MWF misunderstood?

[gdepotter]

After having read about a billion threads of how this soap is hard to lather, I decided to still give it a try. I received my ceramic bowl last week and used it the same day. I loaded my synthetic brush straight on the puck, without any puck soaking whatsoever. Face lathered the same way I would do with any other soap. I have to admit, it took way more effort than lathering a tallow based soap. I didn't get the yogurty consistency I get with most of my other soaps, instead, I ended up with something rather bubbly. I didn't expect much from that shave, bubbles usually mean poor protection to me.
My first pass was actually surprisingly good, and I inderstood the reason why as soon as I rinsed my face. The slick layer of protection that lanolin leaves behind is simply amazing and surpasses the results I'm getting from tallow soaps.

Which makes me think, is this soap misunderstood? Does one really need to put in the effort to create a thick consistency when the lanolin will do the job, even if it's foamy?

Envoyé de mon SM-N950W en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Hardrock]

I agree with you 100%. This stuff was concocted like 1000 years ago when nobody even considered glamour shot photos of shaving lather but still remains in the forefront of shaving today. I get ho hum looking lather myself but continue using it amongst the other top tier soaps.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

Part of the problem with The Fat is that everyone has an opinion about how to make thick yogurty lather. If you check the thread below (assuming you haven’t already), you will see that I struggled with it for several months off and on. I was even convinced my puck was defective. Every lather I made was thin, bubbly and dried out before the first pass was complete.

I tried every suggestion that was thrown my way, even Mantic59’s suggestions from his video. But perseverance payed off. Last week, I was in a rush and didn’t have time to soak my brush. I ran a tepid cup of water and dropped the brush in while I applied the preshave and then picked up the brush and began loading. The brush was almost dry.

The first thing I noticed is that there wasn’t any protolather. Past shaves had produced a ton of protolather. I applied the soap directly to my face and began painting with water. While it wasn’t yogurty goodness, it was way better than previous shaves. the resulting shave was superb and the lather did not dry out.

this morningI lathered in my shave bowl. Again an almost dry brush and again, tepid not hot water. The resulting lather was even better, but the shave wasn’t any better. Thicker lather does not mean a better shave. It’s the slickness that determines the quality of the shave. My face was slick all the way through the cleanup pass after the third pass. No irritation, and the shave was very close. My skin is as soft as a baby’s butt thanks to the lanolin.

Check out the link and be sure to read the posts from the past few days. Photos of the lather are included.

First shave with Mitchell’s Wool Fat

I used MWF for the first time this morning. While the lather was an epic fail, I was very surprised by the slickness and more importantly how my skin felt all day. I’ll. Give it a shot again tomorrow but load more soap in the brush and use less water. I used an oil preshave, which may have...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[ask4Edge]

Had several great pucks, and several mediocre pucks (quality control?).
Unfortunate consistency, however, was the white residue left on hardware.

I’d be curious to know the complete list of ingredients for the 1893 formulation.
It's doubtful today’s iteration is identical (e.g. EDTA synthesized in 1935).

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Load twice as long next time. The Fat takes longer to load that anything else I've tried, which has been a lot of soaps.

My biggest gripe with the Fat is the longer load time, but that's about it, it's a great smelling, slick, and moisturizing soap that's worth a little extra elbow grease.

 

[gdepotter]

Part of the problem with The Fat is that everyone has an opinion about how to make thick yogurty lather. If you check the thread below (assuming you haven’t already), you will see that I struggled with it for several months off and on. I was even convinced my puck was defective. Every lather I made was thin, bubbly and dried out before the first pass was complete.

I tried every suggestion that was thrown my way, even Mantic59’s suggestions from his video. But perseverance payed off. Last week, I was in a rush and didn’t have time to soak my brush. I ran a tepid cup of water and dropped the brush in while I applied the preshave and then picked up the brush and began loading. The brush was almost dry.

The first thing I noticed is that there wasn’t any protolather. Past shaves had produced a ton of protolather. I applied the soap directly to my face and began painting with water. While it wasn’t yogurty goodness, it was way better than previous shaves. the resulting shave was superb and the lather did not dry out.

this morningI lathered in my shave bowl. Again an almost dry brush and again, tepid not hot water. The resulting lather was even better, but the shave wasn’t any better. Thicker lather does not mean a better shave. It’s the slickness that determines the quality of the shave. My face was slick all the way through the cleanup pass after the third pass. No irritation, and the shave was very close. My skin is as soft as a baby’s butt thanks to the lanolin.

Check out the link and be sure to read the posts from the past few days. Photos of the lather are included.

First shave with Mitchell’s Wool Fat

I used MWF for the first time this morning. While the lather was an epic fail, I was very surprised by the slickness and more importantly how my skin felt all day. I’ll. Give it a shot again tomorrow but load more soap in the brush and use less water. I used an oil preshave, which may have...

www.badgerandblade.com

That's quite some trial-error you have going on there! Good to see that you finally nailed it.

That was kind of my point though. If you don't nail the consistency, this soap still gives you plenty of protection and slickness.

I'll try your dry-ish brush method tomorrow and see if I can improve on my current result.

Envoyé de mon SM-N950W en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[gdepotter]

Had several great pucks, and several mediocre pucks (quality control?).
Unfortunate consistency, however, was the white residue left on hardware.

I’d be curious to know the complete list of ingredients for the 1893 formulation.
It's doubtful today’s iteration is identical (e.g. EDTA synthesized in 1935).

