Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
The only thing I will add is on the water start with less give the brush a shake and then start you will see the cream start to form well more cream then add small amounts of hot water and keep building to you get the consistency you want you can go for a rich creamy lather to a foamy lather what ever your preference. the biggest mistake I see people make is to much water and never really get the full benefit of a cream. A lot of people build lather to resemble foam out of a can. Try less water an develop a nice cream I think you will surprised at the shave you get. You can always add you can not take away.
+1 with Don. I have found that my brush needs to be slightly less water-filled to get a nice lather from a cream (for example one or two shakes for a soap = 3 shakes for a shaving cream), and of course add water for your desired consistency. If your brush is holding too much water you'll ruin your lather pretty quickly. But as usual YMMV.

As for a "snurdle".. I use one of those decorative mini spoons, of which my wife has many, and scoop out an amount of cream between the size of a pea and an almond.