First shave with Mitchell’s Wool Fat

[Brian C.]

The lather was by no means perfect but it was usable. Like I said, I could make it better as I went along. It was still plenty slick and still provided a great shave. I never have been a fan of Santa Claus lather. It just seems unnecessary to me but that’s just me. As long as lather gives me slickness, cushion and an irritation free shave, I’m good to go.

If anybody else wants to play with it, send me a PM and cover shipping and I’ll send it your way.


BOSC;AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;WISE;CoA

 

[Wom]

The lather was by no means perfect but it was usable. Like I said, I could make it better as I went along. It was still plenty slick and still provided a great shave. I never have been a fan of Santa Claus lather. It just seems unnecessary to me but that’s just me. As long as lather gives me slickness, cushion and an irritation free shave, I’m good to go.

If anybody else wants to play with it, send me a PM and cover shipping and I’ll send it your way.


BOSC;AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;WISE;CoA

I think that would be a decent idea get abit of a pass around of people with experience with mwf itll deffinatly make it abit more accurate on whether its a bad batch or not. See if you can get 'santa claus' lather first even if you dont use it to shave

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I am another MWF user who believes that some pucks just do not lather well while others are excellent. My initial experience with MWF was not good at all; I managed to use it as a shave stick, but I was still unimpressed. My current puck, however, easily produces copious quantities of thick, creamy lather.

 

[vates]

I believe the reason is how these pucks are stored and/or transported. Beef tallow disintegrates at above 104°F.

 

[Timeclo]

I believe the reason is how these pucks are stored and/or transported. Beef tallow disintegrates at above 104°F.

I think this might be the closest possibility to the different variations in pucks. Beef tallow disintegrates at above 104F and same with lanolin. My guess is that my old puck is stripped of tallow and lanolin due to high heat during transportation and is left with more soapy ingredients, hence lathering more like a bath soap. It's still plenty slick but it does not have much properties of a shaving soap.

If this is true, then it's something that the Bradford company and vendors need to fix. We, as customers, can't expect some pucks to be stripped of good ingredients and just accept it. That's my take on it.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If this is true, then it's something that the Bradford company and vendors need to fix. We, as customers, can't expect some pucks to be stripped of good ingredients and just accept it. That's my take on it.

Temperatures in Britain don't tend to get that high, save for inside stationary cars on very sunny days, and the like. What happens to the pucks once they've left Bradford, isn't something that Mitchell's have control over, so I'm not sure what steps you're suggesting they take.

 

[Timeclo]

Temperatures in Britain don't tend to get that high, save for inside stationary cars on very sunny days, and the like. What happens to the pucks once they've left Bradford, isn't something that Mitchell's have control over, so I'm not sure what steps you're suggesting they take.

I haven't experimented with soaps so I wouldn't be the best advisor here. But I'm sure there are steps/advices that they can take to preserve the soap better. This is assuming that high heat messed with the ingredients, which is not proven at this point but just an assumption.

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I haven't experimented with soaps so I wouldn't be the best advisor here. But I'm sure there are steps/advices that they can take to preserve the soap better. This is assuming that high heat messed with the ingredients, which is not proven at this point but just an assumption.

Just out of curiousity, I might test that hypothesis this summer. I'll put my current puck of MWF in the attic or in a parked car in the sun for a few days and see if anything changes.

 

[Ssandstorms]

So my puck go weird and became completely malleable like putty. If I let it dry with no water is would crack, if I had it in water it would swell up and fill my stainless steel container to the top (6" diameter 4" tall cylinder) and still be soft as putty...

I decided whatever was going on was a sign this puck had issues. I scooped it out and filled it into a small glass jar.

Maybe I can scoop it out and bowl lather...

We will see what it does when it dries but worst case it's now my new hand soap

 

[global_dev]

I wanted to be a fan of the MWF, I never got it to work trying all sorts of manuevers. At the same time, I kind of want to give it a go again after reading most of this thread.

 

[Wolfgang]

When you nail MWF lather, there's nothing better. I had a good run with it, but then went into an inexplicable slump with subpar lather, so it had to go. Too many great soaps out there that lather themselves. Envious of folks who nail it consistently.

 

[Brian C.]

Gentlemen, I am sad to report that the Demon Fat Puck is no longer with us.

I shaved with it 2 nights ago and left it in the mug on the vanity. I came home from work today and went to shower and shave and the puck had kind of exploded. One whole side has risen to the top of the mug but nothing was under it. It was severely cracked as well. I went to push it back down in the mug and it just crumbled. It looked like the pictures posted above in the jar but not wet.

