Poll: How many of you wet your pucks before loading?

[Foyle]

So, do you wet your pucks before loading your brush or do you just swirl a wet brush on dry soap?

Me, I've been experimenting with both but for my first couple of months of using hard soap I just swirled a wet brush on a dry puck and got great lather. I'm going to try the wetter brush on a dry puck method again on each of my soaps and see what happens.

[DaveNJ74]

I soak the puck with the brush in the same bowl/mug and load from there after I pour out the water and wring out the brush.

[Angry__Panda]

Just use my hand to scoop a little water from my sink and let it sit on top for about 20-30 seconds. I use Marco's method cause it works with all my soaps (soft or hard).

[Scott0079]

I voted wet, but it depends on the particular soap.

[Luc]

I wet the puck and drop the water 1-2 seconds later.

[franz]

Depends on how much water you have in the brush. I like to soften the puck with a few tsp of water and load with a slightly drier brush. If you had a dry puck, you'd have to load with a wetter brush.

[otto76]

I drip a little hot water from my soaked brush on top of the puck, put my brush back in to soak and let them both sit while I shower, or for just a minute or so if I am only shaving. And then I do like Franz said and load with a pretty dry brush.

[axman]

Always wet the puck.

[bkfist]

If the puck need wetting, I'll get a different soap.... Although with soft water, I've never found one I've needed to wet.

Sitting water has too much of a risk of leaching active ingredients from the soap at different rates, thereby changing what I am actually getting from the soap.

[GianquiMan]

Wet....but I forget often.

[johsa]

Put a table spoon of water on the puck before I take my shower so I voted wet.

[oversaturn]

That depends on the soap. Some soaps work better if you wet them, while some others don't need that.

[Wolfman1]

Wet the puck with a little water for about a minute.

[echotron]

Using a boar brush that's been soaking, turn it upside down for a little bit, ... use on dry soap with good results.

[Slivovitz]

I haven't found any kind of soap that needs to be soaked before using, but that's just me. I do soak the brush while I shower, or just run the tap over it if I forget.

Whatever works, though. I've seen people very insistent that some particular soap needs to be soaked, and although that's not my experience, maybe there are differences in water-hardness or other factors I'm not thinking of.

[5 over]

I've done both, but I'm now using some Tabac and wetting while in the shower. The brush soaks at the same time. I get out, pour off the water from the puck and wring out the brush. Then fill the sink with water while lathering and proceed to shaving. I don't know if the wetting is absolutely necessary but it seems have become part of my routine. The soap puck is looking a little pebbly these days, though, so maybe I'll go back to dry. Ah, I'd better not vote.:001_tongu

Ford

[Kenno]

That depends on the soap. Some soaps work better if you wet them, while some others don't need that.
+1

[coyotewhisper]

The one area of my wet shaving I have working on is my lather building. I have experiment with both dry and wet pucks. A dab water on a puck seems to work the best for myself in building lather.

[Optometrist]

Soft soaps, absolutely not, but for hard, triple-milled soaps, always. And I use a "wet" brush in all circumstances, despite wetting..

[jpkunst]

In my experience wetting a soap puck is not necessary, and harmful for the consistency of the soap if you overdo it.

[bkfist]

In my experience wetting a soap puck is not necessary, and harmful for the consistency of the soap if you overdo it.

Agreed. When you take soap off of a puck with just the water in the brush you are picking up all (or almost all) of the soap that has been softened from the wet brush. When you wet the puck ahead of time, certain components of the soap that are more water soluble will be pulled to the surface of the puck from the underlying pucks, changing the over-all chemistry/balance of the soap.

On the other hand, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, if it works for you, and you can't find any other way of loading your brush, go for it. I just wouldn't want to "damage" my soap by pre-wetting it and allowing the water to soak in and then be pulled out along with the most soluble components of the soap.

[rajagra]

No. That's just what they'll be expecting us to do. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0X0ZYbnHxA)

[jkh]

Not so much anymore. I just start with a damp brush and add drips of water to the puck or brush breech whilst loading.

[calcustom]

Put a table spoon of water on the puck before I take my shower so I voted wet.
+1, What johsa said.

[Natohog]

In the past I have always wet the puck while I soaked the brush during my shower. What was posted above makes sense to me about inconsistent softening of different ingredients at different rates of speed. I did not wet the puck before my most recent shave and I received the same results. Thanks for the knowledge in the posts.

[Arctic]

Dry. I don't add water to the soap first unless I'm using one that's tough to load like Col Conk or Nana June's.

[springerswimmer]

I set the cup aside and cover the puck with hot water for 3 - 4 minutes, then drain the water and create a better lather than if the puck were dry!

[Alraz]

Fir me, it depends on the soap.

Al raz.

[Pasha]

Run some water through the mug and then load the brush right then and there. The only soap that I use to soak for a while was the puck of williams.

[Greyfox]

I pput a little warm water on the surface of the soap while I am showering.

