Ten days in

HalibutCBass · Jun 30, 2016

I was originally expecting my DE razor supplies to be a birthday present (August) but was pleasantly surprised to receive them as a father's day gift instead.

EJ 89 3D diamond chrome
SOC Boar Cherry
Astra SP
Valobra Menthol
I Coloniali mango

I have also acquired 2 vintage techs, 1 ball end from the 40's and a 70's aluminium - both as yet untried. As I want to get my technique down with the EJ before experimenting.

Up till today my shaves have been sub par, not close and lots of knicks and burn.

I was using up the last of a tube of king of shaves gel, which always gave me good results with my old fusion. This tube was finished yesterday, so today I started with the I coloniali.

I had made a couple of test lathers, but I am still struggling to obtain the yoghurty lather of my dreams, new brush, new soap, minimal technique, and my lather today was thin.

However the shave was Amazing.
3 passes albeit with reloading for each pass. But I achieved a DFS today, no knicks, cuts or burn.

The alum did not sting!

So my journey now starts in earnest. I must improve my lather technique - I have been soaking brush and then squeezing shaking out most of the water and trying to build up a paste on the puck , as per the thread on here, might try Marco's method next.

But I feel I am on my way.

Dachshund63 · Jun 30, 2016

Congrats on the good shave. It takes time to figure it all out. I'm 7 months in myself and even when the shave isn't good I almost never nick myself any longer. It takes time to get the feel down. You have to relearn a skill that you've been doing most of you life, but its all new again. And at times less forgiving. But stick with it, more great shaves will follow.

xxvaleria · Jun 30, 2016

Congratulations on the shave. Keep practicing and things will get even better--especially the lather.

alex2363 · Jun 30, 2016

HalibutCBass said:
I was originally expecting my DE razor supplies to be a birthday present (August) but was pleasantly surprised to receive them as a father's day gift instead.

EJ 89 3D diamond chrome
SOC Boar Cherry
Astra SP
Valobra Menthol
I Coloniali mango

I have also acquired 2 vintage techs, 1 ball end from the 40's and a 70's aluminium - both as yet untried. As I want to get my technique down with the EJ before experimenting.

Up till today my shaves have been sub par, not close and lots of knicks and burn.

I was using up the last of a tube of king of shaves gel, which always gave me good results with my old fusion. This tube was finished yesterday, so today I started with the I coloniali.

I had made a couple of test lathers, but I am still struggling to obtain the yoghurty lather of my dreams, new brush, new soap, minimal technique, and my lather today was thin.

However the shave was Amazing.
3 passes albeit with reloading for each pass. But I achieved a DFS today, no knicks, cuts or burn.

The alum did not sting!

So my journey now starts in earnest. I must improve my lather technique - I have been soaking brush and then squeezing shaking out most of the water and trying to build up a paste on the puck , as per the thread on here, might try Marco's method next.

But I feel I am on my way.

This may help

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Interactive_Guide_to_Lathering

Parjay · Jun 30, 2016

You've found my personal favorite soap! For me, it never really explodes in volume, but rather stays nice and dense. Stick with it and you'll enjoy it more and more.

rockclimber · Jun 30, 2016

Stick with the I Coloniali for 14 days straight and really dial in the lather. It is one of the best soaps on the planet, you are a very lucky man to have started out with such a fine soap. Welcome to B&B!

MpMinNY · Jun 30, 2016

First, Welcome to B&B.
You may want to do a test lather adding water a little at a time to the point where you continue adding water past what you think may be too much. (make sure you whip it up between adds.)
I have found that some creams and soaps have a sweet spot where the lather blossoms with the right water ratio. It may just be a matter of finding the sweet spot for your soap (cream).

BSAGuy · Jun 30, 2016

Hello and welcome. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.

You are off to a good start. The shaves only get better and better.

adamchur · Jun 30, 2016

Nice gear

Billski · Jul 1, 2016

Welcome to Badger and Blade, C Bass.

England has Father's Day? I'll be darn!

adrian jordan · Jul 1, 2016

Welcome!

I had a lot of trouble getting my lather even as good as it is. Still not phenomenal, but I can get a good shave with it now. When I started using a brush and soap I initially added entirely too much water right off the bat. I've learned to put in a bit more soap than I think I need, and start with a brush that's had most of the water shaken out, and then slowly add the water. Some people like to dunk their fingers and shake them over the bowl, and some like to dip just the very ends of the brush into a little bit of water. I have used both, but use the latter pretty exclusively. Since focusing on a single soap and trying to perfect the lather for whatever razor type I use I have found improvements. Slow, but steady.

My DE is also an Edwin Jagger. It's the DE86bl. I love it. I use a straight razor now, but can't yet get a shave even close to as perfect as I get with the EJ.

HalibutCBass · Jul 1, 2016

Parjay said:
You've found my personal favorite soap! For me, it never really explodes in volume, but rather stays nice and dense. Stick with it and you'll enjoy it more and more.

I don't want to be a bad workman and blame my tools as I have read many positive reviews about all the kit I have.

However I'm still struggling to achieve any lasting lather, and although I am happy to accept that this is inexperience, I have a couple of questions.

Do you find a new puck of I coloniali harder to lather, and will it improve as the soap hydrates?

Also not sure how much using a brand new brush is adding to my difficulties as I have read that semogues can be awkward till they are broken in.

Thanks to you and all the others that have provided encouragement and advice.

Richard

SirChangalot · Jul 1, 2016

HalibutCBass said:
I don't want to be a bad workman and blame my tools as I have read many positive reviews about all the kit I have.

However I'm still struggling to achieve any lasting lather, and although I am happy to accept that this is inexperience, I have a couple of questions.

Do you find a new puck of I coloniali harder to lather, and will it improve as the soap hydrates?

Also not sure how much using a brand new brush is adding to my difficulties as I have read that semogues can be awkward till they are broken in.

Thanks to you and all the others that have provided encouragement and advice.

Richard

The tips will split after maybe 10-20 latherings so the brush will get softer and the lather will be more stable. maybe try blooming the puck in water for 5 min. before shaving, see if that helps. Good luck though!

ackvil · Jul 1, 2016

alex2363 said:
This may help

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Interactive_Guide_to_Lathering

+1. Welcome to B&B.

Also, take a look at this post.

Parjay · Jul 1, 2016

HalibutCBass said:
I don't want to be a bad workman and blame my tools as I have read many positive reviews about all the kit I have.

However I'm still struggling to achieve any lasting lather, and although I am happy to accept that this is inexperience, I have a couple of questions.

Do you find a new puck of I coloniali harder to lather, and will it improve as the soap hydrates?

Also not sure how much using a brand new brush is adding to my difficulties as I have read that semogues can be awkward till they are broken in.

Thanks to you and all the others that have provided encouragement and advice.

Richard

I have only used one half of one puck of i Coloniali, and it was used when I got it. Therefore, I can't tell you too much about how it was when it started. That being said, I felt that I got good lathers from the start, and I did notice that the puck softened with use. We all have different ideal lathers, and I found that I was able to make a thick slick lather without adding too much water. That is my favorite kind of lather.

Using a new boar brush can also contribute to lather woes. The SOC is awesome once broken in, but for the first couple of weeks you might find that you really need to load lots of product to get quality lather.

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Ten days in

HalibutCBass

Dachshund63

xxvaleria

alex2363

Parjay

rockclimber

MpMinNY

BSAGuy

adamchur

Billski

Here I am, 1st again.

adrian jordan

HalibutCBass

SirChangalot

ackvil

Parjay

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