Shaving Stick help

[Latherdude]

Gents,

I've recently acquired my first two shaving sticks: Arko and La Toja.

My method: I rub a dry stick over my wet face, right after splashing it with warm water, without wiping any droplets away with my hands first. I rub it all around my face in a circular motion for a minute or so. I know it's ready when it feels slick all around, and I might be seeing a film from where my whiskers scrape off little tiny bits of soap. Then I take a damp, not too wet brush to my face and just swirl until I see that yogurt-like consistency all around, possibly dipping the tips of the brush in water as needed for lather consistency/production. All three times I've done this, I've had ample lather and excellent shaves.

Although last night I tried this with Arko and my Omega Pro 48 boar and actually had to re-soap my face after my first pass, as the lather was slick and creamy but too scarce. So my question is this:

Is it generally a good idea to use a smaller brush when face-loading a shaving stick?

Or is it possible I just under-soaped my face yesterday? It didn't feel like I was rushing with the Arko, and I could see a visible film of soap on my face when I thought I was done. It just seemed like the product-thirsty Omega 48 needs more product to get going, and my face just isn't big enough to feed it with this method.
The other brush I used for these shaves was an Every Man Jack synthetic, and I had no problems at all.

Thanks, everyone.

 

[Marco]

Brian, what exactly do you mean by "smaller brush", please? Are you referring to the knot diameter or the loft height? I'm asking because I get a fantastic lather with sticks when using my Chubby 1, which has a very dense 24 mm knot and a rather short 48 mm loft. Brushes that are too lofty don't seem to work well with sticks for me.

 

[TonyJoe]

If my brush seems extra product-hungry, I just rub the brush on the stick a bit after I've rubbed the stick on my face. It seems to help. Nothing wrong with applying more soap to your face though.

 

[brother cavefish]

I find sticks , are useless, i grate them up in a mug , then the lathering kicks butt

 

[Latherdude]

Brian, what exactly do you mean by "smaller brush", please? Are you referring to the knot diameter or the loft height? I'm asking because I get a fantastic lather with sticks when using my Chubby 1, which has a very dense 24 mm knot and a rather short 48 mm loft. Brushes that are too lofty don't seem to work well with sticks for me.

Thanks, Marco!
I actually hadn't considered the "Chubby" shape, having never used a brush with such a wide knot and a short loft. In my brush inventory, if it's got a wider knot, it also has a taller loft, so I hadn't considered that it was a multifaceted variable. This is quite helpful, and not at all a surprise coming from you! Thanks again.

 

[rockviper]

I'm a face latherer and use sticks most of the time and find that the Omega Mighty Midget is a wonderful tool for face lathering ... and it makes a GREAT travel brush as well!!! On the other end of the spectrum are the HIS and SOC which allow you to get behind your ears while lathering your chin! At the end of the day, all of my brushes work great for face lathering; they just each have a different feel.

 

[Latherdude]

If my brush seems extra product-hungry, I just rub the brush on the stick a bit after I've rubbed the stick on my face. It seems to help. Nothing wrong with applying more soap to your face though.

I'd considered that but wasn't sure how well that would work with the little bit of lather that was sitting in my brush. Perhaps I'll give it a go with the face-loading, and then priming the brush a bit as you've suggested.

I find sticks , are useless, i grate them up in a mug , then the lathering kicks butt

The face loading and face lathering method didn't work for you? What kind of brush did you use? It's not really clear...

 

[Latherdude]

I'm a face latherer and use sticks most of the time and find that the Omega Mighty Midget is a wonderful tool for face lathering ... and it makes a GREAT travel brush as well!!! On the other end of the spectrum are the HIS and SOC which allow you to get behind your ears while lathering your chin! At the end of the day, all of my brushes work great for face lathering; they just each have a different feel.

I just acquired a mixed midget (Omega 11047) and am breaking it in. I foolishly shaved with it the first day I got it after a couple quick de-funking latherings, and it really irritated my face (I face-loaded La Toja...it was also my first stick shave and I intentionally tried to 'overdo' it on the soap instead of using too little). I'll come back to that soonish.
And incidentally, it fits perfectly into a La Toja container. I may have to purchase another one and just throw the soap into a zip-lock bag!

 

[Snidely]

I have a Simpsons Betkeley 46 which is a fairly compact brush. I get oceans of lather using it with an Ogallala stick and the same technique you are using.

 

[Luc]

Well, if I approach this from a science point of view. If you have a bigger brush, the area or space that the bristles occupy will be greater than a smaller brush (bigger knot, loft, etc). So, if you have a bigger brush, it will require more product to achieve the same result. Think, going from point A to B with Car 1 (small) and car 2 (big pickup truck). The end result will be the same but to get there, Car 2 will drink more gas. Same as the brush, it will "drink" more water/lather. This could go the other way, smaller car runs out of gas, refill and gets to point b where car 2 can hold enough lather.

