How and how long does it take you to load your brush?

[Kenno]

For the soap users I have read some people say you gotta load your brush for a full minute after it has been squeezed and shaken dry. Others like Mantic seem to just use a downward movement with the brush after they soaked it and load the soap for a mere 4 seconds?

When some people say the reason the lather is no good is becuase you never loaded the brush long enough or squuezed and shook all the water out but then we see Mantic and other take about 4 seconds or 10 swirls with a fairly wet brush it gets a bit confusing?

I tried the loading a squeezed and shaken brush for a minute then tried to build the lather on my face adding a few drops at a time but it took so long and the lather is dry? And looking at the brush it was dry and didn't have that nice wet moist look about it. Then I just soaked my brush, let it stop dripping then loaded the soap for 20 seconds and went to my face. It was a bit messy at the start but it took a lot less time to build the lather and the brush and lather were well hydrated and the shave was comfortable and not dry.

So how and how long does it take you to load your brush?

 

[SilkySmooth]

For me it depends on the soap. Tabac and L'Occitane Cade take only a few swirls maybe 4 seconds or so. MWF takes about 10 seconds for me. I either lather on my face or lather in a bowl and add water as needed. You're looking for a stiff "meringue like" lather that looks glossy.

 

[DSB]

I have had success with this method:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsj58fqVjY[/youtube]

 

[Kenno]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc[/YOUTUBE]i was looking at this method with a badger. the boar looks good too as i have one and will try that method also.

 

[Legion]

Ken, I was a bit confused about this as well. It probably takes me around 30 seconds? to load my brush. I was watching mantics vids and, yeah, three swirls and he was away. Could it possibly have something to do with Australian Vs US water? It's a possibility, anyway.

I have started lathering soap in a bowl now and am having a bit more success because it seems easier to get the water ratio right. Traditionally I always worked this way with creams but I am on a bit of a MWF and Tabac kick at the moment so I am working on fine tuning my soap technique.

 

[JdB]

Good video! I use the same brush (Omega boar with transparant base).

After soaking, I squeeze her out and start loading soap for a good minute, when there is a bit of lather, I continue on the face. Whole process takes 4 minutes.

The method from the video seems to work also, but I don't like to have my hands and furthermore my whole bathroom covered with soap.

I will try it out anyhow next shave! Also soaking the brush in a cup is a good way to save water!


Happy shaving!

 

[Luc]

Depends on the soap.

I usualy squeeze the water out of the brush, get rid of any excess water on the soap. Proceed to charge until I feel a pulling sensation from the soap. I then give it 5-10 seconds and I move to the bowl.

 

[gone down south]

As someone commented recently, Mantic is the Tiger Woods of shaving, of course he's going to make it look a lot more effortless than when you try it yourself

 

[mdunn]

it depends on the soap, brush and prevailing wind, just work it for like 10 seconds, you'll soon get a feel for how much soap you need on the brush

 

[marvin100]

20 sec, timed, with badger and dry puck of tallow-based soap (or PdP).

ON EDIT: This gives me four full Santa Claus passes with MWF, Pen's EF, PdP. Three with D.R. Harris & Tabac.

 

[_JP_]

I never squeeze the brush. The secret is that it takes water to dissolve the soap, so you want some in the brush. I give the brush a good shake and then start to work it on the soap. The exact amount of time it takes to load it up varies, but I don't put any thought into that because I can always go back to the puck to get more soap. And I often do.

 

[strat1117]

I never squeeze the brush. The secret is that it takes water to dissolve the soap, so you want some in the brush. I give the brush a good shake and then start to work it on the soap. The exact amount of time it takes to load it up varies, but I don't put any thought into that because I can always go back to the puck to get more soap. And I often do.

This is more art than science; you have to feel your way through it. There is no one formula that works for every possible combination of soap/brush/water/climate/personal preference, etc.

 

[82R100]

Easily 30 seconds give or take, depending on the soap. With a sqeezed brush.

