Thread: why is my brush cold?

So I ran out of my gilette in a can and stopped by Walgreens like someone suggested to look for more traditional shaving creams or soaps, and I bought an inexpensive bowl (with soap) and a cheap boar bristle brush because they had them. They're Van Der Hagen brand...but as far as I'm concerned they should work till I have more dough to blough...(heh play on words )

The soap doesn't really have much of a smell to it, but it lathers pretty well. The brush is pretty stiff (according to my minds idea of what the badger brushes would be like) but I'd say it performed well enough and overall I'm satisfied with my purchase except for one small detail that confuses me a bit.

How come when everyone talks about the rich warm lather of a bowl and brush my brush is cold? I'm not expecting the lather to be scalding hot when I chuck it on the old chin and cheeks, but mine was actually cold. And when I say cold...I mean room temperature of course, but does that mean I need to be shaving in a 100 degree room to enjoy this mystical hot lather everyone gushes about? The hot water in my sink isn't boiling hot out of the tap...should it be?

Your lather is cold because it doesn't have enough degrees. Just add more degrees and it will be warmer. If you lather with a cold brush and tepid water, well, there's this thing called the 2nd law of thermodynamics which can ruin an otherwise perfectly good shave.

One thing to do is to run very hot water into the bowl with the soap in it and stand the brush, bristle side down, in the water on the soap. Let it soak there for a little bit, then dump the water out and lather with the now-warm soap and the now-warm brush.

well, happily that did help a lot. Still cooled off relatively quickly, but maybe turning up the heat on my hot water heater or using water from a teapot will yield better results. I'll have to experiment with it.

I do love my Henckels 5/8 but, since it's an eBay special inexpertly honed by yours truly, I'm really going to try to amass the fundage after Xmas to purchase a NEW razor instead of a used razor, or at the VERY least something that has been refurbished and honed by one of the masters around here.

I've noticed there seems to be less of the typical forumite stigma relating to asking questions about prices around here so I was wondering what it usually costs to have one of the more experienced members hone a blade for you? Eventually I'd like to get my own stones and things to do it myself...but if I can't afford a new razor maybe I can go back to my Mach3 while my straights are being sharpened. I have two now, my Henckel and an old razor my dad gave me when he discovered I had started using them.

He says he thinks it's either his father's or his grandfather's but he's leaning towards his grandfather. I've never heard the brand mentioned around here and honestly I haven't managed to dig up anything regarding them to speak of so maybe you guys can help out. Here is an EXTREMELY similar razor but NOT the one I have. Mine is is very very good shape, no broken blade, no nicks in the edge, but also no box. It's a Thistle Cut Co. from New York. I'm curious what the age might be, some history about it if anyone knows anything and although I have no plans to part with it (because of obvious family sentimental value) I would be interested to know what it's worth.

Oh yeah...by the way do you rinse your bowl out and wash the soap off or just leave the leftover lather in there to dry? Does it make any difference? Lock the soap in place in the bowl, even things out, make things messier and more prone to icky grossness etc etc?

Originally Posted by Gawker

well, happily that did help a lot. Still cooled off relatively quickly, but maybe turning up the heat on my hot water heater or using water from a teapot will yield better results. I'll have to experiment with it.

Some people have a quick-heating electric pot in their bathroom - I happen to have painfully hot water from my tap.

I do love my Henckels 5/8 but, since it's an eBay special inexpertly honed by yours truly, I'm really going to try to amass the fundage after Xmas to purchase a NEW razor instead of a used razor, or at the VERY least something that has been refurbished and honed by one of the masters around here.

Not very great fundage required.

I've noticed there seems to be less of the typical forumite stigma relating to asking questions about prices around here

Yeah, people are friendly here. Want to make something of it?

so I was wondering what it usually costs to have one of the more experienced members hone a blade for you? Eventually I'd like to get my own stones and things to do it myself...

I'm not one of the more experienced members, but check Tilly's site for inexpensive hones. http://redtrader99.com/hones.html

an old razor my dad gave me ...
It's a Thistle Cut Co. from New York. I'm curious what the age might be, some history about it if anyone knows anything and although I have no plans to part with it (because of obvious family sentimental value) I would be interested to know what it's worth.

May be info here, I don't know: http://www.uniclectica.com/misc/manuf.html - if you're not going to sell it, then it's priceless.

Another reason your lather cools off quickly may be because the boar brush doesn't absorb water well. The badger brush bristles soak up hot water and holds the heat much better. As for honing, go www.classicshaving.com. There you can purchase Lynn's honing services.

The Henckels brand is well known and respected. I believe that one of the old timers here has said that he never met a Henckels that he did not like.
They are very good razors made in Germany.
The Thistle razor is also a ggood razor.

For hot water just put some in the microwave in a glass bowl or ...
Put some of the hot water on the soap and immerse your brush in the water in a seperate bowl.
After a couple of minutes take the brush out of the water, dump the water off the soap and proceed to whip up a lather. What I do after that is to plce my brush back in the hot water to keep it warm.

www.shavemyface.com has a pdf file by Chris Moss that is very good plus a ton of help on this process. Be sure and read the other forums here as well.
There are many ways to enhance the shaving process.

Honing costs, I charge anywhere from $10-$20 per razor plus postage.
Others charge about the same.

Hope this helps,

Disclaimer and Release of Liability:

This advice is meant for a REASONABLE and RATIONAL ADULT. Failure on the part of the user to exercise prudence and reasonable caution could result in serious bodily injury!

I boil water on the stove and put it in my mug, then let it sit while I take a shower. It warms up the whole soap cake and the mug. After I get out of the shower, I dip the brush in the mug, then empty the hot water out and use the water in the brush to whip up some hot lather (you'll have to shake some of the water out of the brush or your soap will be to watery). If you take a quick shower, though, the water doesn't have time to cool off enough and you'll scald yourself, so be careful! You can add come cool tap water to the bristles if the water's still too hot.

I also like to add a bit of pure lanolin (a blob no bigger than a new pencil eraser) to the hot soap cake before I whip up the lather. This won't work unless the soap is very hot, otherwise the lanolin turns gummy and clots up.


As far as old heirloom razors are concerned, my best shaver is my great-uncles Wade & Butcher, and I think it may have been his fathers (my great grandfather), and it's at least 80 years old.

Originally Posted by Gawker

Oh yeah...by the way do you rinse your bowl out and wash the soap off or just leave the leftover lather in there to dry?

I leave the leftover lather in place, figure the soap isn't going to get dirty (if it does, it has no business even being soap in the first place). When I put in new soap, I wash everything out.