Question about lather

I notice in a lot of the photo's posted that Mugs, scuttles are usually filled to the top with lather. Do you guys get this kind of lather with soap ? I use soap and normally get enough lather at the bottom of my mug to get 3 shaves but most of my lather is in the brush. Im thinking of buying a cream and after loading my brush with soap just dipping my brush into a cream then going into my mixing mug.

I want to buy a scuttle but it almost seems like a waste for the amount of lather I get, I really have not experienced "Warm Lather" because of the amount Im getting from soap. Am I doing something wrong?

Yes!!:D

No really here is my method:
1. Soak brush for 10 minutes in hot tap water in your favorite latte mug.
2. Drip little hot water onto soap cake.
3. Shower.
4. Shave brush almost dry.
5. Dump the latte water.
6. Fill Bathroom sink with hot tap water and place mug in water fill till the water is half way up the bowl.
7. Leave a little water about 1 teaspoon in the bottom of the mug.
8. Dip the brush bristles in the water to rewarm. Shake a little.
9. Swirl and crush the brush into the cake.
10. Pick up mug and swirl the brush in the mug.
11. A teaspoons of water as needed.
12. The finished product should look like whip cream with a stiff peak.:gl:

Some of us overdo the lather a bit and end up wasting some.

Do you get some lather that sticks to the bottom/side of your mug? I mean sticks, not runs down there. If so, then you are probably doing OK.

With cream it's easy to get tons of lather. With soaps you need to load up the brush to get the same amount. That's my experience anyway.

I'm no expert but I learned to make good lather from Mantic's videos here . Using a bowl rather then a mug and adding hot tap water as needed made a lot of difference for me.

Single wedge I use your same method of lather making but Im getting no where near even a half a mug full of lather.

Ray I get very little lather at the bottom of the mug, like I said I have enough between whats in my brush and whats left on the bottom of the mug to do 3 good passes, but am wondering how you guys are getting lather overflowing out of your mugs.

I hope these links paste in properly...


Lather Help.
How to make great lather from a soap ~ Tutorial - Badger & Blade

And the opposite approach also works:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post319377

Hey Mike,

If you're making enough lather for a full three pass shave, then why are you concerned about having lather overflowing out of your mug? As long as the overall consistency of lather is good and shaveable I say quality over quantity.

PS - If lather is overflowing out of the bowl then it's probably Uber-ed, but that's JMO.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Hey Mike,

If you're making enough lather for a full three pass shave, then why are you concerned about having lather overflowing out of your mug? As long as the overall consistency of lather is good and shaveable I say quality over quantity.
PS - If lather is overflowing out of the bowl then it's probably Uber-ed, but that's JMO.

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Ryan good point, I do end up with enough lather do do 3 full passes and more if I wanted. It's just that I have been looking at the photos in SOTD and see full mugs of lather. I Also want to buy a scuttle and thought it would be great to have hot lather , only I dont get enough to justify buying a scuttle, I do think I am going to buy a cream so I can just add a little to my soap and see what happens.

Ah yes, the lure of the scuttle..... sometimes if the room is quiet I can hear it myself :D

Although I haven't read much about it there is a thread around here about a poor-man's scuttle (or "red-neck scuttle", I can't remember which) that is cheap to make. No need for an expensive piece of custom pottery. There are other methods to making hot lather as well.

In the mean time try the Uber method and see if it works for you. If I'm not mistaken doesn't Colleen make creams? It's been a while since I was on her site, but I do know you are a fan of her products.

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If I'm not mistaken doesn't Colleen make creams? It's been a while since I was on her site, but I do know you are a fan of her products.

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lol you must have read my mind, I think this whole thread was just a way for me to justify buying one of Colleens creams. I imagine swirling my brush around the Bay/Sweet Orange soap , then dipping the tip of the brush in the Bay/Sweet Orange cream, then going to my mixing mug or soon to be GP scuttle. I think that is going to be heaven.

Mike ...

If you want more lather just load more on the brush. but if you are getting enough to shave and its too your liking of slickness and protection then you dont need any more. and a skuttle will still help keep it hot no matter how much you make. The GP is nice and big to mix lather as well as keep it hot. I have one and like it alot. As for colleens cream IIRC they dont measure up to her soaps but I dont have expreience with those but I can tell you that Joannas at TSD is super dense and really nice cream. I have the unscented and it works just fantasticly.

Making Überlather - Straight Razor Place Wiki


These are some Uberlather tricks and vids....

Keep in mind that you can break these down into component parts you do not have to make Uberlather... The techniques are what really matter...

