greetings from SF

Howdy. I've been a lurker here for a long time, so I figured it was probably time to make a brief intro.

I've been shaving on and off with an SR for the past year or so. Thanks to gugi, I got my start with a nice 5/8 Heljestrand wedge. The addiction to Swedish steel took hold and I ended up with another Heljestrand, a lovely 6/8 half-hollow with ivory scales.

My first shave was tedious, but surprisingly successful. No blood, nor much irritation, although I did a WTG pass and then used a high-quality disposable to clean it up and get nice and smooth.

Over the past year, I've been trying to wean myself off of using another razor to finish the job, and progressed to the point where I could do WTG and XTG. ATG still eludes me, and I wonder if it's just that it's simply going to take some time for my skin to get used to it.

In terms of taking an opportunity to ask for specific advice, I'll do that by asking y'all how you deal with hard water. I've had nothing but problems producing a good lather from day 1. I have a great brush, a Plisson #12 in european white badger, and I've been a devoted user of Jorunn's Fitjar shaving creams. I just can't get a good, explosive foamy lather. What can I do to mitigate the effects of hard water? Should I try a different cream, like "The Bomb"? Distilled water? Any constructive advice is appreciated. :)

Hi there, and welcome to SRP. Sounds like you are already well on your way into the depths of this hobby, good on ya. I love swedish steel myself, great razors most of them, and at the front of my line are some heljes as well.
On hard water I can't comment much, as my water is not very hard. I do have a routine when sampling a new soap that hopefully may help tho. I try face lathering, then bowl lathering, first with a boar, then with a badger brush. The different methods can make significant differences. Also, discovering how much water to add to achieve the soap's best possible lather is also very important.
Hope this helps.

Hello, zap:

Welcome to Straight Razor Place. San Francisco, eh? I envy you the City By the Bay. For some years San Francisco was my home. Ah, well . . .

I must admit, I've never had problems making luxurious lather in San Francisco, with creams or soaps. Re-examine your method and see if you need some improvement.

You can experiment with distilled water, if you like. Make sure your water is not boiling hot. Tap-water hot is fine. Also, in lathering increase your water ratio just a bit.

You can also use the city water, making sure it is tap-water hot, and increase the water to cream ration just a bit.

Finally, you might want to try a different cream. Nancy Boy is in San Francisco and its shaving cream is quite good and makes mounds of lather.

If you need more help, you're more than welcome to send me a personal message.

Regards,

Obie