Beginner's luck

[NSmalls]

Have any of you guys ever nailed a soap on the first lather and then had it go downhill from there? This happened to me twice, with Mitchell's Wool Fat and D.R. Harris Windsor soap. For both of these soaps I got amazing thick lather on my first try. Then after that, each shave got worse - light, foamy, and not very protective. I've since given up on both of them and they have found their way into the dens of other members. I attribute the MWF to the puck drying out because the longer it stayed out of rotation, the harder it was for me to lather it when I picked it back up. I have no idea what happened with the DRH. I couldn't even get it to work with a Rooney gel tips 1XL Anybody else experience this?

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

If you got great lather the first time, don't give up. I use Harris soaps & they lather very well. Good luck.

 

[COShaveSurfer]

Happened to me on MWF....then, about 20 times later....I got it dialed back in. Keep at it.

 

[aar0n]

Are you loading your brush with MWF according to Mantic's tips?

-use warm water, NOT hot
-soak soap before use (I do it as I'm soaking my brush), I don't dump the water until I'm ready to start loading
-load the brush upside down; once the puck has secured itself in the bowl/container turn it upside down and load it with the brush bristles pointed up (I like to start on one side of the puck while holding the other with my thumb, then half way through switch my thumb side with the brush side)

I've been using MWF for a very short time, about two weeks and haven't had any problems.

The soap does look dried out and has little hairline cracks before it soaks.

 

[brother cavefish]

i have had the best luck with soap , an old girlfriend got me into this around 22 years ago and i started with C&E sandalwood and a badger never went back , still a lover of the soap, but have tried others, and creams, my first cream was Bigelow

 

[djh]

Id you load enough soap, it is hard to go wrong.

 

[Matthijs]

The only times I get bad lather from my DRH is when I don't load long enough or don't add enough water (for example when face lathering on a too dry face). I usually load it for at least 45 seconds, then add a splash of warm water. It gets foamy then, but if I keep swirling the brush it turns very slick and cushiony. Add more water as needed. It does seem to require a bit more water than my other hard soaps.
Maybe this is not 'the' way, but it seems to work for me. YMMV