Wet shaving!

It may seem like a learning curve, but I think it's more about what one is used to. I was actually used to my Tweezerman and felt I was not getting good results with the denser brush. Eventually, after I got a handle on both of them, I felt it was faster to get great lasting lather with the denser brush. But it did take some getting used to.

Use what works. There is no substitute to learning how to use the specific tools. Like I said, I'm comfortable with both types of brushes in the end. But it takes some learning. Part of the fun.

LOL! I don't think Williams smells like urine. It has a faint citrus smell to it. Very faint actually, so to me it's more of a basic product that gets the job done.

Also I would recommend not to take the soap out of the mug. I usually leave it there until it's done. Even if you do the lather on the mug, just leave the soap there and maybe rinse it when you are done. But it's entirely up to you of course. There is not one "right" way to do things.

I think cartridges are engineered to get the job done quickly. They are more forgiving of terrible technique. But if your technique improves, they deliver great results as well. All things sort of scale up with technique.

I do use light hand strokes. But at some point one will grow out of short strokes. One will also get the job done way quicker with a DE or a cartridge than in some of the Mantic videos with practice. Way faster. Mantic videos are great though. One of the best for beginners.

Currently I'm using both green Proraso and the Tabac soap. For Proraso I use just a dab. It works for me.

I used to apply alum after straight razor shaves. But not that much anymore. Just cold water these days.

I've used Cremo. I think it's a good shaving cream though. It should lather well with the brush, but if it does not work for you, it does not work. Try the Proraso deal. See if you get better results.

Light pressure will reduce irritation. Also you might want to consider not going against the grain for a bit. Going against the grain gets the closest shave, but it does result in more irritation as one gets technique down.

 

@Eric_C, I think Tabac might produce a denser lather for the same amount of water than Proraso. Try using a little less water.

 

The brush should give you quite a bit more lather than using hands. I think the Perfecto brush @fishski13 is using is not a bad place to start. That's actually how I started.

Lather requires water. Too much will yield a lot of lather after working the brush fairly hard, but it will probably not last much and will lack body. Too little water and it would be too tin. It takes practice to get it right where you want it.

More than lather per say, the main trick is to keep the hairs wet and fat with water. However, lather is full of water and helps the hair keep wet for relatively easy cutting. Just water tends to drip down and eventually things dry up. Unless one shaves on the shower. Also, the lather may have some amount of lubricant that may help against irritation.

 

Check the first few minutes of this Mantic shave (0:36 to about 1:53). The lathering process he is doing there is very close to what I do:



Except, I don't soak my brush in water that way. I just let the water run on it for a bit until the brush absorbed a bit of water. I also don't put water on the soap usually (though I do rinse the cup with soap from time to time). The brush is pretty wet and it will a bit of soap there already. If using cream, just apply a bit to the wet brush and proceed on the face as Mantic does above.

Also, I wet my face plenty before applying the brush to get the lather going. This is very important IMO and the first thing to do before applying lather (including the Barbasol deal). Note Mantic above does it also. Again, Mantic is a great source for the beginner.

EDIT: LOL! I think he went a bit overboard with the lather there (proly a bit too much water), but it worked in the end. I also dunno about the debris and pulling the hair out explanation there. I think it just keeps the hair wet and lubricates the skin.

EDIT2: Shut! I actually use the same DE, the soap looks like a rum scented Conk soap and the brush is not the Perfecto deal, but it might be close. That said, while the advice is solid, I do the shave a little different and I have no problem with the cartridge against the grain and stuff. Dunno why he has problems with the cartridge. I also do not think he is shaving insanely fast. This is a great video, but don't take it as gospel.

EDIT3: I used to apply hot water on my face and on the brush. I now use cold water. IMO, less irritation.

 

This is normal. I seldom use the straight on weekdays in the morning. I use to use it all the time at night, but at some point one just wants to watch Netflix at night and forget about it (LOL! But after all this talk I shaved yesterday night with a straight and Proraso).

I use the cartridge and the DE interchangeably in the mornings. But the cartridge is usually like 1 minute faster for me. It used to be a 5 min difference before.

Shaving in the shower might save some time too. I would need to install a mirror thingy or something to get that mojo going.

 

Congrats on the brush! Like I said before, I also find soft and more bushy brushes yield better nicer lather with less effort.

Those Astra SP blades sound like they are shit. If they pull the hair, the problem is definitively sharpness. I grabbed some old Gillettes my wife had around and it was not fun. I can tell you with confidence that the Personna comfort coated blades are all kinds of awesome. Teflon coating does seem to make a difference. I honestly dunno about any of those in the sampler. I mean I've heard about all of them and know about the different samplers. But I have not tried them. Let me know how they turn out

I have tried pre-shave stuff before. Oils and things like that when I started with a straight razor. It might help some people, but I didn't feel they helped me much.