Thread: Major update on Mitchell's Wool Fat soap!

Jim, I have to agree with Obie. The first thing I noticed was how long the lather lasts. I've used Williams for years. In fact, I started shaving with it back in dinosaur days. And while I like it, its lather is rather short lived. In addition, the results on your face are worlds away from Williams. I have nothing against Williams -- I still have three boxes of pucks -- but I'm now completely sold on MWF. There's just no comparison. It's worth every penny! Frankly, I'd be hard pressed to go to anything else now.

Bruce

You know, when you get on the freeway each morning to go to work and you drive the ten miles or so and get off at the same exit each day and you do that for years and years and you wonder what's down that road if you only kept driving. That's the way it is when you start out with soaps. You begin like we all do with the basic brands and we think they are fine and do what we want and can't imagine something better and then one day we decide to take a ride and we discover new adventures and the same with soaps we discover wow what a difference.

Many just get comfortable with the basics and never realize what is out there and the difference they can make and like that long road they never explore what's out there. It's only when you experience more that you begin to realize.

As far as MWF goes like everyone says it's great stuff. is it the best? No, but it's darn good. I find it takes a bit more water and a few more swirls and it likes soft water too.

Originally Posted by skyguy

... how long the lather lasts. ... Williams...lather is rather short lived. In addition, the results on your face are worlds away from Williams.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

... I find it takes a bit more water and a few more swirls and it likes soft water too.

I have an explorer's heart. I hate GPS devices, and a map is only for dire emergencies. We'll find our way to where we need to go and discover new things along the way. Once I learn a route to someplace to where I know it without really thinking about it, I can't help but try alternates just to see what's there and what might be discovered along a new road.

That said, the rising costs of fuel have hampered my road wanderings, and similar restraints leave me looking over the map of choice routes instead of driving them when it comes to soaps, razors, stones, carburetors, tranny's, etc. The snippets you guys have given (see above) are the kind of info I'm looking for.

In my two-wheel cruising days I was always on the lookout for two-lane black top. I had a nimble bike that was a lot of fun. Some guys liked the straight highways for high speed cruising, others liked twisty switchback hills, others looked for scenery. A guy could tell you he found a great road; maybe the best stretch of highway he'd ever been on...but what did that mean?

It's one thing to say something is great, it's another thing to relate it to something your hearer (or reader in this case) is familiar with...especially since personal experience is such an influential factor in this case. AKA Reviews vs. Reactions

FWIW I have no doubt that MWF is great stuff. Obie doesn't have a hollywood face for nothing! I'm just curious about it's characteristics compared to other products.

Peace,

Originally Posted by BigJim

I have an explorer's heart. I hate GPS devices, and a map is only for dire emergencies. We'll find our way to where we need to go and discover new things along the way. Once I learn a route to someplace to where I know it without really thinking about it, I can't help but try alternates just to see what's there and what might be discovered along a new road.

That said, the rising costs of fuel have hampered my road wanderings, and similar restraints leave me looking over the map of choice routes instead of driving them when it comes to soaps, razors, stones, carburetors, tranny's, etc. The snippets you guys have given (see above) are the kind of info I'm looking for.

In my two-wheel cruising days I was always on the lookout for two-lane black top. I had a nimble bike that was a lot of fun. Some guys liked the straight highways for high speed cruising, others liked twisty switchback hills, others looked for scenery. A guy could tell you he found a great road; maybe the best stretch of highway he'd ever been on...but what did that mean?

It's one thing to say something is great, it's another thing to relate it to something your hearer (or reader in this case) is familiar with...especially since personal experience is such an influential factor in this case. AKA Reviews vs. Reactions

FWIW I have no doubt that MWF is great stuff. Obie doesn't have a hollywood face for nothing! I'm just curious about it's characteristics compared to other products.

Peace,

Very nicely put

Jim, I can't speak for the whole spectrum of shaving soaps on the market, but I believe some of the guys above have commented on some characteristics compared to others. For example, compared to Williams, MWF is thicker, more lubricating and longer lasting. At least that's my take on it. Check back on a few of the earlier comments and at least a couple of other soaps have been mentioned. Hope that helps.

Bruce

I know some guys in Hollywood with Hollywood faces. Lets see there's Frankenstein,the creature from the black lagoon, the hideous sun demon, Freddy Kruger-Har har.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I know some guys in Hollywood with Hollywood faces. Lets see there's Frankenstein,the creature from the black lagoon, the hideous sun demon, Freddy Kruger-Har har.

thebigspendur, my good man, such Hollywood faces. Ah, pish! The Perfect Hollywood face blossoms every morning in my shave den when I splash on a touch of Spanish Leather and belt out, "Oh, sole mio . . ."

Regards,

Obie

Originally Posted by BigJim

I have an explorer's heart. I hate GPS devices, and a map is only for dire emergencies. We'll find our way to where we need to go and discover new things along the way. Once I learn a route to someplace to where I know it without really thinking about it, I can't help but try alternates just to see what's there and what might be discovered along a new road.

That said, the rising costs of fuel have hampered my road wanderings, and similar restraints leave me looking over the map of choice routes instead of driving them when it comes to soaps, razors, stones, carburetors, tranny's, etc. The snippets you guys have given (see above) are the kind of info I'm looking for.

In my two-wheel cruising days I was always on the lookout for two-lane black top. I had a nimble bike that was a lot of fun. Some guys liked the straight highways for high speed cruising, others liked twisty switchback hills, others looked for scenery. A guy could tell you he found a great road; maybe the best stretch of highway he'd ever been on...but what did that mean?

It's one thing to say something is great, it's another thing to relate it to something your hearer (or reader in this case) is familiar with...especially since personal experience is such an influential factor in this case. AKA Reviews vs. Reactions

FWIW I have no doubt that MWF is great stuff. Obie doesn't have a hollywood face for nothing! I'm just curious about it's characteristics compared to other products.

Peace,

I see you got a nice pick-up that was restored in your avatar. Now when picking out the paint for that puppy,did you go with straight enamel ( Williams soap) or did you go with something a little better,like a 2 stage Basecoat/clearcoat (MWF) ?

Originally Posted by nessmuck

I see you got a nice pick-up that was restored in your avatar. Now when picking out the paint for that puppy,did you go with straight enamel ( Williams soap) or did you go with something a little better,like a 2 stage Basecoat/clearcoat (MWF) ?

Ha Ha! An interesting analogy and a fitting one at that. Truth be told, as a high schooler knowing that I'd be taking that truck to college some 700 miles away, and having spent most of my money repairing rust damage and overhauling critical systems (like the brakes), I selected a one-shot base/clear product from PPG. A base coat clear coat paint job is much prettier, but far more expensive to apply and maintain. Straight enamel was cheaper, but wouldn't look half as nice as the product I went with.
Now though...several years later, and nearly a hundred thousand miles later I'm wanting to repair some new rust spots and go with a rich base coat clear coat application. It will be more expensive, but since I'll be driving the truck at leisure (though pretty regularly) instead of relying on it as my only daily driver I believe I can afford the nicer paint job and it will last me.

Maybe the same applies with MWF? Maybe it's more of a date-night soap, leisure soap for those occasions I'm taking the wife and the old truck out? We'll see. $13 for a refill isn't too expensive in the grand scheme of things...one of the few things that is probably NOT out of my budget! But I'll probably wait until I've worked through some of my other pucks of soap, as I have several I've played around with. Being new to wet shaving (I only started as I joined SRP) there are a lot of things out there I'll eventually get to; all in good time!

Might put a bug in the wife's ear for Father's day though.

if you order a puck of MWF do yourself a favor and order a bar of the bath soap..