[cymric]

I never wet the puck nowadays. I fail to see the need when in moments (sometimes minutes) you'll be going at it with a wet brush anyway. That said, I have gone through a period of puck wetting but stopped when I found out I couldn't dry the puck properly afterwards.

[mharris127]

Run some water through the mug and then load the brush right then and there. The only soap that I use to soak for a while was the puck of williams.

Modern Williams is so hard that the best way to get a lather from it is to soak the puck for 12 hours before using. Even with that (I tried with a dry puck and a lightly soaked puck as well) the lather is somewhat bubbly and thin. I could live with it but there are much better pucks out there.

[BTJR99]

I wet the puck. jusr a few drops od water on top of the puck before I jump in the shower.

[mandoman]

works better when wet for me

[eastomjac]

i load hot water in my brush and then swirl the puck,get great lather every time,been doing it this way for 20 years,not about to change now:}

[bkfist]

For those who pre-wet their soaps, have you ever thought about scarifying the surface of the (dry) soap with something like http://www.axner.com/david-clay-tool-dt3a.aspx (Or even a stiff toothbrush, with the head heated and bent to a 90 degree angle)

By scratching the surface of the soap, you are going to loosen a very small layer at the top, increase the surface area of the soap 4-5X, allowing the water to dissolve more soap, quicker, directly from the brush, and without leaching out the individual ingredients of the soap at an uneven rate?

I would think a light scrubbing with a nice stiff metal brush like the one pictured would allow you to load a lot more soap into your brush quickly, without pre-soaking the soap puck, yet the tiny scratches in the surface of the soap shouldn't leave any large "chunks" or pieces of soap that don't dissolve and contribute to a nice rich lather. (I think I've seen them in the clay section of hobby shops like hobby lobby, and available at any clay supply place - I have no ties to the one I pictured, just the first picture I came up with on a search.)

Maybe someone could come up with a nice "soap brush shaped" "brush" of either soft stainless bristles, or *very* stiff, fine, plastic bristles that would look "at home" in a shaver's collection to scarify the surface of hard soaps like MWF, Williams etc. that don't like to dissolve well (especially in hard water) when loading a brush. You could make them in a "flat to", "fan" or "bulb" shape to match the favorite brush shape for people.

(BTW... Just looked at the price of the stainless brush, and I know some less fancy ones with an aluminum handle instead of the nice wood handle should be available for about $2-$3, not $13 like that particular one.) Here is a much cheaper example: http://shop.clay-planet.com/scratch-wire-brush---swb.aspx

[Pasha]

Modern Williams is so hard that the best way to get a lather from it is to soak the puck for 12 hours before using. Even with that (I tried with a dry puck and a lightly soaked puck as well) the lather is somewhat bubbly and thin. I could live with it but there are much better pucks out there.

Its not the easiest to lather but I usually got pretty good shaves out of williams. It was the first that I ever tried and failed miserably to use with a de. Worked with a cartridge just fine. Soak puck and brush while I shower. I use a mug to keep that bubbly lather and just having to load the puck like crazy in the mug (2 or 3 min) took care of the problem. As I used it more and with regular frequency the time it took to lather went down.

[Pasha]

Maybe someone could come up with a nice "soap brush shaped" "brush" of either soft stainless bristles, or

Like a stainless steel brush for shaving?

[mdunn]

I put a couple of drops on the top of the puck and use a fairly dry brush

[bkfist]

Like a stainless steel brush for shaving?

Well, I wouldn't exactly want to put it directly on my face! :scared:

[rajagra]

Modern Williams is so hard that the best way to get a lather from it is to soak the puck for 12 hours before using.
Before the first use, or every day??? :scared:

[fccexpert]

Lathering made simple

1) Wet brush
2) Apply wet brush to soap - move brush around over soap
3) Build lather in your favorite place
4) Apply lather to face (unless that is your favorite place in which case, omit step 4)

Shave.

[Pasha]

Well, I wouldn't exactly want to put it directly on my face! :scared:

Thats why i asked, if they made that id wait for the review thread before investing in that

[bkfist]

Thats why i asked, if they made that id wait for the review thread before investing in that

Might be a good idea to wait for Lysol to re introduce shave soap also... It might help with the healing process.

[mdevine]

I drip a little hot water from my soaked brush on top of the puck, put my brush back in to soak and let them both sit while I shower, or for just a minute or so if I am only shaving. And then I do like Franz said and load with a pretty dry brush.

This is exactly my approach as well.

[BurkDarkpatches]

Lathering made simple

1) Wet brush
2) Apply wet brush to soap - move brush around over soap
3) Build lather in your favorite place
4) Apply lather to face (unless that is your favorite place in which case, omit step 4)

Shave.

