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Post by Alan on Dec 28, 2013 23:36:54 GMT -6
I got a puck of Scottish Fine Soaps shave soap as a gift for the Holidays. I've used the bath soaps for a couple of years and found them to be very good. I'm having a little trouble with the shave soap though, I can get it to lather just OK and then it doesn't seem to last or dries out on my skin. I must be using it wrong as it seems to be of a good quality. Anyone else tried this?
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RobinK
Lather Catcher
Posts: 505
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Post by RobinK on Dec 29, 2013 4:00:08 GMT -6
SFS is like Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF) in many respects, just better. Some people, yours truly included, have no problems lathering with it whatsoever. I recently bought distilled water and added CaCO3 until I found that Scottish Fine Soap would not lather well any more. Coincidentally, no other soap would lather under these circumstances, either, with the notable exception of Xpec. That said, there is one thing I keep recommending when using shaving soaps: Get a high quality badger brush with lots of backbone. I am not talking €15 Chinese imports but quality brushes. I have often heard comments like "this Chinese brush looks exactly like that English/German brush but only costs a fraction". True. It looks eerily similar. However, there are two factors that set high quality brushes apart: - Chinese brushes often use lower quality badger hair that is bleached to make it look like silvertip. However, the difference is not just a cosmetic one. Long silvertip hairs are rare, and therefore expensive. The do, however, offer the best combination of backbone and soft tips. Backbone is extremely useful for lathering soaps. Contrary to popular belief, little to no pressure should be required to lather a soap. Driving suds deep into the knot will achieve nothing except a waste of product, and soap residue in the brush which will eventually make the hairs brittle, and break.
- Water retention is essential. This is where boar and horsehair brushes typically fail. Water retention is important because producing good lather requires tight control over the amount of water added to the suds.
How is this relevant to your problem? I have found that SFS works best when dabbed with hot water before taking a shower to soften the surface of the soap. I pour the excess water into my lathering bowl prior to lathering. I then use a brush which has been soaked in warm water and then shaken dry. I use the excess water from the lathering bowl to gradually add water to the proto lather on top of the soap by picking it up with the brush. The entire process take between 30 and 45 seconds.
As an aside, if you do not need the luxury of uncut silvertip hairs, a grey badger will work just as well, but you will miss that fluffy feeling
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Post by Alan on Dec 29, 2013 6:47:48 GMT -6
Thanks B, I will try the hot water dabble this morning.
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Dec 29, 2013 18:27:41 GMT -6
I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to pick up some of the Grey Badger brushes hand made by Thater in Germany. They are really wonderful brushes. I have been having a great time getting used to these brushes and am beginning to be quite comfortable using them. Our friend from Berlin must remember that not everyone can whip up shave soap with such high reliability as he. I must admit that I still struggle with numerous soaps to achieve excellent results - and at times even acceptable ones! I have had them though and that drives me to keep trying I suppose. Alan, I have found that it is, as BeBerlin so certainly puts it, probably an issue of water to soap ratio. This however is not an easy task. There are really numerous spots where the water is added and anyone of them can contribute too much or too little water. Different brushes do hold different volumes of water. But, water is frequently added as well which would suggest that the correct amount of water could be had by adding more when for example a boar is used. The presoaking, if used, is tricky to get consistent also. There is the hardness of the water, the temp, the bowl design and personal style of brush use and probably other contributions. Lots of variables. I struggle with all of them to come up with the rightly mixed shaving cream to apply. That is why I have favorites - I know how to use them to get reliable results. (Number one reason I love the VDH Alan - thnx!) Learning a new one often takes time for me. That said, BeBerlin was the guy responsible for hooking me up with Thater Grey Badger brushes (pic below) and I still owe him a wonderful THANK YOU!!!!!Two of my Thater Grey Badgers
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Post by Alan on Dec 29, 2013 21:05:25 GMT -6
Aha....I did the water thing, big difference. Thanks for the tip guys. I guess soap is kind of like brushes, you need the right technique.
I really like the handle on those Thaters. Hmmmmm,I may need to look into those.
