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Murphy & McNeil

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I highly encourage you to get the aftershave splash(es). Scent lasts all ‘stinking’ day. Just awesome.
 
I’ve got two of these soaps—Ouroboros (sp?) and the Guinness scent (St. James?), both in the softer base. I chose them because they were ranked the “strongest” scents. I like them both, very much. I also very much like the soft base—I can scoop out a small amount for my scuttle, without needing to load my brush.

P.S. I also have the Ouroboros aftershave, which is very nice, but not overpowering to my nose.
 
After using both the older, soft formula and now the newer hard formula, I gotta say I kinda like the softer one a bit more. It lathers up so incredibly quick and easily. Actual shave performance and post shave is the same.

I also prefer the softer base. I find the new harder version good but the lather and performance of the previous base is superior in my use.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I'm a big Murphy and McNeil fan, and I own seven (7) M&M soaps: Bad Mor, Claddagh, Crann Bethadh, Garda Síochána, Mandate of Heaven, Ouroboros, and Trinity. After discovering "gelatin" on the Claddagh, I checked my other six soaps, and found this (TOP = Garda Siochana, BOTTOM = Ouroboros).

View attachment 1013481
View attachment 1013482

FWIW, these two and the Claddagh are all tallow and duck soaps. Crann Bethadh is also tallow and duck, but mine has never been wet in the tub versus having lather scraped into a bowl.

I am very sorry to report this, but that is part of what forums are for. Nevertheless, I think it should be viewed in a calm and wide perspective. As for me, I'm still a big M&M fan, and I do not expect that to change.

The last pic (brown soap) sure looks like colonies of bacteria having a party to me. One of the potential drawbacks to some of these very natural superfatted soaps with no preservatives is probably the potential for bacteria to grow and feed very well. I would guess the maker will stand by the purchasers, make it right and track down the cause and do a little prevention of some sort. I might try one of these someday, but for now, I'll pass.
 
The last pic (brown soap) sure looks like colonies of bacteria having a party to me. One of the potential drawbacks to some of these very natural superfatted soaps with no preservatives is probably the potential for bacteria to grow and feed very well. I would guess the maker will stand by the purchasers, make it right and track down the cause and do a little prevention of some sort. I might try one of these someday, but for now, I'll pass.

As a matter of fact I had that happen recently and tossed the soap after the maker confirmed it was mold. It was never put away wet as he inferred. No offer to replace was tended. FWIW, it was one of the top five soap artisans on the market today:

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Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
As a matter of fact I had that happen recently and tossed the soap after the maker confirmed it was mold. It was never put away wet as he inferred. No offer to replace was tended. FWIW, it was one of the top five soap artisans on the market today:

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I have a biology degree and took some microbiology on the way to earning that. The photo I commented on looked more bacterial to me, but yours does look more like mold.

Some of these soaps are probably like fresh produce in the grocery store. They may do better refrigerated and assuredly have a shelf life or a "use by date". You can see why the large makers need to either use the preservatives or make an end product with nothing for contaminants to feed on. Recalls get expensive when you you have to pull it off store shelves and reimburse the retailer.

The maker of this soap is right to stand behind it, but he'll probably need to take more steps behind the scenes in the way of prevention and I hope he does as all indications are that otherwise it's a very excellent soap.
 
The last pic (brown soap) sure looks like colonies of bacteria having a party to me. One of the potential drawbacks to some of these very natural superfatted soaps with no preservatives is probably the potential for bacteria to grow and feed very well. I would guess the maker will stand by the purchasers, make it right and track down the cause and do a little prevention of some sort. I might try one of these someday, but for now, I'll pass.

As a matter of fact I had that happen recently and tossed the soap after the maker confirmed it was mold. It was never put away wet as he inferred. No offer to replace was tended. FWIW, it was one of the top five soap artisans on the market today:

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I corresponded with Bill via email last night, and by the time I awoke this morning, a shipment of replacements for all three jars was already on the way!

I asked Bill if there was anything I should pass along - he does not have privileges to post here - and his response was the first class sort of reply I expected: "... it’s simply important to me that folks know I’ll work with them on issues regardless of the cause. I’ve bought back a soap even if someone just didn’t like the scent or an ingredient (fragrance, lanolin etc) did not agree with their skin. Every situation is different requiring dynamic solutions. So my policy, broadly, is to take care of folks!" For example, it happens that in my case all three soaps were currently available in the new Aon base. Among other improvements, the Aon base addresses issues discussed in this thread, so Bill was able to ship me replacements immediately. Your situation might be different.

In any case, Bill asked me to let people know he can be reached at [email protected] and to please contact him if you are having issues with your soap.

How's that for top-shelf customer service!

