Compare/Contrast: Mitchell's Wool Fat & Haslinger Schafmilch?

[Atlantic59]

Haslinger Schafmilch seems to be "the one" that people fixate on for some reason. This soap has a scent that is lightly floral and herbal, with Lily of the Valley, reminds me a bit of old Jergens hand lotion. I'm neutral on the scent, but I don't mind it.

I find all Haslinger shaving soaps to be pretty similar and they have many good qualities, regardless of how they compare with MWF. I'd suggest trying another variety like Aloe Vera or Sensitiv, just to try something a little different. None of the varieties has a very strong scent, so just pick something that appeals.

Here are the ingredients for the current Aloe Vera soap:

BTW, Haslinger shaving soaps cost around $4-5 from Euro vendors. The small size puck is an advantage, you can just drop it in a mug, and you can get several different varieties to try.

 

[macintoshBR]

I used to own Haslinger sheep milk tallow, and I still own MWF. I guess that tells what my preference is

nothing wrong with Haslinger, it’s just hard to find a soap that beats MWF

 

[exocet]

I do own both of them.
MWF does the job, has good glide and post shave feel, but it's hard for me to get a great lather.
I also have 2 pucks of Haslinger Schafmilch. I crushed them in an old HTGAM jar, which makes the soap so easy to load. It is the best soap I've ever tried, to me it's much better than MWF (but of course, I guess it depends on water quality).
Unfortunately, I cannot find some aluminum HTGAM like jar. (if some of you have a link, that would be great !), so I could buy the marigold , honey etc to vary the scents a little bit

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Mitchell's soap worked great for me and was easy to lather but I will not be buying it again. They have a web site with a 'Contact Us' link and yet repeatedly refuse to respond to enquiries about their products or their company. A small thing maybe, but there are too many other options to bother with a company that has such little regard for its customers; their soap is not that good.

 

[cryhavoc]

I have both MWF and the old "tallow" Schafmilch and both are great soaps.

I prefer MWF as I like the scent more and it has a better post shave for my skin.

Schafmilch has a powdery scent that I don't like as much but it is a great soap.

 

[Brutus]

Having used both, I prefer Haslinger Schafsmilch as this soap adapts itself better (when travelling) to different grades of water hardness and unlike Mitchell’s Wool Fat Haslinger does not mind sitting in a jar or tin if not regularly used.

While with soft water and in regular use both are IMO about equal, Mitchell does not seem to like hard water and will develops cracks and will shrink if not used regularly.
And I like too much to rotate through my various shaving soaps and creams that I would wed myself to Mitchell’s.


B

 

[English Shaver]

I currently own and use MWF and really like it.
It lathers well, feels great, smells pretty neutral (to my nose), and is packaged well in it's proprietary ceramic bowl with cool retro logo printed on the lid.

I am curious about the Haslinger, and bet i would like it, too,
but am thinking that it would be pretty redundant to the MWF?
Are there any differences between the two that can justify owning both?

Pricing is pretty negligible (once the MWF bowl is already owned).
Both contain Lanolin.
The MWF puck is a larger diameter which I think makes brush-loading easier?
Haslinger is just a bare-bones puck, so I'd have to figure out a suitable container.

Your input would be greatly appreciated...
(The best answer might be just to order a different Haslinger, like Marigold or Sage?)

Does anyone greatly prefer one over the other? and why?

I note you are from NY and you mention the difference in pricing (excluding the MWF bowl) is negligible. In the UK one of the better known online vendors has 60g pucks of Haslinger at £5.45 and 125g pucks of MWF at £6.10. Neither are on sale. So the MWF in the UK is roughly half the price of the Haslinger. I dont think this observation will cause the world to stop spinning but it may be of interest....

On your point about how they compare, I dont know but I do have a Haslinger Sheeps Milk calling to me from the cupboard and its days are numbered.

 

[Marco]

Here is my opinion:

MWF = Old tallow Schafmilch

MWF > Schafmilch V1

MWF < Schafmilch V2

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Personally, I prefer Mitchell's, but Schafmilch isn't far behind. I also find that both give me in the region of four shaves per gram, which makes Mitchell's a bit more economical at UK prices. The only benefit I can see from the Haslinger, is if you specifically want the soap to not last as long, so that you can switch to a different scent periodically.

 

[BigJ]

Here is my opinion:

MWF = Old tallow Schafmilch

MWF > Schafmilch V1

MWF < Schafmilch V2

Interesting!! Don’t think I have tried V2.

