A very pleasant shave, though at the end I did switch out the Swedish Gillette blade for a new blade: a little too much work on the ATG pass.
But first, the prep. Mr Pomp remains a favorite brush, and Wholly Kaw, a vegan (kaw) soap, made a very nice lather quite easily. The tube is 2 1/8″ tall, and the soap occupies less than half of that, allowing 1 1/4″ for room to load the brush. This is rather generous—anything more than 1/4″ seems more than necessary, and some fine soaps fill their tubs to the very brim (e.g., Martin de Candre).
I have learned, however, that some rely on the empty space because their lathering method is such that without the space to contain the spray from loading, they get lather everywhere. (Presumably they avoid the various soaps that go to the brim of the container or close to it—soaps such as those from Al’s Shaving, Catie’s Bubbles, D.R. Harris, Dr. Selby’s 3x Concentrated, Geo. F. Trumper, La Père Lucien, Martin de Candre, Strop Shoppe, TOBS, Truefitt & Hill, Wickham’s, and doubtless others.)
My own technique seems to have evolved with experience, and I no longer experience significant spillage and can load easily even the full soap containers.
With the fine lather, I did a three-pass shave with the Gillette Toggle: very nice, though it will be even better next time with the new blade.
A good splash of Captain’s Choice Bay Rum, and we hover on the edge of the weekend.
Filed under: Shaving
