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Hello

I might be somewhat late to the party, however let me try to bring this thread back to life. I have made lately some decisions related to my grooming choices, and consequently ended up ordering Dark Limes soap and balm from Meißner Tremonia. Aim of this post is to solicit sound advice regarding tools and techniques for this soap.

I have in my daily rotation 4 brushes. Plisson HMW #12, Chubby 2 BB, and 2 MÜHLE brushes; one Silvertip badger, and one synthetic. That should cover well all my needs, yet I am not entirely convinced that my approach is optimised.

I am almost exclusively dish-foam oriented man, having in my stock several English DRH triple milled soaps, just as several tubes of Plisson and Proraso creams. Despite loving it all, I've decided to phase it al out, and retire my needs strictly in puritan like fashion in the Temple of Meißner Tremonia (MT) for as long as they stay true to their philosophy.

So, what's the problem?

Nature of my inquiry is basically economical. Sure, all of my brushes will load MT's soap at various speeds and some minor adjustments on technique, yet I am not happy (yet). Take for example my Chubby 2 BB. Very quickly it will load a lot of soap enough for 3 or 4 passes, yet that's the problem (in my head). Sinfully wasteful on soap which is not exactly cheap. I am one-pass man on most days, perhaps two passes on special occassions.

So, what's the point? May I appeal to a knowledgeable man on the forum for an advice how to change either my technique, or ultimately leading me to getting a new brush which wan't be hogging my soap as my Chubby 2 does? Another Plisson Pure badger (#10), Chubby 1 BB, Duke 3 or 2...and so on. Perhaps never mind brushes, but there is a simple trick in method which I need to unlock with brushes I have already.

Thanks for consideration.
Regards,
Aty

Welcome to SMF! I have moved towards smaller brushes over the years, as the bigger ones are awkward to use on soaps in small wooden bowls, and I can't put all of my soaps in big lathering bowls. But small brushes are often not as good at creating lather; many of them are a bit too dense for the shorter loft. I think my favourite brush these days is an old Somerset Simpson E3 super which is just right for making lather on the soap in a wooden bowl.

Chris

Thank you Chris for kind welcome. The truth to be said, I've read bunch of your posts, and it was actually your fabulous literally style which lured me in. Man, you are having knack for describing even most mundane subject in attentive way.

Yeah, googling for a week endlessly in search of shaving nirvana got me nowhere. One thing is certain, subject is difficult to quantify, and it's left to personal liking of the shaving setup. Listening to bunch of people got me exactly bunch of different answers with no definite conclusion.

I am beginning to think that I will have to find my solution based on home grown empirical experimenting with tools I have. Maybe securing wet knot with my fingers for better control so it will not splay during loading phase, and then switch to face leathering, letting brush loose; that sort of thing. I should perhaps start thinking of getting a smaller brush later on.

Is it my imagination of Simpsons are moving their lines to synthetic materials? Big way. Executive Shaving company in Scotland have a note on their website that Duke D3 in BB will not be available anymore. There is still some stock on Simpson's website, but who knows how long that will last. (For political reasons this could be however only temporary situation; I am not sure).

News of this kind surely gave me nudge to make my mind in a hurry before it's too late and Best Badger era might come to sudden end, especially as claims appearing in various places, that some synthetics are equally excellent performers.

I hope I will learn a lot in here. I am an old fossil, bear in mind, please.

Welcome to SMF. I don't know if Thater (German) is still in business but the brush you have described sounds similar to my Thater 4376/5 silvertip badger brush.

Regarding the issue of reducing soap usage, there is one absolute solution, the one I use. I went from shaving every day to only 3 days a week. I suddenly have far more soaps and creams than I will ever use. Try it - you might like it.

brothers wrote: ↑Sun Jul 25, 2021 12:48 pm Welcome to SMF. I don't know if Thater (German) is still in business but the brush you have described sounds similar to my Thater 4376/5 silvertip badger brush.

Regarding the issue of reducing soap usage, there is one absolute solution, the one I use. I went from shaving every day to only 3 days a week. I suddenly have far more soaps and creams than I will ever use. Try it - you might like it.

