Is Mitchell's Wool Fat the best ever shaving soap?
- Thread starter Doc Dan
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Yes, IMHO..
It has it all!
It has it all!
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- #23
Great discussion. I couldn't change the "ever" in the title, but I put "all around" in the discussion. I have zero issues lathering and I have hard, rusty water. I use two synthetic brushes on it and get rich, creamy lather each time. I soaked my puck overnight the first day as recommended elsewhere and have not had an issue. I did this with GFT hard soap, which a lot of people don't like because of the way it lathers. Soaking it until it swells solves that problem completely. So I just did the same with the MWF and viola! problems never arose.
I have soaps that do great, La Toja being one of my favorites. It is good and slick, but Ariana & Evans Kaizen 2e is likely the slickest I've ever tried. However, MWF is close and has better residual slickness, enough so that it takes a few rinses to get it off of my face.
If strong scents are someone's thing, MWF is not the soap for them, unless they mix it with something.
I think there are soaps that beat MWF in some ways, but not in everyway. La Toja comes close, but isn't quite there. I think MWF is more well rounded and most soaps. Of course, others will have a different experience, but for me, this is what I have discovered. This was hammered home again this morning. I shaved with Razorock What The Puck Blue, a great soap. However, the residual slickness, while adequate, is not up there with MWF, and the post shave face feel is not as good, though it is okay.
I have soaps that do great, La Toja being one of my favorites. It is good and slick, but Ariana & Evans Kaizen 2e is likely the slickest I've ever tried. However, MWF is close and has better residual slickness, enough so that it takes a few rinses to get it off of my face.
If strong scents are someone's thing, MWF is not the soap for them, unless they mix it with something.
I think there are soaps that beat MWF in some ways, but not in everyway. La Toja comes close, but isn't quite there. I think MWF is more well rounded and most soaps. Of course, others will have a different experience, but for me, this is what I have discovered. This was hammered home again this morning. I shaved with Razorock What The Puck Blue, a great soap. However, the residual slickness, while adequate, is not up there with MWF, and the post shave face feel is not as good, though it is okay.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
It is a great shave soap but to myself it is not the best for scent or slickness, it gets the job done and I'm glade I own some now.
MWF has a nice mild clean scent and when you lather it is actually increases in scent strength slightly, as for slickness it is right in the pack of todays soaps. I hear folks that have a hard time with lathering with this soap but I did not find a problem bowl lathering at all, I press a few slivers of soap in bowl & just start with a squeezed brush start until paste starts and then just add a few drops of water with hand or a water mister and just generate some more and add some more drops of water.......... 1 to 2 minutes you have some nice lather. It is a classic soap and has proven the test of time for its qualities and very affordable IMO.
Have some great shaves!
MWF has a nice mild clean scent and when you lather it is actually increases in scent strength slightly, as for slickness it is right in the pack of todays soaps. I hear folks that have a hard time with lathering with this soap but I did not find a problem bowl lathering at all, I press a few slivers of soap in bowl & just start with a squeezed brush start until paste starts and then just add a few drops of water with hand or a water mister and just generate some more and add some more drops of water.......... 1 to 2 minutes you have some nice lather. It is a classic soap and has proven the test of time for its qualities and very affordable IMO.
Have some great shaves!
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One of my favorites, but there are a couple better pucks that deliver better lather, I think: Tabac, La Toja, AOS, and Old Spice come to mind.
The best thing for me about MWF soap is that my puck of PDP 63 fits perfectly in the MWF ceramic bowl. 
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- #27
That is another thing about MWF: it is affordable. A lot of artisan soaps, some as good, many not, are a lot more expensive. I don't want to pay a fortune for soaps if I can get one as good for less. I will say categorically that MWF is better than Stirling (though Stirling is good) on my face when using a straight razor. A double edge safety razor is a lot more forgiving and I think if people tried this soap against others using a straight razor they might come to a different conclusion. Arko dries my face and the residual slickness is not as good for me. What the Puck is really nice, but it is slightly drying, like it washed all of the oils out of my skin. The residual is a bit less than MWF, but a lot better than Arko. MWF has stood up against, Razorock WTP, Speick, Ach Brito, La Toja, A&E, B&M, Old Spice, Stirling, and several more that escape me at the moment. Only A&E and La Toja are keepers in comparison to MWF on my face when using a straight razor. All of them work well with a double edge safe razor except the Old Spice.
