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Permalink Reply by Will Rawlings on November 9, 2012 at 5:06pm

I'm using Williams right now.  I like to get it to where it bubbles on the brush, but doesn't look like there's anything in the cup.  It seems to all go up into the brush.  I usually brush the lather on back and forth and then make pressing circles to massage my face.  I use Merkur Supers in a Merkur 34C.  One set of downstrokes, and then one set of upstrokes.  Splash on some Bay Rum and that's all I need.

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Permalink Reply by Maximilian Hermann Reese on November 11, 2012 at 8:37am

Okay and how thick is the lather copared to whipped cream?

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Permalink Reply by Sam Worple on November 12, 2012 at 1:18pm

Maximilian, check out Mantic59's videos on  Youtube he does a great job on showing you how to make lather.  I use shaving soap and load up my brush then mix it up with water in a mug.  I use a straight razor so I like my lather a little more on the wet side.  The straights usually perform better this way.

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Permalink Reply by Maximilian Hermann Reese on November 12, 2012 at 6:12pm

I also use one and in the beginning when I made my lather really thick I got stuck with it and cut myself really badly. Never tried to make some solid lather first and then lathering it with much more water in a mug without any piece of soap, but I tried it and it works best for me but nevertheless I am interessted in how you do it go on with telling me. Greets Max

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Permalink Reply by Sam Worple on November 13, 2012 at 1:17pm

These are the steps I take when I shave in the morning to build lather.

1) Let the brush soak in hot water while I shower and cover the top of the shave soap with hot water

2) Squeeze and shake out brush until nearly dry; pour out water from the soap into a mug.  The more water you use in this step the thinner your lather will be.

3) Swirl brush on soap for about 60-90 seconds.  Make sure you are getting the brush completely loaded with soap.  You should be able to hear the friction between the soap and the brush.

4) Take your fully loaded brush and whip a lather lather up in your mug.  If you find that you didn't use enough water you can always add more, but do it slowly.

5)Apply to face and shave! This makes easily enough for a 3-4 pass shave.

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Permalink Reply by Jax on November 12, 2012 at 9:22pm

The perfect lather is different for different people, so the question really can't be answered. Some people like it thick like whipping cream. Some people like it so thin it is runny on their face and drips off.  Some like lots of cushion so it is thicker. Some like it super slippery so they go thinner and wetter.   It really is a different thing for different people and you will need to experiment to get what works best for you.

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