cold water, floppy silvertip and great soaps.
hello every buddy! long time lurker and long time poster here! been shaving with straights for a while now but its the first time i am sharing a great experience, so do forgive me if i dont follow a "format". also, is this the appropriate place for this thread?
i have been shaving with arko since a long time. great soap with nice lubrication and easy glide. but recently i came across a stick of tabac soap which i had bought a long while ago. so i took the stick, soften it with hands until it felt clay-like and pressed it into a mug. over time my prep has basically turned into just a splash of luke warm water and then straight to lathering instead of the hot towel/shower prep. however, last week i tried cold water while using the stick for the first time after long. to my surprise the results were amazing, i felt and easier glide and atg passes were almost as smooth as wtg passes. the entire shave was great and the cold water managed to keep my skin cool, strong and refreshed. i use a frank shaving silvertip which is quite floppy, but soaking it in colder water made it stiffer to, a slight degree which was noticeable. at first i wasnt sure weather the shave was great because of cold water or tabac soap, changing two variables at once was certainly an inconvenience to ponder over, so the next day i went back to arko with cold water; easy lathering and great shave. infact, this has worked well with all my soaps and creams (crabtree sandalwood, tobs sandalwood, tabac and arko).
i do have a question; although i dont mind the tabac, do they make soaps with other scents? a sandalwood or lime scented tabac would certainly challenge the higher end products, or maybe im just too bold with this statement.
so thats about it. i cant thank anyone except the great wisdom this community has shared with me, which is the only reason i have had such successful shaves and i would like to thank all of you. also, if you have any wild ideas or recommendations do share them!
