue it in my mug? heres what i was working with on tonights shave...
Basically i had a little water in my mug sitting in the sink of hot water to keep my lather hot, then i took my brush and started swirling in my soap bowl then i collected what i had and continued to lather in the mug... still think it was kind of thin, maybe didnt spend that much time on the lather, but i feel like my whiskers get cold... i dont know, but the shave went well... any tips are welcomed! thanks!

I picked up some glycerin and some Old Spice aftershave last night real quick. Didn't get a chance to use it, but today I think I am going to try the überlather.

Welcome to the forum! Glad things seem to be going well for you.

You are lathering the right way. Just keep experimenting with more or less water, and mixing. Also try loading the brush with some soap then making the lather right on your face.

I am highly mistrustful of any Pakistan made strops. My recommendation would be to get a quality USA made strop and use that.

Keep going the way you are going, and keep enjoying yourself!

Michael

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

Welcome to the forum! Glad things seem to be going well for you.

You are lathering the right way. Just keep experimenting with more or less water, and mixing. Also try loading the brush with some soap then making the lather right on your face.

I am highly mistrustful of any Pakistan made strops. My recommendation would be to get a quality USA made strop and use that.

Keep going the way you are going, and keep enjoying yourself!

Michael

Thanks for the tip... I will be getting a new strop soon enough... I just want to get a little better first. The leather isn't that bad after I treated it with neatsfoot Oil... The only thing that I think is probably really bad about the strop is the nylon... It's super hard/ stiff... I don't know if it is going to ruin my edge... I try to break it in by rubbing and massaging it but I don't know... Anyways today's shave way pretty good minus the fact that I tried überlather and I used old shaving cream that sucked and I think watered it down to much... Any tips on how to über lather better... I have some better shaving cream on the way? Dpi definitely think it was to much water because it never got frothy like whipped cream...

Originally Posted by mvacca7

Man guys... im so pumped right now...
.....snip.....
then i took my brush and started swirling in my soap bowl then i
.....snip....
... any tips are welcomed! thanks!

Tip:
You can lather and not shave.
i.e. you can practice building a good lather
without risking a nick or cut.

....
Way back when, I took an afternoon tinkering with a $1.50 puck
of Williams shave soap and learned a lot. A lot of folk
dislike Williams but the lessons learned apply to Mitchell's
Wool fat (MWF), Art of Shaving Shave soap... many, many, many
more brands at more than ten times the price.

Building a fine lather with a fine soap is one of the keys
to an enjoyable shave. It takes a little practice but
makes a difference even with a Yellow Handle BiC tossable,
DE razor or multi blade whisker thing.

Now I can get a darn fine lather from Williams and
enjoy it along with my other fine shave soaps and creams.

Originally Posted by mvacca7

Thanks for the tip... I will be getting a new strop soon enough... I just want to get a little better first. The leather isn't that bad after I treated it with neatsfoot Oil... The only thing that I think is probably really bad about the strop is the nylon... It's super hard/ stiff... I don't know if it is going to ruin my edge... I try to break it in by rubbing and massaging it but I don't know... Anyways today's shave way pretty good minus the fact that I tried überlather and I used old shaving cream that sucked and I think watered it down to much... Any tips on how to über lather better... I have some better shaving cream on the way? Dpi definitely think it was to much water because it never got frothy like whipped cream...

I have two ways in which to use a shaving cream I don't like. The first is as a pre-shave treatment which I apply in the shower and then rinse off. The second use is to add to soap and make lather. I do the former before every SR shave. I haven't done the latter in many months. I can get a great lather with one or the other.

My advice is that if you think you are using to much water, then you probably are. Try making lather with just the water in your brush, and face lather on your damp face. Add no water.

Later you can try adding more soap/cream, mixing for longer, changing soaps, etc. If none of that works then start looking at the brush.

Michael

Good tips guys! Thanks. I will practice my lather. I have had a good one but it is very hit or miss so far. I have the Van Der Hagen badger brush. I read it was ok to start out with. I don't really know what a good or bad brush should feel like or do really. I just need more practice. I will update you guys with my next shave. Or lather practice.

I used to practice lathering a LOT. I actually think one should get a good strop first; there's no real need to doubt one's ability too much.

I think Burrell Top Flights are really nice razors; at least mine it. It performs much better than the 40 bucks I paid for it. My Burrell has a blued tang. Yours looks to be maybe a 4/8? I wonder if it started life as a 4/8 or a 5/8? Does yours say 'No.2'? I've never really find out what the numbers mean; mine's a No. 1. I'd leave the old scales myself; I think they look nice. Yeah, sure, Burrells came with cheap scales, but who cares? Then again, some nice linen micarta scales would look nice.

I'm liking that you're 'pumped', it's very invigorating, isn't it?

Oh, also, make sure you load your brush really well with the soap, and then maybe try face lathering. I myself find face lathering works well with a soap; bowl lathering works well for me with a cream.

I used to love an überlather of Crabtree and Evelyn Nomad with pretty much any cream and glycerin. Truefitt and Hill is good as is O Melhor and Proraso, though I mostly use only natural soaps now...There's a good video in the Wiki (library) on making an überlather.

I'd always recommend that 'beginners' start with an easy to lather cream, just to take out that variable and concentrate on technique first...

Glad you're having fun...

Carl

Carl,

Thanks for the tips! And yes my Top Flight is a 4/8 and I do love it... It seems to shave very well. The scales are still in pretty good condition, maybe the pins need some tightening or replacing, but nothing major and I am in no hurry to do so.. I am very interested in getting my Wade and Butcher sent out to get honed so I can do a little comparison with the two.

I did see the video on Uberlather on the wiki and it just looked amazing, but of course mine was nothing short of terrible haha. I will get it eventually. Seems like I am doing OK.

I have been looking around for a affordable bigger size razor. Maybe a 6/8? So my next purchase would be that or a new strop. But then again time will tell. I am exceptionally happy with my Top Flight and the utensils I have at the moment.

Cheers,
Mike