Please share experiences of what item you would suggest needing, such as bowls, boxes, scuttles, what soaps, etc. I am thinking RazoRock and Mitchell Wool Fat to start with. Do you have to have a tin or wooden hone for them? best way to keep them stored.
Have been a cream user now wanting to get into soaps
- Thread starter gonzo4str8rzrs
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- #2
home, not hone
I found Tabac, Cella and Panna Crema, all really easy to start with when I made the jump from creams to soaps. I used to use a bowl for building lather with cream but now I face lather and can't imagine going back to using a bowl.
My only recommendation would be to have a look at your brush rotation. My brush choice changed when I switched to soaps and I moved away from lofty fan brushes to brushes with back bone and soft tips (typically 2-bands).
I store all my soaps in the Ikea Grundtal tins.
My only recommendation would be to have a look at your brush rotation. My brush choice changed when I switched to soaps and I moved away from lofty fan brushes to brushes with back bone and soft tips (typically 2-bands).
I store all my soaps in the Ikea Grundtal tins.
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- #4
Reevers, thanks for sharing I will look into the ikea Grundtal tin for storage.
Small round Plastic containers for soap storage; http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ziploc-Twist-N-Loc-S-Round-Containers-Lids-3ct/14862647
You can use any wide (4" or larger) shallow (3-4") bowl or 20oz Cappuccino or Soup mug. Tabac or Palmolive (Shave Stick only) are easy to lather and easy to find, locally you can get VDH Deluxe and sometimes VDH Luxury. If you don't like the idea of rubbing the stick on your whiskers, you can grate it into a container.
You can use any wide (4" or larger) shallow (3-4") bowl or 20oz Cappuccino or Soup mug. Tabac or Palmolive (Shave Stick only) are easy to lather and easy to find, locally you can get VDH Deluxe and sometimes VDH Luxury. If you don't like the idea of rubbing the stick on your whiskers, you can grate it into a container.
The IKEA tins are the best way to go for storage. If you face lather, that is really all you need then. For bowl lathering, yeah scuttles and such are all groovy but from a practical standpoint. there is no beating those $1.50 plastic salsa bowls from Wal-Mart. Your choice of many colors, virtually indestructible, inexpensive, and they work as well as any other vessel I have ever used.
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- #7
I tried looking at Ikea online and did not find the tins you are talking about.
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
You could probably start with just about any soap, just keep in mind it will be tougher to lather than a cream. It takes time. I recommend face lathering, although in the beginning using a bowl helped me get started so it might help you as well.
As I began playing with soaps, I found Tabac and Queen Charlotte Soaps to be great stepping stones.
There are too many good soaps to list. My favorite was Tabac. It's about the easiest soap to later and seemed to provide a good amount of glide. Unfortunately, it made my skin break out. I've had very good success with Cella and Proraso too.
I've pretty much reverted back to cream's however. I find that the combination of unscented Neutrogena and shaving cream (almost any variety) yields the best results for my face.
I've pretty much reverted back to cream's however. I find that the combination of unscented Neutrogena and shaving cream (almost any variety) yields the best results for my face.
~~~I highly recommend you buy a tin of Cheshire from Barrister/Mann http://www.barristerandmann.com/shaving-soap/cheshire-shaving-soap
Face lathered of course
Opt to purchase this soap with an accompanied tin (for an extra charge...about $3 for the tin)...good way to store this soap while not is use
BTW, Barrister/Mann is only sold through, Barrister Mann...IOW, you can't buy this from a wet shave vendor/stockist
This particular soap (Cheshire) is a top 3 soap for me...what I consider one of the best 3 shave soaps I have ever tried, and I've tried a quite a few
Best,
Jake
Reddick Fla.
For soap storage, I use Pyrex 1-cup glass bowls with lids:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyrex-8-p...-cup-storage-with-red-plastic-covers/15114589
As for soaps, everyone here has made some good recommendations (along with your first 2 choices).
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyrex-8-p...-cup-storage-with-red-plastic-covers/15114589
As for soaps, everyone here has made some good recommendations (along with your first 2 choices).
To those already suggested I add D.R. Harris.
For storage, I recommend these. They're wide so loading is really easy and fast. Only 97 cents each.
http://www.specialtybottle.com/tinflatcontainer8ozwcover.aspx
For a soap to try for a first timer, MWF might be a bit tricky. I'd go with something known to be easy to lather and easy to find. Some that I've used that meat these criteria are Tabac, B&M, and Stirling. Stirling is especially affordable at $5-6 puck. Tabac is the most expensive of these three. All are great.
I've found that some mentholated soaps can be a little more difficult to lather, so that might be something to avoid for your first soap.
http://www.specialtybottle.com/tinflatcontainer8ozwcover.aspx
For a soap to try for a first timer, MWF might be a bit tricky. I'd go with something known to be easy to lather and easy to find. Some that I've used that meat these criteria are Tabac, B&M, and Stirling. Stirling is especially affordable at $5-6 puck. Tabac is the most expensive of these three. All are great.
I've found that some mentholated soaps can be a little more difficult to lather, so that might be something to avoid for your first soap.
Mikes barbershop and stirling (anyone) are great soaps IMO.
One thing that can help, if you want to try bowl lathering with soap is to just make a lot of practice lathers. A soap lasts a long time so it doesn't cost much to experiment with the technique. I guess if you prefer to face lather, practicing too much would be out since that much lathering would probably cause some skin irritation.
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- #19
Thanks for all the suggestions. I went to Ikea and got the Grundtal tins. So far I like them. Thanks Acmemfg for the recommendation.
Whichever soap you choose, use too much of it. Really. I think that first-time soap-users tend to load far too little product. Unless you're using some discontinued P.160 soap that's been blessed by the pope, see if you can end up with lather all over the bathroom.