Once you get used to your brush, you will know exactly how much product you need (face lathering or not, shave stick or not) and then will adjust accordingly. In the end, experiment, try a few things and see what works best. I find that having a wet shave stick is easier to work with but YMMV. I use a finest 24x48 brush which is perfect for me. I sometimes try another brush and I always go back to the same one because it works better, for me.

 

[Latherdude]

^ Brilliant way to look at it. Thank you.

 

[brother cavefish]

I'd considered that but wasn't sure how well that would work with the little bit of lather that was sitting in my brush. Perhaps I'll give it a go with the face-loading, and then priming the brush a bit as you've suggested.




The face loading and face lathering method didn't work for you? What kind of brush did you use? It's not really clear...

let me clear it up a bit , it worked for me, i just dont like sticks, no matter how wet my face is it starts off with a dry rub feeling, and it takes longer than i need, ----if you truly want to face lather i guess a stick is the way to go because you will have to massage the soap into the skin longer because if you dont you will have undissolved soap sections and they will clog you razor-personally i like to soap mug it or hand lather it and then put it on my face and then massage it in, i used to put RR on my hand and hand lather but sometimes the soap would not be fully dissolved and lay inside the brush , and end up on my face, clogged razors was the result------------i use soap mugs for soap, onion bowl for RR lathering and storage , and hand / face lathering for creams---any sticks i grate up, i actually made a great mixture of Arko and a lanolin soap

 

[celestino]

Is your Omega boar broken-in? That may have been a variable. Good luck.

 

[gus1942]

Gents,

I've recently acquired my first two shaving sticks: Arko and La Toja.

My method: I rub a dry stick over my wet face, right after splashing it with warm water, without wiping any droplets away with my hands first. I rub it all around my face in a circular motion for a minute or so. I know it's ready when it feels slick all around, and I might be seeing a film from where my whiskers scrape off little tiny bits of soap. Then I take a damp, not too wet brush to my face and just swirl until I see that yogurt-like consistency all around, possibly dipping the tips of the brush in water as needed for lather consistency/production. All three times I've done this, I've had ample lather and excellent shaves.

Although last night I tried this with Arko and my Omega Pro 48 boar and actually had to re-soap my face after my first pass, as the lather was slick and creamy but too scarce. So my question is this:

Is it generally a good idea to use a smaller brush when face-loading a shaving stick?

Or is it possible I just under-soaped my face yesterday? It didn't feel like I was rushing with the Arko, and I could see a visible film of soap on my face when I thought I was done. It just seemed like the product-thirsty Omega 48 needs more product to get going, and my face just isn't big enough to feed it with this method.
The other brush I used for these shaves was an Every Man Jack synthetic, and I had no problems at all.

Thanks, everyone.

The type of brush for face lathering is over rated. Use whatever. Add a little stick to your brush tips after applying to face. And don't worry about adding more product or water. And don't forget those paint brush strokes after your circular strokes.

 

[nwjs]

Is it generally a good idea to use a smaller brush when face-loading a shaving stick?

I find it easier to soap up the brush with the stick instead of rubbing the stick over the face. With larger brushes you need a bit more soap than with smaller ones, of course.

 

[Lucidor]

At least in harder shave sticks, soaking the tip of the stick while prepping helps a lot with softening and later rubbing on face.

 

[Harvey1]

IMO:

1) Sticks are not very pleasant nor efficient to use. I keep one stick for travelling and grate the others.

2) Use a badger brush. It is far better with all products, particularly with sticks.

Enjoy your shave.

 

[gus1942]

IMO:

1) Sticks are not very pleasant nor efficient to use. I keep one stick for travelling and grate the others.

2) Use a badger brush. It is far better with all products, particularly with sticks.

Enjoy your shave.

Harvey, We will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[rts9364]

I find sticks , are useless, i grate them up in a mug , then the lathering kicks butt

I grated up my Speick stick yesterday to go into a glass bowl. The resulting lather was the best I have had yet, so I will have to agree. I thought I was going to have to leave the bathroom to make room for all the lather. (I may have overloaded the brush for my first try...)

Also, I love Speick.

 

[brother cavefish]

I grated up my Speick stick yesterday to go into a glass bowl. The resulting lather was the best I have had yet, so I will have to agree. I thought I was going to have to leave the bathroom to make room for all the lather. (I may have overloaded the brush for my first try...)

Also, I love Speick.

Speick would be great grater, and yes it fluffs up nice, i am a mug lover, i have 3 and a onion bowl for the RR- i grated arko with a homemade lanolin soap great combo