Thread: Confused

Im fairly new to SR Shaving, about 60 shaves in. I've tried an number of soaps recommended here, namely: Wholly Kaw, Mitchell's Wool Fat, D.R Harris and now Castle Forbes. I couldn't seem to get a decent lather from MWF or D.R. Harris. Wholly Kaw was a delight however. Today I lathered with Castle Forbes , I don't understand why I should use any other product.. A couple of swirls in the puck and I produced a thick rich luxurious lather in the mug. I don't think I'll go back to fighting with Mitchells or DR Harris. maybe someone can enlighten me.

It all comes down to what you like. I have not tried D.R.Harris. I do, however, LOVE the WK products. I have several scents, donkey and non donkey (have not tried any vegan). I enjoy them both equally. My favorite scent is the Fougère Bouquet of which I have all of the shaving products. MWF can be a difficult soap to get a good lather but is wonderful when you hit the mark. Definitely not a must IMO. I do agree with you on CF. A wonderful product! I have the lime and am waiting on the 1445 to be available in the US. One could survive on only one shave soap/cream, but with so many wonderful options, would you really want to??

I think with MWF and DR Harris you have to load the brush like you hate the puck. Work those triple milled hard pucks long and hard or you wind up with thin runny fast drying lather. Big difference between A soft shaving cream like CF and Hard pucks like MWF and DR Harris. Never used Wholly Kaw but assume it is also soft.

Bob

Yeah, I think the hard soaps require more loading. I have noticed with the Harris soaps the soap stick, when applied to the face, is quicker to lather than the puck. Also, I sprinkle water on the puck and let it absorb while I shower. It seems to help with the hard soaps. Tallow soaps are my favorite so I don't mind the extra little effort.

I agree with this^^^^

Hard soaps HAVE to be bloomed to get the best effect from them. Otherwise the puck is too hard to really get the soap to load properly

Yup, hard soaps have to be loaded much more extensively then creams of croaps.

When you've swirled around the puck fo 30 seconds or so and think the brush is loaded, let a couple of drop of water touch the soap puck or the tips of your brush and load for another 30 seconds. Point is, when it looks like your brush is loaded with a hard puck, it probably isn't.

DR Harris is a Tier One soap, I have several, along with Penhaligons, and many other hard soaps, I actually prefer hard soaps, and they are superb shaving soaps in my opinion.

You folks be spoiled by those soft lather bombs. Basically all you have to do is wet a brush and swirl and you have lather to shave a platoon. However you go with hard milled soaps and then it actually takes some skill to get a good lather that stays on your face a while.

Just take the time to learn and you will have a great experience and the satisfaction of shaving the classic way.

I like the hard soap pucks. Not counting CF thats most of what i like to use. I still never got to liking dr. Harris. It just doesnt act like a good soap to me. JMO. Another very hard soap is Klar. The first time i used it was disappoint8ng but after that i really have learned to enjoy it. Still need to get some as my same is running low but it lasts so long!

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You folks be spoiled by those soft lather bombs. Basically all you have to do is wet a brush and swirl and you have lather to shave a platoon. However you go with hard milled soaps and then it actually takes some skill to get a good lather that stays on your face a while.

Just take the time to learn and you will have a great experience and the satisfaction of shaving the classic way.

It might be easy for you! However, can you be more specific (e.g. what's the SKILL)? I can watch many outdated YouTube videos that don't explain the "skills" required!

Originally Posted by Neunerball

It might be easy for you! However, can you be more specific (e.g. what's the SKILL)? I can watch many outdated YouTube videos that don't explain the "skills" required!

I think the skill is loading the brush with enough soap, with the right amount of water, from a hard puck. You want plenty of thick pasty proto lather loaded onto the brush before you go to either the bowl/scuttle or face to make the lather you shave with by adding more water as you go. It takes more work using a hard puck to load the brush so it is a little harder to do than with a cream or croap. It can be aggravating, same as learning to hone, in the beginning

Bob