Hi @Chandu. I don't really know about the brown soap (Ouroboros), although I had the same reaction to the picture as you. However, the maker - Bill at M&M - has already altered the base (from Eisteacht to Aon), in part to address the instability issue. Unlike @Bogeyman's experience, in my case I wrote Bill on a Monday evening and had the tracking number for three replacement jars when I awoke on Tuesday. They arrived at lunch on Thursday, having travelled from Texas to Virginia. (See my post above.)

I can understand your reluctance to buy @Chandu, but shoot me your snail if you would like a sample in the new Aon base. Same goes for you @Bogeyman. I don't know Bill's side of the story but regardless, I am sorry you had a bad experience. As long as you guys are somewhere in CONUS, soap and postage is on me.

EDIT: Hey Bogeyman: I was writing my post #308 while you posted #307. My apologies if I misunderstood you. I thought you were referring to an M&M soap. Regardless, the sample offer is open.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
Hi @Chandu.
I can understand your reluctance to buy @Chandu, but shoot me your snail if you would like a sample in the new Aon base. Same goes for you @Bogeyman. I don't know Bill's side of the story but regardless, I am sorry you had a bad experience. As long as you guys are somewhere in CONUS, soap and postage is on me.

Very kind offer, sir. I will take you up on it. It does sound like Bill is doing his best to sort this out and keep customers happy.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
Perhaps you imsunderstood me: he did NOT. At this point I won't name the maker, only that it was bought last year and always allowed to dry a day before re-lidding.
I did see @HighSpeedSpoon and his earlier comment of the maker stepping up quickly, but missed your experience. That's not so good.
 
Very kind offer, sir. I will take you up on it. It does sound like Bill is doing his best to sort this out and keep customers happy.

That's great @Chandu. I've got Claddagh, Garda Siochana, and Ouroboros In the Aon base. All the jars are clean because I am scraping and weighing soap these days. The M&M Soap Bases & Scent Profiles page summarizes all their soaps and bases and has links to the soap product pages. Check it out if you need to, pick one of my soaps, and PM me your snail and choice. I'll take it from there.
 
After reading this thread, and reading their site.. i really want to try out all of the scents offered. Does anyone have any of their aftershave splashes or balms they're willing to provide samples for ?? cant seem to find samples anywhere :( will pay !!
 
...EDIT: Hey Bogeyman: I was writing my post #308 while you posted #307. My apologies if I misunderstood you. I thought you were referring to an M&M soap. Regardless, the sample offer is open.

No, it was not M&M. I have a sample of M&M Gael Laoch and it is indeed a wonderful soap. :thumbsup:
 
Well, I am 38 shaves into M&M's Claddagh. When I got the soap it arrived on a hot Arizona day and had been in the mailbox for several hours. It was in almost liquid form. I took the soap with a spoon and smoothed it out and put it in the refrigerator overnight. This is what it looked like after I used it a few times.

M&M.jpg



In the beginning, the soap had an unusual consistency more like a cream than a soap. I had some difficulty loading the brush, i.e., for the first few times I loaded too much soap. After a week or two of continuous use the consistency began to change. If I kept the lid on the container the soap became very even softer. However, I began to leave the lid off for a few hours and the soap solidified. Also, it became more of a "normal" soap when it came to loading. After continued use, the soap has become very easy to load - as long as I leave the lid off the soap to solidify it. The scent was mild when I first used it. Now the scent is non-existant.

Today will be the 38th day of continuous use of this soap. This is what it looks like today.
MM used.jpg





Performance-wise, the soap lathers nicely producing a rich, slick lather. I'm not sure how long this soap will last and will report on it later. So far, usage has been more than most of my other soaps.

I would order this soap again - when the cooler weather sets in!
 
Performance-wise, the soap lathers nicely producing a rich, slick lather. I'm not sure how long this soap will last and will report on it later. So far, usage has been more than most of my other soaps.

I would order this soap again - when the cooler weather sets in!


Since M&M soaps tend to be fairly soft, it is easy to load too much soap causing the tub to deplete more rapidly than necessary. However, also remember that M&M tube contain 5.5 oz vs the 4 oz from most artisans.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Well, I am 38 shaves into M&M's Claddagh. When I got the soap it arrived on a hot Arizona day and had been in the mailbox for several hours. It was in almost liquid form. I took the soap with a spoon and smoothed it out and put it in the refrigerator overnight. This is what it looked like after I used it a few times.

View attachment 1016248


In the beginning, the soap had an unusual consistency more like a cream than a soap. I had some difficulty loading the brush, i.e., for the first few times I loaded too much soap. After a week or two of continuous use the consistency began to change. If I kept the lid on the container the soap became very even softer. However, I began to leave the lid off for a few hours and the soap solidified. Also, it became more of a "normal" soap when it came to loading. After continued use, the soap has become very easy to load - as long as I leave the lid off the soap to solidify it. The scent was mild when I first used it. Now the scent is non-existant.