OK, I'll let you in on the big secret... add a splash of Boddingtons!:rofl2:
YouTube - Boddington's beer advert 1992

I LOVE BODDINGTONS BEER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rock:

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Originally Posted by Rajagra

OK, I'll let you in on the big secret... add a splash of Boddingtons!:rofl2:
YouTube - Boddington's beer advert 1992

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That was funny Ray

You will love the GP scuttle just got one about a month or so ago. Best purchase yet. I love the feeling of hot lather. You will also be able to get a real good lather with your soap. Just load up your brush and you will be fine!

The ridiculous amounts of lather you see in the lather porn pictures is superfluous. If you're getting great shaves and have enough lather for all of your passes, then that's all you need. Any more is just wasting soap.

If you insist on having that much lather, you just need to overload your brush with soap. If you normally load for 15-20 seconds, load for a full minute. And then work it up in a bowl, adding water until it maintains peaks and starts exploding out of the bowl. Certain lathers will create much more than others. SRD and mama bear are two that explode out of the bowl if you overload the brush with them.

If you're still having trouble getting the lather to explode into gobs of lather when heavily loading the brush, it's either a case of not working it up enough (need to whip it up longer), or not adding enough water and having it be too dense.

Here's my alternative to an expensive scuttle. Warm the outside of your mug or bowl with hot tap water. Take it to the kithen and brew your morning pot of coffee. Place the mug on the top of the coffe maker as it brews (assuming you're using a modern drip coffee maker.) Shower. By the time you're ready to lather up, the mug and the soap should be nice and warm from the steam of the coffee as it brews. I used to use this method until I decided I didn't really need hot lather.

Ok I finally got this figured out. What helped was putting the wam water on top of the soap before I went into the shower than using that water to make my lather. I got more lather than needed and here is what is left after 3 shaves. Im using TGQ bay rum soap and I even added a few drops of Ogallalla Bay Rum AS to my lather while I was mixing it up.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...4/100_0075.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...4/100_0074.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...100_0073-1.jpg

This is the most lather I have ever made so far and I had it layed on thick on my face, normally I get a very thin layer.

I think I have a very different view of lather than a lot of the folks around here. YMMV, but I see no reason to generate a pint of lather that looks like pudding.

I started wet shaving (although still using disposables) when I was about 15. (I'd been shaving regularly since I was 12. Runs in the family)

My dad has worn a full beard since I was 3 to cover scars from a car accident, and had only ever used canned goop back when he shaved. Also, when I was 15, the internet wasn't what it is today. So, I had to teach myself, and only worried about what worked well. I could care less what my lather looked like, or how impressive it was.

I don't lather in a bowl, and if I somehow managed to produce lather that looked like what I see around here all the time, I'd wash everything off, including my brush, and start over. The lather is there to lubricate your skin, not make you look like santa.:rofl2:

First of all, I've always used soap. Just feels more old fashioned.

I have an antique scuttle (just mentioned this part in another thread)

Before the moss scuttle, scuttles were intended for soap, and had drain holes in the soap dish making them useless for creme, and useless for lathering. Also, the spouts were big enough to stick your brush in.

I use one of these types of scuttles by filling it with boiling water from my kettle. It does nothing useful to the soap, but gives me a ready pot of boiling hot water to dip my brush in, and allows any excess water to run back into the reservoir instead of making the soap soggy.

I get the brush down in the boiling water to soak some up and make the brush really hot, then tap the excess off on top of the soap. This softens the surface of the soap, and let's the excess water run back down.

I rapidly twist the brush back and forth while pumping up and down on top of the soap to load it, which usually takes about 10 seconds. I go until I can just see a thin lather starting to form around the edges. The brush will have no visible lather on it.

Then I take my very hot soapy brush, and lather on my face. I get lather that is as hot as I could possibly stand, and a nice full lather. I also get a nice little face massage in the process.

If the brush get's cold while I'm lathering, or the lather get's too thick and sticky, dip the very tip of the bristles back in the hot water, and keep going.

For the second and third passes, I'll dip the brush again, but only the tips, and reload lightly. Just a couple of quick seconds on the soap.

Doing this, I get consistently hot lather, and a 1oz bar of TGQ (which is very soft stuff) lasts me a month or more. And, you can pick up an old-school scuttle like mine for $15-$35 on the bay.

That's the way to do it!

Im still not sure what route Im going to take with lather, right now I like making it in the bowl and seeing it develope, I like the way it smells , I probally dont need to make as much as I did last night , but it gives me an excuse to ask the wife if she wants me to shave her legs. Sometimes she says yes and when shes not in the mood she just washes her hands with the excess lather and she likes the way it smells.

Well, I'd encourage you to at least give my method a try. You could do the same basic thing with any old bowl full of boiling hot water.

I know that you use colleen's too, and it works really well with my method.

You may find that you don't like my method, especially considering that I'm in a small minority when it comes to lather, but you may find you get a better shave go through your soap a lot more slowly.

