New and I have questions.

Welcome! I admire your tenacity. You've got great soap lathering tips - and it takes a while for boar brushes to break in - that will also add to your lather improvement.

Also, congrats on not injuring yourself with that shavette contraption. Oy vey, those things are so much more difficult to use than a traditional straight razor. Since you've got one inbound from Whipped Dog, stick with that for while - your face will like you much better - and come on over and visit us on the "dark side".

I use Col. Conk and it works fine. There seems to be a very prominent argument over soaps on this site. Just to be clear though, I will never use a soap made by General Motors, I could live with Ford soap and Dodge soap would probably be the best ever. Now that I have shown my personal opinions to be sound and valid, I will comment on soap.

I like Col. Conk. Now, I haven't used a bunch of soaps, but I like it more than Van der Hagen. I like it more than Maggard's tobacco and leather. I also like it better than the one time I tried Arko, but that was only one time.

So, how do I lather it? First, I microwaved it so it fit my Learjet 50th anniversary mug. That way,I can put some water on the surface while I am in the shower. This loosens the top of the soap so it will load on the brush well. I also soak the brush in hot water while I shower.

Next, I dump the "bloom" water into my lathering bowl. This amounts to about a tablespoon of water. I let the brush drip out a bit, but don't shake it. Then I load the brush. Slow circles on the soap until it makes a good gooey paste.

When the bristles are sticky and clump together, I move to the lathering bowl and go crazy. It will appear too wet to start. But working it for 30 seconds or so will bring it together. More if you'd like a stiffer lather. However, lathering it too much tends to make my razor skip and stick, so keep it a bit soft.

Then shave. If the lather dies down, whip it some more.

I think the method I use is working the soap into the water. I haven't done well with a paste and add water gradually. It always ends up dry doing that.

That's my method and it works for me. I am always trying to improve so I am open to suggestions as well.

If that doesn't work, try driving a Dodge. Or get a Learjet mug. Those appease the gods and probably make all the difference. 😉😉😉

Okay so I am seeing a few things that I have been doing wrong. Last night when I did my first shave I did what I usually do and plan on showering afterwards due to the fact that I have been shavetting for over 6 months and usually look like a bobcat got ahold of me after I shave. Lol. This was an early on thing. I often as of this past week and several weeks before have shavetted without cut, but a "precaution" was still used. So my face has never been prepared properly for a shave. This is issue number one. Again I shaved last night and OMG!!!!! I was so happy and it felt so good and it was forgiving. I even shaved against the grain last night with no issues or cuts. So I need to shower first. Duh!!! Got it!!
Next I am still having an issue I guess with the "lathering". Btw I have been soaking brush for 15+ minutes and loading for over a minute. But now lets talk. While loading I am getting plenty of lather and when I apply it to my face it is thick and lasts the whole shave now. But again it sounds like I am skipping a whole step. I am loading and then applying. Well shoot! So let me make sure I understand this a bit more guys. After loading I am supposed to add a little bit of water and whip it up in a cup??? If so cool. And yes I have noticed that my brush and the soap I am using is doing fine now that I am taking some time and slowing down.

Again I applied the lather that was produced during loading and had no issues with the lather had some left over and if was creamy and thick. Did I do it wrong or is it a feel thing?

You're on the right track. Some folks bowl lather and others face lather. Build lather in a bowl or directly on your face. I face lather like your technique most of the time. It sounds like you're getting a good load and close to very good lather. You're almost there. Once you load and are applying it to your face, keep working the lather on you face. Gentle circular motions and then soft painting strokes when you're getting ready to shave. The circular motions build lather and the paint strokes kind of thicken it up before your shave. I would say one minute minimum of face lathering should be good.

WOLFITZ said:

Again I applied the lather that was produced during loading and had no issues with the lather had some left over and if was creamy and thick. Did I do it wrong or is it a feel thing?

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You are face lathering. Nothing wrong with that. If you like the lather you get from it then that's great. You might find that as you lather on your face, it's not wet enough. You can still add a few drops of water to your brush and continue to build the lather on your face.

So much here is talked about bowl/mug lathering that that's what I did for the longest time. I didn't discover face lathering until later. And I found that face lather is where it's at! Much easier to make the lather because I'm building by feel.

Congrats on discovering this technique early!

I actually like palm lathering quite a bit if I'm using a preshave product (this is a rare situation). You feel the lather a bit better than facelathering at the expense of losing out on the conditioning part of have the soap/water on the face (which is negated by a preshave product).

Overall though, I face lather 99% of the time.

Every soap has a sweet spot. Too much water and it'll start getting runny and thin. Not enough water and it's a little sticky. Find the right amount and you'll know. I like mine a touch on the runny side with straights. It seems to be a little slicker.

Have fun! Definitely try a different soap. You might go back, but there are way easier soaps to lather. Creams are super easy and can be purchased in tubes. I love them for face lathering, since they already have some water worked into them, they are real quick.

Best Wishes