I will check this week, otherwise that saving soap...

It's going to be fun around here.

Appearance might be deceitful. I am not by any means a stingy man, and my recent thoughts about waste (in everything) is probably more closely motivated by changes in climate observed outside my window, rather than by my ever shrinking purse. Use only what you need, and not more is probably in some form adopted thought one wise Swiss man had. I cannot take credit for it.

Making of right amount of soap foam one needs for his shave, and nothing more is a challenge. Shaving is a morning jolt to my mind when it is slowly waking up, as I am going through motions of my morning routine. I shave every day since I still had some milk on my face. It is life long habit, and I am not going to probably change now, and shave on some random schedule. It is morning ritual I love, so I keep going with it.

I have already tried some changes in technique how I hold a brush and tipping it into soap, thus replacing my usual swirling motion at crazy speeds, splashing soap and water all over the place; initially I use less water which is added incrementally, rather than haphazardly as I have been used to. It works, but I am not done yet.

It is clear that it might take a while before I am at the point where I can say it is better than before (less wasteful), but there is no more I can do, or feel I should do and feel good about it. Buying another brush is not essential now, if my technique while working on Meißner has space for improvements. Strange thing to say after decades using all kind of tools and never questioning it, but that's essence of our time. Just hoping it's not too late. Tornado hit us recently, and some locals ask - what's tornado when they heard get ready. World around us is changing, and I am figuring out how to fit in.

Aty, I admire your candor and your stated objectives. I understand and support your position that merely buying new things and changing your lifelong shaving regimen is not entirely necessary. The focus on maximizing the effectiveness of your own technique and finding ways to conserve your shaving supplies is very commendable. I look forward to your future contributions to the ongoing conversations here on this board.

Thank you Gary. State of soteriological release (shaving nirvana?) is a path of endless struggle, therefore I might be in for a long ride.

I am all in for Meißner. I simply love that shaving soap. I am not sure if it is superior to any other soap on this planet, but no matter. What I think is important, that I feel good after shaving with it. Next to soap (Dark Limes), my line of Meißner products now includes balm after shave, deodorant, and shampoo. My second love, Speick balm after shave will join party on rotation with Meißner.

For the record and in ref. to some of my previous posts, I am retiring Chubby 2 BB. I should have examined its condition earlier. Form of the knot is just terrible. I am not surprised after so many years of daily use. I am not going to throw it out, it will stay on guard at the back of my cabinet, remembering different times. Plisson No. 12 EG with olive handle is on order. There is very little information I could find about that brush, so I could think only about one solution, and go through with it. It is replacement, not addition, so I am staying merely with four brushes on daily rotation.

• MÜHLE silver tip badger
  MÜHLE fiber
  Plisson No. 12 HMW
  Plisson No. 12 EG

Travel:
MÜHLE travel brush (in metal casing), Speick Men shaving stick, Speick Men Pre Electric Shave Lotion, and Braun electric shaver complete my inventory.

That should do for a while.

I hope you like the new Plisson, Aty.

In this hobby, we seem to end up buying a lot of equipment and expendables to find what does work and what doesn't. If I had known early on what I know now, I would have saved a LOT of money! If you're happy with the new Plisson - and there is good reason to expect that you will be - your batting average will be much better than it has been for most of us.

Good luck and welcome to SMF!

- Murray

CMur12 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:56 pm I hope you like the new Plisson, Aty.

In this hobby, we seem to end up buying a lot of equipment and expendables to find what does work and what doesn't. If I had known early on what I know now, I would have saved a LOT of money! If you're happy with the new Plisson - and there is good reason to expect that you will be - your batting average will be much better than it has been for most of us.

Good luck and welcome to SMF!

- Murray

Thank you Murray for kind words. BTW, I have similar experience with my cookware. Spending wastefully tonnes of money before finding out exactly what works for me. Well, that's life.

Okay, so you know the experience! I've gone through the same process with other items, as well.

Let us know when you get the brush and what you think of it.

- Murray