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MWF is terrible to load.

On my 1st shave I bloomed it for 24h since it was something a lot of people recommend and it loaded with ease, enough for 2.5 passes but got leftover for 2 more.
Today it was my 2nd shave after it was just sitting there for a few weeks. I did not bloom it and went srraight to loading. It was huge PITA, and I had to revisit the puck after each pass. I still got a nice slick lather and a wonderfull shave. Since I used less soap my face doesn't feel sticky as it did after 1st shave. Or maybe it was because I rinsed mor thoroughly this time.
All in all just wanted to share how much hsrder it is to load unbloomed MWF
 
Lots of folks recommend blooming this brand; I don’t have time to fiddle around waiting 24 hours so it’s not found in my den. Too many better choices that are good to go immediately when called upon. Old world, nostalgic type soaps do nothing for me if they smell weird, require grating, blooming, or under perform.
 
I think you a re bit too harsh on it though. It does not need to be bloomed for 24h, it is just recommended to do it before first use. Blooming during shower works just fine and even without that you can get beautiful lather, just need to put in a bit more elbow grease.
 
You don't really have to go through the whole blooming procedure again. Try just putting a veil of water on top of the soap before showering, then shower & shave. It won't hurt to load a little longer, getting enough soap is the main thing, not time or number of swirls, etc. Face lathering MWF is much easier than faffing about with bowls, soft peaks and all that, IMO.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
I believe MWF is the most method sensitive soap I've tried .. it is just too much trouble to make sense hereabouts, but I try periodically to get it to work with little success over the years. But now that Cold River's Schappenmelk is gone the way of the Dodo I'll try again. Maybe if I put it in a sealed distilled water filled container for a month .. open upside down at the fullest moon of the year ..

It (MWF) does have a nice post-shave feel, but life's been too short for me to embrace it fully
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
On my 1st shave I bloomed it for 24h since it was something a lot of people recommend and it loaded with ease, enough for 2.5 passes but got leftover for 2 more.
Today it was my 2nd shave after it was just sitting there for a few weeks. I did not bloom it and went srraight to loading. It was huge PITA, and I had to revisit the puck after each pass. I still got a nice slick lather and a wonderfull shave. Since I used less soap my face doesn't feel sticky as it did after 1st shave. Or maybe it was because I rinsed mor thoroughly this time.
All in all just wanted to share how much hsrder it is to load unbloomed MWF
I never bloomed MWF and had no trouble lathering it but for the past 30 years I’ve lived in areas that had very soft water. Perhaps that has something to do with it.
 

Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
I keep mine in an airtight container I covered it with water for about 3 days to start with and it swelled to fill the container. When I use it I don't wash it off or anything, I just seal it up again and I don't think about it until I need it again and mine lathers just fine
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I never bloomed MWF and had no trouble lathering it but for the past 30 years I’ve lived in areas that had very soft water. Perhaps that has something to do with it.
Perhaps soft water is the key. I have soft water and I used to leave MWF for weeks between uses so it was dry and cracking. I never soaked or bloomed it and it lathered fine with a damp brush. Same for every other soap I have used.
 

Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
I don’t bloom or do anything special with my puck other than load the heck out of a just damp brush, and I do mean heck. That being said, I had a puck that gave me fits a while back, just stymied me…binned it. Started fresh and it’s been a great user friendly performer that requires no special procedures, my experience anyway.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Perhaps soft water is the key. I have soft water and I used to leave MWF for weeks between uses so it was dry and cracking. I never soaked or bloomed it and it lathered fine with a damp brush. Same for every other soap I have used.
I believe it is. The only soap I’ve used where I’ve had off and on success with is Williams. ARKO has become my daily soap and definitely no difficulty lathering that soap.
 
Today was the first time I tried MWF. I bloomed it the same way I bloom TOBS and other triple milled hard soaps: I placed it face side down in my Captain's Choice lather bowl that had water just to the tops of the rings at the bottom of the bowl. I then brushed my teeth and showered before emptying the bloom water into an empty (yogurt) cup.
 
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