Major update on Mitchell's Wool Fat soap!

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Originally Posted by Obie

Bruce,

Yes, Mitchell's Wool Fat is a quality soap all around and we've kept company for a number of years. Some gentlemen complain about the soap's modest lather, but I've never had a problem making generous lather with this soap. Glide and cushion are high-end, too. And I love the soft fragrance. Good stuff Mitchell's Wool Fat.

Regards,

Obie

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You must have soft water! LOL ;)

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Originally Posted by skyguy

Recently I posted a thread giving my appreciation for Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap and got a lot feedback -- most very positive. But I've been noticing something lately and thought I'd pass it along to any newbies who might be looking at it. Since using wool fat shaving soap, I've noticed that I'm not getting many cuts to my face. And when I do, they don't bleed much at all . . . or am I just dreaming?

Well, I'm positive I'm not cutting myself as much and when I do, the bleeding stops more quickly than before. In fact, the very few nicks just don't last long at all and by the time I'm through shaving, the blood and the cuts have disappeared.

I started thinking about it and have come to a couple of conclusions --
1. The cushion effect is real and quite good, permitting a less damaging shave,
2. The soap’s lubrication is superior so it supports fewer cuts,
3. The lanolin in the soap tends to help coagulate the blood and repair the skin. As a matter of fact, sometimes I lather up for a minute after the shave before rinsing off. Heck! If it works, why not?

Now, I'm not a doctor and I've never played on TV, but I think there's a lot to these assumptions. The bottom line is that my face is benefitting from using this soap, and it's something you might like to know if you're considering buying some.

Before I go on, no, I’m not profiting from selling Mitchell’s Wool Fat shaving soap. I don’t know anything about that -- I’m just passing on what I’ve found, so pardon my enthusiasm. If you want to stick your toe in the water and not spend much money, contact Larry Andreassen at Whipped Dog Straight Razor Sales and order a four dollar, twenty-gram chunk. Be fair, however, and buy something else while you’re there – I can’t imagine Larry can come out with free shipping on a four dollar order!

Then if you like it, Google "Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap" and you'll find where you can buy a full puck. I bought mine for $13 and I think that's probably about the best price available, but some of you are very good at scrounging! So go have fun! (And let us know if you can get it for less.)

If you're thinking about Wool Fat shaving soap, give it a try and let us know if you receive the same benefits I’m describing. I love it!

Bruce

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Totally agreed. I have always noticed that if I get any weeper, it's totally healed up by the end of my shave. No other soap does this, only MWF!

This is not for. Nothing that MWF is my favorite soap, to my opinion it’s a must for any wet shaver around.

How is the smell? My wife is sensitive to strong smells and strongly dislikes most of my shave creams/soaps. I've been looking for an unscented soap or cream that gives good results and I think that, if the smell is faint and fades away quickly, I could use it.

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Originally Posted by slim6596

How is the smell? My wife is sensitive to strong smells and strongly dislikes most of my shave creams/soaps. I've been looking for an unscented soap or cream that gives good results and I think that, if the smell is faint and fades away quickly, I could use it.

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To me the smell is just plain soap and very mild too.

Bob

I would describe the smell as inoffensive, mild and kind of old fashioned.

It is not a perfumey smell. I lost my sense of smell with that zicam thing a few years ago. It has come back some but still not completely so I am not a great judge of scent. Even so I can smell strong scents. I just don't differentiate between them very well. Honestly Mitchell's doesn't smell like really anything to me.

Yeah, as others have said, MWF is kind of a light, powdery scent. In fact, as a fan of scented soaps, sometimes I'll put a drop or two each of, say patchouli and sweet orange EO's to jazz it up a bit before I lather up. I just got a new puck that will last me years with my large rotation of soaps-one of the all-time classics for sure, and a definite must try for any straight shaver. And an added bonus is the nice skin conditioning from the lanolin.

One pro tip for MWF I did with my last puck was to grate it with a cheese grater and smush it up into sort of a puck in my lather mug-leave a depression in the center. That and a spoonful or so of hot water on top before you get in the shower can make it easier to lather for those who have hard water. A stiff brush and maybe 45 seconds of vigorous scrubbing yields gobs of pillowy lather for me.

