MWF conclusion

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I used this soap for the first time recently and couldn't manage a decent lather...well actually I could get plenty of lather but it was airy, bubbly and not very thick so disappeared off my face in about 15 seconds.
Too much water I thought so I've been like a man possessed trying to get the right combination over the past few days.
Best badger brush, boar brush, pure badger, bloom the puck, don't bloom the puck, squeeze excess water from the brush, let it drip out, keep brush wet, use a scuttle, use a bowl, don't use a bowl and try it from the puck to face lather....still, no luck.

So as an honest man I've came to the decision that MWF is a great soap that serves a great purpose. Its been sent to the shower where it belongs to live out the rest of its days :ROFLMAO:

MWF 1-0 Dcshaves
 
I could get a decent lather, but you've done the right thing and use it now as bath soap. I think tallow in soaps do t give me a good shave, but others do prefer it.
 
Binned mine. Couldn't make it work. Had a sample of Kent soap which is MWF repackaged and it worked no problem. Think there's bad batches of the fat going around. Not consistent enough for me to buy another.
 
... while on your conclusion @Dcshaves MWF also make dedicated bath soap, which is lovely.

In the past, I've been sent "bad batch" pucks and pucks from folks who simply can't lather 'em. No issues. I am VERY curious to get a puck of this bad batch that seems to be foiling folks who CAN lather everything up 'til now. Still only a VERY small handful of reports and tainted with all the usual "I can't lather it" folks who are not talking about this potential specific batch.

I have used more MWF than any other soap and never encountered problems. Not with old, new, dried out, fully soaked (not that you need to), soft water, hard water, cold water, hot water, dry skin, summer, winter, whatever. In another thread, we were talking about our first traditional purchases and it occurred to me that MWF was indeed probably my first purchase, certainly my first shaving soap ... maybe that's the key?

If it's specifially a lanolin soap that folks are after, check out LEA. I use their latest formula sticks (grated) and it's just lovely. Not quite MWF, but good enough. I gather the Classic is a good buy, too. I'll get a puck in some time, no doubt.
 
... while on your conclusion @Dcshaves MWF also make dedicated bath soap, which is lovely.

In the past, I've been sent "bad batch" pucks and pucks from folks who simply can't lather 'em. No issues. I am VERY curious to get a puck of this bad batch that seems to be foiling folks who CAN lather everything up 'til now. Still only a VERY small handful of reports and tainted with all the usual "I can't lather it" folks who are not talking about this potential specific batch.

I have used more MWF than any other soap and never encountered problems. Not with old, new, dried out, fully soaked (not that you need to), soft water, hard water, cold water, hot water, dry skin, summer, winter, whatever. In another thread, we were talking about our first traditional purchases and it occurred to me that MWF was indeed probably my first purchase, certainly my first shaving soap ... maybe that's the key?

If it's specifially a lanolin soap that folks are after, check out LEA. I use their latest formula sticks (grated) and it's just lovely. Not quite MWF, but good enough. I gather the Classic is a good buy, too. I'll get a puck in some time, no doubt.

I do have a tube of Lea cream and have done a test lather with it. Does seem to lather up incredibly well so looking forward to using that, albeit its not a puck of hard soap.

Lathering up the MWF was fine as in I got plenty of lather quantity wise. It was the quality of the lather that didn't suit me. I prefer a dense lather but could only seem to get an airy/bubbly one with the fat. It would be way too dry so id add a tiny drip of water and try again..still too dry to id work it up...then add one more drip of water and it goes from too dry to too wet and bubbly in an instant.

Basically I need someone to invent a tap that dispenses exactly a half drip of water :ROFLMAO:
 
I face lather, but yes ... it can be a knife-edge until you've got a few under your belt. With a wet face and water in the whiskers, that's usually enough to get things started off well. It'll still be dry and a quick dip of the brush tips into water and onto the face, pulling in all the dry lather gets me there just right.

When I was into car detailing (another hobby that has literally a billion products, all doing exactly the same thing and clans of folks who bind around specific brands or methods) there was a chap whose strapline on forums was: "find something you like and use it often".

By trying out all these products and materials, we're on that journey ...