I absolutely agree that the ‘old’ tallow Schafmilch is better than V1!

(So, that makes you both a scholar and a gentleman!! )

 

[Marco]

Interesting!! Don’t think I have tried V2.

I absolutely agree that the ‘old’ tallow Schafmilch is better than V1!

(So, that makes you both a scholar and a gentleman!! )

Your humble servant, Sir.

 

[lurchbrian]

Mitchell's soap worked great for me and was easy to lather but I will not be buying it again. They have a web site with a 'Contact Us' link and yet repeatedly refuse to respond to enquiries about their products or their company. A small thing maybe, but there are too many other options to bother with a company that has such little regard for its customers; their soap is not that good.

i had no problem contacting them when i wanted to know if i could buy direct single items . they called me back the following day to say yes i could so i placed a order for 2 mwf refills and both including postage cost me £9.50 so next order im going direct .

 

[thombrogan]

Haslinger Schafmilch seems to be "the one" that people fixate on for some reason.

Despite the non-tallow base, it has lanolin and sheep milk the other Haslinger soaps lack.

Whether they’re all the same in use, many of assume a soap with sheep’s milk is whey better.

 

[kingfisher]

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but I wonder if any of you have also tried the Schapenmelk soap from Cold River Soap Works? Schapenmelk Shaving Soap - Cold River Soap Works - https://www.coldriversoapworks.com/store/c33/shaving-soap-schapenmelk

If so, I'd be interested in hearing how it compared with Haslinger and with MWF.

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but I wonder if any of you have also tried the Schapenmelk soap from Cold River Soap Works? Schapenmelk Shaving Soap - Cold River Soap Works - https://www.coldriversoapworks.com/store/c33/shaving-soap-schapenmelk

If so, I'd be interested in hearing how it compared with Haslinger and with MWF.

Of the three: MWF, Haslinger Schafmilch and CRSW Schapenmelk, I prefer CRSW. Although it's not an especially strong scent, I'm another one who finds Haslinger Schafmilch cloyingly sweet. Between MWF and CRSW, I find performance and scent to be comparable, but CRSW is less finicky when it comes to lathering the puck.

I recently received a new puck of Haslinger Aloe Vera. It has an extremely mild scent and is an outstanding performer, but it does not have the post shave lanolin smoothness of the other soaps mentioned above.

 

[Dovo1695]

Whether they’re all the same in use, many of assume a soap with sheep’s milk is whey better.

I upvote puns of this quality wherever I see them.

 

[Steve_in_CT]

Of the three: MWF, Haslinger Schafmilch and CRSW Schapenmelk, I prefer CRSW. Although it's not an especially strong scent, I'm another one who finds Haslinger Schafmilch cloyingly sweet. Between MWF and CRSW, I find performance and scent to be comparable, but CRSW is less finicky when it comes to lathering the puck.

I recently received a new puck of Haslinger Aloe Vera. It has an extremely mild scent and is an outstanding performer, but it does not have the post shave lanolin smoothness of the other soaps mentioned above.

I took out my puck of Schapenmelk this morning after yesterday's posts. I hadn't used it in a while, but this morning's shave confirmed my belief that it is at least the equal of MWF and Haslinger Schafmilch in performance and after shave feel, and has a more pleasing scent than Haslinger Schafmilch and lathers more easily than MWF.

 

[never-stop-learning]

I use and enjoy both MWF and Haslinger Schafmilch. Both lather easily for me and provide good cushion, slickness and post shave feel.

Definitely enjoy having both in my Den.

 

[Matt O]

Of the three: MWF, Haslinger Schafmilch and CRSW Schapenmelk, I prefer CRSW. Although it's not an especially strong scent, I'm another one who finds Haslinger Schafmilch cloyingly sweet. Between MWF and CRSW, I find performance and scent to be comparable, but CRSW is less finicky when it comes to lathering the puck.

I recently received a new puck of Haslinger Aloe Vera. It has an extremely mild scent and is an outstanding performer, but it does not have the post shave lanolin smoothness of the other soaps mentioned above.

I used Schapenmelk for the first time tonight, and it is better and easier to lather than MWF.

I would say that it is on par with, or perhaps slightly better than Haslinger (tallow). I haven’t used the new non-tallow Haslinger.

Here are the Schapenmelk lather pictures from this evening’s shave: