I'm one of those who has never been impressed with MWF, but after reading this thread I dug out a small shave stick that I had made from it quite a while ago. Using it as a stick, or rubbing the puck directly on my face, was the only way I was able to consistently produce a quality lather. So after rescuing the stick from the back of the cabinet I applied it to my face and proceeded to lather it up with my Stirling Kong brush. Whatever scent it had has now disappeared, but it did produce a nice, thick and protective lather. The shave quality was excellent as is the post shave feel. From a performance perspective, used as a shave stick, I have to admit that it is right up there with the best soaps I've tried.
What is it with Mitchell's Wool Fat?
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I recently picked up some MWF in addition to a few other classics like Tabac, La Toja stick, and Palmolive stick. For me, they're all great. I had some initial hiccups getting a good, stable lather out of MWF as opposed to disappearing bubbly froth. But armed with a consensus of tips from a bunch of "How To" MWF threads, I arrived at a lathering method that works very well. As much as I like all these soaps, I am often drawn back to MWF. The consistency of the lather, the delicate clean scent, and the skin conditioning are all excellent.
I decided to try MWF a while back, though being a novice and living in a very hard water area my expectations were quite low...
And completely wrong! Lathers brilliantly every time regaedless of brush and is great to use. Scent is mild but lovely - just smells of clean! It's also sufficiently unobtrusive to not interfere with any other smelly stuff you splash on later
Was a bit worried about the lanolin as I have a touch of rosacea but if anything it's actually improved it and post shave feel is second to none
It's now the most used of all the soaps and creams I have
And completely wrong! Lathers brilliantly every time regaedless of brush and is great to use. Scent is mild but lovely - just smells of clean! It's also sufficiently unobtrusive to not interfere with any other smelly stuff you splash on later
Was a bit worried about the lanolin as I have a touch of rosacea but if anything it's actually improved it and post shave feel is second to none
It's now the most used of all the soaps and creams I have
I've never tried WMF shaving soap, but I tried the body soap in the shower. Performance was OK, maybe better than OK. But the smell was strong and unpleasant, like a grilled lamb chop. Fine for dinner but not in the shower. Some of you have described the scent of the shaving soap as clean, etc. Did I get a soap from a bad batch, or does the shaving soap smell different from the body soap? Or do we just all smell things differently?
Well I've been using and getting some good not great lather like you guys from my Proraso, I need more practice. I will be ordering a small puck of MWF and I hope it works out, the whole lanolin for the skin thing sounds great.
I have come to think the trick with all soaps is to bloom for a minute, start with a damp brush. Add water a bit as a time, as needed. But I also know soft water makes any soap lather better. Some fellas put a little soft water in a cup, heat it in the microwave....
Well I've used my FAT twice and it couldn't be easier.
It produces the best shaves and the most comfortable post-shave experience of any soap I've tried. Haslingers & Tabac are great soaps, but do not compare to MWF in my estimation.
Doesn’t seem to quite get to the same yogurt like thickness as say Tabac, but certainly a lot better than many others. And it leaves my face over moisturized and too tender (though without additional moisturizer I can get a little irritation). It’s residual slickness can’t be beat though. For me, a little corn starch based powder following my usual post shave routine (cold water, witch hazel, moisturizer), and it works as well as any soap out there.
Can't use it, I learned that my skin doesn't like lanolin.
MWF is pretty much all I ask for in a shaving soap: it lathers easily; excellent glide and cushion; great post-shave feel. And I just love that fresh, uncomplicated, soapy smell - nothing too fancy, which is just how I want it.
I posted a couple of times in this thread 6 -9 months or so ago when I first got some MWF & test lathered it, but hadn't used it yet. I get (and still get) great lathers from it and really like the post-shave feel. I've actually used it for 3.5 months now & really like it when using my DE (best post-shave feel & good slickness).
