SOTD 22-28 July 2018

Lather: Bufflehead Fletcher
Brush: Shavemac ATG Unique
Razor: Rex Ambassador
Splash: Wholly Kaw Melange de Santal

... I've been DE shaving for two years. I started off with all the best intentions. Sticking to the same set-up for every shave but it didn't take long before I fell down 'acquisitions' rabbit hole. You know how it goes. ...

Sorry I misjudged your experience level.  

Anyway ... Been there; done that - and after more than two years!  Good luck my friend.

Sorry Mike hopefully my response didn't come across defensive. I appreciate any advice I can get.
Yes I've been DE shaving for two years but I'm still learning every day.

The B&M soap is a tricky one to dial in though.

Cheers
Rob

 ...  Sorry Mike hopefully my response didn't come across defensive. ...

Not at all!  No worries Rob.

The B&M soap is a tricky one to dial in though.

Rob, you are definitely not alone in this. Although I haven’t had issues with Reserve soaps, many have, and here is a video in which Will himself addresses the matter. It’s a bit of a long video (I suppose I don’t have much patience for videos), but hopefully it’s helpful. Some interesting tidbits in there, as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqfUvqLxOy8

P.S. I wouldn’t necessarily underload a Reserve soap (as the video also eventually shows), but those soaps can definitely take on a good amount of water.

Just a friendly reminder (since I just posted in this “old” thread):
A new Shave of the Day thread is now open for the new week.
https://damnfineshave.com/thread-sotd-29...ugust-2018

Enjoy your shaves, everyone!

The B&M soap is a tricky one to dial in though.

Rob, you are definitely not alone in this. Although I haven’t had issues with Reserve soaps, many have, and here is a video in which Will himself addresses the matter. It’s a bit of a long video (I suppose I don’t have much patience for videos), but hopefully it’s helpful. Some interesting tidbits in there, as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqfUvqLxOy8

P.S. I wouldn’t necessarily underload a Reserve soap (as the video also eventually shows), but those soaps can definitely take on a good amount of water.

Thanks for posting the video. I'd watched it (a couple of times) plus a number of other YouTuber's before using the soap. There's nothing like doing it yourself though.
Apart from the guy on the left on the video above, everyone else didn't seem to have any issues with it.

I'll be using it again today. I'll do a couple of test lathers first.
I'll be honest I don't think a soap or cream should need a special 'knack' to create a lather. The manufacturer should be trying to make a product as easy to use as possible.

I'll be honest I don't think a soap or cream should need a special 'knack' to create a lather. The manufacturer should be trying to make a product as easy to use as possible.

Agreed. But note, the purpose of the Reserve line was to accommodate users that are allergic to lanolin and make a product that lathers in a variety of water types (namely hard water).

My method for lathering Reserve is very similar to how I use Declaration Grooming's (formerly L&L) bison tallow base:

1. Start with a barely damp knot.
   
2. Load until the knot forms a sticky, gooey, stringy substance at the distal 1/4 - 1/3 end of the knot. If you get bubbles with loading, the knot is too wet, so you will have to swirl longer until you achieve this sticky phase. This does not, in any way, resemble a traditional usable lather or even proto-lather. Imagine that your goal is to glue the tips together, effectively forming a cap at the distal end of your knot.
   
3. Dunk the entire knot in your water reservoir. Completely submerge the whole knot, right up to the brush handle. The goal here is to trap this water inside the knot behind the cap you created with the goo.
   
4. As you pull the knot from the reserve water, try to keep the brush somewhat vertical (knot facing downward).
   
5. Face or bowl-lather as usual. The retained water will reconstitute and "dissolve" the gooey cap as it works through it. This will initially result in a Spanish stucco-like foundation, then a sticky marshmallow cream consistency, but as you continue to work it, it will explode into luxury lather. The usual slurry bubbly phase is skipped.
   
6. Employing this method, I rarely have to revisit the reserve water, but at this point, it's personal preference as to how thin you like your lather. I cannot drown this lather even with my extremely hard water.
   

The aforementioned procedure, although meticulously defined by me, is a very fast no-brainer process (load with barely damp knot until stringy phase, dunk and go). It works for me with badger and synthetic. Boar requires revisiting the water a few times because the thicker bristles don't trap the water as effectively.  I understand this method deviates quite a bit from Will's instructions, but it works consistently for me.  Again, I discovered this method with Declaration's bison tallow-base, but soon discovered it works very well for Reserve as well.

I'll be honest I don't think a soap or cream should need a special 'knack' to create a lather. The manufacturer should be trying to make a product as easy to use as possible.

Agreed. But note, the purpose of the Reserve line was to accommodate users that are allergic to lanolin and make a product that lathers in a variety of water types (namely hard water).

My method for lathering Reserve is very similar to how I use Declaration Grooming's (formerly L&L) bison tallow base:

1. Start with a barely damp knot.
   
2. Load until the knot forms a sticky, gooey, stringy substance at the distal 1/4 - 1/3 end of the knot. If you get bubbles with loading, the knot is too wet, so you will have to swirl longer until you achieve this sticky phase. This does not, in any way, resemble a traditional usable lather or even proto-lather. Imagine that your goal is to glue the tips together, effectively forming a cap at the distal end of your knot.
   
3. Dunk the entire knot in your water reservoir. Completely submerge the whole knot, right up to the brush handle. The goal here is to trap this water inside the knot behind the cap you created with the goo.
   
4. As you pull the knot from the reserve water, try to keep the brush somewhat vertical (knot facing downward).
   
5. Face or bowl-lather as usual. The retained water will reconstitute and "dissolve" the gooey cap as it works through it. This will initially result in a Spanish stucco-like foundation, then a sticky marshmallow cream consistency, but as you continue to work it, it will explode into luxury lather. The usual slurry bubbly phase is skipped.
   
6. Employing this method, I rarely have to revisit the reserve water, but at this point, it's personal preference as to how thin you like your lather. I cannot drown this lather even with my extremely hard water.
   

The aforementioned procedure, although meticulously defined by me, is a very fast no-brainer process (load with barely damp knot until stringy phase, dunk and go). It works for me with badger and synthetic. Boar requires revisiting the water a few times because the thicker bristles don't trap the water as effectively.  I understand this method deviates quite a bit from Will's instructions, but it works consistently for me.  Again, I discovered this method with Declaration's bison tallow-base, but soon discovered it works very well for Reserve as well.

Thank you very much for the detailed response. I'll give this a go too.

Cheers
Rob

Karve “D” & Derby Premium #3
Maggard 30mm Tuxedo
GD Angel
Humphreys Alcoholado Maravilla
Nivea Sensitive Cooling A/S lotion
Narciso Rodriguez For Him Bleu Noir edt