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RobinK
Lather Catcher
Posts: 505
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Post by RobinK on Dec 30, 2013 9:06:16 GMT -6
My pleasure, Wayne. I'm glad you like the brushes. From a market perspective, the big ones are made of unobtainium. At least in the States, you will not be able to get them at all, and even in Germany, they are a rare treat. That said, whilst seemingly expensive, the silvertip ones will serve you decades if you treat them right. And that puts their price into proper perspective. If you want to accumulate brushes, they are probably not for you, unless you are willing to spend four digit figures. But if you are looking for one brush to serve you for the years to come, a 24mm or a 26mm fan shaped one with octagonal handles will fit the bill perfectly. Speaking of perfect fit, these handles may not be the prettiest on the planet (far from it, compared to their silver lined cocobolo ones, for example), but they are the product of German engineering. Shavemac use them, too, and quite rightly so. While pretty to look at, standard handles have a penchant from slipping between your fingers. These concave octagonal handles don't. Ever. Which is great, because due to using cut-throats and lather catchers, I do my fair share of skin stretching which inevitably leaves my fingers somewhat slick. Alan, I'm also glad that old trick worked for you. The Straight Razor Place's Wiki has a rather nice tutorial for making lather from soap. That entire section is really quite useful for SE shavers, too, I think. There is one for making lather from cream, too. So far, whenever someone claimed that product X did not work as expected, that problem could be remedied by applying a bit of reading up on the properties of soaps or creams. I have a friend whose parents run their own soap mill, and it has taught me a lot of things, first and foremost that making shaving soap is incredibly difficult. Yes, you can import cheap Chinese soap flakes, pour some essential (if even that) oils over them, and concoct something loosely resembling shaving soap in your bathtub. But making shaving soap that actually works from scratch is very hard. There are five artisan soaps I have found to work exceedingly well, though. - Scottish Fine, which is the one you're currently using. It beats Mitchell's Wool Fat in any respect, I'd say, and the aftershave balm is very nice, too.
- Esbjerg from Vienna. Their aftershave products are the best in the market, along with Baume.be's. Absolutely stunning, but the scents are very light and citric. Some may find them too feminine:)
- Le savon des Volcanes by Savonnerie du bon berger. French, heavy on the menthol, but a stunning soap overall.
- Dr K Soap Company from Ireland. A relative newcomer to the shaving soap scene, but I like their peppermint soap a lot.
- Green Mountain Soap from the US. Owned by aforementioned friend's parents (full disclosure here). Far less expensive than the other soaps, and works like a charm. It needs matching aftershaves, but otherwise, sterling stuff.
I am not sure about Scottish Fine, but the rest are 100% organic (vegan, even), which sounds pretty metrosexual until you realise that less is definitely more in a soap. I have yet to hear reports about intolerances, and that is certainly a lot more than can be said about most mass produced soaps (and creams, for that matter). Time to get off my proverbial soap box. A large package of Alvarez Gomez shaving stuff from Spain has just landed on my doorstep, and I need to try this. If Esjberg is too feminine for you, you will like this stuff irrespective of its performance. Smells like Latin Lover, but in a good way (as far as I can tell, as my interest in Latin Lovers is, mildly put, limited). Thanks! Robin
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Post by Alan on Dec 30, 2013 10:04:12 GMT -6
Thanks for taking the time to help Robin. I'm going to try one of the above soaps.
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Post by sleddog on Mar 10, 2014 20:23:19 GMT -6
I was in Winners today and wandered through the limited "Mens" section and spotted their one and only package of shaving soap. A very nice presentation box of Scottish Fine Soaps shaving soap. I opened it up in the store and the scent is very similar to Mitchels Wool Fat, which is a good thing to me, so I bought it.$15...can't go too wrong Really nice looking box...The porcelain soap dish and lid..the soap is wrapped like MWFI will try this a few times using different brushes, razors, blades and report back
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Mar 10, 2014 22:53:01 GMT -6
What a great snag! Nice presentation too. Nice job.
I am off to our Winners store tomorrow first thing! I'll never be able to stop dropping in there now! You've ruined my chances of that Sledog!
: )
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RobinK
Lather Catcher
Posts: 505
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Post by RobinK on Mar 10, 2014 23:05:28 GMT -6
Are there any Scottish people here? If so, SFS have an outlet in Falkirk. Hard to find, but well worth it. Most soaps are 20p, and the entire men's grooming line is really cheap there, too. If I recall correctly, the above box was GBP 9, and a refill puck GBP 2. Unscented pucks were 20p, which is probably the best deal you will get anywhere on this planet.
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