Looks like it was first produced in the 30's "based on" a recipe from 1893.
The timeline vs edta synthesis makes sense but yeah, I also doubt that the formula didn't change since the 30's...

Envoyé de mon SM-N950W en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[never-stop-learning]

I use MWF at least as much as I use any other soap. My MWF is in a Schöne stainless steel bowl.

Higher sides allow me to use a wetter brush without making a huge mess.

I catch any 'runoff' in a small bamboo bowl which I use to 'dip the tips'.

The lather is really good and very slick.

YMMV.....

 

[Ravenonrock]

I think I’ve posted way too much on MWF, and here I am again. I like it enough to use it up. That’s about it...for now.

 

[gsurko]

I always get great lather but crapy shaves from this soap. I do this for the results and I don’t get them from MWF.

 

[Ad Astra]

Never saw the problem ... You just have to keep the puck wet.

I get bored with its non-scent after a while.


AA

 

[StillShaving]

I think some of the misunderstanding comes from the hardness of the puck which affects loading. I have worked on the same puck for over 10 years, with long breaks in between. I never soaked it and it is still less than the diameter of the dish but swelled a little bit as it nears the end. The more it swells the easier it is load, which as-far-as-I-can-tell is the main issue most people have with the soap. If a person uses MWF every day or gets it broken in, it loads faster and becomes easier to use as there will be more soap in the brush.

A decent shave can be had with minimal soap, which is how I used it for a long time at the beginning, but like other soaps it performs better if properly loaded. The lanolin probably does help a little.

 

[BigJ]

MWF works just fine for me!

My puck likes to get ‘used’ fairly often and always results in a slick lather.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

Never saw the problem ... You just have to keep the puck wet.

I get bored with its non-scent after a while.


AA

I find scent to be a fleeting thing. It’s only perceptible while I’m lathering and shaving. After that it’s replaced by the EDT that I use. I use MWF bath soap as well and enjoy the clean unscented soap smell.

 

[Rocklock]

It took some experimenting for me to get it to work very well. I keep it damp in the ceramic bowl when I'm not using it. I never rinse out the extra that forms when I load my brush. I use a dripping wet boar brush, in my case an Omega Pro, straight from the soak. I pour the excess water from my loading into my bowl and whip away. Looks like it came from a Barbisol can in a few minutes. Apply to a wet face. It's not my #1 soap, but it's currently in 2nd place and not far behind the Cella.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

Never saw the problem ... You just have to keep the puck wet.

I get bored with its non-scent after a while.


AA

SWMBO told me tonight that she loves the smell of the bathroom when I finish shaving. So I guess there is a lingering scent...I just can’t smell it.

 

[Mike M]

I use my MWF in a large rotation and I always got a thin, but slick lather. Between the lacklustre lather and drying the puck out for 24hrs it didn't get used much. Then I found a post on one of the forums that made me take another look.
I took it out of it's box and put it in an airtight plastic tub, next I fed it water a couple of times a day. The cracks disappeared, the puck swelled and in a few days it looked more like soap and was sticky to the touch.
The first use after that was great, the lather just exploded, it was thick and creamy, slick as hell and everything a good lather should be. It is now a regular in my rotation and all I have to do is remember to water it from time to time and it shows its appreciation

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I use my MWF in a large rotation and I always got a thin, but slick lather. Between the lacklustre lather and drying the puck out for 24hrs it didn't get used much. Then I found a post on one of the forums that made me take another look.
I took it out of it's box and put it in an airtight plastic tub, next I fed it water a couple of times a day. The cracks disappeared, the puck swelled and in a few days it looked more like soap and was sticky to the touch.
The first use after that was great, the lather just exploded, it was thick and creamy, slick as hell and everything a good lather should be. It is now a regular in my rotation and all I have to do is remember to water it from time to time and it shows its appreciation

^^^He gets it^^
As I’ve sped before, The Fat doesn’t like it when you ignore her. Pay attention to her and she will produce a fine lather and an ultra fine shave.

 

[Brutus]

MWF is a demanding (meaning fussy) soap and requires several conditions to perform at its best.
Among others, water hardness and regular use of the soap spring to mind.

Even under ideal conditions it does, however, not perform better than other soaps and creams that I use and I am not prepared to have a soap dictate to me how often I have to use it for the soap to produce optimum results.

Hence about a year ago MWF fell victim to one of my purges and I have not missed MWF once.


B.

 

[ChasingBadgers]

This is the first soap I ever got when I first got into wet shaving just a few months ago.

I didn't realize it was not the most beginner friendly, and had quite a lot of problems getting good lather.

I did find it to be nice and slick, even if I couldn't get a decent lather, and also found it to have one of the best post-shave feels I had ever had (unsurprising as most of my prior experience was with canned goop and a cartridge razor).

I quickly moved onto TOBS shaving cream, as this was way easier to lather, so I could focus on improving my shaving technique first and foremost.
Afterwards I tried Tabac classic shaving soap, and found that to be easy to lather, and again far slicker than the cream.

I keep thinking back on the MWF though, it must be the lanolin that gives it such a great feel.

Someone recommended me to soak the puck for a full week, so it fully expands in the dish.
It's been soaking for 4 days now, and is already looking quite promising.

I'm going to give it another try this Friday.
The extra hydration and the fact that I now have a bit more experience lathering soap should help me get a better shave out of this.

I'm curious to see how it goes