Mike's hand made soaps from Brooklyn.

[Starkicker]

Can you guys explain the difference between cushion and glide? I picked up a tin of Mikes O/C/P and I get a nice creamly lather but it sticks and skips when I try to shave with it and dries on my face and brush when I don't shave fast enough. I've tried more water, less water and nothing seems to work. I like a thinner lather so I can see what i'm shaving but I can't seem to make any headway. I have the same problem with QCS and MWF, but i'm temporarily in LV where the water is hard so I'm wondering if that's my problem.

I have no issues making great lather with Tabac and C&E Sienna back home.

 

[mctmatt]

The cushion part of the lather acts a a protective barrier between your facial skin and the blade. The glide is the blade gliding on top of that point of the lather barrier without contacting the skin we are talking microns. Good lather is a foam not a cream as you have to have enough air. That air is part of the strength that creates a protective cushion and lubrication that allows the blade to glide on top of the lather microns from your facial skin without actually touching your skin just cutting your facial hair. The skips and sticks are because of surface friction.

 

[Chadao]

Not sure what to say. I love Mike's and have no trouble with lather or slickness. My water is very soft. What is your water like?

 

[Chuckaluck]

I have a tin of Mikes Rose and Cedarwood soap and my first shave with it tonight was awesome! This is a keeper for sure. Just curious if anyone has bought a bar of this soap and cut a piece to jam it in the tin? Seems like it might work very well.

 

[jeffsf]

I'm also interested in how easy it is to reshape a bar of Mike's into a typical hockey-puck-size container.

 

[shaverjoe]

I'm also interested in how easy it is to reshape a bar of Mike's into a typical hockey-puck-size container.

Very easy. Mike's soaps are very flexible and easily mashed into any container you wish.

 

[taco8slo]

I'll be damned if I didn't just get the smoothest darn shave from my twice-test lathered puck of VDH. Hell, I don't even know if its the deluxe version but night and day (to me) from Mikes.

I will keep trying Mikes, but wow. What a great shave.

Good stuff, it is good to know of at least one soap that works well for you.

 

[Chuckaluck]

I ordered my first couple of tins (Hungarian lavender & vetiver) several days ago and I'm eagerly anticipating their arrival. Hoping they're as good as people say because I would much rather give my money to the little guy.

Amen to that!

 

[Marcos1]

My first go around was with the tin, once done I can now get bars and re use the same tin. It's a good sized tin, and has ample space to load your brush. It's probably 4 inches across.

 

[Danricgro]

I bought some tins that are the same that Mikes come in off of Amazon. Now I just buy the bars and mash them into the tins with my fingers. Real easy to do and the tins are handy for all kinds of stuff and not expensive.

 

[Emanon]

I used VDH Deluxe for a bit and liked it a lot. It was pretty slick and it has some cushion. I got good shaves out of it. That was until I got hold of Mike's. The cushion is much better and at least for me that cushion adds to the slickness so my blade just glides along effortlessly.

Cushion is exactly what the word implies. Some lathers just sit on your face and when you put blade to skin you can feel the blade on your skin. The lather may look thick but it doesn't feel like there is anything between your face and the blade. Cushion feels like a barrier between the blades and your skin. I've had a shave gel like that, it felt. thick....like cushion! Then here is the slickness or glide and some lathers make the blade move across your face like being on an ice skating rink. It just glides along with no resistance.
Cushion and glide, for me, can probably be compared to oil/grease and water. If I pushed my foot flat on the floor through standing water it would drag across the ground easier than dry ground but still have some drag. Now if there were some grease on the ground my foot would glide and my feet would probably not feel the ground as much. There would be a cushion or a barrier between my foot and the ground.

 

[Emanon]

I bought my first tin of Mikes last week. Great stuff. This week I have been thinking that my next order will be soap. It's cheaper and I'm sure I can find something to put it in. Otherwise I'll just hold it in my hand. Sometimes we (I) get too caught up in stylish items or special equipment. Maybe I need to forget that extra "stuff" and just shave man!!! Just shave!

 

[AHBayArea]

Chadao: Probably harder than normal water.

At this point I am going to guess there is something in the soap that doesn't agree with my face and dries it out during the shave. I'll chalk it up to YMMV and move on.

Mike, if you read this, I gave it my best go and will probably PIF my last two samples. If it had worked for me you would have had a customer for life, however that is just how it goes. Seems to me you wont miss one person out of the craziness that has ensued over your soaps here!

 

[Starkicker]

Thanks so much, the oil/water reference made perfect sense. I've been having the same problem with pretty much all my soaps; I just kept trading them for others thinking that there was a problem with the soap or brush. I didn't figure I was doing something wrong - I reviewed many youtube videos and while my lather was fluffy, it was never like some of the pics I've seen in this thread.

Going to give my mikes another try, I was ready to give up on it and trade it for something else.

 

[jazzguy]

+1. The tins weren't available when I bought my first bar. However I do like the tins and have subsequently purchased all of my Mike's in them.

Very easy. Mike's soaps are very flexible and easily mashed into any container you wish.

 

[JoshuaNY]

I squish mine into something like this. It's very squishable, no need to even cut it in to pieces.

 

[mistercitizen]

I got the shave stick. I think next order I will get a tin and then just get the bars as replacements down the road. I like having the "official" soap container of the manufacturer if they offer one. Otherwise, I just use IKEA Grundtal's.

Ben

 

[SteveWY]

I love this forum! What timing! I actually JUST received my first Mike's order, a bar of bay rum and some samples and was searching for some advice on fitting the bar into a vintage OS mug. As I read so far, "squishing" is the accepted practice. Any other advice on using the soap? I think when I discover which of the samples I really like I will order it in a tin. How about using the samples? Just push into a mug or bowl, hand-lather?

 

[mistercitizen]

I love this forum! What timing! I actually JUST received my first Mike's order, a bar of bay rum and some samples and was searching for some advice on fitting the bar into a vintage OS mug. As I read so far, "squishing" is the accepted practice. Any other advice on using the soap? I think when I discover which of the samples I really like I will order it in a tin. How about using the samples? Just push into a mug or bowl, hand-lather?

You should have no problem squishing the soap into an Old Spice mug. Bay rum is a good choice of scent for the Old Spice mug IMO. I more or less hand lathered by little sample bars, but at the end I ended up with a Mike's frankensoap in a wood bowl. Mike's is very pliable stuff and I don't think you will need to grate it even. Just shove it in there. As far as lathering.... I find that loading for about a minute while adding drops of water a little at a time while loading and then working it into more of a pastey consistency on your face (if you face lather) and then adding water a little at a time until you reach nirvana. It's a great soap.

Ben

 

[Emanon]

I used a plastic knife and cut the samples into small pieces then pressed them (using my thumb) into a small soap puck sized bowl I have. Very easy to do. The bowl was only about 3 inches in diameter. It lasted me a few shaves. 3 or 4? I forget.