Poor shave with Tabac Stick - what am I doing wrong

[WilsonLaidlaw]

I received my Tabac Stick and Muhle Travel Synthetic Badger brush yesterday, ready for my classic car trip (1969 Merc 280SL) across the USA starting next week. Yesterday, I gave the Muhle a trial run on TOBS Sandalwood hard soap in a bowl and it face lathered perfectly well. Not quite as nice as my big New Forest Super Badger but it's certainly very acceptable and is a beautifully made device.

This morning, I thought I would add the Tabac stick into the equation. I had watched a video about methodology of using the Tabac. I did my normal hot water method of softening my beard and with my face thoroughly wetted, dipped the stick in hot water and applied to my face. I then started to lather with the wetted Muhle. At first all seemed fine but the lather quickly got sticky. I added more water by a small dip of the brush but then the lather went very thin. I kept at it and the lather finally seemed OK. I used my "go to" razor, Gillette Super Adjustable (just bought another one for my son), with Derby Extra blade. The lather dried very quickly on my face and it was a very sticky shave and not at all nice. I did a second pass after wetting my face again - same issue with lather collapsing and drying very quickly. I had to wind the Gillette up to 7 to get it decently close, against normal setting of 4 and the razor was very gunged up at the end. It was a bit like I imagine trying to shave with wallpaper paste.

Any suggestions guys? I don't fancy putting up with this for three weeks. I would rather use Clarins Smooth Shave out of a can than what I had this morning.

Wilson

 

[Jcabbage]

never had that problem with mine. maybe there was too much soap on your face? also make sure your face is wet i usually can see it start to foam up a little as i am putting the soap on my face. also maybe put a little on your brush too or maybe try a different brush?

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

never had that problem with mine. maybe there was too much soap on your face? also make sure your face is wet i usually can see it start to foam up a little as i am putting the soap on my face. also maybe put a little on your brush too or maybe try a different brush?

Using a different brush rather defeats the whole object of the exercise, which is to have a brush which can be packed away damp each morning when I leave the overnight hotel, without it causing a problem. The synthetic brushes dry very quickly anyway and the metal container has ventilation holes in it. I don't want to spoil any of my natural hair brushes by packing them in the leather wash bag damp and then in my case. The case is then going to sit in the hot trunk of the Merc all day, in heat of anything up to Death Valley. I may have put too much soap on my face, which was thoroughly wetted but what puzzled me was how quickly the lather dried.

Wilson

 

[LeftyT]

How long did you work it on your face? To me, it sounds like not enough water at the initial stages, with overworked, somewhat dry soap.
Synthetics don't hold water like naturals, so I bet you needed to dip your brush every 10 seconds or so, but didn't realize it.

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

How long did you work it on your face? To me, it sounds like not enough water at the initial stages, with overworked, somewhat dry soap.
Synthetics don't hold water like naturals, so I bet you needed to dip your brush every 10 seconds or so, but didn't realize it.

I probably worked it for about a minute to a minute and a half on my face and at the end of that the lather seemed OK. I think you are probably right and that I needed to keep adding small amounts of water beyond the point the lather seemed OK. This is the first synthetic brush I have ever had, so a learning experience. The funny thing is that I treated it just like any other brush with the TOBS hard soap yesterday and that worked just fine. Of course a bit of water sits on top of the soap, as you are loading the brush, which may have made the difference.

Wilson

 

[njpaddy]

I tend to use a dryer lather with soaps than some people, so I have a gunking-up problem with certain sticks if I put it on too heavy. I know Arko is one. I can't remember if the Tabac stick is another as I haven't used it in months. With those sticks, my technique is applying less on the face and adding more to the brush by holding the stick in a fist and swirling the brush tips over the end of the soap. With this method, I may have to reapply the stick after the second pass, but it's easier to put more on than starting with too much. Sticks are all a little different. It may take a few uses, but you'll figure the best soap/water combo. My favorite stick is La Toja. It seems to be idiot-proof and gives me close shaves. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Oblique Human]

Try bowl lathering instead, its more fun and easier in the beginning. Load your brush generously, whip for a couple minutes, add water drops, whip more, add more water and repeat until the lather reaches the desired consistency. Read up all you can about other people's lather instructions but remember, like blades, lather techniques also vary greatly and are YMMV. Water hardness is the biggest culprit here. Then, some like their lather thick, some cushiony, others runny. I whip up mine well hydrated pastey with very soft peaks, too thick and I get bumps.

About the "three weeks" thing, it has been a month barely since I finally got my lather just right. Classic shaving demands time and patience in the beginning, but good things will come your way if you persevere

 

[Bengal Tiger]

I probably worked it for about a minute to a minute and a half on my face and at the end of that the lather seemed OK. I think you are probably right and that I needed to keep adding small amounts of water beyond the point the lather seemed OK. This is the first synthetic brush I have ever had, so a learning experience. The funny thing is that I treated it just like any other brush with the TOBS hard soap yesterday and that worked just fine. Of course a bit of water sits on top of the soap, as you are loading the brush, which may have made the difference.

