D.R. Harris Arlington - what am I doing wrong?

[Sobriquet]

I've been on a soap kick lately instead of the creams I'd been using this year out of laziness. I've gotten amazing shaves with my favorites - MWF and Cade. This morning I dug out my puck of D.R. Harris Arlington that I've only used a few times.

Now I remember why I put it away: it smells great, but doesn't perform well for me. The lather isn't nearly as cushioning, protective, or slick as MWF or Cade. I've consistently seen Harris soaps held in high regard, so what gives? The process for MWF and Cade are identical for me - nearly dry bush and add a bit of water slowly. Both of those tend to perform better with less water in the mix. Is Harris different? Is this soap simply not as good as the others, or am I doing it wrong?

 

[smalltank]

try a bit more water in your brush...

 

[edgerunner]

more soap

 

[Greg1911]

Harris soaps are great. Keep trying.

 

[jtb]

Do some test palm lathering. More water, more soap, one or the other or both. It does work well once you hit the sweet spot.

 

[Foyle]

I had the same problem with Arlington. Great scent, mediocre performance.

 

[dgerson]

Yeah, I tried for a lot longer than I normally would given the adoration this soap gets on here, but I could never get the shave I wanted or expected. Ended up trading it away with no remorse. Not every product is for everyone I guess!

 

[coloradomonkey]

Arlington is one of my faves in my rotation. Used it today in fact. Here's what works for me:

Soak the brush but wring almost all the water out before loading

Load it well--really scrub the bristles into the puck.

Face lather.

When your face is thick and pasty, add water a little at a time to your brush and that dry lather will explode.

Hit the puck a little more on subsequent passes.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Arlington is one of my faves in my rotation. Used it today in fact. Here's what works for me:

Soak the brush but wring almost all the water out before loading

Load it well--really scrub the bristles into the puck.

Face lather.

When your face is thick and pasty, add water a little at a time to your brush and that dry lather will explode.

Hit the puck a little more on subsequent passes.

Same here, except I am generous with the water. I find that Harris can handle a lot of it.

 

[TallyShave]

Are you facing north while building your lather?

 

[sychodelix]

The shaving gods demand a sacrifice of blood before you can lather it!














Or you could load longer and add more water. Whichever is easier, you know?

 

[takeshi]

Probably not loading enough is my guess. It's the typical problem. It would help if you could clarify how you're building lather and what results you're getting. Photos are a plus.

 

[Sobriquet]

I shaved with it again yesterday morning. I didn't shave today, but I'll give it another go this weekend. The first pass went OK - I bowl lathered (something I rarely do these days) to really build a thick mix. I used both more soap and more water than in the past. The first pass was better than previous attempts, but on the second and third passes, the lather was airy and kept disappearing. I had to load more soap for the second pass.

I let some water sit on the puck while I shower and soak my brush. I used a Rooney 3/1 in Super Silvertip. I dumped the water off the puck and started with an almost dry brush. I loaded it quite well - more than I normally do for my other soaps - and added drops of warm water until I got nice peaks. Like I said, the first pass was good, but subsequent passes were below par.

 

[OldGreyGuy]

I love DR Harris Arlington, it is a great scent and I must be blessed by the lather gods as I have no problems with my water, etc.

My method is simple, here is how I did this for today's shave:

• Warm water in washbasin
• Soak wash-cloth, wring dry and clean face, maybe max 30 seconds
• Dip Semogue 610 bristles down in washbasin, hold for 10-15 seconds
• Lift brush out of basin and let gravity drain water out
• One very quick shake of brush, there is still plenty of water in there
• Work brush on puck for 30-45 seconds, lather begins to thicken up
• Move to face and work it for another minute or so until lather is thick and face is coated
• Repeat last step for each subsequent pass, dip brush in water if it is getting too dry

That seems to work for me and I have no problems with a three pass shave each time I use it.

Great soap and scent.

 

[Legion]

Not sure. I like MWF and Cade both, but I would rate DRH Arlington ahead of of those two. Stick with it.

 

[djh]

It might be worthwhile to simply rub the damp puck of soap on your face as you would with a shavestick (then you know that you have enough soap in the mix) and start to work up a lather that way. Harris soaps are quite thirsty- great performers, but you will need to get comfortable with loading your brush properly and then working some water into your lather.

Good luck- and I hope that it is worth the effort.

 

[cfbugsbunny]

Wow.. i thought I had posted on this thread. I guess that was another guy needing Arlington advice. I will say that I had alot of trouble with Arlington until I quit bowl lathering with it. I never ever palm lathered before but when I was in the AOS Store in Florida I had a demo on what wonders the palm lathering does. Maybe it has something to do with the heat of your hand but since then.. I have been palm lathering Arlington and getting mounds of rich lather. I almost gave up on it.

 

[cnnc97]

I bowl lather with my Arlington and haven't had a problem. I soak the puck while I'm in the shower and load quite a bit. Same experience with the Windsor soap.

 

[mharris127]

• Dip Semogue 610 bristles down in washbasin, hold for 10-15 seconds

Wow! I would have thought that only soaking for 10-15 seconds would result in a dry brush. Lathering with a too dry brush can cause the bristles to break off (as I am sure you already know). I always soak my (boar) brush for at least one minute and probably more most of the time. What is different about that Semogue that it soaks up water that quickly?

 

[AABCDS]

When I first used Arlington, I had a hard time with it too. It's such a hard soap that I found it needed a bit of a break-in period. Here's my other post about it.