fully whipping shaving cream??

hey guys, I hope I can explain this right. I just ran out of truefitt and hill 1805, towards the end of the container the cream got more firm, I guess from age (lasted a year surprisingly) and became difficult to whip the lather up with. it would resist my efforts. in the end I added water to the container and stirred it real good. it seemed to work better after that, but was a bit too goopy and the lather wasnt' as thick.

now I have some new castle forbes lime. it is also very thick and although I was able to get a good lather, I still had a piece of the cream stuck to the side of the bowl that wasn't broke down and incorporated into the foam.

what do I need to do guys? more hot water? hotter bowl? any ideas appreciated.

Red

Pre heat the brush and bowl with boiling water. Leave enough water in brush to ensure that the brush actually gets loaded with cream. That's it, really. Works for me, that is.

Alternatively, if you're dipping the cream out instead of loading the brush directly, try a very hot bowl and less water in the brush than usual. The bowl should soften (or even liquefy) the snurdle of cream after a minute or two, allowing you to then stir it into a very thick paste. Then, just add water a little at a time as needed.

Ahhhh, great observation. Basically you are experiencing two flavors of the same problem. The cream became thicker because, among other things, the water evaporated. Because you added more water to soften it, and likely did not change the amount of water in the brush, the lather is thinner. SOLUTION: remove all water from the brush and whip. You may still have to use a bit more if the amount of water you added was large. In the future, you should not dilute the cream, it works just the same when it is thick, you just have to whip a bit harder; a firmer brush and a larger bowl will definitely work with dense creams.

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Originally Posted by Big Red

hey guys, I hope I can explain this right. I just ran out of truefitt and hill 1805, towards the end of the container the cream got more firm, I guess from age (lasted a year surprisingly) and became difficult to whip the lather up with. it would resist my efforts. in the end I added water to the container and stirred it real good. it seemed to work better after that, but was a bit too goopy and the lather wasnt' as thick.

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This is one of the recurrent rants of Castle Forbes users. SOLUTION: Since you use a bowl, I would warm it up a bit and then spread the cream as much as I can over the bowl.Same recommendation here about the size of the bowl. Before I start whipping, I would load the my brush by swirling gently and dissolving the cream before I start whipping full spped. If you do not do this, it would be impossible for you see when the creams is completely dissolved, leaving the undissolved portions floating around, or likely sticking to the bowl, only to be discovered after you finish shaving. Since you clearly are producing enough lather using less cream that you thought you needed, I would add less cream the next time. The Bomb does exactly the same so I am an authority in this field. I would not use more water than normal, only a dab is enough. If you use more water, you may go past the peak. This is what is happeneing in your Truefitt & Hill example. However, hot water and a frmer brush (like above) would help.

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Originally Posted by Big Red

now I have some new castle forbes lime. it is also very thick and although I was able to get a good lather, I still had a piece of the cream stuck to the side of the bowl that wasn't broke down and incorporated into the foam.

what do I need to do guys? more hot water? hotter bowl? any ideas appreciated.

Red

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In both cases, remember to hydrate the lather before you use it, this is very important.

Al raz.

Load the brush as previously stated, With the CF Lime or Alraz's "The Bomb" (Any dense cream) I either dip the brush right in the cream, or take a small amount and smear it into the bristles. (You may have to hold the bristles together with your fingers, to make them firmer) Without adding water, swirl it around in a warm scuttle until the blob of cream is evenly distributed. It may take 1 min or so. Once it's all smeared around the scuttle, then add your water...I used to have the same problem...

Alraz's "The Bomb" played a role in this....

excellent guys! thanks very much. I do need to use less, as had more lather than needed yesterday. but I did a combo of putting it on the bristles and spreading out in the bowl. I use a bowl about 6" diameter, ceramic I had in my shop for some reason. I run the water hot (my tank is set pretty hot) and put the brush in it, then let the sink fill partially as well so bowl is heated from both sides. after a bit I drain sink and empty bowl (if I'm doing a preshave lather, stropping and then relathering I'll leave the water in the sink to keep it hot).

this time I didn't have big bits of the cream left, but did have more lather than needed. amazing how long this stuff will last. that's why I don't really think its THAT expensive, it looks like this one will last me a year too.

Thanks again. It's great having guys that have tackled the same problem already.

Red

Exactly Red, you just made a very important point: These products are not expensive at all, they are actually some of the best deals available. You may pay a more in front but you certainly get much more value for your $$$ in the end. This is high performance!!! Notice that in order for you to use less (economy), the formula has to allow you to get the full benefits of the product (prep, glide, cushion, stability, robustness and conditioning, see the link below for details on each), it is not just making more lather. The product has to excel in all of these with just a tiny amount to be a superior product.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/newbi...ream-soap.html

And using a large bow allows you to fully exploit the advantages of the product, any product! When I test soaps I use a 5.5" bowl. I follow a similar routine to yours but I do not prelather when I strop. Instead, I take a shower after I strop my razor.

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Originally Posted by Big Red

excellent guys! thanks very much. I do need to use less, as had more lather than needed yesterday. but I did a combo of putting it on the bristles and spreading out in the bowl. I use a bowl about 6" diameter, ceramic I had in my shop for some reason. I run the water hot (my tank is set pretty hot) and put the brush in it, then let the sink fill partially as well so bowl is heated from both sides. after a bit I drain sink and empty bowl (if I'm doing a preshave lather, stropping and then relathering I'll leave the water in the sink to keep it hot).

this time I didn't have big bits of the cream left, but did have more lather than needed. amazing how long this stuff will last. that's why I don't really think its THAT expensive, it looks like this one will last me a year too.

Thanks again. It's great having guys that have tackled the same problem already.

Red

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Originally Posted by zib

Alraz's "The Bomb" played a role in this....

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I warned you of the "dangers" of the high density Bomb, didn't I? ;-) With great power comes great responsibility! ;-)

Al raz.