Thread: And so it begins!

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