I will never understand the issue people have with lathering MWF no matter how hard their water. My well water is quite hard and it's a total non-issue.
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- #29
I agree. It just needs to be treated like a hard, triple milled soap and a good, creamy lather results every time. I can make yogurt, paste, or cream, easily. It won't dissipate, either.
Try MWF with a good boar brush and build the lather right on the puck if you container allows it. Easy to lather with that approach.
In some cases shavers may be used to softer often croap-like soaps that load in seconds. Have seen posts from some B&Bers where part of their "ease of loading" evaluation is based on the ability to load in 10-15 seconds.
A really hard puck like MWF or Williams will not load in seconds when dry for the type of lather most prefer and, I suspect, was formulated to enable shavers to build lather right on the puck which works well for me.
Other than Williams and Derby shave sticks is there any other soap puck currently available that is as hard as MWF? Other triple milled soaps that I've used, such as Razorock What the Puck, new formula Tabac and Arko, while hard are malleable and, with effort, can be shaped to fit a container. Not the case for Mitchell's or Williams, they need to be grated or they will eventually crumble if too much pressure is applied. Curious about my D.R. Harris and Cyril Salter pucks once I get to them.
Not my experiene at all with dried MWF. Cracked? Yes but malleable, especially with a bit of water added. I only use mine once every couple, three weeks (too many soaps and creams) and I have never experienced it crumbling under pressure or any need for grating!
IMHO… Ethos, Martin de Candre, Grooming Dept., Saponificio Varesino are all top tier. I will dare to say better than MWF. Although I do love my MWF also.
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- #34
Geo F Trumper is super hard. It needs to be soaked to rehydrate it. If you want a hard soap, this is it. I think it might be harder than MWF.
Trumper, done right, is really, really good. It is slick, has good residual slickness (one of the best), and smells good. It leaves my face feeling okay, not dry. However, it is a lot more expensive than MWF.
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Went through a couple of MWF pucks during my initial years of wet shaving and enjoyed it a lot. But now, after trying (too) many other soaps, I don't think I would add it back into my rotation. Many artisan soaps perform noticeably better in all aspects for me, and the scent of MWF isn't my favorite either..
It’s good but not good enough to dethrone the mighty AdP for the #1 spot.
WOW!!!!!!! I have a few tucked away myself, but this is an amazing collection.MWF is a good soap for sure but my Yardley retirement pile will take some beating. Not long until I retire
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Re MWF: it's an OK soap, but there are a few that are better. Tabac, Speick stick and MdC as well as many of the artisan soaps.
Thanks Rudy - here is my rarest Yardley soap which may interest you.
A rare 'Yardley Shaving Stick In The Glass Case'.
Here for your interest is a rare Yardley shaving stick I have just obtained, I would appreciate any knowledge or opinion of this you may have. The stick is in a box labelled 'The Stick In The Glass Case' and when opened it contains a tube which indeed appears to be glass with a silver coloured...
www.badgerandblade.com
Wow, never knew they had sticks in a glass container, I have seen he metal ones. I just have several pucks in the wooden bowls, but no stick.Thanks Rudy - here is my rarest Yardley soap which may interest you.
A rare 'Yardley Shaving Stick In The Glass Case'.
Here for your interest is a rare Yardley shaving stick I have just obtained, I would appreciate any knowledge or opinion of this you may have. The stick is in a box labelled 'The Stick In The Glass Case' and when opened it contains a tube which indeed appears to be glass with a silver coloured...
Don't you feel that the lather from MWF is frothy, compared to the US artisans?
I mean, I tried Omnibus and my chin fell on the ground.
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