do i need a new brush

[sampi]

I have been using a tweezerman brush and it has never lathered all that well i have been usung col. conks almond shave soap. Is it the soap the brush or bad lathering skill. I can't spend more than seventy dollars.

[StubbleShaver]

I'd personally give a huge to The Body Shop Synthetic brush. Amazing feel on the face, great heat and water retention and only around £6.

HERE is a link.

[Cynomys]

Based on just the information you've given, it is not possible to say what the problem might be, but you can certainly test alternative soaps and brushes without going over your $70 budget. Van der Hagen makes two different kinds of soaps - their Deluxe and their Luxury - which are widely available and cost 2-4 dollars per puck. They also make a nice brush for about $10. Shea Moisture sells a nice brush as well, also for about $10. So experiment a bit. If that still doesn't solve the problem, tell us more about your lathering technique.

[taco8slo]

If you are located in HELL then I think new shaving brushes are the least of your troubles. I would pick up a different cream or soap and try that first. Not sure if they have Bath and Body Works in HELL but if so then C.O. Bigelow shaving cream works good, plus it will help cool you down in all that heat.

[sampi]

If you are located in HELL then I think new shaving brushes are the least of your troubles. I would pick up a different cream or soap and try that first. Not sure if they have Bath and Body Works in HELL but if so then C.O. Bigelow shaving cream works good, plus it will help cool you down in all that heat.

We have Bath and Body Works in HELL. I'll look into the C.O. Bligelow, thanks for the advice.

Sam

[john999]

I always thought you could apply shaving soap or lather by hand better then with a brush.

[Go West Young Man]

Tweezerman is a perfectly fine brush, not the fanciest but definitely works well.
Conk is a middling to low level soap, you may find it helpful to try other soaps or creams.
That said, you should still be able to get a good shave with that combo, I'd look at your technique first.

[Axebreaker]

I started with a Van Der Hagen Boar, got lousy results with it, then got a Body Shop brush and and got better results. Then I spotted the "Shea moisture" badger for 10$ at Target and got even better results.
The brush would massively inflate with lather and it was foamy and rich. I thought the others were junk! I went on a trip for 10 days some of it with hard water, most with soft but all with that badger brush. Since returning I gave the other two a try on a whole bunch of soaps and now I can do almost as good as the Badger with all of them. In fact, I can now lather better with the boar than the Synthetic and if it wasn't such a shedder, I'd reccomend it.

I imagine that I could do better with a best badger or a good Semogue or omega Boar, but they all work. The trick is just getting the amount of water and agitation right for whatever cream or soap or Italian soft soap your using. I can get a good lather out of Conk, and most of the other cheap stuff too, and good stuff like Valobra, Cella or Trumpers. (Yes, I got a couple of AD's within two months, lol).

One thing that helped with the Conks was melting into a 1 cup anchor hocking bowl from Big Lots. That gives it more surface area and thus more working room to load your brush.
They cost like 5-6$ for 4. You can mill hard soaps in there too with good results, as posted in the wiki article. My Trumpers and Williams are done that way and it helps.

Personally, I like the glycerin soaps and the italian ones better than creams or hard soaps but as always, YMMV.

[Captain Coconut]

I doubt your soap's the problem. I haven't used Conk, but I think it's pretty much the same as VDH. Not the very best soap, but you shouldn't have any problem lathering it. I'd say it's more likely the brush. For about $15 you could have a great Semogue brush (try Vintage Scent). It will take a little while to break in and perform to its full potential, but you won't be disappointed.

Then again, it's possible that you just haven't gotten the hang of lathering yet, if you're new to the game. Start by shaking most of the water out of the brush (it will load soap much better if it's relatively dry), load for about 60 seconds (to start with, you can modify this later), then slowly add water a little bit at a time as you're working up the lather in a separate bowl or on your face. Your lather should be well-hydrated by the time it's good to go. A typical problem for beginners is just not getting enough soap on the brush to start with.

[Captain Coconut]

I always thought you could apply shaving soap or lather by hand better then with a brush.

That may be true of foam from an aerosol can, but how are you supposed to get lather from soap or cream if you don't use a brush?

[Go West Young Man]

That may be true of foam from an aerosol can, but how are you supposed to get lather from soap or cream if you don't use a brush?

Soap = put on face, rub wet hand over it.
Cream = put on face. Done.

[Tulsa77]

+1 to technique issue. You might checkout the lather wiki first. I have had great luck with both products.

[Captain Coconut]

Soap = put on face, rub wet hand over it.
Cream = put on face. Done.

You can shave like that well enough, but it's not really a "lather," which is what I was referring to. I was addressing the idea that applying soap or lather by hand is somehow "better" than using a brush.

[lt114]

If you want to stick with badger, I recommend the Rooney 3/1 in Super from Vintage Blades.

[Ski-Patroller]

You could buy a Simpson Commodore or Case for and have money left over for a tub of Cella. After that you will know its not the brush or the soap. It's either your technique or the water in HELL is really hard.