Thread: D. R. Harris Soap Question

I have a puck of D.R. Harris Windsor that I have been using on and off for the last month and a half or so. Sometimes I get great lathers from it, and sometimes it's total fluff that likes to disappear on me. I load for a minute or more with a two-band badger brush, and either face lathering or using a bowl, it seems hit or miss for me. Anyone else have a similar experience? or any ideas what I could be doing better to improve my success rate? I want to make this soap work because I love the sent. Also I have a Harris shave stick that seems to perform more consistently, for some reason.

I've been DE shaving with soap and a brush for about a year and a half, and I have other soaps and creams that work well for me (Cade, Body Shop Maca Root, and AoS creams) so I think my basic technique is good. I just can't seem to get this soap dialed in. Any help would be great!

I use a Harris shaving soap stick and always get good results. Something I have noticed with soaps is that dripping water on the puck or dipping the stick in water and then letting is sit (while you're showering) helps produce a better lather.

Like Leatherstockings, I use Harris sticks regularily (I buy the pucks and mill them into stick form) and always get great lather. It could be that it's easier to apply the "right" amount of product from a stick than to pick it up with the brush from a puck. Softening the puck a little as he suggested should help with that.


rs,
Tack

I almost exclusively use Windsor dr harris shave soap. The key to using it is soak the puck for a minute in water, cold or hot, soak your brush at the same time. After soaking dump the water and shake out the brush so that it won't drip and the bristles won't still stick together. When you load your brush use a light touch, just load the tips. You will get almost a paste going. When the tips are good and loaded drip a little water onto the puck then swirl the brush a few times, continue until you reach your desired lather. Wet your face and then brush away.

It took me a month of not giving up to perfect it, you'll be rewarded with a well cushioned and slick shave. Good luck.

sounds like its too wet on your times its real fluffy and drys fast,, try less water I squeeze out the water in my brush then load , I can always add a couple drops as im building lather tc

I swirl the brush in cold water, cold water shaver here, give it a little shake. Move to the puck, a quick shake over the puck and load. Skim the tips in water and load some more, maybe even repeat till I get a nice paste on the brush. Then build lather on my wet face adding a bit of water at a time by skimming the tips over the water till I get a nice hydrated rich creamy lather. If I load it enough it will do 4 passes. Just a different way to get the water to soap ratio correct.

Bob

You might need more moisture in the mix, I have experienced your problem with various other soaps, and I've found that usually it needs more water. Try dipping your brush in water frequently while you're brushing the lather to your face. Regardless of the brand, they all are made of basically the same thing, if something works for one soap, it will usually work for the rest of em'. IMO

I mixed some up in a bowl this morning and really payed attention. I loaded like crazy (~2 minutes) with a fairly dry brush. I then whipped while adding small increments if water, and it went from too thick and sticky, to airy fluff. It seemed to skip the sweet spot where it gets the nice sheen to it. I wound up putting it down the drain and shaving with Cade today. I guess one solution is to leave it a little in the dry side, as it doesn't break down on my face that way. I'm not sure if water hardness is an issue and Harris is more sensitive to it that other soaps

If you think water hardness could be a problem try using bottled water to see if it makes a difference. I face lather so it is easy to see when it gets that sheen. Also maybe try loading for a bit, then just skimming the tips in water and loading a bit more before going to your bowl.

Bob

Next time I am at the store I will have to pick up some distilled water to try. If that doesn't work, I'll keep experimenting and post my findings here in case anyone else has a similar issue. Thanks for all the suggestions!