MWF Question

[T_M]

Hey folks - I've got an MWF question for anybody that's familiar with the nuances of this soap. I just received my first puck in the mail last week and I've had about 4 shaves with it. This is not my first tallow soap - I also use AOS and Speick regularly.

At first I wondered what the big deal with MWF was - I started out with a fairly dry brush (squeezed and shaken) with plenty of product and slowly added water. After perhaps just a bit more work than with my other soaps I got bunches of heavy, thick lather in my bowl that seemed very good.

The shaves have only been "ok" though. Yesterday I switched back to my AOS soap for comparison - the feel and the slickness of the lather were so much better than what I was getting with MWF.

Given how much most people here seem to enjoy MWF, I'm wondering now if I was mixing the lather correctly or not. In the group's opinion is MWF a soap that needs less water than "usual" (so hold back and use a drier lather for better results) or should I go with more water than usual to really bring out the magical slickness and moisturizing properties that the Fat is supposed to contain?

Just a note - I'm on city water here that doesn't seem to have caused problems with other soaps. Also, as one of the "how-to" threads on MWF mentioned I've tried to use luke-warm water rather than hot when making the lather.

So what do y'all think? Any help from the MWF faithful would be appreciated.


--------T_M

 

[du212]

I have recorded 2 videos, in spanish, for better show my way to get lather from MWF

With Badger
[YOUTUBE]t2SHXSipwOE[/YOUTUBE]

With Boar brush
[YOUTUBE]o9hX9-oIWIg[/YOUTUBE]

And I wrote a tutorial

MWF/Kent soap How to

 

[Gaston]

Jose,

I watched the boar brush video (because that's what I use), and that was some fantastic lather you created! I much enjoyed the background music, as well!

I have been starting with a fairly wet brush - soak, then a very tender "city boy, his first time milking a cow" squeeze - but even though that works, it looks as if you get a far richer lather than I've been creating. I'll give your method a try next time.

On the other hand, when I'm wearing a full beard and I'm just shaving the upper cheeks and neck, I don't bother to work up a full brushload of rich lather as most of it goes down the drain when I'm done and a thick lather obscures the edges of my beard. I really like rich soaps like MWF for that purpose, as I get the lubricity that's most important to me with a thin watery lather, and a lather like that (which most people would spurn as weak) is perfect for defining the edges of my beard without accidentally redefining them.

Well done, both the lather and the video.

 

[Luc]

There's also the MWF/Williams - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - A guide to better lather!

 

[bladeruner]

There's also the MWF/Williams - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - A guide to better lather!

+1 I have been using MWF this whole month of June and for me leaving leaving more water in my brush gives me much better results. If you want you can check out the "Month Long Soap" thread in this forum. Oh and I didn't mention I face lather it exclusively. It can be a bit finicky but for me it is very slick when done right.

 

[rosborne]

I think we may have missed a bit of what you've asked with the how to references....keep in mind that all soaps are different in hoe they lather. I haven't use AOS but I have used lots of soaps. It took me more than 4 tries to get MWF down to where I could get it right every time. Actually, the first time I got it right I was ticked off trying and did it by accident and it was THE BEST! Don't give up on it or you'll miss out. I can't compare it to AOS but I can tell you out of 30+ soaps for me, it's in my top five.

Something I found was, I have better luck face lathering with MWF. You should find a wet, cushy, slick lather in that puck. It is there, I promise.

 

[itsjreal]

I keep trying to get the right lather from MWF, but I have yet to succeed. Sometimes it looks great, but it never seems slick enough, and it dries quickly on my face. It would seem that the solution is more water, but that doesn't seem to be making much of a difference. I've debated the possibility that it's just not right for my skin, but it doesn't burn or irritate my face. I refuse to give up!

 

[T_M]

Thanks for the input guys! So far, it seems then the consensus is that it's important to leave some water in the brush (so my typical full squeeze and shake is bad for MWF) and add little to none during the mixing process. I'll give that a shot. Also, it looks like you used a mess of product at the start of that video - I'll give that a shot too.

