Thread: Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap - first time user

Originally Posted by Pete123

I certainly won't knock Mitchell's as so many people love it. Having said that, it was too much work for me relative to other soaps.

Tabac is awesome from a performance perspective.Not crazy about the scent, though it was much weaker in my last purchase.

I have the same feelings towards MWF and if I want lanolin I'll get some more Haslingers Scharf's Milch .

To the OP, I wouldn't start getting a lot of high priced soaps and cream right off the bat. To me the big price differences doesn't necessarily add up to a hugely improved lather and shave. I get just as good a shave from Arko or MdC and quite a few others in between. Unless your lathering and shaving technique is up to snuff along with your razor being shave ready you can't buy a better shave using more expensive gear.

Bob

Originally Posted by Pete123

I certainly won't knock Mitchell's as so many people love it. Having said that, it was too much work for me relative to other soaps.

Tabac is awesome from a performance perspective.Not crazy about the scent, though it was much weaker in my last purchase.

Ahhh. It's all relative and my tastes will probably change again in time anyways so tell it how you want. It won't hurt my feelings. It's your shave, do it how you want to. (I stole that) I adore MWF as do a lot of others but there are those that don't.

+1 to Bob on the same soap no matter the price. For me MWF is the only one head and shoulders above the others. I have Palmolive sticks, arko, Williams (gasp), cella, among many others. They are all wonderful in their own right. I will have to look up this other lanolin soap you are talking about.

I couldn't agree more. It would be a waste of time and money if one was trying to get a better shave by buying more expensive soaps and such. I just bought them, the rest of which arrived today, to find out why people were spending so much money on them. And so far as I can see MWF performs, for me, much better than Arko and has a better scent. Don't get me wrong, I have 10 sticks of Arko which I fully intend to use, if I ever get back to them. I opened the Tabac, D. R. Harris Arlington and Razorock XXX a little while ago and really love the smells of all of them. Can't wait to see how they perform compared to MWF.

Ok, so, the Tabac.... I like the powerful scent. Lather was VERY WHITE and thick like paint, wall mud actually but not as heavy. Seriously, that's the first thing that came to my mind while I was slathering it across my face. Overall it was a very pleasurable experience, but as of right now, MWF is still way out in front.

I'm glad you are happy with MWF. It is good soap.

These threads on soap are always fun. Everyone has an opinion.

What makes a soap a good performer for you may not play out with someone else. The variables in making a good lather are not complicated but do change depending on:

Your water quality as to hardness, chemicals, etc.
Your technique and expertise
The water temperature
Face or bowl lathering
How much water you want in the lather. This is one of the biggies for soap performance. Some use very little water and like a rather dry lather. Others like a really slick lather and pour the water into the lather. You have to experiment to see what fits your needs the best.

If you find yourself having real trouble getting a good lather with a soap you have successfully used before, there is nothing wrong with rinsing off the stuff and starting over. Think of it as a pre-lather exercise.

If all you are looking for is a soap that performs and has a pleasant scent there are tons of them out there and MWF is probably the king in that category. Actually you could shave with plain water and it will work. The trick is you have to continually apply the water.

When you spend the "big bucks" you get "that scent". It's like my friend who drives around in a Yugo and feels it's a great car and takes him where he wants to go. He laughs at cars with leather and 500 watt stereos and 20 speaker sound systems and deep pile carpet and fancy wheels and all the rest.

It's like everything else. A $40 vintage razor can give you just as good a shave as a $2,000 custom.

Hell, you could also burn the hair off your face with a blow torch. Of course you would need to be treated for third degree burns and live with being disfigured, but you'd, "git er dun".

If you are a beginner with an Arko shave stick, $40.00 vintage shave ready razor and a broke in boar brush, you are still the same beginner if you had MdC, a $2000.00 custom razor and a Plisson HMW brush and I doubt the results would be significantly different.

Once you are getting consistently smooth comfortable shaves from the former you may have enough skill to not only appreciate/enjoy the latter but also the skill to exploit any benefits they may hold.

The point being that it is skill/technique that brings a good result and the gear is mostly secondary to that until you are at a certain level of proficiency.

Bob

In the natural order of events under normal circumstances, it is common to explore the added benefit of a quality shaving soap when mastery of the honed edge for shaving has taken place.

Originally Posted by Aerdvaark

In the natural order of events under normal circumstances, it is common to explore the added benefit of a quality shaving soap when mastery of the honed edge for shaving has taken place.

Probably equally important is the ability to raise consistently good lathers. Surprising the difference, using the same soap/cream, being off a bit in the lather department one day to the next makes in how the same blade performs. Not to mention stropping in the mix. There are so many variables that it can be hard to say which component is giving a benefit or a degradation to a shave.

Most of the 30 odd soaps and creams I have tried do have quality enough not to stand in the way of a close comfortable shave regardless of price. There are notable exception too. What works or does not also varies person to person. You can see that in personal opinions voiced in soap and cream threads.

Bob