Thread: Very confused about Art of shaving wooden bowl and soap.

I have about 5 shaves in so far, I used a soap puck and a shaving mug(looks like coffee mug) that I picked up at a flea market. I have just been adding water to the mug/puck and building my lather in it, it has worked so far.

This last weekend I had a chance to go to the "Art of Shaving" store in Dallas, I picked up a soap puck in the wooden bowl. I figured at that point I would start researching the proper way to use the wooden bowl, many youtube videos later and reading on these forums. I am confused.

Do I use it like I did the mug/puck? and build my lather on top of the wooden bowl/puck? or am I suppose to have a shaving bowl separate from wooden bowl/puck to build my lather in? or are you suppose build it in your hand or face?

Last night I tried to build it in my hand and it just didn't work well, almost no lather at all.....

sorry for the dumb question......

I haven't tried that particular soap.

However when I use a soap, I apply a little water to the top of the soap, and put the brush in a mug of water to soak. After a few minutes I pour the water off the soap, let some of the water run off the brush, then load the tips of the brush with soap and then build the lather on my face.

Give that a try maybe.

There are many ways to skin this cat.

My sequence:

Fill a sink with hot water, and let the brush soak in it.

Press out the excess water from the brush, and scrub the brush in circles over the soap to pick up some soap.

Take a thin bowl (Japanese soup bowl works well), and add a little water to it. Using the brush, build lather in the bowl.

Paint the lather onto face. Float the bowl in the sink to keep the lather warm.

There are as many variations as there are shavers. If you want variety, search for "lather" on YouTube.

Charles

Originally Posted by sidmind

Do I use it like I did the mug/puck? and build my lather on top of the wooden bowl/puck? or am I suppose to have a shaving bowl separate from wooden bowl/puck to build my lather in? or are you suppose build it in your hand or face?

You cannot build lather on top of the puck. The problem is the soap on the bottom. Building lather involves mixing soap and water in specific ratio, so as long as the bar keeps releasing more and more soap you can't really make the lather work, because your soap/water ratio keps getting screwed up quicker than the lather is being developed.

You're supposed to pick a little bit of soap on the tips of your brush, then swirl it with water until you develop good lather. I do that directly on my face, seems like most people prefer to do it in a container (bowl) and then transfer the lather to their face.

Thank you for all the help, and you confirmed what I was wondering. I basically purchased the "wood" bowl with the soap, because I "thought" I would eliminate something on my bathroom counter top, after I got it home I was realizing something was wrong.

It sounds like I still need to "find" or buy a lather bowl.

Thank you all for the help.

You can dump the puck from your current mug and make lather in that, or (here's what I like) find a soap dish with a ridged bottom and use that to make your lather. The ridges help mix in air, and the whole thing fits nicely in your off hand.

Or you can just face lather. I prefer to bowl lather because I can monitor the texture and add more water if it looks like I can get away with it.

You've hit what is probably the one aspect of wet shaving most affected by personal preference: lathering.

Basically you can do whatever you want - build your lather in a bowl, on your face or in your hand. Experiment with each and you'll find what works best for you. Just be advised that each soap and cream reacts differently, that's to say that they have a different product-to-water ratio, also known as the 'sweet spot'. That means that there is no one method that works for every soap or cream. That's something you'll have to discover on your own....which is also half the fun!

The wooden bowl is just a fancy holder for your soap puck. But it is nice to really load up the brush on.
When I use mine I put a few drops of warm water in the soap, hop in the shower while my brush soaks in the bowl. When I'm ready I just shake some water out of my bowl and go to town, swirling my brush in the soap.
From there I either make lather in my bowl or on my face.

I just dip the brush in hot water, let the excess run off, and then work it over the soap until the lather is the way I want it. I think obsessing over soap to water ratios and all the rest takes away from the enjoyment of a wet shave.

I find putting about 1/8 inch of HOT water into the soap bowl and letting it sit for a few minutes softens up the soap making it easier to get onto the brush for tranfer to the lather bowl. I also find that ribs or bumps in the lather bowl produces superior lather very fast.
Hope this helps your soap!