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New to SEs, Boar Brushes and Soaps

I've mostly been a DE guy who uses brushless creams.

I recently ordered a SE (Gem 1912), a boar brush (Semogue 620) and a few soaps (Haslingers and some samples from Murphy and McNeil).

are there any guides for dumbasses like me?

Do I leave the SE blade in the razor after I'm done? Do I clean the blade or razor after shaving? Should I be wetting the razor in cold or warm water as I shave?

Should I soak the boar brush in warm water before starting? After I'm done do I dry the brush?

Regarding soaps I don't know where to start. I'm guess I rub the brush against the soap and either lather in a bowl or on my face? Does Haslingers require a lot of water?

Thanks.
 
Do I leave the SE blade in the razor after I'm done?
Do I clean the blade or razor after shaving?
Should I be wetting the razor in cold or warm water as I shave?
Should I soak the boar brush in warm water before starting?
After I'm done do I dry the brush?

Regarding soaps I don't know where to start. I'm guess I rub the brush against the soap and either lather in a bowl or on my face?

You can, if it's a stainless steel blade.
Rinse the razor and let it dry. You can wipe the blade too, carefully.
Does not matter, whatever works for you.
Yes.
Yes, shake it off and let it dry.

That's correct. Watch some YouTube tutorials, there are so many for creams and soaps.
 
For most gem-style razors, the secret is to keep the razor almost flat against the face. That makes the optimaljangle a lot different from what you are used to with DEs.

Keep that shallow angle and a light touch and you will do fine.
 
I only recently discovered the 1912. It’s very enjoyable.

Your boar is new and is going to be going through a lot of changes in the first few weeks. If you get what feel like razor burnin the first shave or two maybe switch to bowl lathering for a couple weeks before you go back to the face. Give the face time to recover while the boar breaks in and softens.

there are supposed break I processes for boars, you can make the call if attempting one is for you or not. I don’t worry about it much. I would suggest you strip your brush gently on a towel after you rinse the lather out. You wont dry the brush this way, but it will change from wet to damp, and this also helps promote splitting the ends of the hairs which is what makes a boar softer and lather better.

As I understand it, the soap you bought is similar to Mitchell’s wool fat. You can lather off the puck or even go wild and wet your face and the puck, then rub the puck into your face and stubble. Then take and wet brush to your face and start working up a lather... no right or wrong way here.

I’d suggest you do a test lather or two to get a feel for the soap and how much water it can take before it’s too wet and dissipates. If it’s like Mitchell’s wool fat, it may look like it’s at this point when it actually needs more water. But add water and work that lather to a nice consistency and make sure it looks shiny!
 
I wouldn't go all out and change everything at once, you're just asking for problems on your maiden shave, trust me! Been there, done that, wasn't pretty.

I would keep using your brushless cream until you have your SE down. I don't use SE's so can't help you there. Once you're comfortable with that razor though, try your hand at making lather with a brush and soap. You could always try brush/soap before the SE though, just use the DE instead if you'd like to try brushes and soaps first.

1. Soak the boar brush almost all the way up the bristles in a cup of warm water for at least 3 minutes
2. Lift brush out of water and give it a very mild gentle squeeze. You want water in the brush, just not sopping wet
3. Swirl the brush over your Haslinger puck for roughly 30 seconds until a bubbly lather forms
4. Face-lather that until it's slick and creamy
5. When you stop grinning, shave!

Welcome to the B&B
 
Great advice above!

You picked a great SE, a wonderful soap and excellent brush!

I would add a few additional suggestions:
1. Haslinger’s likes a lot of water! Likely more than you may think.
2. Your brush will need a good soak before each use plus a break-in period to hit its stride. Give it awhile!
3. ENJOY your new kit!! :a29:
 
Great advice above!

You picked a great SE, a wonderful soap and excellent brush!

I would add a few additional suggestions:
1. Haslinger’s likes a lot of water! Likely more than you may think.
2. Your brush will need a good soak before each use plus a break-in period to hit its stride. Give it awhile!
3. ENJOY your new kit!! :a29:

Thanks.

What's a good soak in terms of time? A minute or 5 or 10? ANd warm water or hot water?
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
I've mostly been a DE guy who uses brushless creams.

