Help with shave sticks

[BigJ]

Great advice above!

For me, a shave stick is an easy way to generate excellent lather! My favorites are Speick and La Toja. Simplified directions:
1. Wash face and leave wet.
2. Rub stick all over.
3. Damp brush generates a fine lather.

Works for me!

 

[Jer78]

Mitchell's Wool Fat in stick form is really great. The easiest way to load MWF by far. So save one of those stick containers after you are done with it! You'll thank me later! JM

 

[macintoshBR]

I press all my shaving sticks into a container. Much easier to load.

I Love La Toja, Tabac and Valobra sticks

@Tomo if you like Dr Harris, I strongly recommend you get the full pucks. Much more cost effective. By the way, which scent are you using? Do you like it? I’ll be in London in a month and I’m evaluating if it’s worth to visit Dr Harris

 

[Barbarian80]

Shave sticks are a terrible idea unless you need to pack light for travel. I much prefer loading the brush over a puck or a tub. I feel like I waste too much time rubbing the stick on my face. I think that if you're also concerned about economics then the shave stick is for you. Performance wise, the ones I've used were all great. Rubbing a dry stick on my face sucks and it's time consuming.

 

[eezee]

I love my Speick stick, but can't comment on other brands. This works well with the Speick:

1. My face is wet, and I will sometimes dampen the end of the stick, but it is not generally necessary. I don't use a lot of pressure, just skid it around on the areas of my face and neck. Probably a couple of figure eights (so, twice over each area at a minimum). The Speick tends to deposit a decent amount of soap that way: more than enough for three passes.

2. I use a synthetic brush and run it under warm water then wring dry, and finish with a flick or two. So it is mostly dry at that point. I do an initial amount of scrubbing, and then add some drops of water to the head of the brush before a final scrub and then move to painting.

3. Bristles up. If lather is running down on to the counter, it is too wet for me. If I do touchups (after a second pass), I wring the last of the lather out and apply by hand. At that point, there is very little soap to rinse out of the brush.

Hope that helps! The Brotherhood Of Optimistic Facelatherers (BOOF) awaits!

This.

 

[Jer78]

I have only used about 5 different types of sticks but every one has been way faster and easier than non-sticks. They are so easy when used correctly.

 

[Barbarian80]

I have only used about 5 different types of sticks but every one has been way faster and easier than non-sticks. They are so easy when used correctly.

I spend quite a bit of time rubbing it on my face. Far more time then brush loading.

 

[shave/brush]

I feel shave sticks are without a doubt the best way to make lather. They are faster and easier than any other method.
You just wet your face and rub the stick on your beard. Then take a moist brush and work it into lather. Put a lot of soap on your face and use a very moist brush. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it but it's worth the effort. I love using sticks.

 

[Gamma]

I've used sticks as pucks, pucks as sticks, etc. Just gotta figure it out on the fly. Put the brush in a soap dish on its side if the drip is out of control. Mine is usually too thick to run but whatever works, works. I have rinsed off a brush or two in mid shave though. Gotta do what ya gotta do. A plastic cup or glass makes a decent enough brush holder sometimes. Bristles down, but a lot depends on the brush's geometry.
When I use a puck like a stick I usually have that puck in a tin container that doubles as place to put the brush. I think the cap on the Tabac stick might work, but the cap on the DR. Harris probably won't.
plastic travel tubs for bars of soap can be used cleverly to overcome all sorts of hurdles.
The rubbing of soap onto the face thing is always odd, nearly off-putting with some sticks too. I have lathered in my hand, sorta like impromptu bowl lathering....

 

[Jer78]

I spend quite a bit of time rubbing it on my face. Far more time then brush loading.

Interesting.. for me it is about 10 seconds for Mystic Waters, 5 seconds for MWF. That said I would load a soft cream that fast but not much else, JM

 

[Tomo]

I press all my shaving sticks into a container. Much easier to load.

I Love La Toja, Tabac and Valobra sticks

@Tomo if you like Dr Harris, I strongly recommend you get the full pucks. Much more cost effective. By the way, which scent are you using? Do you like it? I’ll be in London in a month and I’m evaluating if it’s worth to visit Dr Harris

I’ve been on B&B long enough to know that the right thing to do is to buy both the puck and the stick. Arlington is my favourite but Windsor is a close second. If you’re in the area, it would be cool to check out the shop. The balm is good too. Stock up!

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I have been doing a bit of travelling lately, so I have had an opportunity to use my shave sticks more often. Currently I have three: Tabac, LaToja and a homemade RazoRock What the Puck. All three work just fine for me. I have a sufficiently bristly beard in the morning that easily grabs the soap when I rub the stick over my moistened face. As others have said, the larger sticks are a bit quicker and easier. For me the best format is the wide, oblong stick deodorant container with the twist up dial on the bottom. I have found that with medium-hard soaps like What the Puck and Mitchell's Wool Fat, I can break the puck by hand and simply pack it into the deodorant container.

 

[Tomo]

Well it’s fair to say that I’m enjoying the stick format.

Tomorrow I will attempt to face lather with a boar brush.

 

[pipskicks]

I have built up lather with just the shave stick and no bowl. It's really up to you how you prefer.