Excuse my ignorance but how do you use a shaving stick?

[Mempho]

Easiest thing in the world.

1. Wet your face.
2. Rub the stick against your face, to apply as much or as little soap as you like.
3. Wet the brush. An inexpensive synthetic brush works well.
4. Rub the wet brush against your soap-coated face to generate lather.
5. Put the soapy brush aside and shave.
6. For additional passes, paint the lather on again with the soapy brush, and shave again.

Soap sticks were popular in WWI and are still great for travel. Easier, faster and cheaper than a can of Gillette Foamy.

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

Good afternoon to all on this thread.

I have heard of shaving sticks but have no idea on how to use one. Are they as good as shaving soaps or creams? Someone please help.

Thanks. Jason.

I was about to say that there is no such thing as an ignorant question around here, but then remembered that @FarmerTan tends to ask some doozies!

 

[FarmerTan]

I was about to say that there is no such thing as an ignorant question around here, but then remembered that @FarmerTan tends to ask some doozies!

Truer werds ain't never been spoken.

I like to ask Giggle Maps for directions and then as my wife is driving I ask the tiny woman inside my TracFone if she's really sure when she says I need to turn left in one quarter mile!

True story doggone!

 

[FarmerTan]

Truer werds ain't never been spoken.

I like to ask Giggle Maps for directions and then as my wife is driving I ask the tiny woman inside my TracFone if she's really sure when she says I need to turn left in one quarter mile!

True story doggone!

Drives the War Department nuts because I ask for directions to places we go all the time, like the bank, doctor, post office....yeah. She ALSO thinks I'm as crazy as you all do!

 

[Tanuki]

Experimentation is the fun part. Enjoy. Whatever works for you is the proper way.

Hydrating my stubble is the necessary part. Waking up the nerves in my face is a fun part. So I scrub a lot. Typically I apply a mentholated shave stick and then lather/wash off three times with that soap as prep. I could lather once and just wait thru the hydration period, but perhaps I'm a little hyperactive. I can organize gear, strop, or whatever while lathered up to get more hydration time.

For shave lather, I apply again (usually a different stick just for variety), scrub up a lather while also getting the brush loaded from my face. Then I use a small bowl and a bit of water to get make a little bowl lather with water content that suits me perfectly. I paint that on top and its time to shave.

Maybe I'm just maximizing my me time...

Sticks and hard soaps last so well that I could lather all morning and run out of soap well past 3017.

 

[FarmerTan]

Thanks for your replies. I am thinking of investing in a shaving stick to see if its worth the transition from everyday supermarket gels/creams to the more 'exotic' stuff.

Jason.

Do you live in the US contiguous 48? Don't go buying any sticks. I can mail you some soap straight from the slopes of Mt Olympus: Arko. Seriously. Let me know, here in this thread or start a conversation with me.

 

[FarmerTan]

Do you live in the US contiguous 48? Don't go buying any sticks. I can mail you some soap straight from the slopes of Mt Olympus: Arko. Seriously. Let me know, here in this thread or start a conversation with me.

Or if your supermarket has Williams in a puck, just wet your whiskers and rub that on your face. Even Ivory bath/bar soap will work in a pinch.

 

[Merle]

Good afternoon to all on this thread.

I have heard of shaving sticks but have no idea on how to use one. Are they as good as shaving soaps or creams? Someone please help.

Thanks. Jason.

I've found they work wonders when I buy them or am given as gifts and store them in my supplies closet. Someday I might actually pull one out and use it, but, I foresee someone in my estate garage sale getting a very welcome surprise. So far I have 2 Arco, 2 Speick, and one Irish Moos. I have enjoyed Speick in other forms and been told Irish Moos is ...gold.

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

Do you live in the US contiguous 48? Don't go buying any sticks. I can mail you some soap straight from the slopes of Mt Olympus: Arko. Seriously. Let me know, here in this thread or start a conversation with me.

Maybe we don't want to scare him away from shave sticks by introducing him to Arko at such an early point in his journey. Hell, if someone had given me an Arko stick early on in my wet shaving development, I would probably look like a member of ZZ Top by now!

 

[KW Driver]

stick to face then face lathering is probably the hardest method to dial in. bowl lathering off a puck or cream is the easiest, puck or cream loading the brush and face lathering can be more complicated. that's my experience, but these are minor differences you can sort out in a week of trying. I started with a bowl/scuttle, transitioned to exclusively face lathering (haven't broken out the brush scuttle since I moved back home, away from real cold), and incorporated traveling with sticks only pretty quickly, because of their convinience.

take the advice above and scrub your palm with a stick and learn to build a lather on your palm. it'll do the same on your face. that'll knock down any sharp edges a new stick may have, and save some sensitive skin abrasion if you suffer from such. when you're happy with those, and how much soap/water you need for ____ soap, do the same on your face if you want. I agree if the stick is hard, like Speick, running it under hot water will soften it up and you'll need less pressure to get it on your whiskers.

you can stick any soap puck, and some do softer soaps/croaps too, like Cella. you can absolutely grate/slice/smush a stick into a puck. I currently have and keep Speick, Hassliger's Aloe Vera, MWF, and Mike's sticked and pucked at the house, with a couple others around the house.

enjoy the journey

 

[ajkel64]

As mentioned by other esteemed members, wet your face, rub the stick over your skin and then go to town with your brush. I must admit though, I do prefer to grate my Arko sticks into a container and make it into a puck. Just something I like to do and works for me with Arko.
I have to admit though, when I bought my first shaving stick many years ago I had no idea on how to use one. I tried to load the brush off the end of the shave stick. It took me ages to make an acceptable lather.