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Mitchells Wool Fat first impression

About 2 weeks ago I got myself tha fat and took it for a spin. I followed some advice gathered here and had a succesful shave.
I got the puck and the ceramic bow and I soaked it for 24h, omce I added water because pick absorbed like half of it in couple of hours.
I went at it with 24mm Yaqi synth and give it a good and heavy loading.
I face lather and I used fair amount of water, I tought it was enough. 2nd lathering proved me wrong because I added even more water and lather exploded and gained MAD slicness.
I did my standard 2.5 pass shave and it was crazy close and smooth.
Post shave was good but it leftmy face feeling sticky and I did not like it.
Scent is mild and innoffensive but in my opinion verry different than Haslinger Schafmilch which is also mild and innoffensive in it's own way which I prefer.
Al in all verry good performer with top notch slickness, I would say it beats for instance SV maybe even Tabac. That soap was always slickest in my opinion. Would recomend to a friend.
Probably will not restock due to sticky after shave feeling and because requires quite a lot of work to build proper lather, whick again is, when build properly 10/10.
 
If it's comfortable, one way to cut down on the rinsing and residue is to do your second pass without relathering, just re-water with your hands. It will still be very slick and there will be less to rinse off.
 
After shaving with MWF, I like to wipe any excess lather off with a paper towel first, then rinse thoroughly several times, then apply witch hazel and an alcohol based splash. That leaves a nice finish.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I used MWF often before switching to mainly vintage soaps and it worked fine, but I have never soaked MWF, or any soap, and never needed to do so. I simply put a few drops of water onto the puck a few seconds before I shave, then load my damp brush and start to face lather adding water as I go. Perhaps it is the very soft water I have but needing to soak a puck for hours seems like madness to me - of course if it works then it works 👍
 
I have never soaked a puck of soap in my life. The only time I rinse a puck in the bowl is directly following to remove any froth and smooth the puck. Sort of like a "soap zamboni" if you will.

I have found that MWF can irritate my skin post shave if I don't conduct a thorough cold water rinse to remove all of the residue from my skin. I use a SR primarily so, lather slickness and viscosity is very important to me and I don't go for the huge billowing foaming lather. I need a thinner and slick film to glide the blade along.

YMMV (just to peeve a few :))
 
For the ceramic dish, you are to fill the dish with water so it expands to fit the dish. It takes about 4 days or so.

I use an old Sterling green container, with my luck, I'd drop that nice dish on the bathroom floor.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
MWF is best used daily or if as part of a rotation, keep it in a well sealed container so it doesn't dry out. It likes the water from a few shaves before it really starts working well, which is why some soak the puck initially. I don't consider that so much a bloom as a one time hydration.

If your MWF is looking like the cracked mud around the water holes in Africa in the dry season, you aren't going to enjoy it much as a soap.
 
In terms of scent it may no be the greatest if that is high on your list. it has an inoffensive soap smell. I don't find it hard to work. A few drops of water off the brush to bloom it and then a reasonable wet brush to work a lather. I use it about every 10 days in a rotation and it does need to be used to stop it cracking. In terms of performance ... You will not find a better soap. Thats pretty much it. A pleasure to use, slick, thick lather and plenty of cushion. I don't use a synthetic brush, boar, badger or horse.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
For the ceramic dish, you are to fill the dish with water so it expands to fit the dish. It takes about 4 days or so.

I use an old Sterling green container, with my luck, I'd drop that nice dish on the bathroom floor.
A real example of differing experiences, I would never soak a puck like that, and I would not use any soap that required me to do so. When I used MWF, in the ceramic dish, soaking, even blooming was not necessary for me and it worked just fine. My advice would be to try the soap several times first and then soak if you cannot make it work for you; perhaps it is specific to the water hardness.
 
Mitchell's Wool Fat is one of the few traditional hard soaps that I recommend. Once lathered, it gives a decent shave. I used to recommend Tabac as well, but since they have gone to a vegan formulation, I have not tried it

Mitchell's works best if you use it as your primary soap. If it stays wet, it is much easier to load and lather. If you use it as part of a rotation, it tends to dry out and has to be rehydrated. Since I have a large rotation of soaps, I sent my puck of Mitchell's to someone who uses it every day.
 
Be careful what you follow using only advice from internet forums. Mostly great info but sometimes people give sideways advice. Trust but verify…a 24 hour soak isn’t needed for any soap. Who has 24 hours to plan or wait on a shave?
 
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