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Originally Posted by milant

This may be sacrilegious post here, but my MWF puck is in the fridge with the rest of the soaps I rarely use. It is replaced by Martin de Candre and Tabac on my bathroom top. Don't get me wrong, I think it smells better than either of the two I mentioned and indeed it can give me a very clean shave, but with extra hard west Texas water I just can't get it to produce decent lather. To say that what I get is modest lather is like saying that Ray Charles had minor vision issues. And I tried it all: cold water, loading the brush upside down, face lathering, palm lathering, hard brush, soft brush, nothing seems to work. At first I thought that I just lack expertise in lathering soaps, but with all other soaps I make enough lather to shave Santa Claus three times over and have enough left to start on Rudolph. So, unfortunately, me and my MWF are waiting for a move to a place with softer water.

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Milant, I buy a gallon of distilled water. I have an Old Spice cup into which I put a third of a cup of the distilled. I put that into the microwave on high for i minute then I put my brush of the day in the cup of hot distilled water while I strop. By doing that I sidestep any hard water problems.

What Tom said. Hard water isn’t holding you back. Just use bottled water. I lathered that stuff in New Mexico, it doesn’t get harder, even MDC needed the bottled water

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Originally Posted by slim6596

How is the smell? My wife is sensitive to strong smells and strongly dislikes most of my shave creams/soaps. I've been looking for an unscented soap or cream that gives good results and I think that, if the smell is faint and fades away quickly, I could use it.

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You might also try Stirlings Sheep. Unscented, very creamy slick lather made with mutton tallow and lanolin.

Good soap, but I am not a fan of the smell.

If you have not used it in a while, fill the tub in warm water and let soak over night, it will rehydrate the soap and produce nice lather. Regular daily use will keep it hydrated without the need for soaking.

What I've been using lately is plain old hardware store lye soap. Attachment 316743
Attachment 316744
Attachment 316745

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

What I've been using lately is plain old hardware store lye soap.

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For shaving?

Bob

Yes, for shaving. The main ingredient is lard which is basically the same as tallow. It just comes from a pig instead of a cow. Look at the ingredient list.

Don't knock it till you try it

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Originally Posted by Portsecurity

You might also try Stirlings Sheep. Unscented, very creamy slick lather made with mutton tallow and lanolin.

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You can get a sample from their website for $3.50. I just did and was very impressed.

MWF also makes the perfect base soap for super lathering with creams. You can use it with any cream and not have to worry about conflicting scents.

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Yes, for shaving. The main ingredient is lard which is basically the same as tallow. It just comes from a pig instead of a cow. Look at the ingredient list.

Don't knock it till you try it

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Not knocking it. Just wanted to be sure you were referring to it's use in shaving.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Not knocking it. Just wanted to be sure you were referring to it's use in shaving.

Bob

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Yeah, that sounded a little snippy I guess. Didn't mean it that way. You just might not think of it as being good for shaving but it is very smooth and silky. Another thing is it has no fragrance added which may be a draw for some.

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Yeah, that sounded a little snippy I guess. Didn't mean it that way. You just might not think of it as being good for shaving but it is very smooth and silky. Another thing is it has no fragrance added which may be a draw for some.

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I have tried Ivory soap and several local artisan soap makers versions of shaving soap and so far all have been good for snit. Generally bath and hand soaps do not make great shaving soaps. Shaving soaps are made differently for a different purpose, shaving. I have not seen any lye soaps for sale locally but if I do I just might give it a go.

Bob

Yeah I'm not a soap expert but if I understand it correctly shaving soaps have much more fat. People don't like that much fat in a hand or body soap because it feel like you can't wash it all off. My brother made some lye soap when we were kids from instructions from the Foxfire Book or one of the Foxfire Books, I don't remember which one.

So did granny..

Attachment 316766

I guess this wasn't very visible in the other pictures.Attachment 316767

Had to run out to get a gallon of milk, so I swung into Ace hardware and grabbed a bar. I'll let y'all know my thoughts on it in a few days.

Attachment 316768

Yeah, Ace is right down the street from me.

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Yeah I'm not a soap expert but if I understand it correctly shaving soaps have much more fat. People don't like that much fat in a hand or body soap because it feel like you can't wash it all off. My brother made some lye soap when we were kids from instructions from the Foxfire Book or one of the Foxfire Books, I don't remember which one.

