How lather quality affects my shave
I've been collecting a dozen razors and stones over the last years, always in search for that perfect edge, like most people here. Lately, being quite busy finishing my master thesis and playing GTA :ziplip:, I haven't been honing a lot. It allowed me to compare the performance of the same edge on the same razor and I've found surprisingly large differences. Sometimes, it would tug and feel a bit dull, while at other times (like this morning) the shave is brilliantly smooth and easy.
The only reason I can come up with, is lather quality. My prep consists of a bit of warm water on my face, lather, strop, relather and then shave. My lather quality is a bit inconsistent, but this morning I had a thin, face-lathered layer of very thick, creamy, slick lather and the resulting shave was great. On other days, I get a slightly disappointing shave with the same razor.
I've had these results with different razors and soaps, and I'm still trying to get that perfect lather every day. It is as described here: creamy, thick and slick. I start out with just a little water in the brush, load it up for a while and then add a few drops, that seems to give me the best results.
What are your experiences?