I posted this thread on another forum and felt some here might find the information useful.
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In many of my posts I indicate how difficult it is for me to get a close, comfortable shave. My beard is like wire. I have to use the sharpest DE blades I can find (Feather is one of my regular blades) so I won't get a lot of tugging (especially if I have more than a day's growth). This has led me to try the Cobra and Feather SS both of which give me very good shaves. I have also been shaving with straights for 6 months. These are my most frustrating shaves. Poor results with a lot of skin irritation. I tried freshly honed razors, I got a 12K Naniwa stone and learned how to hone. I also use a barber's hone and a pasted strop. The blades would not cut smoothly and left a lot of uncut beard. With straights this can mean your technique is poor and/or you'er are dulling the blade and/or you'er not refreshing the blade properly, i.e., your edge is lacking. As I had no problem with the Feather SS, I attributed my problem with straights to the fact that the disposable blades where just so much sharper than I could get the edge of a straight.

Now I have always prepared for my shaves with hot showers, MrGLO, Proraso pre-shave cream or other pre-shave products. My beard did not soften or change at all from the prep, but with a sharp disposable blade I got a very good shave.

But today I found something that actually did soften my beard. I was in a hury and did not shower first. I washed my face with a new hand soap I was trying. As I did, I could feel my 2 day growth soften. Wow, this is new I thought. I was going to use my Cobra, but changed to my 6/8 Hart. I proceeded to get a DFS as good as my disposable blade razors. I don't know what the new soap did to my beard, but it made all the difference.

What soap did I use? Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile. Yes, the one with the interesting writings on the label. I don't know what it did to get my beard to absorb water but it changed everything. No, I don't work for the company. I tried it as a hand soap and was satisfied with its performance. I just tried it on my face today because it was there. I know I am not alone in having a difficult beard and sincerely recommend anyone with this problem to give it a try. If it doesn't work as a pre-shave it is still a good soap. It is worth a try.