Also - just to be clear, I wasn't saying the lather that I've had so far with the MWF has been bad. What I've achieved is very thick, very cushiony and slick enough to give a pretty good shave. Given how highly the soap is spoken of here though, I was feeling that my lather was not quite living up to the reputation. And as AOS is also one of the highly regarded soaps on B&B it just may be that the AOS is slicker.

Obviously I'll keep experimenting - what I was looking for was something like the "expert" tip on MWF to take my lather the last little way from "good" to "awesome".

Thanks again - and if anybody has some more tips - keep them coming!


-------T_M

 

[Luc]

Try to make a few bowls of lather during the afternoon or in between shave, not when you need it.

 

[jwcarlson]

I squeeze my brush and shake once. During the loading I generally add a drop or two of water as I go... I don't want to start making bubbles just give the brush a little lubrication on the puck. Don't be afraid to load up the soap. Too much is a lot easier to use than too little.

I put a few drops of water in the bowl I'm lathering in (separate from the puck) then start working the brush. It starts out with some big bubbles and starts settling down after 30 seconds or so. Then you have to start beating it like it a rented mule who disrespects your mother and owes you money.

If the lather is still "peaky" in the bottom of the bowl I add a drop or two of water until it lays a little more flat. I like it maybe a little on the dry side but it's still plenty slick for me. Though lately I have been getting better shaves with Irisch Moos when I use it but I think that's because my prep has been better before I happened to grab the IM.

But basically when in doubt smack the crap out of it!

 

[T_M]

Try to make a few bowls of lather during the afternoon or in between shave, not when you need it.

Luc - Actually, I went and did that right after I read the responses and finished my post. Which leads directly into...

But basically when in doubt smack the crap out of it!

Jacob - isn't that really just good advice at any time? Honestly though, that ties straight into what I found when I did a practice lather last night. I started with more water than my usual "in" the brush and then way too much product (but that's ok) and then proceeded to beat the snot out of it. For whatever reason it seems to me that unlike some other soaps that would end up with too much air in the mix if you beat them that long, MWF seems to be awfully....masochistic? The more you whip, it seems, the better it gets. It actually seems to thicken and become more dense as opposed to being more airy as time goes on. Also, the use of more product might have made it a bit slicker. I didn't really notice the slight shade of difference last time until I actually put the razor to my face though. Today I wanted AOS Sandalwood but tomorrow I'll give the MWF another go.

So thanks man - "whip it like a rented mule" was just the kind of reinforcement I was looking for. I won't hold back now


-------T_M

 

[cymric]

I find the idea of abusing a brush to the extent shown in these videos ridiculous. It just shortens their lifespan, not to mention that it is a very tiring business for no good reason (as their are other soaps which lather perfectly fine with a lot less effort).

Also, even abusing my cheap boar brush like shown did not help in creating a solid meringue: the lather remained airy and fluffy, despite feeling soapy as hell. My tip for getting a shaveworthy product out of MWF: superlather it with a tiny amount of cream. I do not add the cream to get more soap into the mixing bowl; I add cream to change the properties of the lather. Then I get a lovely thick creamy product.

 

[jwcarlson]

I find the idea of abusing a brush to the extent shown in these videos ridiculous. It just shortens their lifespan, not to mention that it is a very tiring business for no good reason (as their are other soaps which lather perfectly fine with a lot less effort).

Also, even abusing my cheap boar brush like shown did not help in creating a solid meringue: the lather remained airy and fluffy, despite feeling soapy as hell. My tip for getting a shaveworthy product out of MWF: superlather it with a tiny amount of cream. I do not add the cream to get more soap into the mixing bowl; I add cream to change the properties of the lather. Then I get a lovely thick creamy product.

I think if you've spent enough money on a brush that you don't want to use it then you spent too much money on it!