Creams, soaps, razors, single edge, double edge, straight edge, blades, aftershaves, balms, pre-shave, post-shave, it's all about narrowing down what we really like, so let's not lose sight of why we're doing that - to find something we like that we'd like to use often. We have many threads about "if you could start again" or "the bomb has dropped, grab your kit" or "you've woken up on a desert island with a shaving shop - what will you buy" and that helps us distill in our minds exactly what our to-go kit is. Understand that and enjoy your shaves. Equally, new stuff comes along and you have a great baseline to start from - is this (new thing) better or worse than my favourite (whatever).

I wonder if the reason that folks keep on trying (often in vain) with MWF is because it is almost unique amongst shaving soaps - it contains lanolin and for those that enjoy the soap, that seems to be what they like most. Perhaps if more soaps had this magical adjunct, we'd not get quite so tribal about it. I'm going to start a thread on that, as I'm curious and tend to stick to what I like when it comes to soap ...
 
I face lather, but yes ... it can be a knife-edge until you've got a few under your belt. With a wet face and water in the whiskers, that's usually enough to get things started off well. It'll still be dry and a quick dip of the brush tips into water and onto the face, pulling in all the dry lather gets me there just right.

When I was into car detailing (another hobby that has literally a billion products, all doing exactly the same thing and clans of folks who bind around specific brands or methods) there was a chap whose strapline on forums was: "find something you like and use it often".

By trying out all these products and materials, we're on that journey ...

Creams, soaps, razors, single edge, double edge, straight edge, blades, aftershaves, balms, pre-shave, post-shave, it's all about narrowing down what we really like, so let's not lose sight of why we're doing that - to find something we like that we'd like to use often. We have many threads about "if you could start again" or "the bomb has dropped, grab your kit" or "you've woken up on a desert island with a shaving shop - what will you buy" and that helps us distill in our minds exactly what our to-go kit is. Understand that and enjoy your shaves. Equally, new stuff comes along and you have a great baseline to start from - is this (new thing) better or worse than my favourite (whatever).

I wonder if the reason that folks keep on trying (often in vain) with MWF is because it is almost unique amongst shaving soaps - it contains lanolin and for those that enjoy the soap, that seems to be what they like most. Perhaps if more soaps had this magical adjunct, we'd not get quite so tribal about it. I'm going to start a thread on that, as I'm curious and tend to stick to what I like when it comes to soap ...
Words of wisdom and very well put. I couldn't start wet shaving and not try MWF through so I'm glad I did. It seems to have an almost cult like status among wet shavers.

It just didn't happen for me with it but as you say. We're all on a journey and for me no journey is complete without a few bumps in the road so onwards we go :)
 
Thursday evening and then this morning. I might give it a try tonight. I'm afraid if I leave it any longer it'll start consuming the bowl :oops: ...and it probably still won't work so I'll be a bowl down for no reason :ROFLMAO:

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I still chuckle :ROFLMAO:

Your conclusion was sound. It's not for you. You can't open a fresh box, lather up and get shaved. All of this witchcraft is just silly! Still, the process is fun, talking about it is fun, carry on. I suppose it gives bloggers something to talk about.

I do have one soap that I couldn't get a good lather from and that was Trumper's hard soap. It was worth persisting with as I loved the scent (Eucris). In the end, I found that using is like a shaving stick worked out well. Wash your face and prep as normal, leaving some water on your face, then rub the soap directly on your face and build up from there. So, rather than loading the brush, you load your face and use the unloaded brush to build the lather.

Maybe it's your brush that's the problem? MWF is so yummy that it tries to hold onto it ...

A few years back, we discussed water hardness and while I live in a soft water area (literally a couple of miles from Mitchell's themselves) it's not the softest, but I did get a bottle of the hardest water we could find from our midst. To my suprise, MWF worked better (yes, better) with hard water. And, that was with a new puck straight out of the box!

I often wonder if it's a face vs bowl latherer thing, or maybe a generational thing, or maybe a geographical thing but none of that seems to map out. I can't even put it down to an experience thing, as MWF was the very first shaving soap I tried. Just like this fellow: https://www.refinedshave.com/mitchells-wool-fat-shaving-soap/ with his first go, actually his first soap, straight out of the box with hard water. It's not me, by the way < this chap is Canadian; I'm from the real Halifax.

I think it's a Sociological conundrum rather than scientific ...

Still, if this amusing ritual doesn't work out then just let it dry out and use it as bath soap.

... or send it to me and I'll add it to the pile.
 
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