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MWF misunderstood?

This is the first soap I ever got when I first got into wet shaving just a few months ago.

I didn't realize it was not the most beginner friendly, and had quite a lot of problems getting good lather.

I did find it to be nice and slick, even if I couldn't get a decent lather, and also found it to have one of the best post-shave feels I had ever had (unsurprising as most of my prior experience was with canned goop and a cartridge razor).

I quickly moved onto TOBS shaving cream, as this was way easier to lather, so I could focus on improving my shaving technique first and foremost.
Afterwards I tried Tabac classic shaving soap, and found that to be easy to lather, and again far slicker than the cream.

I keep thinking back on the MWF though, it must be the lanolin that gives it such a great feel.

Someone recommended me to soak the puck for a full week, so it fully expands in the dish.
It's been soaking for 4 days now, and is already looking quite promising.

I'm going to give it another try this Friday.
The extra hydration and the fact that I now have a bit more experience lathering soap should help me get a better shave out of this.

I'm curious to see how it goes :)
If you can’t get lather to your liking with MWF, try adding a little cream from TOBS or one of your favorite creams. You’ll end up with the slickness and skin loving lanolin of MWF and the rich lather of your cream.
 
After having read about a billion threads of how this soap is hard to lather, I decided to still give it a try. I received my ceramic bowl last week and used it the same day. I loaded my synthetic brush straight on the puck, without any puck soaking whatsoever. Face lathered the same way I would do with any other soap. I have to admit, it took way more effort than lathering a tallow based soap. I didn't get the yogurty consistency I get with most of my other soaps, instead, I ended up with something rather bubbly. I didn't expect much from that shave, bubbles usually mean poor protection to me.
My first pass was actually surprisingly good, and I inderstood the reason why as soon as I rinsed my face. The slick layer of protection that lanolin leaves behind is simply amazing and surpasses the results I'm getting from tallow soaps.

Which makes me think, is this soap misunderstood? Does one really need to put in the effort to create a thick consistency when the lanolin will do the job, even if it's foamy?

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I do not think MWF is misunderstood. I think your experience mirrors that of many shavers. It takes a fair amount of effort to load and lather MWF. Once you get a decent lather, the performance of the soap is excellent.

I have know some folks who use MWF as their daily soap. It works best that way as the puck never dries out completely, making it easier to load and lather. I have a very large collection of soaps and found that the process of loading and lathering MWF is so different than most other soaps that I did not enjoy using it. I gave mine away to the friend who uses MWF daily. If I were a soap minamilist and wanted to use only one soap every day, MWF would be a suitable option.
 
I do not think MWF is misunderstood. I think your experience mirrors that of many shavers. It takes a fair amount of effort to load and lather MWF. Once you get a decent lather, the performance of the soap is excellent.

I have know some folks who use MWF as their daily soap. It works best that way as the puck never dries out completely, making it easier to load and lather. I have a very large collection of soaps and found that the process of loading and lathering MWF is so different than most other soaps that I did not enjoy using it. I gave mine away to the friend who uses MWF daily. If I were a soap minamilist and wanted to use only one soap every day, MWF would be a suitable option.
Good point!

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If you can’t get lather to your liking with MWF, try adding a little cream from TOBS or one of your favorite creams. You’ll end up with the slickness and skin loving lanolin of MWF and the rich lather of your cream.

If I can’t get a soap to lather, its garbage and it ends up in the shower or trash.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
I always get great lather but crapy shaves from this soap. I do this for the results and I don’t get them from MWF.

I got crappy shaves from MdC for a while, then moved. Oddly enough, once I was in an area with hard water instead of soft it began giving me great shaves.
 
Live and let live. Personally I've decided to live without MVF. Life's too short and there are soaps that often, but not always, cost more but works better and always deliver.
 
MWF seems to have a thin, bubbly "fool's lather" which fades quickly (although this stuff is so slick & lubricating even a bad lather can still give a good shave...)