+1 (hardest soap I have is Tabac)

Every time someone puts water on their soap and pours it off before lathering, a soap maker's accountant gets his wings. :-)

Steve

[InHotWater]

I prefer to wet the puck. One exception would be a shaving stick(Arko), sometimes I apply the stick directly to the face, and if it is only light stubble I will load it directly to the (wet)shaving brush instead. This works well for me, feel free to give it a try on days when your stubble is very light.

[ssultan]

I wet my soap puck when I soak my brush before heading into the shower. Just force of habit and have never thought much about it...

[andrew98]

In my experience wetting a soap puck is not necessary, and harmful for the consistency of the soap if you overdo it.

+1.

-Andy

[ackvil]

I voted to wet the puck - but it depends upon the soap. If the soap is soft such as Cella I do not wet the puck. If it's hard such as McD or MWF I do wet the puck. If it is in between then it depends upon my mood!

[johnmets32]

I do mine moist so I guess that is wet.

[TMH478]

Always wet it down. I personally get better results that way.

[MadRoad]

I soak the brush and scuttle in warm water and go with that. Also, load the brush upside down Manic59 style. Haven't seen a need to soak the soap too. Might give it a try for the heck of it. Always in for something new.

[Gogo]

I don't bother wetting the soap.

[GreekGuy]

I soak all my brushes before use, and have never had an issue with lather being too dry using this method. So I always load from a dry puck. Unless you are trying to load a soap with a floppy brush, soaking is unnecessary IMO and potentially damaging to the soap. Excess moisture is soap's enemy

[littleton82]

Depends on the soap. I won't wet Cella

[chuckr9]

I find that a teaspoon of water on the puck, and a shaken brush, makes the quickest lather.

[rajagra]

If there is a dip in the puck to retain the water, and you don't use too much, then it might save a little time.
Otherwise, I'd skip doing it.

[ScottM]

I am completely new to DE shaving but what seems to work best for my current soap (VanDerHagens) is a small amount on the soap and a somewhat wet brush. What I mean is not dripping wet but shaken out.

[Viseguy]

Depends on how much water you have in the brush. I like to soften the puck with a few tsp of water and load with a slightly drier brush. If you had a dry puck, you'd have to load with a wetter brush.

This sums it up nicely, I'd say. I toss some drops of warm water on the soap for 30 seconds or so, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary.

[shakin_jake]

Lately I'm not showering before shaving, but I always do the barber towel prep. More often than not I'm using Proraso soap both the green tub and the white sensitive tub. I purposely leave the surface of the soap covered in water to soften. IMO this works best to load the brush. That said, last shave yesterday I used Cella and did not leave water on the soap surface. With Cella, i find I don't need to wet the surface of that soap but most all of my other soaps I leave water sitting on top, and I do this strictly to help load the brush

And FWIW, after I load the brush I place more water on top of the soap as more often than not, I reload the brush one more time before I'm done shaving


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

[Badger & Bengall]

Wet brush, dry puck. That's how I've always done it.

[PithorK]

I always drip some hot water on every soap (also on the more 'hybrid' Italian creams/soaps (screaps?) ) to soften the surface, then let it drip off. When face lathering, I usually leave it on.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

First I let my brush soak for about 5 minutes and then I wet my VDH Deluxe Soap with hot water, drain, then add 3 drops of glycerine on top. Then I proceed to 'load' my brush with Uberlather and face lather. :thumbup:

Christopher :straight: "Laughter is the [shaving] brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart." Mort Walker

[Catalin]

Not a puck-wetter here either. A wet brush will suffice!

[Rivguy]

I do not wet the puck but soak my brush in my scuttle while I shower. This practice has worked well for me. I have relatively soft water so that may make a difference.

Regards,

Doug

[FonGu]

Put a table spoon of water on the puck before I take my shower

+1

[talibeard]

I never wet my pucks and have to find a soap yet that needs to be soaked. Some pucks are a bit hard the first few shaves as they seem to have an 'outer layer' like tabac and Williams but once that is gone they load easy enough, both with boar and badger (or horse for that matter).

[Mountain Bum]

From day one when I started wetshaving I have never wet any of my soaps before hand.

Actually because of this post I gave it a try and I think I get a better lather if I leave it dry. Don't know it it's becuase of the type of soap but I use trumpers lime.

[nissan0735]

I dry load mwf and face later. Works great when you get the right amount of water in the brush. This will take some testing as each brush will be different.

[Doodi1]

I wet my pucj with a few drops of water before stepping in the shower. I dump the water out before loading my brush. I use "The Marco" method on all my soaps and load for 60 secs.

[Broogiedad]

Wet brush, dry puck. That's how I've always done it.

Amen!

[oc_in_fw]

I used to wet the puck, I no longer do. The only exception is when I get a wild hair and use Williams- usually wet it prior to showering. Of course, it usually sits a month or so between uses.

[oc_in_fw]

Try using Tabac dry once- you should find that the soak doesn't make a difference (it doesn't for me). It is really hard to screw up Tabac lather.