Hey All! I received 2 bowls of C&E soap for my birthday last year, as well as a bunch of other shaving goods. But I can't, for the life of me, get it to lather prperly with my badger brush. It is a Penworks 24mm (extra stuffing) finest brush. I have no problems with using it on any other type of soap I have had (Tabac, Mama Bear's, and QED...I'm still fairly new to all this). My problem is that I can't load the brush...I am thinking the soap is either too hard or brush too soft (which doesn't seem right to me). I have tried soaking the soap and brush and that gets me nowhere; I have tried soaking the soap and not the brush...same sad result, and I have soaked the soap and got the brush wet by running it under the tap...the result was a bit better than the last two. I had enough lather for about 2.5 passes...but had to work VERY hard to get it. I have even made cuts along the surface of the soap to rough it up. The kicker of it all is that I have NO problem getting a rich, creamy lather with my boar brush (I just ordered a new Semogue to replace my little Omega). I am almost resigned to the fact that I will need to use only a boar brush on this soap, but I thought I would see if there is any advice out there from the badger users. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks!
You could try milling the soap. Also perhaps soaking the brush in borax/water solution, but since you are not having issues with other soap, I would try milling some of the puck into a bowl first.
I've noticed a rare combination where a particular brush just doesn't work with one particular soap. For me, it's a travel sized Omega boar that simply cannot make good lather from MWF. Strange as both that soap and brush work very well in any other combination.
this right here. C&E soaps are pretty dense, I can't usually lather them with my badger brushes, except for my B&B Essential brush, with has pretty stiff bristles anyway. I haven't yet tried my Vulfix 404, which is a badger/boar blend, but I think this discussion has prompted my shave for tonight I have a 24mm badger knot from Tony at Penworks that I put in a handle, and that is one big, soft knot. Wouldn't surprise me that it won't load on C&E very easily. Grating the soap into another container, as Stingraysrock suggested, may help. Or, you may try this: get some of those really small hair rubber bands, like are used for pony tails, etc., and put one or more at the base of the knot, just above the handle, effectively making the knot denser, so that perhaps it may not splay out as much and enable you to work the soap. Be cautious though, I've read this method being used a few times, with success, but some of the discussions have had concerns about the possibility of the rubber bands damaging the hairs of the brush. At the time, no one report such damage, and because of the flexibility of the bands and the hairs, there may not be any cause for alarm. I've tried it, and it does make a difference, but I don't leave them on the brush, I take them off when I'm done, however I've only tried that 3 or 4 times.
:sihns011 I personally love the C&E soaps... I load them onto my brush and face lather.. The brush I use is the Rooney 3/1 Super! Works like a charm!
Thanks for the advice. The Penworks brush is deffinately big and soft...I just hope it will work for the MWF soap I have on the way. I will try miling some of the soap..I have no problem with that..and see where it gets me. Brushes and soap are new to me...When I started shaving with DE razors, everything was a PIF from my brother (except for this soap and brush). Although I have had the soap and brush for a year now, I have only recently started learning about them (been focused on razors and blades that work best). I'm not sure how the hair elastic will work, but I'll try one of my daughter's ouchless ones, that way it shouldn't do anything to the badger fur. I'll try these tonight for practice and see how it goes.
Well I got it to work! Gary, I had tried that the other day and I had to work hard for enough lather for 2 passes. Anyway I tried milling a bitg of the soap as was recommended, and it was creating a ton of lather. So I milled the whole puck and just used teh same wooden bowl as it came in for the container. I also milled my Sienna soap, as I was having the same issue as the sandlewood. I have included pics of the differences between unmilled and the milled. Thank you very much for the help! I would have never thought of doing that! ~Luke My Brush The soap...Sandlewood is milled, Sienna is not 10 seconds of loading the brush. The Sandlewood (left) is rich and creamy, whereas the Sienna is light and full of air (pretty much the best it would ever get; the pics don't do it justice...I think it makes them look opposite to how they are ).
precisely why I mentioned the word of caution before, and mentioned that possibility as merely another option glad to see the milling did the trick! :happy088
