It has a very mild pleasant scent.
Mitchell's Wool Fat - What Happened?
- Thread starter Big Jim
- Start date
I think MWF is a bit of an enigma this way. I find the scent very present, but not "in your face". Other soaps start off very strong but fade quickly, whereas I find MWF doesn't start strong but is persistent....in a good way.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
The first time my wife said, ‘Whatever you’re using smells good,’ it was Mitchell’s shave soap.
I've enjoyed a few pucks of the shaving soap as well as a few bars of the shower soap and they've all had the same muted fresh & soapy scent with no hint of anything tallow, mutton, prime rip, chicken nugget, etc.
Unfortunately, it seems you may have gotten a bum batch. FWIW the bath soap is absolutely worth every penny, especially in the winter.
Sorry to drag up an oldish thread.
Over on a UK based forum, we've noticed some un-latherable MWF pucks. Particularly purchased from one seller April 2020 - August (at least). Had a look on here to see if there are any similar accounts on a more US based shaving community. You'll get lots of soapy foam, which will dissipate very quickly, quick enough that as you lather one side of the face, the other side has already dissipated.
For reference, I lathered a brand new Kent branded MWF puck this morning. No Blooming, just a damp synth brush and it worked a treat. Living in London, the water here is quite hard. Although one experienced MWF user has done various tests with different water (he had it sent from various locations) and still been able to lather MWF. Re blooming and soaking the puck for hours on end, some have suggested this causes the lanolin to come out the puck.
In conclusion, if any experienced MWF users have recently found duff un-latherable pucks, please let me know. It could be a duff batch, or a change in production somehow.
Over on a UK based forum, we've noticed some un-latherable MWF pucks. Particularly purchased from one seller April 2020 - August (at least). Had a look on here to see if there are any similar accounts on a more US based shaving community. You'll get lots of soapy foam, which will dissipate very quickly, quick enough that as you lather one side of the face, the other side has already dissipated.
For reference, I lathered a brand new Kent branded MWF puck this morning. No Blooming, just a damp synth brush and it worked a treat. Living in London, the water here is quite hard. Although one experienced MWF user has done various tests with different water (he had it sent from various locations) and still been able to lather MWF. Re blooming and soaking the puck for hours on end, some have suggested this causes the lanolin to come out the puck.
In conclusion, if any experienced MWF users have recently found duff un-latherable pucks, please let me know. It could be a duff batch, or a change in production somehow.
NatJag, I'm in Canada and had exactly the same problem with my last puck. Just a thin, soapy useless foam.There have been a few threads on this issue lately, all resulting in a ton of advice on soaking, shredding, etc. I don't buy any of it. I've had a puck of Kent and two pucks of MWF that did not do this. A proper puck of MWF lathers beautifully with no special treatment. Yes, it does like to be wet, and the performance increases over the first week or two, but even initial shaves produce a useable lather, it just takes a bit more effort.
I miss my MWF, but am reluctant to buy another just yet. There is definitely a problem with some pucks. I believe a few people have tried to contact Mitchell's about this, but with no success.
I should add that, when I did soak it for a few days in an attempt to get it working, it formed a gelatinous layer of translucent goo on top of the puck, as if something had separated out.
I sure put in my time on MWF. I had the same experience, including the primordial soup atop the blooming puck. I’ve moaned about my experience plenty on various threads. I wanted this soap to work, shaved plenty with it, experimented, did daily lathering while using other soaps, prayed to Ullr even. Slick? Yup. Lather? Nope. Just being slick isn’t enough, lots of things are slick, I don’t shave with them. Here I am again, groaning about MWF a month after I binned it. It’s haunting me.......from the bin.
.....
*furiously scratches MWF off list*
*scratching so hard I'm bleeding*
*continues scratching*
Many thanks for your reply. I should've searched MWF as well rather than just the whole unabbreivated name. Certainly does point to a general production issue. I'll have a further search on here to work out dates when the duff pucks started to appear.
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Mine was purchased in May 2020.
Back in April 2020, I received MWF in the ceramic crock. I documented my struggles in the thread below. Several other people posted in the thread of their issues with it as well. Toward the end of my first puck, I began to get a thin lather that did not dry out. At the start and most of the way through the puck, the lather would dry out and disappear before I could get one side shaved.
A second odd thing happened about 3/4 of the way through the puck. I started lathering one morning and the puck revealed a cavity filled with water. The cavity was not there when I first put the puck in the crock, so I can only assume there was an air bubble inside the puck.
I just received a refill puck last week and put it into the crock and covered it with water. It should be ready to go in the morning.
One other thing, I too had the white translucent goo on top of the original puck. It looked like liquid soap.
First shave with Mitchell’s Wool Fat
I used MWF for the first time this morning. While the lather was an epic fail, I was very surprised by the slickness and more importantly how my skin felt all day. I’ll. Give it a shot again tomorrow but load more soap in the brush and use less water. I used an oil preshave, which may have...
www.badgerandblade.com
Thank you. I've just found your thread and read through it (plus a few others). Obviously was a duff puck. Seems to be March 2020 onwards with the duff pucks. Interesting to see how your new puck gets on.Back in April 2020, I received MWF in the ceramic crock. I documented my struggles in the thread below. Several other people posted in the thread of their issues with it as well. Toward the end of my first puck, I began to get a thin lather that did not dry out. At the start and most of the way through the puck, the lather would dry out and disappear before I could get one side shaved.
A second odd thing happened about 3/4 of the way through the puck. I started lathering one morning and the puck revealed a cavity filled with water. The cavity was not there when I first put the puck in the crock, so I can only assume there was an air bubble inside the puck.
I just received a refill puck last week and put it into the crock and covered it with water. It should be ready to go in the morning.
One other thing, I too had the white translucent goo on top of the original puck. It looked like liquid soap.
First shave with Mitchell’s Wool Fat
I used MWF for the first time this morning. While the lather was an epic fail, I was very surprised by the slickness and more importantly how my skin felt all day. I’ll. Give it a shot again tomorrow but load more soap in the brush and use less water. I used an oil preshave, which may have...
I found the duff puck really easy to load on the brush compared to the usual puck, which was that liquid soap I guess appearing. Just didn't make a decent sharable lather.
On the other side. It's quite a good marketing ploy, with so many good artisan soap makers out there. Send out some good pucks, then some duff pucks, to create this 'I must have a try at MWF to see if I can lather it' situation. Some can lather it, others can't. Those that can, suggestion using virgin tears from an angle, while in reality all you need is pretty much your usual method, if you have a good puck.
Over on a UK forum, we've discovered a code on the opening of the box. Maybe not the side you opened. If anyone has a suspect puck and you still haver the box, are you able to see the code.
I did email a supplier asking if they could query Mitchells quality control, this was his reply.
Not really, & I would need several reports before I could contact them. Mitchell's is a very popular & made in batches of around 10,000 soaps.
I did email a supplier asking if they could query Mitchells quality control, this was his reply.
Not really, & I would need several reports before I could contact them. Mitchell's is a very popular & made in batches of around 10,000 soaps.
Add some water to the bowl, and just let it sit overnight. The Fat will absorb the water and swell up, and then lather like you want.