Plus, you can still say, "Honey, I've got plenty of hot water left and everything is out. You want a shave?" :rock:

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Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

Well, I'd encourage you to at least give my method a try.

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I imagine your method is pretty close to how the original scuttles were designed to be used, and I bet it works well. My only concern is that some of the oversized brushes that some of us use now would need a lot of persuasion to fit into the scuttle's spout. It's hard to tell from ebay pics.

Steve Im gonna give your method a try this weekend.

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Originally Posted by Rajagra

My only concern is that some of the oversized brushes that some of us use now would need a lot of persuasion to fit into the scuttle's spout.

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You are absolutely correct.

My scuttle came with an old pure badger brush that was nice and narrow. Unfortunately, it's previous owner stood in his bathroom 10 hours a day chain-smoking menthol cigarettes if there's anything to judge by smell, so I had to replace the knot.

The replacement was only an 18mm knot, and even that is too wide to stick in the spout when it's dry.

Mac just started a thread the other day about restoring a brush that came with a scuttle he bought on the bay, and while it's a boar brush, it is also very narrow.

However, the only time you stick the whole brush in the spout is the first time when it's completely dry, and then you can just squeeze the bristles together since they're dry and room temp. After that, you're just dipping it in far enough to add a little moisture to the tips, and I think even a very big brush could do that just fine.

Also, it's completely irrelevant if you don't have an old-school scuttle, and you're just trying out the method with a big bowl of boiling water.


Of course, I also don't like the over-sized brushes. I know that a lot of this is preference, but from where I stand, it seems like a lot of the things that a lot of guys around here do in terms of shaving are down right silly, and don't to a thing to improve the shave. I won't drag this thread OT by trying to list them, but I think you get my point.


Oh, and Mike, be aware that even with a really big bowl of boiling hot water, it's going to cool off MUCH faster than it would in a scuttle. In a scuttle, you're not going to have air moving over the surface of the water. In a bowl you're going to have a lot of surface area.

If you don't own and old style scuttle, you'll probably have better results by either filling a coffee mug with the water, letting it warm up the mug, and then dumping and refilling, OR, use a mug in the microwave to boil the water so they both get hot.

Steve I will give it a shot with the smaller mug and see what I think. Im gonna kind of miss looking like Santa Claus . lol...

Well, you might really hate my method, and even if you decide you like it, you can always get a fake beard at the dollar store. lol

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Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

I think I have a very different view of lather than a lot of the folks around here. YMMV, but I see no reason to generate a pint of lather that looks like pudding.

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Well, it depends on what you are doing. When I shave I do 2 things: test the soap and shave. I find it easier for me to find the right point of the lather (when the big air bubbles start to come out) when I lather in a bowl and use a bit more than I need, particularly because I test too many soaps; otherwise, I would agree with your comment for the most part.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

I don't lather in a bowl, and if I somehow managed to produce lather that looked like what I see around here all the time, I'd wash everything off, including my brush, and start over. The lather is there to lubricate your skin, not make you look like santa:rofl2:.

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Again, I think that you are partially right on this one. Yes, one of the functions of the lather is to lubricate your skin (and also to soften the whiskers) but also to provide cushion and glide (these do not have to be mutually exclusive) during the shave. Good lather does even more for your skin than just that but I agree, the santa face is not necessary, you can definitely get both if you really want. I would say that the santa face is a matter of personal preference. If I have read the reviews correctly, with the soap you are using, you get some of these qualities from the clay rather than from any direct effect on the skin, this is also something to consider.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

I rapidly twist the brush back and forth while pumping up and down on top of the soap to load it, which usually takes about 10 seconds. I go until I can just see a thin lather starting to form around the edges. The brush will have no visible lather on it.

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10 seconds? With most of the soaps I use, if I swirl for more than 3 seconds, I end up filling my bowl with lather.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

Then I take my very hot soapy brush, and lather on my face. I get lather that is as hot as I could possibly stand, and a nice full lather. I also get a nice little face massage in the process.

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I am not a face latherer but after talking to a few senior member that prefer this method, I gave it a try. I must say that face lathering is great for your skin. I would have to work on the process as I ended up making a mess in the bathroom but that is a different story. Also, a lot of brushes are to soft to be used for this method. I managed to get enough soap in the brush to relather a couple of times without hitting the soap again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

Doing this, I get consistently hot lather, and a 1oz bar of TGQ (which is very soft stuff) lasts me a month or more. And, you can pick up an old-school scuttle like mine for $15-$35 on the bay.