Wilson

+1 for adding water continuously. The stick works incredibly well with badger and I have to add a few drops with boar after a while. I've never used a synthetic yet. I can imagine that you need to add lots of water with a synthetic since it doesn't hold any water at all. You may need to reapply soap for the other passes due to the same reason. It shouldn't be sticky at all. I wonder if your soap melted and changed some in your hot car?

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

Try bowl lathering instead, its more fun and easier in the beginning. Load your brush generously, whip for a couple minutes, add water drops, whip more, add more water and repeat until the lather reaches the desired consistency. Read up all you can about other people's lather instructions but remember, like blades, lather techniques also vary greatly and are YMMV. Water hardness is the biggest culprit here. Then, some like their lather thick, some cushiony, others runny. I whip up mine well hydrated pastey with very soft peaks, too thick and I get bumps.

About the "three weeks" thing, it has been a month barely since I finally got my lather just right. Classic shaving demands time and patience in the beginning, but good things will come your way if you persevere

Three weeks is the time I am going to be away, not the time I have been lathering - that is nearer 45 years! I am trying to carry the absolute minimum of stuff to un and repack every night and the trunk of our old 280SL is not that big, what with the tools and spares we carry, plus the struts of the roll cage (this is a competitive rally). I have never used a bowl to lather and probably am too old a dog to learn new tricks now. To minimise my clobber was I went with a stick rather than my usual wooden containers of TOBS, AOS or C&E soap, which work perfectly for face lathering for me. I was just surprised how different a stick was to hard soap. Also I don't think the thin slot of the Super Adjustable did it any favours. My Ikon might be better suited to the Tabac lather.

Wilson

 

[Mick]

When I travel Arko is the stick of choice. I have several to choose from but I know Arko will perform regardless of the type of water I run into. Very consistent every use.

Tabac stick works well for me at home but I would not trust taking it with me. Need something reliable that I don't need to fight with.

I too am a minimalist when traveling

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

+1 for adding water continuously. The stick works incredibly well with badger and I have to add a few drops with boar after a while. I've never used a synthetic yet. I can imagine that you need to add lots of water with a synthetic since it doesn't hold any water at all. You may need to reapply soap for the other passes due to the same reason. It shouldn't be sticky at all. I wonder if your soap melted and changed some in your hot car?

I have not set off yet. This was a trial run to see if I could get on with both the Tabac and synthetic brush, just in case I had to think of the alternative and take along a couple cans of Clarins Smooth Shave. This is what I have used travelling in the past and whereas it is not as good as proper soap and a brush, it is vastly superior to the usual sticky gloop that comes out of cans.

This new super synthetic artificial silver tip Badger from Muhle is supposed to hold water better than older synthetics (nylon etc) but obviously nothing like as well as Badger or Bristle.

Wilson

 

[Go West Young Man]

Try using a lot more soap - you really need to coat your face before hitting it with the brush.

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

Try using a lot more soap - you really need to coat your face before hitting it with the brush.

Chris,

I think my issue may be have been the reverse. I did put a lot of soap on my face and maybe too much soap and not enough water. Going to try again this morning. If I don't get the lather right, rather than persist, I will start from scratch again.

Wilson

 

[Oblique Human]

Three weeks is the time I am going to be away, not the time I have been lathering - that is nearer 45 years!

I hope I didn't sound too patronizing in my previous post. I'm sure you'll overcome this hurdle easy.

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

I hope I didn't sound too patronizing in my previous post. I'm sure you'll overcome this hurdle easy.

Not patronising at all, just wanted to clarify.

Anyway cracked it this morning. Pre-soaked the brush (not sure if that does anything with a synthetic but you never know with these clever Germans), added about the same amount of Tabac but kept dipping the soap in the water. Ditto with brush while lathering and got a less sticky lather today, which did not dry off anything like as quickly. I also used the wider slot Ikon rather than the narrow slot Gillette, as I still think the lather is somewhat more viscous than hard soap lather from a bowl.

All worked perfectly and I added a little more water to the brush for the second pass. Then over-confidence struck, with a careless final flourish, I managed to put a huge nick in the bottom of my nostril. Pride goes.........

Wilson (bleeding - where's that styptic pencil?)

 

[Debrushman]

The problem is that you didn't use Arko stick.

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

The problem is that you didn't use Arko stick.

The problem is the Arko comes in a tatty bit of paper against the Tabac in a nice solid container. In Turkey three weeks ago, I saw Arko for sale in the markets for T£2 = $1.12 and I am sure if you have bought a few, you could have got the price lower. The issue with buying anything in Turkey, is that you don't know if it is genuine. I was told that quite a few of the known make DE blades are cheap fakes. We got scammed on Oscietra caviar, which was either ancient or fake, as in contrast to the sample we tasted, it is wholly tasteless. Luckily we only bought a small quantity and it was not too expensive.

The Arko is I am sure, fine for home but when you are packing it in with a whole lot of other stuff in a wash bag, you want a strong holder.

Wilson

 

[LeftyT]

I'm glad the Tabac worked. It's nice stuff, for sure. As for the Arko issue...

Arko! It fit's perfectly in a 1907 William's tin.