Thread: Does anyone lather directly on top of their soap

Originally Posted by Kees

But eventually everyone has to lather their faces and get the lather onto their brushes. So where does the scuttle come in?

This response is really pedantic, but I'm sure that it may be helpful to anybody who is new to wet shaving......

I think what they're saying is that some people will do 100% of the lathering, right on their soap, before the brush ever touches their face, and when they go to their face, the brush is covered in a quantity of fully formed lather and they're simply using the brush to spread the lather around.

This is what I used to do with hard soaps and a boar brush.

Some people have a cake of soap in one bowl, and only keep the brush on it long enough to get the brush soapy, but not develop any lather. Then they use a moss scuttle or a different bowl to build the lather before using the brush as a mop to spread it on their face.

And, of course, other people will load the brush with unlathered soap or creme, and to all the lathering right on their face.

I started using a brush in about 1973 or so. It was a badger that I bought at Hoffritz and I began using it with an Old Spice mug. I went with the Old Spice and Williams soaps for awhile and eventually started lathering with my Dove bar soap and did that for decades. I was a face latherer using the Gillette Good News disposable. .

A few years ago I went back to the DEs and various quality glycerin and triple milled soaps. Still a face latherer and that was working fine. I found SRP and straight razor shaving and continued as a face latherer until one day I went to a forum member's house to have a razor honed.

He isn't active here at present but The Topher used to be on the forum quite a bit and was a respected honemiester, restorer and straight razor shaver. He had mentioned in a post or two that he was from my neck of the woods and I reached out ot him in a PM inquiring about honing and he invited me over.

I brought a Dubl Duck Goldedge that I had recently acquired on ebay that was in good shape but as dull as a butter knife. Chris honed the razor for me and than to prove that it could do more than cut hanging hair he offered to let me use his guest brush and gave me a choice of soap to shave with it then and there.

I loaded the brush and lathered up. He stopped me and told me that the lather I had made was inadaquate for shaving with a straight razor. Chris put an almond sized dollop of cream in a bowl. He took the brush, loaded it on the puck again and than went to the bowl. As he twirled the brush he would add a trickle of hot water every so often and in no time had a plethora of rich creamy lather built up.

Since then I have used this technique and I find it to be far surperior to face lathering for using a straight razor. I also use a small Moss scuttle. It is too small to lather in but that is what makes it so effective in keeping the brush/lather warm while you're doing the passes. Forum member Dr Chris Moss designed it and AFAIC it is perfect.This method of lathering has improved my shaving considerably and IMHO would do the same for anyone. Of course YMMV.

I used to build the lather directly on top of the soap when I was using classic shaving soap, but that was because that was the only way to get a half decent lather. But now that I have returned from my RAD safari I have a collection of great soaps and creams I am a face lathering man.

At Home I use my Georgetown Pottery Scuttle..I love it.

At the YMCA I lather directly ON THE PUCK
I fill the container with the puck with hot water. I put my brush in the same container to soak.
When ready to shave
I empty water from the container with puck and
squeeze the brush once to wring it of water

I then GO TO TOWN twirling, mashing...otherwise making great lather in the puck container.
When done shaving I don't, usually, have excess water in the puck container so
I JUST PUT THE TOP ON THE CONTAINER
Clean the brush, squeeze it once

Put everything in my locker at the YMCA. I have a brush stand on the door to the locker which is a help

Tom
add:
my stuff for the YMCA.
You can see my brush top and the container for the puck

T

With soap I lather on the soap with creams its on my face.

I'm usually a scuttle latherer.
This is because I keep most pucks in containers that don't have a lot, or the necessary , room to make lather.

I do have a few soaps that are stored in largish plastic containers where there's a lot of room. I do lather directly on the puck in this case.
I make a fine lather...When I am done; I simply drain any liquid off the bowl and close it up. If there's lather in the bowl I leave it in there. I've not had any problems with this. The lather simply dries out till I get round to this soap again.
Tom
OOPS! I forgot I posted before...Least I'm consistent and the topic has my interest
Hahahaha

I've always lathered directly in the mug/on the soap. This proves to be quite effective with cheaper or harder soaps, like Williams. I have been using Proraso almost exclusively, lathering directly in the little green tub it comes in. It may use more soap, but at that price, I'm not too concerned about it.

Originally Posted by erictski

Just wondering if anyone lathers directly on top of there soap in a mug. If so does this seem to make it easier to get water ratio correct because the soap lathers to the amount of water you have on the brush or put in the mug?

Since this was the original question, I will get right to it. Yes, it is possible to lather directly on the bowl where your soap is. However, the second part is not correct. it is harder to get the right ration of soap to water that way. The reason is simple: when you add water, you load more soap. Lather needs to be hydrated after it reaches its peak. When you use this method for lathering, you make it harder to reach the peak of the soap. This method can lead to shaving with lather that is too dry. The best way of controlling ration of soap to water by keeping the amount of one of the variables fixed (soap) and slowly changing the other (water). You could do it the other way around but it is harder this way, especially with soaps. There is also the issue of economy but performance is, in my opinion, the main reason not to do this.

Al raz.

Al Raz...

That makes sense that way...i guess I never thought of it in that sense that you will just keep adding soap so its hard to get the right amount. I have kept at it and with my soaps I am now getting good lather after loading going to my GP scuttle. I wasnt using enough water to build the lather...it was too dry...that was my big problem.

I lather all the time in the soap containers never had a problem.