Thread: Lather Shortcut:

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

Nowadays I'm not even bothering to whip up a lather with the brush and shaving soap, but simply using for the canned aresol shaving cream.

I find that it's faster, less messy and more effective than the lather I get from soap, which tends to disolve as it rests on my face.

Is anyone with me on this, or are you all purists who use the brush 'n' mug?

Or does anyone switch back and forth between the two methods?

I only use the brush and soap or cream. It doesn't take me long and it does not dry out on my face. In addition I like the whole deal.
Hey but whatever gets you through the night!

It's all I've used in the last several years and really is one of the best products I have ever used. It's silky smooth and almost invisible on my face. I can watch with glee as I scyth each hair away. Read Dr. Phong's current Test Tube blog for more details.

X

I've been a wet shaver for over 40 years and I've tried every gimic that comes up. I used canned stuff and gel for a long time, but eventually went back to the brush. I felt like I hadn't really lived unti I started using English creams early this year. I wouldn't give up that luxury and smoothness of the shave for anything. I even started shaving the night before so I wouldn't have to shortchange my shaves.

Oh, I still have some canned stuff around, but I only use it in a pinch, usually with an M3P, when I need a sub-5 minute shave.

I think the brush and soap routine is an integral part of the straight experience. To me, using the canned stuff would be like buying a BMW 5 series and putting a motor from an old Yugo in it.

But like they say its a free country and you gota do what makes you happy

I totally agree that the brush is part of the genuine straight razor experience; and when I first started this hobby it was one of the first things that I purchased. I got myself both the Williams' soap and later on, some expensive Italian cream. Still, I couldn't get as creamy or satisfying a lather as I could from the canned cream.

But from what I'm hearing, these English creams seem pretty good. I'll have to give them a try.

Anyone have any recommendations on which ones are best? Or... most affordable, but still really good? And where to get them?

I like the Taylor of Old bond Street Sandlewood. Classicshaving.com has it. I use the soap but had a sample of the shaving cream both sandlewood and Lavander both pretty good but I didn't much like the Lavander smell.

I used the edge gel my first couple times. Didn't work so well for me though, then I tried mixing it with a little hot water. It made it work a lot better, not just with the straight, but with the mach 3 as well.

I think I've tried just about everything and to me the two best shave soaps going are either the Trumpers or the Haslinger. I usually get the trumpers straight from them on their website however there is a place called londons here in the U.S that has them on the web. The Haslinger is a herbal soap sold by shavemac its made in Austria. The only problem with Shavemac is its in germany and the shipping is steep unless you buy alot.

BladeWielder:
Taylor's cream is the best buy of the three T's. I've gotten it through qedusa.com as well as classic shaving. If you go to qed, try the crusella tabac AS. It's a damned nice AS for the price. I also like his DaVinci water and shave sticks.



Wayne, deep into SCAD

Still a novice and experimenting with soaps (no creams yet) to see what I like.

One "cream" that I learned about from a barber (couldn't shave worth a hoot) is a generic hair cream rince called "Aura" from Sally's Beauty Supply. Get the Rosemary Mint Rinse. It has a little menthol or something like that in it and is really slick. I used it with a M3 for years and occasionaly use it with a Str8.

Mike