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MWF actually makes bath and hand soap bars. Can't say what the difference is though.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

MWF actually makes bath and hand soap bars. Can't say what the difference is though.

Bob

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My wife loves MWF bath soap.

You cannot shave with it.

I love MWF. I can't decide whether to shave with it or smoke it. My puck broke into pieces so it's like playing keep away in the cup. I haven't ordered another yet and just picked up the lye soap because I've been pondering it for a while. I know I have read high fat content is what you want in shave soap and l also know a good lye soap is very high. So far I think this is pretty good. I'm interested to hear what you think Mike.
Edit: I think I am satisfied enough with it that I would keep using it just because it doesn't haven't any fragrance added. I'm one of those guys who doesn't want to go around smelling like a french bordollo

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

I love MWF. I can't decide whether to shave with it or smoke it. My puck broke into pieces so it's like playing keep away in the cup. I haven't ordered another yet and just picked up the lye soap because I've been pondering it for a while. I know I have read high fat content is what you want in shave soap and l also know a good lye soap is very high. So far I think this is pretty good. I'm interested to hear what you think Mike.
Edit: I think I am satisfied enough with it that I would keep using it just because it doesn't haven't any fragrance added. I'm one of those guys who doesn't want to go around smelling like a french bordollo

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You could always grate the pieces of your MWF puck into a cup, add a bit of water and press it into a new puck for use.

Bob

That's true I could. Good idea Bob.

So, I have been playing around with MWF for a while. Some complain that it doesn't lather well. I never had a problem getting it to lather up but I do concede that to get a fluffy pillow of lather that lasts and stays fluffy throughout the shave you can't just dip a damp brush into a mug with a dry puck and whip it up like you can with some soaps. I found there are a couple of tricks to make as good a lather with it as I have been able to get with any soap including the high end ones, one that is creamy, slick and lasts a long time leaving the skin smooth and not dried out. The second part just takes a time or two of doing it to create but after that it gets better and better.

First, I added hot water from the kettle after making tea (you can also heat it in a cup in the microwave but it should be at or near boiling) to the mug, enough to cover the whole puck. Then let it sit while showering. You could also do this while stropping if you're not one who showers first. About that length of time is how long it should soak. Because it is a small amount of water it will cool over this period so I put the mug into the sink full of rinse water to keep it warm.

After showering I pour the water into a small bowl I made in a pottery class my daughter and I took. Any cup is fine though. I'll go into why the second cup in a minute. I dip my brush in this water and brush it on my face as a base, ring out the excess into the water cup and then pre lather the brush from the puck, then face lather. The soap is warm to hot like it is from a scuttle and the soaking must release the lanolin from the soap because it is so creamy it is almost like a different soap from what a dry puck produces.

The reason I pour it into a second mug is this. I noticed when I poured out the water into an empty sink that it left a residue from the fats and lanolin. I thought why waste this? So I decided to pour it in a second cup, saving it for next shave and heat it in the miscrowave instead of using fresh water every time wasting all that came out of the puck. As time goes on ṭhe water gets more and more saturated with the fats and lanolin until it becomes almost a paste when it gets to room temperature. You can see here the divot in the middle from my finger.
Attachment 355688

When it has been heated it becomes a liquid again.
Attachment 355689

You might not be able to tell from the pictures but in the first one it is almost a puck itself and in the second it is completely liquid.

This not only improves the lather and therefore the shave but it also conserves the soap. I also ring out my brush on the edge of the mug before I rinse and let the lather sit there. Once the mug has the soak solution back in it I work the residue back in. I also sometimes do what someone earlier in the thread mentioned and use this soak solution as a post shave face wash.

Try this trick sometime and I think you'll find it significantly improves the quality of the lather.

I've always found the key to success with MWF is using Soft or distilled water. It lathers up fast and great. The harder your water the more trouble it gives you but in the scheme of things it's still a very good soap.

I guess I forgot to say that the water I use is from the water filter/softener.

No problems with face lathering MWF here but our water is soft from the tap. I will bloom it overnight anyway as it will not hurt any. If your water is hard, you can try adding a bit of vinegar to your shaving water. IIRC that has been mentioned before but is worth a try.

Bob

I use softener water anyway but that method I gave improves on that even.