I recently ordered a SE (Gem 1912), a boar brush (Semogue 620) and a few soaps (Haslingers and some samples from Murphy and McNeil).

are there any guides for dumbasses like me?

Do I leave the SE blade in the razor after I'm done? Do I clean the blade or razor after shaving? Should I be wetting the razor in cold or warm water as I shave?

Should I soak the boar brush in warm water before starting? After I'm done do I dry the brush?

Regarding soaps I don't know where to start. I'm guess I rub the brush against the soap and either lather in a bowl or on my face? Does Haslingers require a lot of water?

Thanks.

You have a great kit! :)

Everyone has given good advice. Enjoy the journey and some wonderful shaves! :)
 
What's a good soak in terms of time? A minute or 5 or 10? ANd warm water or hot water?
Warm water soak for at least 2 minutes, longer is okay if you are not rushed. Very hot water may affect the glue in the knot so avoid temperature extremes. That Semogue 620 should be great once broken in.
 
Invicta has the right info. Water hotter than you can hold you hand under is too hot and can loosen/soften knots, and with other types of brushes this can also cause the tips to curl.. Your boar soaked for 2 minutes will be noticably softer and good to go.
 
I've tried the boar brush break in of soaking it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. It does wonders in speeding up the breaking in process. Single edges are great. I find the 1912 to be a bit aggressive and tend to only use it when I have a couple days growth. There are some might fine threads about the Gem razors and they are great razors imo.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
I like test lathers. After you soak the brush for a few minutes you'll probably want to get some of that water out. Some like a little squeeze, I do 2 vertical shakes - but not hard shakes. It's really not that critical.

If the brush is too wet you'll make a bit of a mess on your puck (no big deal: rinses right off with a little cold water). If it's really very wet you may have to load quite a bit of soap to balance with the water. Test lathers are for experimenting - so don't fret.

If the brush is too dry it will take quite a long time to load, so leave some moisture in there. I load for about 10 seconds, but you don't have my soap, my water, my brush or my pressure on the puck - so that isn't worth much. Some people load for 20-30 seconds. Just swirl the brush with a little pressure and get some soap on the brush.

I like palm lathering for test lathers. Your palm is not as soft as your face and you can do a few test lathers in a row without causing any trouble.

So you start to swirl the brush on your (other) palm. How does it look? Pay attention or your just wasting your time. As the lather builds add a few drops (4-5?) of water and watch what happens. Does it get better? Still seems a little thick? Build for about 10 seconds (until you incorporate the added water). Add a few more drops. Keep doing this until you get some good looking lather (check out a few videos or "lather porn" posts here). Then keep going until you ruin the lather by making it too thin.

Do this a few times and you'll get a good feel for how much water to add and when to stop. Obviously if it's painfully dry near the start you can be a little more generous in how much water you add.
 
Some great advice here.
Yes indeed both of these gentlemen are correct. I received two zenith boars early last week and as part of my breaking in with use process was doing some test lathers with both brushes on my face... By the time i went to actually shave my face, it was on fire. Brush burn, its a real thing. I did a very gentle mild shave and made sure to use some PREP creme. 24 hours later i was able to resume shaving in great comfort and style.
 
All good advice here. I've got a few brushes including a nice two band badger with gel tips. If I could only keep one it would be my Semogue 620. The balance of backbone, scrub and soft split tips is perfect (for me). It may be a little scrubby at first, but give it time and enjoy!
 
Last question so I should take the blade out of the razor, dry it, dry the razor and then put the blade back correct?
Up to you. Some just shake them dry, some take the blade out, rinse and set to the side until the next use. Others do nothing at all, while some take the blades out and rinse, dry and put back in the wrapper...
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Last question so I should take the blade out of the razor, dry it, dry the razor and then put the blade back correct?
What I do when I use a my Gem razors, my procedure would be different to yours because I use 15 different (ASR) American Safety Razor Corporation razors so my blade goes into a different one usually and it works well. All I do after my shave is take the blade out and rinse under hot water and tap dry on a towel and is slipped between two modified magnetic business cards. I also rinse the razor and placed in my razor rack to dry. Some times I will put the blade into another ASR razor for the next day use.
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Blade storage 1.jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
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