Will these ever be usable???

A couple of months ago i finished a Taylor of Old Bond Street soap, and as i make all my own washing soaps and not wanting to pay £7.50 for 100g i thought I'd give shaving soap a go.

I made 300g of lye soap in a mug (it was a normal olive/palm/coconut oil recipe with castor oil and bentonite clay added) and waited the normal 4 weeks to let it cure.
When it was ready to use i gave it a whirl, and all i managed to get was a lifeless airy lather, what little coverage of skin it gave disappeared practically before i'd finish the first cheek.
With no luck after a few attempts i thought i'd look for something else.
I like the idea of home made, so i had a look on ebay and picked up a tub of hand made shaving soap on there for a few pounds.
Only problem...Same lather

I might add that my orginal lathering technique was crap, cold brush, bowl, etc...
But i have improved that and have been using a stick of palmolive shaving soap that someone couldn't use, with it i've been producing a rich creamy lather (as an alternative to the other soaps), so i know i can make a decent lather.

I just got hold of some glycerin and tried a couple of drops in with the soap to help. It did help but not much.

My question is, is there anything else i can change to make these soaps usable?
They total about 400g which should last a fair while if they work well.

Sorry for the essay!

Well after a bit more reading about lather making, i tried my own soap again...

I put the soap mug in my sink of hot water and let some sit on the soap surface.
I also used twice as much glycerin.

And the result was pretty good!
Definitely usable creamy lather

I'm just about to purchase a schwarzweisskeramik scuttle to help out with keeping the lather warm.

Just shows that moistened soap, warm brush/bowl and not too much water and plenty of soap all contribute to decent lather

Good to hear it’s working better with the next go at it! :tu

especially as now i know i can make soap that works, i can play with the recipe to scent it, etc...

It would be nice if you (or someone else for that matter) would write an article in the wiki on soap making for people like me who have too much time on their hands... :)

BTW, are you the same Greenbeast as on talkbass.com?

Sure i'll post the recipe i used, when i get home and have a few minutes

No i'm not on talkbass.com (how dare someone use my forum nickname?!? there must be a lawsuit there somewhere!)