Maybe this thread is more suitable to be posted in "Shaving Soaps" section but I feel it's an important issue that needs to be addressed.
I have been following this forum for couple of years. First couple of years as a lurker, now as semi active poster and I've noticed a big surge of using "loading time" as judging factor if load is good or not. I believe that this is irrelevant factor. There is so much variables when loading a brush, that just loading time can't be deciding factor.
Brush bristles are made out of different materials, mostly badger, brush and synthetic. Each material has their own specifics, some eat lather, some don't, some retain a lot of water and again some don't.
Brush knots...where do I even begin. Soft, stiff, big, small and everything in between. All of that directly influences loading.
Soap...soft soap, croap, triple milled, all load differently. Is soap used regularly or is it sitting in a rotation? Was the soap bloomed beforehand and for how long? Bloomed soap loads faster for example, so do soft soaps.
Actual loading! How much pressure do you use? How fast are you swirling? How much water is in the brush? I prefer to start on a bit dry side and add droplets to load more soap if needed.
Personally I prefer to use weight of my brush as a measure of loading. I realize it is not the most exact measurement but for me it works and I feel you can better judge if load is good or not. So what I do I load until brush feels almost as heavy as when it's full of water.
I am not saying we should abandon loading time, I believe is a good metric for when we measure "ease of loading" but for proper amount of soap loaded weight is better option.
I have been following this forum for couple of years. First couple of years as a lurker, now as semi active poster and I've noticed a big surge of using "loading time" as judging factor if load is good or not. I believe that this is irrelevant factor. There is so much variables when loading a brush, that just loading time can't be deciding factor.
Brush bristles are made out of different materials, mostly badger, brush and synthetic. Each material has their own specifics, some eat lather, some don't, some retain a lot of water and again some don't.
Brush knots...where do I even begin. Soft, stiff, big, small and everything in between. All of that directly influences loading.
Soap...soft soap, croap, triple milled, all load differently. Is soap used regularly or is it sitting in a rotation? Was the soap bloomed beforehand and for how long? Bloomed soap loads faster for example, so do soft soaps.
Actual loading! How much pressure do you use? How fast are you swirling? How much water is in the brush? I prefer to start on a bit dry side and add droplets to load more soap if needed.
Personally I prefer to use weight of my brush as a measure of loading. I realize it is not the most exact measurement but for me it works and I feel you can better judge if load is good or not. So what I do I load until brush feels almost as heavy as when it's full of water.
I am not saying we should abandon loading time, I believe is a good metric for when we measure "ease of loading" but for proper amount of soap loaded weight is better option.