I'm kidding of course, some of the works of art you guys shave with don't deserve to be pummelled. But my Tweezerman brush doesn't seem to mind getting smashed into the dry puck of soap with hardly any water in it and swirled around for a minute or so. That's what I bought it for!

And it's true. The lather does get better (or at least different) when you smack the smile off it's face. I generally get it to acceptable status by working the brush gently and then a quick burst of speed for 20-30 seconds really seems to get the job done. Something about MWF, as T_M posted, is masocistic.

 

[JPDyson]

You really ought to give face-lathering a try with MWF. I'm fairly certain that this is the manufacturer's recommendation, and I can produce excellent lather pretty quickly this way. Not as fast nor as abundant as Tabac, but very good slip and cushion pretty quickly.

I sorta chuckle when I watch a dude load his brush for a solid minute to make lather out of MWF. It doesn't take that much work - don't believe me? Watch Joel's straight razor shaving video. He loads for like 5 seconds, and has rich lather on the beard right away, with plenty to spare. Videographic proof - MWF can be rather easy.

 

[T_M]

JP - I've seen Joel's straight razor video and I agree that's what he does, and it looks like it worked out fine for him. I have gotten good lather results from face lathering with various soaps and creams, and I enjoy the feel of a good face lather. The only problem is that I also use a pre-shave oil and I find that face lathering seems to cancel out the PSO benefits for me. For a while though I've been thinking about a face lather --> hot towel --> pre-shave oil --> re-lather sequence because I do like the scrubbing and beard softening effect of face lathering.

Regardless, I will be backing off on how much I load up the brush. On that last test lather, I did duplicate what the fellow in the Spanish video did (that was his advice, so I give it a fair try) and I ended up with an insane amount of lather in my bowl. Probably enough for eight passes. Next time I'll go with less soap but the same amount of whipping in the bowl and we'll see what happens.


--------T_M

 

[Luc]

Looking forward on your thoughts on how it went!

 

[Will P.C.]

I agree with the face lathering. The folks over at MWF will rec. that too.

If you send an email to them telling them you are having problems, they will send you a bunch of tips on how to lather it.

 

[cymric]

It doesn't take that much work - don't believe me? Watch Joel's straight razor shaving video. He loads for like 5 seconds, and has rich lather on the beard right away, with plenty to spare. Videographic proof - MWF can be rather easy.

He loads for about 15 to 20 seconds if my timing was accurate; and I have a hard time calling the stuff he puts on his face lather, much less rich lather. The stuff is basically soapy water given how generous he is with the tap and how light his touch on the soap. Joel probably makes his soaps last for well over a year, if not two. Given the thinness of the coat he could in my opinion just as easily shave with a bit of oil—but with a straight it's probably nice to have some visual feedback where's you've been.

The internet has not yet evolved to the point where we can give tactile feedback, otherwise I'd cobble together a lather to show what I believe is a 'rich lather' .

 

[DFrancis]

The internet has not yet evolved to the point where we can give tactile feedback.

You should suggest that to Microsoft then you can be in one of their commercials. "I'm a PC and tactile feedback was my idea" It will take off too seeing as the porn industry would be all over it

 

[jwcarlson]

He loads for about 15 to 20 seconds if my timing was accurate; and I have a hard time calling the stuff he puts on his face lather, much less rich lather. The stuff is basically soapy water given how generous he is with the tap and how light his touch on the soap. Joel probably makes his soaps last for well over a year, if not two. Given the thinness of the coat he could in my opinion just as easily shave with a bit of oil—but with a straight it's probably nice to have some visual feedback where's you've been.

The internet has not yet evolved to the point where we can give tactile feedback, otherwise I'd cobble together a lather to show what I believe is a 'rich lather' .

I've seen it as well and I agree. While I'm not going to tell anyone their lather doesn't work... a lot of the lather I see on here is not what I'm aiming for. Mine tends to look similar to whipped cream with very few bubbles as big as the head of a pin.

But it obviously works different ways with different people!