I figured what the hell and tried to shave with it. I decided to face lather this time. I whipped up some “lather” and I use that term very loosely. I put it on my face and it was disastrous. I tried to shave with it anyways and the lather was gonna before I could finish one cheek. I tried everything to bring it back to no avail.

Now the worst part, when I went to rinse my face and rinse everything else and go to my puck of Fat, I had hell rinsing my face. It was like a greasy film that would not come off. I had to get some face soap and wash my face to get it off. It just felt nasty. I finished the shave with my puck and some wonderful, thick, yogurty lather.

There was damn sure something wrong with this puck and I only hope nothing happens to mine before I finish it. I also may not replace it when it’s gone either. There’s just too much uncertainty with it and that sucks because it’s a damn good soap.


BOSC;AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;WISE;CoA

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I read an article a few days ago from mantic59 about making uberlather. He suggested putting a few drops of glycerin and a small dollop of a cream in your shave bowl. Then load your brush and lather in the bowl adding the necessary water to get a good lather.

I thought, what the heck, I’m not getting anywhere with the conventional technique. The result was that I got a better lather, with a little better slickness that the cream by itself. I used just a smidgen of TOBS to “salt” the bowl and I think it helped greatly.

Next, more water to see if I can get the slickness of The Fat along with the decent lather.

I definitely think something is wrong with this puck and my main suspect is too much heat during storage and shipping.

 

[Jer78]

Brian C what a crazy experience. You are right it is such a lovely soap when all is working. I am on my second puck, and certainly hope my luck holds going forwards.

Are there any vendors we should avoid? Times of year? Should we buy from overseas and pay the inflated postage?

Where did the demon puck come from?

All the best JM

Best wishes, JM

 

[Timeclo]

Gentlemen, I am sad to report that the Demon Fat Puck is no longer with us.

I shaved with it 2 nights ago and left it in the mug on the vanity. I came home from work today and went to shower and shave and the puck had kind of exploded. One whole side has risen to the top of the mug but nothing was under it. It was severely cracked as well. I went to push it back down in the mug and it just crumbled. It looked like the pictures posted above in the jar but not wet.

I figured what the hell and tried to shave with it. I decided to face lather this time. I whipped up some “lather” and I use that term very loosely. I put it on my face and it was disastrous. I tried to shave with it anyways and the lather was gonna before I could finish one cheek. I tried everything to bring it back to no avail.

Now the worst part, when I went to rinse my face and rinse everything else and go to my puck of Fat, I had hell rinsing my face. It was like a greasy film that would not come off. I had to get some face soap and wash my face to get it off. It just felt nasty. I finished the shave with my puck and some wonderful, thick, yogurty lather.

There was damn sure something wrong with this puck and I only hope nothing happens to mine before I finish it. I also may not replace it when it’s gone either. There’s just too much uncertainty with it and that sucks because it’s a damn good soap.


BOSC;AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;WISE;CoA

When I bloomed that puck and scooped some out, I got a powdery consistency, looking like the crumble you got. Well, so long demon puck.

I just hope that others don't have the same experience. From what I see, many people struggle but it's really hard to tell unless you get another sample to try. I was lucky to do so and figured it out. I think this settles it that there was something wrong with my old puck.

 

[Timeclo]

Brian C what a crazy experience. You are right it is such a lovely soap when all is working. I am on my second puck, and certainly hope my luck holds going forwards.

Are there any vendors we should avoid? Times of year? Should we buy from overseas and pay the inflated postage?

Where did the demon puck come from?

All the best JM

Best wishes, JM

The thing is that my old puck came from Maggard's and my well-working sample also came from Maggard's. Tis a mystery. I know that getting a puck from Connaught shaving is cheaper than Maggard's so maybe try that for those interested? I really don't know what the solution might be.

 

[Jer78]

Did you buy it last fall after the hot summer? Interesting stuff.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

My puck came from West Coast shaving and was purchased in March and shipped from South Carolina.

 

[ScottChapin]

I‘m thinking many off us have different expectations. One members goodnesses might be another members failure.

I, for one, don’t demand a really thick lather. In fact, I don’t want a really thick lather, so spending the time to get one is lost on me.

I like my lathers warm and wet. I’ll have minor bubbling and you can see my skin a bit, if you look for it.

My lather is very slippery and slick. Maybe as importantly, my lathers don’t clog my razor.

I get a lather with MWF that works up quickly and shaves as well as I needs it to. It’s rare that I cannot get a soap to work and then I bloom it.

I’m beginning to prefer creams. They’re easy, smell stronger, and enjoyable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Timeclo]

Did you buy it last fall after the hot summer? Interesting stuff.

The original purchaser bought it from Maggards on 15APR2020 and I traded for it during May.