Thread: How much of this is silly nonsense?

I've seen it refer to two things.

Sometimes it's simply a reference to really huge amounts of super thick lather, sometimes it's referring to producing said copious lather by adding small amounts of glycerin or shave cream to the top of your soap before you start.

ah ok, i thoguht there was some secret thing going on...

the cream on soap is super easy to get a good lather with

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

Actually when I hear people say they add glycerin to soaps from small vendors to get said uber lather, it makes me feel a bit annoyed. To me, it kind of sounds like an insult toward the persons product. Now if it's a big old company that mass produces their soap, well thats a different story.

See, now that's the silly nonsense I was talking about. Insulting the excellent products of folks like TGQ by adding a bunch of goop to their soap.

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

Its supposed to be some super dooper thick, slippery lather that makes the razor feel like its not even touching the skin, and leaves your skin so smooth, that when compared to a baby's bottom, said bottom will feel like sandpaper. Or something like that.

Other than the crappy non glycerin soaps I mentioned before, I have no issues getting said results with just a puck of Colleen's magnificent soap range. No adding this, that or the other thing to it.

Actually when I hear people say they add glycerin to soaps from small vendors to get said uber lather, it makes me feel a bit annoyed. To me, it kind of sounds like an insult toward the persons product. Now if it's a big old company that mass produces their soap, well thats a different story.

To me, it just sounds like people don't know how to make good lather, period. NO soap of any quality needs added glycerin. All glycerin does is "attract moisture" so really, you're just taking some of the work out of mixing the essential elements together. Glycerin by itself doesn't lather...in fact, too much will kill good lather.

I kind of think if you don't know how to get good lather without adding glycerin, you don't know how to make lather.

Modern scuttles are a wonderful thing!

I have a DirtyBird scuttle, and when I go away on weekends I miss it!

I may have to get one for the weekend retreat too....


I will admit to having tried up to 0.1 micron lapping film, but find I prefer the feel coming off the 1 micron....which is closer to like ~20,000 grit, so that's cool right? Nothing CRAZY like 30,000 grit.....

I'm a fan of smaller brushes (20mm or so), but I can see where some guys may like to dive into their brushes....

I'm not a fan of spine taping as a general practice, but it is a useful tool in the honing arsenal. It has it's place, all things in moderation, and all that....

I used to be a superlatherer, I added a shot of KMF to all my soaps. I then learned how to lather a bit better (by trying to get a puck of Williams to work efectively for a week straight), and after that I went back to the Good Stuff, and I found that I got just as good a result without the shot of KMF. I did like it while I did it, so agaian, it has it's place in helping to make an enjoyable shave.

I'm confused!

I don't think any of that stuff is silly nonsense

I think Steve's more of the old-school-economic shavers, looking at some of his statements and attitudes. Cool with me, I can fully appreciate it. I'm fairly young, make a fairly decent living and enjoy spending a few kronor/euros/dollars on this. The whole straight razor thing hasn't and will never be economic for me, but that's cool. It's fun, it's a hobby, it's supposed to cost money.

Regarding the brushes: I thought the same. Why a fistsized (well...) knot? Isn't it difficult when applying lather to the mustache area? Then I thought when buying my Edwing Jagger best badger brush: "Why not?". So I got the extra large one. It's been quite brilliant for me. With my (retarded, I'll give you guys that) ergonomics, it works really well. My head still needs to be wrapped around the supersoft silvertip brushes, but I guess I'll buy one and see what it does for me.

The big lather is also something I enjoy. Not a tiny thin layer, but a nice amount. Not like the Santa on the Italian Cella soap packaging, but I've seen some of the mugshots here with less lather. I guess whatever floats one's boat, right? On the other hand: enough's enough. You won't catch me whipping up a bathtub full of lather.

30k hones, myeah. I wonder if I'll see the need. Just about to start on the honing path though, so no real opinion just yet. I did get a C12k already. I wonder how fine one would need to go?

The scuttle is something I'll be picking up. I tried making some nice warm lather at home and it was really nice to use. Perhaps I'll move everything to the kitchen, because my little bathroom has lukewarm water from the tap....

Originally Posted by Rajagra

OK, a small thing. People who shave with shirts on - why?

I'll admit to throwing on a t-shirt when it's really cold. And some people making videos might be modest, or sparing us the sight of something that might make us want to rip our eyeballs out.

But some people seem to dress to shave, knowing full well they will get their clothes wet, lathery and even covered with blood! What's the deal?

+1 on that...

Originally Posted by The0ctopus

whats all this shave-geek talk about "uberlather"
i always just thought uber meant good or super....

You thought wrong, squidbrain

Check it out: http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...berlather.html