Tabac: Trying to fall in love again

[RBE17]

I decided to go back to Tabac again after not using it since September. I've kept it in the ceramic jar and the top of the puck is cracked and the sides folded in. It looks like a lot of the moisture had evaporated, but the puck was still swollen from top to bottom. I took the puck from the jar and flipped it over. The bottom looked much better than the top.

Now, time for the shave. I used my smaller (can't remember the knot size) silvertip Shavemac and went to town. I thought I had the brush loaded enough, but guess again. I got very subpar lather and realized a couple of possible mistakes.

1) Brush was too dry while trying to load it
2) Not enough water while building the lather
3) Scuttle was too hot
4) Attempting to have an enjoyable shave while hoping your two sick toddlers stay quiet long enough is not conducive to a stress free shave

What endured was horrible lather and not a very good shave. I stuck w/ it, but I honestly never thought I'd have problems w/ Tabac. I'll try again tonight. A wetter brush while loading and a cooler scuttle should do the trick.

 

[Mark T]

Steve,
Try putting some hot water on the puck and wait a few minutes. Remove the water and start charging the brush. If the lather isn't building nicely after 20 secongs or so, add a liitle more hot water to your bowl. TABAC works fine even in Florida, where the hard water can make lathering difficult.

 

[Leche]

I got a great shave from Tabac this morning and the kids stayed quiet.

 

[RBE17]

I have to admit, I took a very casual approach to my lather and shave last night. It's Tabac and I've never had a problem before. However, it's been quite a few months since I've used it and many things have changed including the addition of the scuttle and the new brush. I know for a fact I didn't have the brush loaded enough and that's the biggest problem. I'll try again tonight and pay more attention to the details.

 

[valmara1971]

I got a great shave from Tabac this morning and the kids stayed quiet.

How very considerate of them Glad to hear the Tabac is back with you too. Mine is cracked, weathered, lopsided and in a word breathtaking!

 

[Chimensch]

Are you putting boiling hot water in the scuttle? In my experience, hot tap water is more than hot enough and doesn't dry out the lather.

 

[RBE17]

Are you putting boiling hot water in the scuttle? In my experience, hot tap water is more than hot enough and doesn't dry out the lather.

~10oz of boiling hot water w/ the rest filled (inside and outside) w/ hot tap water. This is a DB double scuttle so the volume is large. I then dump out the inside water and what comes out of the outer chamber is refilled w/ boiling hot water. This method has worked well for TOBS creams, but I have found that Speick is very sensitive to heat. I'm beginning to believe Tabac might be too. I'll try again tonight w/ less boiling water. BTW, my hot tap water is borderline warm. I keep it on the lowest possible setting for the safety of my kids and to help keep the propane bill lower.

 

[RBE17]

I tried a couple of more times and then moved onto VDH ad MWF. I've come to the conclusion that Tabac is very sensitive to heat. Each time I lathered the quality got better, but the shave wasn't too great. It is actually sticky and causing my razor (38C and Astra blade) to skip. I'm going to try again and use my larger knot Shavemac. That seems to have more back bone and is a lathering monster.

 

[media]

I actually broke out the tabac last night also. I used the smaller DB scuttle. I do about half hot tap water, half from a hot kettle. I lathered on my face and put the brush in the kettle so it would be warm for my 2nd pass. When I went for it, the thick lather had become airy and was half dried up. I had to swirl it in the soap a few more times to build lather again. I agree its very sensitive to heat.

 

[Seraphim]

I gave up on scuttles a while back, as I always had to re-swirl the dried out lather.

Now I load on the puck, and lather on the face, for all soaps.

 

[jhclare]

Me too - never did get on with mine. I wanted to really like my Moss, but I noticed a dramatic decline in the lather quality when using it.

So, warm lather is nice and all, but not at the expense of the qualities that give a good shave.

John

I gave up on scuttles a while back, as I always had to re-swirl the dried out lather.

Now I load on the puck, and lather on the face, for all soaps.

 

[RBE17]

I enjoy the warm lather from the scuttle, but I'm starting to get tired of the soaps being finicky with respect to the heat. I've gone to using hot tap water instead of any boiling water. This seems to have helped, but it's a real fine line of finding the sweet spot.

 

[_JP_]

I got very subpar lather and realized a couple of possible mistakes.

What endured was horrible lather and not a very good shave. I stuck w/ it, but I honestly never thought I'd have problems w/ Tabac.

There's no reason to shave with crappy lather! Fix it or start over.

I always see here that a lot of people like to soak their pucks first. I never do. I just use a wet brush and get to work. My water temperature is always a bit below boiling and it causes no trouble with any soap that I use.

 

[RBE17]

Success finally. I decided to use Tabac again last night. I filled my scuttle w/ hot tap water and soaked my 24mm knot silvertip shavemac while I showered. I also put two or three drops of water on the puck and rubbed it in just to moisten it ever so slightly. When I got done I drained the top of the scuttle and refilled the bottom w/ more hot tap water. I squeezed the brush dry and proceeded to load the living daylights out of it. I was rewarded w/ lots of thick, dense Tabac lather. I noticed two things that I had gotten out of the habit of doing.

1) Load the brush...a lot!!!! I had forgotten how much soap is really needed.
2) I was using too much water and not enough soap. That will screw up any lather.

I'm glad I finally achieved success again. I honestly never believed I'd have problems w/ Tabac.

There's no reason to shave with crappy lather! Fix it or start over.

You're right and I should probably have that mind set instead of trying to push through w/ bad lather.

I always see here that a lot of people like to soak their pucks first. I never do. I just use a wet brush and get to work. My water temperature is always a bit below boiling and it causes no trouble with any soap that I use.

Tabac is the only one I don't soak. When I soak the other pucks I start w/ a fairly dry brush. You're lucky the water temp is not causing issues for you. I presume you're using a scuttle.