A newbie with a Shavemac (serious lather question) [Archive]

View Full Version : A newbie with a Shavemac (serious lather question)

kennethw

08-25-2006, 10:36 PM

I just received my Shavemac Silvertip L in black/nickel. Man, this is a nice brush. It's quite full, incredibly soft, and substantial. It feels like an instrument, not a hunk of plastic with animal hair in it.

Before I blather about it any more, I have a newbie question related to the lather resulting from my first brush with it (pun intended).

I had to use more cream with this one (as one might expect); it seems to suck up lather like a sponge. Once I generated more lather and got it to my face, it seemed reluctant to let go of very much of it. Squeezing the knot produced incredible amounts of lather, which had been hiding in some parallel universe which is fond of Taylor's Avocado. I think the lather from my other, rougher and scrubbier brush mostly sits on top of the hair, and builds up on my face a bit too easily. I'm not sure if I should be going for a layer thin enough to still be somewhat transparent to skin tones, or thick enough to be completely lather-white. Definitely not going for cream pie (pun also intended), which is what the wiry one likes to make.

This difference could also relate to the quality of the lather. Is a thick and seemingly excessive lather a sign of too much hydration? Too much cream for that brush? Is a denser and less transferrable lather a sign of a lack of hydration? Not enough cream for that brush?

I admit that I gave this brush a good shake after the first waterlogging, out of habit, and its ability to hold more water than my morning coffee cup has me confused about proportions. At the same time, the lather that I did get out of it made me think: "Aha! *That* is the lather they're talking about." There just wasn't a whole lot of it.

Either way, it was my most comfortable shave yet. I'm not doing a great job yet, but it felt pretty darn nice. :biggrin1:

stropmegently

08-26-2006, 12:56 AM

Congrats for finding the zen that is wetshaving. Did you wash the brush before you used it? Many different people suggest washing the brush, from using shampoo (as it is hair) to using a dawn/vinegar mixture and soaking it then soaking it in glycerin. emsplace.com has a brush washing link. I found that washing my brush really helped in the holding of water and the making of lather. But wow, great brush you got there. I want to buy a shavemac once I pay for my other addicitons. Anyway, there are many other members who are very helpful. The following is a link from emsplace.com that I got from Leisureguy (another member) and I found this method both easy and effective.

Darren

Emily from Em’s Place gave me a formula to use in cleaning brushes, and it does the best job of any method I’ve tried. I believe she said one of her brush makers recommended it.

Mix a light solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid and water and soak brush in it for awhile to remove scum.

Mix a solution of 9 parts water, 1 part white vinegar, and add a dash of glycerine. Soak your brush in this solution for awhile as well. (The glycerine can be purchased at any drug store)

I usually soak my brush for around 5 minutes in the Dawn solution swirling it ever so often and around 10 minutes in the water/vinegar/glycerin solution.

Brush comes out wonderfully soft and holds gallons of water. This has worked much better than shampoo or Borax in my opinion.

Jim

08-26-2006, 06:39 AM

Ken
I would suspect that with any new tool you will have to get the hang of it, are you using a bowl to whip up your lather?I also have a Shavemac and when I am done whipping it the bowl is loaded with Lather the brush is overflowing and I have lather up to my knuckles on my hand.

Is a thick and seemingly excessive lather a sign of too much hydration?

I would say if its not real shinny its to dry!

Just for the sake of the experience soak your brush for a good 10 minutes in HOT water ,then add an almond size gob of cream to the bowl,
do not shake the brush! fish it out of the water and just let it drip for a 15 seconds then plop it in the bowl,whip it up for a full 2 minutes and see what happens! It might be too wet but this is probably the polar opposite from what you have been doing before. I think you will be surprised at what you see in your bowl!

Your brush will become softer and hold more water after a week or so of use.

Now you don't think you can tell us how nice your brush is without posting a pic do you?:biggrin:

kennethw

08-26-2006, 11:38 AM

Ken
I would suspect that with any new tool you will have to get the hang of it, are you using a bowl to whip up your lather?

I just grabbed a cool bowl for this. :smile: While I didn't get volume on my first try, it certainly whipped up quickly.

Just for the sake of the experience

Thanks, I'll give this a shot today for comparison. :smile: I do suspect that it's just a cream volume thing, or that having shaken out some water was the culprit. Gotta get accustomed to this guy.

Now you don't think you can tell us how nice your brush is without posting a pic do you?:biggrin:

Hehe, I'll take a photo of my specific brush a little later today. For now, it's this guy (http://www.shavemac.com/index.php?lang=en&area=men&sel=2&cat=3&product=44140).

kennethw

08-26-2006, 11:39 AM

Did you wash the brush before you used it? Many different people suggest washing the brush

I lightly washed it, but nothing serious. I'll give that a shot, too. :biggrin: Thanks!