Today will be the 38th day of continuous use of this soap. This is what it looks like today.
View attachment 1016246




Performance-wise, the soap lathers nicely producing a rich, slick lather. I'm not sure how long this soap will last and will report on it later. So far, usage has been more than most of my other soaps.

I would order this soap again - when the cooler weather sets in!

Interesting look of your Claddagh. Mine is pretty much white, and hard. I could not spoon anything out of the tub without using a metal spoon - if I wanted to. I normally use a very small kitchen scraper (silicone) to take softer croaps/creams out. But this one is very hard for a croap, so this would not work. I also have to put some water on the soap surface to get a good lather - I lather so to say "of the puck". Scent-wise, there is none, at least I cannot detect some. My wife whose sense of smell is extremely good says she detects a very faint scent like freshly washed laundry. Shaving performance is OK, but nothing that would make me get more at this point, so I am a lil disappointed. I personally like the Irish theme, being a big fan of the Emerald Island and have been there over 20 times.
 
Interesting look of your Claddagh. Mine is pretty much white, and hard. I could not spoon anything out of the tub without using a metal spoon - if I wanted to. I normally use a very small kitchen scraper (silicone) to take softer croaps/creams out. But this one is very hard for a croap, so this would not work. I also have to put some water on the soap surface to get a good lather - I lather so to say "of the puck". Scent-wise, there is none, at least I cannot detect some. My wife whose sense of smell is extremely good says she detects a very faint scent like freshly washed laundry. Shaving performance is OK, but nothing that would make me get more at this point, so I am a lil disappointed. I personally like the Irish theme, being a big fan of the Emerald Island and have been there over 20 times.
I wonder if the soap melting in the hot sun caused some issues. If I leave the lid off of the soap it is hard and loads fine. However, in the beginning it was softer than a cream and difficult to load. I would just touch the tips of the brush on the soap to load it.
 
Well, I am 38 shaves into M&M's Claddagh. When I got the soap it arrived on a hot Arizona day and had been in the mailbox for several hours. It was in almost liquid form. I took the soap with a spoon and smoothed it out and put it in the refrigerator overnight. This is what it looked like after I used it a few times.

View attachment 1016248


In the beginning, the soap had an unusual consistency more like a cream than a soap. I had some difficulty loading the brush, i.e., for the first few times I loaded too much soap. After a week or two of continuous use the consistency began to change. If I kept the lid on the container the soap became very even softer. However, I began to leave the lid off for a few hours and the soap solidified. Also, it became more of a "normal" soap when it came to loading. After continued use, the soap has become very easy to load - as long as I leave the lid off the soap to solidify it. The scent was mild when I first used it. Now the scent is non-existant.

Today will be the 38th day of continuous use of this soap. This is what it looks like today.
View attachment 1016246


Performance-wise, the soap lathers nicely producing a rich, slick lather. I'm not sure how long this soap will last and will report on it later. So far, usage has been more than most of my other soaps.

I would order this soap again - when the cooler weather sets in!


Interesting look of your Claddagh. Mine is pretty much white, and hard. I could not spoon anything out of the tub without using a metal spoon - if I wanted to. I normally use a very small kitchen scraper (silicone) to take softer croaps/creams out. But this one is very hard for a croap, so this would not work. I also have to put some water on the soap surface to get a good lather - I lather so to say "of the puck". Scent-wise, there is none, at least I cannot detect some. My wife whose sense of smell is extremely good says she detects a very faint scent like freshly washed laundry. Shaving performance is OK, but nothing that would make me get more at this point, so I am a lil disappointed. I personally like the Irish theme, being a big fan of the Emerald Island and have been there over 20 times.

I wonder if Rudy's soap is the new AON base, which is harder. My AON based Claddagh is off-white and quite firm. I know from corresponding with Bill @ M&M that the AON base is harder than the earlier Éisteacht base.
 
I was wondering about what base Rudy's tub could be too.
I have an Eisteacht base Claddagh and get great performance from it. From my use, loading directly from the tub, i'm using about 2.5g per shave. My typical usage of many other soaps is nearer to 5g per shave. This one does not need much soap for a great lather, in fact, too much soap makes it hard to face lather well.

Overall, im very happy with the soap but would prefer it be slightly more firm and not as 'cream-like'.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
I wonder if Rudy's soap is the new AON base, which is harder. My AON based Claddagh is off-white and quite firm. I know from corresponding with Bill @ M&M that the AON base is harder than the earlier Éisteacht base.
My tub says "Éisteacht Claddagh" on the side, I was not aware they also have different bases
 
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