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If I read your post correctly, your comment is partly directed towards the economy of your method vs generating large quantities of lather that would inevitably end up in the sewer. This is how I look at the issue of economy: assuming that you shave once a day, you get approximately 30 shaves per oz of soap. I get over 10 shaves per 4 gr of The Bomb, which is my homemade soap, using my seemingly wasteful method; this is over 70 shaves per oz of soap. Utopian, another member here, gets over 5 years of usage out of a puck of Tabac, which is an EXCELLENT!!! shaving soap. You may not like the scent but you cannot argue about its performance. I personally would not use his method myself but again, this is a matter of personal preference. I have been offered some samples of TGQ soaps for testing and at that point, I would be able to tell you how they compare to The Bomb. The point that I am trying to make is that the choice of soap and lathering method should be a matter of personal preference. People should do whatever makes them happy, there is not a unique way to do things. Also, I find that you normally get what you pay for, there may be a way around this but I have not yet found it... ;-)

Al raz.

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Originally Posted by Alraz

Well, it depends on what you are doing. When I shave I do 2 things: test the soap and shave. I find it easier for me to find the right point of the lather (when the big air bubbles start to come out) when I lather in a bowl and use a bit more than I need, particularly because I test too many soaps; otherwise, I would agree with your comment for the most part.



Again, I think that you are partially right on this one. Yes, one of the functions of the lather is to lubricate your skin (and also to soften the whiskers) but also to provide cushion and glide (these do not have to be mutually exclusive) during the shave. Good lather does even more for your skin than just that but I agree, the santa face is not necessary, you can definitely get both if you really want. I would say that the santa face is a matter of personal preference. If I have read the reviews correctly, with the soap you are using, you get some of these qualities from the clay rather than from any direct effect on the skin, this is also something to consider.

I'd agree that the "santa face" is a matter of prefference, but then, 90% of what we do falls in that category. This post is simply my perspective on lathering.

10 seconds? With most of the soaps I use, if I swirl for more than 3 seconds, I end up filling my bowl with lather.

You know, it's funny you mention that. Nobody else commented on that, but you're right. I've never timed it, and that just sounded right when I was typing that out. Today I actaully looked at my watch, and yeah, it was about 3 seconds tops. When I go back for the extra passes later in the shave, it's basically one quick twist and pump.

I am not a face latherer but after talking to a few senior member that prefer this method, I gave it a try. I must say that face lathering is great for your skin. I would have to work on the process as I ended up making a mess in the bathroom but that is a different story. Also, a lot of brushes are to soft to be used for this method. I managed to get enough soap in the brush to relather a couple of times without hitting the soap again.

Yeah, like I said, if I hit the soap again, it's literally one quick twisting pump. Not even 100% sure it's adding soap. May be just redistributing, but it seems to help between passes.

Now, as far as making a mess face lathering, I've found one thing that helps make less of a mess, and lather faster. I could show you what I'm talking about in half a second, but I'm not sure if I can explain it well typing. Anyway, what I do, it I keep the brush angled just slightly, so that the handle points down and away from my face, rather than just straight out, but only slightly. Then I keep my brush in contact with my face the whole time. No "sweeping." Then I work the brush in circles, and work my way slowly down my face. This way, the bristles point up slightly, and the lather is deposited as I work my way down.

If I read your post correctly, your comment is partly directed towards the economy of your method........

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Yes, it is, but only as a side note. I mention it (and I've mentioned it elsewhere) because there are a lot of folks who use a straight, at least in part, because it's less wasteful. If being less wasteful is part of why you use a straight, it doesn't make sense to whip up enough lather to shave 6 times over, and rinse the extra down the drain. That's all I'm saying there.

Most of what I'm about to say has already been said, but I'm gonna say it anyway.
;)

The first few shaves I used soap and brush, I lathered right on my face. I don't think I loaded enough soap on the brush, I only got 1-2 good passes out of it.

Then I switched to using a bowl, this was better and the lather was hot, as I kept the bowl floating in a sink full of hot water. Got enough for 3+ passes.

Then I got a TGQ soap (waaaaaaayy better than Williams-sorry, had to throw that in there), and I switched back to right on the face.

I first soak the brush in the sink while I shower, then shake some of the water out. Then I lather most of the way right on top of the puck--generates a huuuge amount of lather, then I finish the job on my face, swirling about 30 sec or so.

Here is a video I saw, I learned a lot from it and this is the technique I now use (I don't know if the author is here on SRP somewhere? If so forgive my ignorance)

YouTube - Quick lather with boar

A couple of things I would add:
1. I squeeze the rest of the lather out of the brush when I'm done right back into the bowl--it looks foamy and sudzy but works just as well as in cake form. Cheap bastard method
2. Because all this soap is still "foamy" sitting on top of the puck, I find that just letting the water drip out of the brush is too much water to use. I squeeze just a little bit out after letting it drip.

Just thought you'd like some tips on conserving your TGQ soaps, these things are like soapy gold