Jim

08-26-2006, 11:41 AM

http://www.shavemac.com/images/44140.jpg

SWEET!
I see oceans of lather in your future!

PottyDoctor

08-26-2006, 12:44 PM

Kenneth,

That's one beautiful brush! I've always thought that combo looked great. I have a ShaveMac 22579 Silvertip 23mm and it is my favorite brush out of the four current brushes I have [Savile Row, Vulfix, C&E].

All my brushes worked much better after the first few batches of lather. The ShaveMac whips up beautiful lather in either soap or cream like a dream, and you don't run out of lather when using just a brush full.

Scotto

08-26-2006, 04:02 PM

Give it some time to break in and you'll be fine. Some brushes like to hold on to lather - I would say Shavemac's fall into that category sometimes. I just paint my face a a bit more aggressively and it is usually no problem.

javyn

08-26-2006, 04:48 PM

What I do is rub the sides of the bristles against the edge of my bowl, that pushes the lather from inside the brush into the bowl. Then it's ready to be scoooped onto the tips of the bristles and slapped on my face.

kennethw

08-26-2006, 08:23 PM

Holy cow, night and day. Apparently the lack of water was the culprit. Javyn, I did need to start corralling the escaping lather back down into the bowl. Works well. I was up to my eyes in lather in no time.

I'm still not sure about the ideal consistency, or the ideal thickness of lather on the face, but this brush can handle it. :biggrin:

My only complaint is that the nickel base has been a bit loose... Maybe it will lock down after being tightened while hot and allowed to cool.

Dinder1

08-26-2006, 08:55 PM

That is a stunning brush, congrats.:001_tt1:
Cheers, DJ.

javyn

08-26-2006, 09:40 PM

I sometimes get carried away with the lather...when it gets TOO thick, it becomes counterproductive. Anyway, I love the SM Silvertip. Awesome brush. I have a Pure and Finest on the way, can't wait.

kennethw

09-01-2006, 12:57 AM

Almost a week since I first received this brush, and I can't imagine wanting any other brush. It's amazingly comfy, dense and stylish. I guess one cure for SBAD is going straight for the jugular.

Of course, I may regret this statement some day, but I'm very happy with this brush so far. My only complaint is that the nickel base likes to unscrew itself a bit, as one might expect of anything joined in a similar manner (as was mentioned in another thread). I just tighten it occasionally, and will try a thread locker at some point. For the curious, photos attached. Note that the 2nd photo makes the hair *seem* kinda jagged, but man is it fluffy. This is after several uses. Sorry, no pre-bloom photo. I couldn't wait. :001_smile

Jim

09-01-2006, 06:41 AM

Raj

09-01-2006, 07:26 AM

[QUOTE=kennethw]I just received my Shavemac Silvertip L in black/nickel. Man, this is a nice brush. It's quite full, incredibly soft, and substantial. It feels like an instrument, not a hunk of plastic with animal hair in it.

Before I blather about it any more, I have a newbie question related to the lather resulting from my first brush with it (pun intended).

I had to use more cream with this one (as one might expect); it seems to suck up lather like a sponge. Once I generated more lather and got it to my face, it seemed reluctant to let go of very much of it. Squeezing the knot produced incredible amounts of lather, which had been hiding in some parallel universe which is fond of Taylor's Avocado. I think the lather from my other, rougher and scrubbier brush mostly sits on top of the hair, and builds up on my face a bit too easily.

You hit the nail on the head with your assessment of a new silver tipp brush. I have just received and used my new silver tipp from Muehle-Pinsel (another German supplier) for the first time and guess what, I came to the same conclusion. My older pure badger brush makes good lather on the face and easily passes it on to the face rather than holding the lather to itself like the new silver tip one. I also remember somewhat that the older pure badger brush needed a few days of use before it started to perform flawlessly. May be that is what is needed here. Let it soak all the cream and lather for a few days before it starts to give to the beard! Must have been one hell of a thirsty badger this one!:smile:

kennethw

09-02-2006, 03:28 AM

Kenneth

This Is my Shavemac (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5121&highlight=tale+brushes) story- congratulations on your nuptials,Mae West said it best-
"No man is compete until he married-then he's finished":biggrin:

Thanks! Love the quote. So you had the same thread issue... Is this a bad thread or the nature of the combination-material-handle beast?

kennethw

09-02-2006, 03:35 AM

Let it soak all the cream and lather for a few days before it starts to give to the beard! Must have been one hell of a thirsty badger this one!:smile:

I'm still getting my footing, so for me it took some assistance from the friendly B&B folks as well (thanks again, Jim!). After that, whoa Nelly! :w00t:

rtaylor61

09-03-2006, 12:08 AM