I spent time and money getting a knot and handle together and I can't get a decent lather. No problem with my synthetic, or my boars. I feel like I'm using too much product but idk. I've not used a badger in a while and I'm getting ticked off. I'm not blaming the brush, because it's never the tools fault.
I only hear the term "lather hog" in reference to badger brushes. Sort of an axiom when dealing with lathering issues - use more product. It's a new knot? Still has badger funk? May take several deep, all the way to the handle latherings to get the animal oils out. Don't want to totally strip it using dish detergent. Maybe try shampoo and conditioner. That'll clean it, and establish a new oil regime.
my razorock badger is very dense.it nearly emptied the shave bowl the first couple of times .absorbed the lather..a wash in shampoo and conditioner, its now a great brush..it likes a good load though..
i'm puzzled by your inability to work up a lather using a badger as well. Are you soaking the brush in water before you start? Are you then shaking some of that water out before loading the brush? Then what do you do? Bowl or face? I bowl lather and when I move to the bowl after loading my brush for about a full minute, I slowly add a few dribbles of water to the lather until I get the lather to look yogurty with a nice sheen and soft peaks. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to get a nice amount of lather with a badger brush. I use badger, boar and synthetic. If find that the natural hair brushes require more water than the synthetics. Keep at it. It's you, not the brush.
Did you try varying the amount of water in the brush? For example, starting off with only a little water in the brush. If that does not produce a good lather, then try again with a little more water. Increase the amount of water in a stepwise fashion until the lather improves.
Do what I did, head over to the 30 day crew. Not too late to start a focus. The guys there helped me with my inability to use a badger brush .
@MntnMan62 - yes I soak the brush, I then squeeze the water out, and I face lather. I've only used it three times so far. I know I shouldn't have an issue, and it's frustrating that I do. The lather looked good and I've not had an issue this specific blade/razor combo in a while. It probably doesn't help I was tired, irritated and couldn't think straight last night. Maybe I'll shampoo it, I already washed it after the knot was set, I always wash new brushes out of principle.
Hmmm. then maybe it's a water issue. You may not be adding water while you face lather. I don't face lather but I've heard from those that do, they slowly add small amounts of water to the brush as they work the lather into their beards until they get the lather to cover well. What soap do you use? Maybe it's the soap. It's also possible you aren't loading enough soap on the brush to start with. If you are using a very hard triple milled soap you may need to bloom the soap (I know - blasphemy) before loading.
I’m in the same boat. I’ve been really debating on getting rid of my Badgers. My synthetic brushes get me creamy lathers but badgers I get frothy foamy type lather for the most part. I always soak my brushes then squeeze out most of the water and then build the my lather. I normally face lather and usually get a better build with that. If I bowl lather, that’s when I get really foamy lather.
I find this quite interesting. In my experience a foamy lather with large bubbles is usually do to one of two things. Either not enough water or too much water. I think people underestimate the amount of water many soaps require to make a good lather. But this is one reason I prefer bowl lathering. It allows me to take my time working up the lather until I achieve just the right consistency to my liking and then I work the lather into my beard. I spend a lot of time doing that as well which means I am arguably bowl and face lathering. But what I've found works for me with badgers is I soak it in some hot tap water while I apply some pre-shave oil and get the razor ready with a blade. A couple minutes is all you need since badgers don't absorb water like boars do. I then shake the brush twice to expel some excess water but leaving enough in there to be able to load the brush. I then hit the soap tub and load for at least 1 minute. Harder soaps I go for 75 seconds. I then move the brush to the bowl and scrape up excess lather from the soap tub with my finger and transfer it to my lather bowl. I dribble a small amount of water into the bowl to start with and then begin incorporating the water into the lather. When I see the lather tighten up so that it appears to be pasty at the bottom of the bowl, I dribble a little more water in and whip it up. I do this 3 or 4 or 5 or more times until I have that yogurt texture with a sheen and soft peaks. I should not see any bubbles other than a stray one here or there. It is possible to add too much water and that is when the larger bubbles appear. I then squeeze out the brush into the bowl and head back to the soap tub to load more product. Doing that usually offsets too much water and the lather in the bowl tightens up again. I've never really had an issue with badger brushes. Maybe go back to a cream and see what happens when you use that. If you can work up a nice lather using cream, then you should be able to do the same thing with soap. I'm guessing your issue is either too much or too little water. Sorry for the repetition.
One's hydration method does not a heresy make. A cream from a tube arrives with water already in the soap. Those hard triple milled soaps (my preference) are concentrated, dried soap. The inherent softness of badger brushes makes for more difficult loading when using hard soaps. If the objective is to enjoy your lather it only helps to soften the triple milled puck and get some product into the knot. You can hydrate by possibly tangling or breaking hairs through rough agitation of a moist brush on a dry puck, or the oft maligned prehydration of the puck (ie; Blooming) can save the delicate fibers from harm by allowing the soap to soften prior to the brush to puck interaction. It's OK to get your soap wet. Does it matter if it happens before the brush hits it or because of a wet knot?
I just make sure the brush is sufficiently wet enough to be able to work up some soap off the puck. I've not had to bloom any of my soaps yet. That includes MWF which is a pretty hard soap. I have not tried Williams yet but have already accepted the fact that I may have to bloom that one.
I guess my problem is that I never got the hang of lathering, but with the synthetics I have no problem. The boars work well too, but I have several boars and they haven’t softened up. It’s like lathering with a scouring pad. The only boar that I like shaving with is my 830.
I have had the same issue with two of my Omega boars. It's been a couple years and my Pro 49 and 10066 are both fairly scritchy still. However, my Connaught Omega with the faux jade handle was soft right out of the box. And it keeps getting better with use. But boars are really good for hard soaps for the same reason. I could see where a floppy badger would be difficult to work good lather since it might not load enough soap due to its floppiness. I have a couple Envy Silvertips that are dense and have good backbone and I've never had trouble building lather with them.
Lather, like you stole it. So to say. Most badgers, I have, have been "Lather Hogs". Just load the heck out of it, and use plenty of water. It might take time for it to overcome this, and break in. Until then, just use Arko, and load up.