The funny thing is that while I was shaving with the dodgy puck, I was still getting awesome shaves. I just had to adjust the water so it didn’t dry out. The other weird thing was at the end of the puck I had to adjust the water again because it was making half way decent lather. Either the puck changed, or I learned how better to deal with it. Overall, a potentially bad experience turned into a good learning experience. I now feel that I could deal with any soap that I pick up.
Mitchell's Wool Fat - What Happened?
- Thread starter Big Jim
- Start date
Never had a bad puck in 15 years everytime I had an issue fixed it by refining technique. Recipe hasn't changed in over 100 years.
How To Lather Mitchell's Wool Fat Shave Soap - YouTube great with tips on how not to fail
If you follow the many threads on all the forums, you'll see there is a definite pattern of dodgy pucks since March 2020.
People that had been using MWF for years suddenly couldn't get a good lather from these pucks.
Many guys (including myself) emailed MWF about it and not one person received a response. Disappointing given I've been a loyal customer for over a decade.
I still have 7 pucks in my stash so I'm not concerned for now but I definitely would like to see a return of its high performance!
I wonder if they had to cut back staff during the pandemic and that caused the issue. I would have thought that enough product would have been in the pipeline for the issue to not show up for a couple of months, but I don’t recall when England began to have so much trouble.
Hmmm I didn't think of it from that angle.
What's clear though is reports of the dud pucks started around March.
I can only hope Mitchell's have addressed the issue, even if they don't admit to anything openly!
Got a new Puck today same as always great shave nothing to see @ Mitchells
I also leave about a teaspoon of water on the soap when I finish shaving so it doesn’t dry out. The next morning that teaspoon is usually still there and I don’t pour it off before loading.
AARGHHHH! Mitchells is going to drive me crazy (admittedly it's a short drive these days). I ranted and swore off it a few weeks go, in this thread, after my second bad puck. Well today, mid-afternoon, due to sheer boredom, I wondered to myself whether the Marco method would produce any results. I usually go for just enough water in the brush to create a paste, then add water while face lathering. Works great for 99% of the soaps I use.
So, I wandered into the shave den, lifted the cover on my MWF bowl, and proceeded to do a Mega Marco on it. Dripping brush, wet puck, bubbles and flying gobs of soap all over the place. I went at it for well over a minute, letting the large excess leak down into the sink. That resulted in a pretty thick paste in my 24mm synthetic brush. I had shaved this morning, but figured I couldn't assess this properly without a shave, so I went at the face lathering full steam ahead, adding water as needed. Slick, cushiony, impeccable. Damn. I got rid of it with a bladeless razor and repeated for a mock second and third pass. No dissipation, the lather stayed creamy and slick and I probably had enough left in the brush for a 4th and 5th pass.
So, with some trepidation I'm going to use it tomorrow morning. Right now the top of the puck is covered with a clear sort of slime layer, but I'm going to ignore that and see what happens.
This is like playing whack-a-mole, and I think the mole is laughing at me.
So, I wandered into the shave den, lifted the cover on my MWF bowl, and proceeded to do a Mega Marco on it. Dripping brush, wet puck, bubbles and flying gobs of soap all over the place. I went at it for well over a minute, letting the large excess leak down into the sink. That resulted in a pretty thick paste in my 24mm synthetic brush. I had shaved this morning, but figured I couldn't assess this properly without a shave, so I went at the face lathering full steam ahead, adding water as needed. Slick, cushiony, impeccable. Damn. I got rid of it with a bladeless razor and repeated for a mock second and third pass. No dissipation, the lather stayed creamy and slick and I probably had enough left in the brush for a 4th and 5th pass.
So, with some trepidation I'm going to use it tomorrow morning. Right now the top of the puck is covered with a clear sort of slime layer, but I'm going to ignore that and see what happens.
This is like playing whack-a-mole, and I think the mole is laughing at me.
Glad it worked. Your puck is probably just super dry, which is why you have to work so hard to load it. Try soaking it for two days and then it will soften up and you won’t have to load it for so long to get enough product. And once you are loading enough product, you just have to make sure you add enough water. Marco method with less load time would work for a softer puck.
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Sounds like it's getting there keep up the diligence it will pay off.
Well, it looks like my puck is now useable. Very good shave with it this morning. I still find it annoying that it is so inconsistent, but nice to have it back in action again.
No, I wouldn't agree with that conclusion at all. This is my fourth puck of MWF. The first two I used up were good from the start. No problem lathering, no slimy layer on the top, no soaking before use, etc. At worst, it took them a couple of weeks to lather easily, and they did need to be kept in a covered container. But I rarely even bloomed them before using, and lathered with the dry brush method.
My third puck, bought last april, was a different story entirely. I used every method known to shaving mankind on that puck, and it never ever produced more than a thin layer that dissipated as soon as it hit my face. Dry method, Marco method, absolutely nothing worked. Tried the "soak it until it fits the container" approach. All that produced was a thick gelatinous layer on top of the puck. Still wouldn't produce lather. I even cut down to the middle to see if it was different there. Nope. Trashed it.
Now the fourth and current puck. The first shave was OK. Second was dissipating again. Now that I've got it wetter it seems to be working well, but fingers crossed that will continue. It still feels a bit different from what it used to; can't quite put my finger on it yet, but it feels a bit less slick on the first pass than it used to, even though it is well hydrated.
So, saying that there is no issue with pucks would be to ignore the fact that they are obviously inconsistent, in my experience and that of a significant number of others here on the board. All the other soaps I use are consistent; every time a get a new one I know exactly what to expect, and I get what I expect. Not so with MWF. So I'm glad this puck is working for now, but when this one is done I'm not sure I'll want to roll the dice on buying a replacement.
Don't forget possible human factors like incompetence and indifference.
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
I have never soaked or even bloomed any hard soap puck and have never needed to. I would think that to do so would change it into more of a croap or even a cream; if I wanted either of those then I would purchase them. Maybe I am just lucky with soft water but twenty seconds of swirling a damp brush on the dry MWF puck and I am good to go. There are too many good soaps around for any to require too much effort to work well. I love MWF but am not inclined to purchase again given that they do not have the decency to respond to customer enquiries.
good point, this very possible one too.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Then there's storage issues such as storing too warm ... variations in water chemistry ... excess vibration in transit ... solar flares ... The Kardashians ... shortsighted brush makers confusing skunks for badgers ... close proximity to Belgians ... microplastics in the water being drunk by the sheep and sweated out in the form of semi-synthetic lanolin which waterproofs the puck ... forgetting to take the wrapper off ... using the wrong end of the brush ... inappropriate use of The Birdy Song ...
It's a minefield!
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