Actually I created a a solution to the age old debate of which is better, Tabac or Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap.
There are many reasons why one would argue in favor of one over the other.
The fragrance, ease of lathering, longevity of the shop as a whole, slickness, and post shave skin feel.
These reasons for choosing one soap over the other are all subjective since it boils down to the individual users personal preferences and experiences.
My solution still falls under this subjectivenes, but will hopefully bridge the gap between the two groups!
I took a puck of both Tabac and MWF shaving soap and throughly and irreversibly combined them into a new soap.
I first finely grated them with a zester.
Then, in a double boiler, did what soap makers call rebatching, and slowly over the span of about 30 minutes, melted the two soap together until a smooth pudding consistancy was achieved.
I did need to add about 1/2 cup of distilled water to achieve this, but through evaporation in the cooking process,most of this water disappeared.
As soon as the soap was 100% incorporated together I had to quickly spoon the contents into a container.
Though blistering hot, like lead, the soap immediately started firming up.
After allowing the the soap to cool for q few hours covered in my freezer to speed up the cooling process, I proceeded to lather it up for a test shave.
I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to create an abundance of lather. Much easier and quicker than either of the two soaps on their own, even under optimal conditions.
So my notable observation of this Frankensoap are as follows:
- lathers easier and quicker than the two soaps on their own
- supper slick
- not nearly as thirsty
- the lather stays hydrated longer on the face
- the fragrance of the Tabac becomes more mild, but remains the top note with the subtle bottom note of the fragrance of MWF
- creates over 1/2 pound of long lasting soap that is very firm, just not triple milled firm since I don't have access to the equipment to do this.
Hopefully I didn't bore you with this very long thread, and I hope that some of you give this a try if you have the means and equipment to do so.
There are many reasons why one would argue in favor of one over the other.
The fragrance, ease of lathering, longevity of the shop as a whole, slickness, and post shave skin feel.
These reasons for choosing one soap over the other are all subjective since it boils down to the individual users personal preferences and experiences.
My solution still falls under this subjectivenes, but will hopefully bridge the gap between the two groups!
I took a puck of both Tabac and MWF shaving soap and throughly and irreversibly combined them into a new soap.
I first finely grated them with a zester.
Then, in a double boiler, did what soap makers call rebatching, and slowly over the span of about 30 minutes, melted the two soap together until a smooth pudding consistancy was achieved.
I did need to add about 1/2 cup of distilled water to achieve this, but through evaporation in the cooking process,most of this water disappeared.
As soon as the soap was 100% incorporated together I had to quickly spoon the contents into a container.
Though blistering hot, like lead, the soap immediately started firming up.
After allowing the the soap to cool for q few hours covered in my freezer to speed up the cooling process, I proceeded to lather it up for a test shave.
I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to create an abundance of lather. Much easier and quicker than either of the two soaps on their own, even under optimal conditions.
So my notable observation of this Frankensoap are as follows:
- lathers easier and quicker than the two soaps on their own
- supper slick
- not nearly as thirsty
- the lather stays hydrated longer on the face
- the fragrance of the Tabac becomes more mild, but remains the top note with the subtle bottom note of the fragrance of MWF
- creates over 1/2 pound of long lasting soap that is very firm, just not triple milled firm since I don't have access to the equipment to do this.
Hopefully I didn't bore you with this very long thread, and I hope that some of you give this a try if you have the means and equipment to do so.
