Kent Shave Soap

[Renato1]

I bought a Kent Shave soap puck in a wooden bowl some time back, used it a few times with whatever razor and blade I was using at the time (probably Merkur 33 and Gillette Stainless Steel blade), and thought it was fine.

Recently though, I remembered to use it again - this time with a Jagger 89 razor and Persona Platinum Chrome blade. And every time I got quite a few nicks with quite a bit of blood flow. When I used the same razor and blade with other assorted soaps and creams in between using the Kent Soap - using the exact same preparation time - I had no nick problems at all.

I now rate the Kent Soap as low as my other worst soap, the Australian Palmolive Shave stick.

Has anybody else had similar issues?
Regards,
Renato

 

[TonyN]

Kent is the same as Mitchell's Wool Fat and is a great soap. When lathered properly, it's slick and has good cushion. Is your lather drying out? If so, you need to add more water.

 

[Renato1]

Kent is the same as Mitchell's Wool Fat and is a great soap. When lathered properly, it's slick and has good cushion. Is your lather drying out? If so, you need to add more water.

Thanks.
The lather seemed nice and moist to me - the nicks were in different places on my face, corresponding to where I first started shaving to where I nearly had finished, so I don't think drying out of the lather during the process was a factor.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Renato1]

Update: As I posted in another thread, I used Kent Shave soap again but with a boar brush rather than a badger brush. The lather was plainly thicker and I got a decent rather than a lousy shave.
Regards,
Renato

 

[djh]

Update: As I posted in another thread, I used Kent Shave soap again but with a boar brush rather than a badger brush. The lather was plainly thicker and I got a decent rather than a lousy shave.
Regards,
Renato

That's progress Renato! MWF (or in your case, Kent) benefits from regular use. The puck itself seems to absorb lots of moisture and with daily shaving becomes easier to load and therefore easier to use. Many here love the soap (myself included) and it will probably reward a little perseverance on your part.

 

[Mad Man]

Kent version of MWF rules. And that wooden bowl is a LOT safer than some porcelain waiting to destroy itself on your tiles...

 

[Renato1]

That's progress Renato! MWF (or in your case, Kent) benefits from regular use. The puck itself seems to absorb lots of moisture and with daily shaving becomes easier to load and therefore easier to use. Many here love the soap (myself included) and it will probably reward a little perseverance on your part.

Hmmm - I hadn't thought about that. I was wondering why so many had reported that MWF works better after it's been used a while, your explanation makes sense - especially if they're using a badger brush.

This makes me wonder if the other soaps I find I need a boar brush for would also respond in a similar manner, since others have responded that they are fine with their badger brushes. I'll never find out as I like vaying too much among my big collection of soaps and creams.

Thanks for answering an issue that has been nagging me.

Plainly, being a tester of large numbers of soaps and creams can have a disadvantage, if the soap puck being tested doesn't get "conditioned" from frequent use.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Renato1]

Kent version of MWF rules. And that wooden bowl is a LOT safer than some porcelain waiting to destroy itself on your tiles...

It is a nice bowl. I was so disappointed with Kent when I first started this thread, that I took the Kent soap puck out of the bowl and replaced it with Valobra soap. But the Kent soap, as it now works with a boar brush, has now been restored to it's nice wooden bowl.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[Ashley Rosser]

I bought some last week as I was running out of creams, after the load more product... still runny....load more product routine I finally found the right blend of water to soap. Absolutely amazing stuff, no post shave tightness to my skin and no irritation as it was very slick, I'm now a believer in MWF and it was my first soap and also Oxford has pretty hard water.

 

[Renato1]

I bought some last week as I was running out of creams, after the load more product... still runny....load more product routine I finally found the right blend of water to soap. Absolutely amazing stuff, no post shave tightness to my skin and no irritation as it was very slick, I'm now a believer in MWF and it was my first soap and also Oxford has pretty hard water.

Ah - you've found a routine that loads it!
Thanks,
Renato