But when using my SR (which is nowhere near as fast), I've found the lather dissipates enough such that I have to re-lather my neck on each pass. I've tried making the lather thick, thin, & everywhere in between & it didn't seem to make much difference. If it's thick & starts to dry out, the SR sticks. If it's thin & starts to dissipate/ dry out, it seems like there's not enough product there to provide the slickness. It works very well for my DE & I would be happy using it as my only soap for those shaves. But I haven't been able to "crack the code"/ develop my SR skills good enough to get real good results using the MWF with an SR.
I recently started using Haslinger for my SR shaves & haven't had the "lather dissipation" issue nearly to the extent I experience with the MWF. And the post-shave, while not as good as the MWF (IMHO), is still really good. My SR shaves are still not as good as I'd like them too be (nowhere near as good as I can get with a DE). But it has seemed like I'm fighting the lather issue less when using the Haslinger.
Most people rave about the soap that they use the most. When it comes down to it, the soap that you have the most practice with, and have dialed in to exactly how to use in your water conditions will perform the best - even if it isn't empirically the best soap you have used.
Technique makes a HUGE difference!
Technique makes a HUGE difference!
Recent MWF purchaser. I have to say wow! I didn’t have issues face lathering even with extremely hard water (reddish-orange iron oxide rings at water level of toilets needing weekly heavy scrubbing as proof). Now I must say with all hard soaps I load a ton, minute of loading with a boar.
I am inclined to believe that even without a YouTube worthy lather, this soap would work. It’s so slick. Even after a pass, you feel a phantom lather.
To me it comes down to its post-shave feel. With MWF I can use alum and follow up with an alcohol splash with zero moisturizing ingredient, i.e. Clubman, and my face feels like I used a balm.
I am inclined to believe that even without a YouTube worthy lather, this soap would work. It’s so slick. Even after a pass, you feel a phantom lather.
To me it comes down to its post-shave feel. With MWF I can use alum and follow up with an alcohol splash with zero moisturizing ingredient, i.e. Clubman, and my face feels like I used a balm.
Works well, and easily, for me with boar and synthetic brushes. I have a tougher time lathering with badger, though after more than the usual effort it ultimately gets to that yoghurt like consistency.
I can get a good lather and nice shave with it. Ive got two pucks so be using it for while. However.... TOBS sandlelwood cream creates mountains of dense foam that gets the closest of my shaves. Of course a tub lasts about only 5% as long as one of those pucks ☺
On Saturdays I always use a synthetic, mostly because it’s in my alma mater’s colors. I did today and used MWF and it worked out great. So like you, it works for me for both boar and synthetic.
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Creams for sure foam up more easily than soaps. I really have been placing less value on foaminess, especially with soap. With creams I like the feel of a dense lather. On soaps I typically get fully covered in what would be a dryer, pastier lather, then add water with intent to get uniform, viscous, and slick coverage. The thickness of the foam to me is an afterthought. It happens to be that MWF, for me, gets pretty foamy. Other soaps I use dont and apparently to no detriment. The engineer in me can’t get his head around the concept of cushion. You either have a layer between face and blade or not. I would think viscosity and lubrication are the attributes providing protection.
For me slick is all that counts. Could care less about piles of lather, in fact I get better shaves when the lather actually drips off the razor while I'm shaving with Williams.
My current soap is lard and stearic acid based and it shaves perfectly. I can buff away endlessly after a pass without adding any lather, it's exceptionally slick with great residual slickness.
As far as I'm concerned, "cushion" is in how you handle the razor and has nothing to do with soap. So long as that edge is sliding on my skin and not scraping, I'm good.
My current soap is lard and stearic acid based and it shaves perfectly. I can buff away endlessly after a pass without adding any lather, it's exceptionally slick with great residual slickness.
As far as I'm concerned, "cushion" is in how you handle the razor and has nothing to do with soap. So long as that edge is sliding on my skin and not scraping, I'm good.
Totally agree and although the dense foam adds a little luxury i find that i get my absolute closest shaves with the TOBS .. To your point, the foam may have nothing to do with the quality of the shave but it sure adds a nice touch to the experience. ☺
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