- Chris

 

[joto]

I usually probably load for 20-30 seconds, but it's more of an appearance than a length of time for me. I dampen the top of the soap a little bit, barely enough for standing water for pool, if at all. After a few seconds, I pour off any standing water (sometimes none runs off), and I hit it with a mostly dry brush (still wet enough for some of the bristles to stick together in clumps) and load until the bottom 1/4-1/3 of the bristles are soaped up. If things get a little dry on the puck while I am loading and I'm not done yet, I will re-dampen the top of the soap, wait a few seconds, and continue to load. Interestingly enough, I have (through trial and error) noticed that the surface area of the soap affects the loading time. I suppose this is obvious, but it never occurred to me. I usually milled refills into other containers instead of buying wooden bowls, and I'm too cheap to buy a specialized bowl for them. I used whatever spare tupperware we had around the house. For me, if I milled soap into a container that resulted in the soap's surface measuring 3" or more (and sloping, not straight sides) it loaded quickly and easily. The others load just fine, but usually take longer. Once I load, I usually pour a little water into the breech of the brush, it just gets things going a little quicker. Good luck!

 

[Kenno]

Ken, I was a bit confused about this as well. It probably takes me around 30 seconds? to load my brush. I was watching mantics vids and, yeah, three swirls and he was away. Could it possibly have something to do with Australian Vs US water? It's a possibility, anyway.

I have started lathering soap in a bowl now and am having a bit more success because it seems easier to get the water ratio right. Traditionally I always worked this way with creams but I am on a bit of a MWF and Tabac kick at the moment so I am working on fine tuning my soap technique.

Could be the water, I dunno mate?

Could it also be that if you over load a lot of soap on a dry brush and then apply that dry soap to your face it could dry your face out by the time you built the lather as dry soap can draw out moisture from your face, especially if you only do a few drops at a time. Man my badger holds a lot of water and if I were to try and soak it a few drops at a time it would take me forever?

Sometimes I find that when I have less soap on the brush that I get a very slick shave that has a lot of water behind it. I find I can go over the same spot many times without it going dry and giving me irritation. When I use the shaken/squeezed brush the lather was thick but dry and would give me red spots and I could never go over the same spot twice with comfort, it would be dry as soon as the razor went past. Makes me wonder if too much soap is a benifit or a hindrance to a good shave.

I get this with my proraso, mwf, spiek and tobs soap and gft cream?

 

[ProphetNoir]

I have never really felt that I had a problem building a good lather with creams, but after a particularly bad shave a few months ago I did revisit Mantic's videos and I made one small change. I used to shake my soaked brush the way you would shake a thermometer. After watching Mantic, I now let the water run out while the brush is held vertically by the handle and then I give it a couple more shakes in an up and down motion while still holding it vertically so that no more water drips out when it is held still. I have never, ever squeezed the water out. This has worked for me with creams and it worked well when I started using soaps a couple of weeks ago and kept using that same technique.
As for loading the brush from soaps, I follow the Mantic video on superlather and alternate a few swirls with some gentle mashing on the puck. I do this for more than 30 seconds and I dip the tips of my brush in hot water at least twice along the way. I am not trying to create lather on the puck, I still build my lather in a bowl because that's what I like to do. I get a dense lather in my brush with enough of same left in my bowl to use in Kyle's Prep. I haven't timed myself but I would estimate my time invested in this stage at close to two minutes. The loaded brush goes into my DB Brush Scuttle while I complete the prep, and by the time I have taken the last hot towel from my face the brush is very warm and ready to apply lather to my face. About one minutes worth of swirling and painting and I am ready for my first pass.
Of course I am not concerned with time at any point during my shave. If time is a concern, then ... well I guess another member would be of more assistance.
I just enjoy every part of the journey and if something goes wrong with the shave, I can usually pinpoint what happened and when.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

This is more art than science; you have to feel your way through it. There is no one formula that works for every possible combination of soap/brush/water/climate/personal preference, etc.

+1 to this...he hit the nail on the head here...hence the term "Art" of shaving LOL!

 

[OldSaw]

I keep going back to the "dunk & stir" method. Loading a shaken badger seems to be hard on the bristles.

I simply dunk my mug of soap and brush in the sink of hot water. Then I lift it out and start stirring the brush around. I let the excess water run over and then start pouring it off as the lather builds. I do this until it looks right. It uses up the soap faster, but I don't care, as I still get 3-5 months of regular use out of a triple milled soap.

 

[Laz]

What I like about both videos, is that they demonstrate the very different methods can get the same result. In both examples, you have a rich thick cream that isn't runny and holds alot of water.

 

[Kenno]

This is more art than science; you have to feel your way through it. There is no one formula that works for every possible combination of soap/brush/water/climate/personal preference, etc.

might be, however a lot of people use the same method for all their soaps?