The fool's lather seems to happen when you add water too quickly. If you start out with a soaking wet brush you're probably going to have problems.

My (synthetic) brush will be damp not wet. I'll dribble a few drops onto the puck and swirl away until the surface of the puck starts to dry out. Another few drops of water, more brushing, and so on. Repeat until you've got a good amount of soap in the brush.

(Alternatively, make a shave stick. This should be an easy way to get a generous layer of soapy goo on your face and avoid any loading problems. If you soak a puck in water for a few days it will get soft enough to form into a stick).

Once you've got a good load of soap in the brush, paint it onto your face and start adding water just a little bit at a time. Use the brush as if you were painting a wall. Work the water in until it's been absorbed evenly and repeat several times. You'll see a thin cream start to build.

Finally, when the soap seems nice and slick, and maybe a little runny, splay the brush and whip it up into a thick lather with the usual vigorous, circular motions.

You might find the lather dries on your face mid-shave. You'll still have a white cream but now it's dry and sticky v the slick lather you started with. Add more water next time.

MWF likes a drink but it seems to want it in lots of little sips. Most the problems I've had seemed to boil down to adding too much water too soon.

Once you've figured it out, it's lovely stuff. The lubrication & residual slickness are off the charts.
 
Load twice as long next time. The Fat takes longer to load that anything else I've tried, which has been a lot of soaps.

My biggest gripe with the Fat is the longer load time, but that's about it, it's a great smelling, slick, and moisturizing soap that's worth a little extra elbow grease.
This is the only difference I've noticed from lathering other soaps. Otherwise I've had no problems, face or bowl . Maybe it's a water issue for some? Too hard?
 

Fred D

Member of The Illiterati
For me, I never had an issue with lathering. Sorry if you are having problems.
Thank you, but it's not really a problem. I like to try new products, and I try not to waste too much time with products that don't work out, especially with all the other soaps and creams that I enjoy very much.
 
This is the only difference I've noticed from lathering other soaps. Otherwise I've had no problems, face or bowl . Maybe it's a water issue for some? Too hard?

I no longer use MWF, but wish I would've tried lathering it with a synthetic. Back then I was using boars, which were mostly a pain with anything except Tabac which basically lathers itself, no matter what type of brush is used.

I don't have hard water so can't comment on that. MWF does contain chelating agents though, which should help in that area, bu I have no firsthand experience so can't comment there.
 
I've only recently tried this soap and found it a bit thin. Not bad just a bit thin in comparison to other soaps/creams. Will try what is suggested here. Sounds like it could be good
 
Different strokes.......As I said before, I have no issues lathering the Fat, but on the other hand I can't get diddley squat from the widely loved Mystic Waters. It's the only soap that I've ever had such an issue with but I know it must be me not the soap.
 
Different strokes.......As I said before, I have no issues lathering the Fat, but on the other hand I can't get diddley squat from the widely loved Mystic Waters. It's the only soap that I've ever had such an issue with but I know it must be me not the soap.

Don’t feel bad, I had the exact same issue as yourself. That was the nicest smelling useless soap I’ve yet to encounter, a real bummer!
 
Different strokes.......As I said before, I have no issues lathering the Fat, but on the other hand I can't get diddley squat from the widely loved Mystic Waters. It's the only soap that I've ever had such an issue with but I know it must be me not the soap.

Nice to have tons of options!!

PS Had a GREAT lather from the Fat this AM!! :a29:
 
Had a great shave with MWF this morning!

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shavefan

I’m not a fan
Ah... MWF, lol. Maybe misunderstood, perhaps. I'll just say that I'm not a fan. Life is too short to mess around (like I did) for months trying to get a good consistent lather. I've read some pretty comical posts on the 'trick' to using MWF. Lathering with the puck upside down (really), sealing it and keeping it moist, grating it, checking on it every so often to see if it's happy... yada yada yada... No thanks. I binned mine after multiple attempts with mostly so-so results. If you like it and it works, have at it!
 
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