Thread: Osma Soap

Originally Posted by earcutter

Exactly! I’ve never bought Mitchell’s Wool Fat (MWF) because of all the bad reviews about it not lathering up. And as much as Osma has no reviews, when a guy who consistently buys pucks that are 50 tp 60 bucks recommends a lowly 20 dollar soap, I figure it’s worth a try. I doubt I’ll ever try the MWF though lol.

I think that one factor that is often overlooked when people talk about difficulties getting a soap to lather is water hardness.
Some of the notoriously difficult soaps lather like a champ with soft water, but need considerably more effort with harder water grades.

Once I stayed in a hotel in a place with very hard water and was surprised how well a shaving soap lathered - until I found out that the owner had installed a water softener for his guests.

Conversely, when I read a comment that someone has no difficulties at all with a not so easy to lather soap, I cannot help wondering whether that is due to his skills or merely due to soft water.


Mitchell’s is clearly a more tempermental shaving soap and for those struggling with Mitchell’s I usually suggest Haslinger sheeps’ milk shaving soap that is much more forgiving of harder water qualities and - like Mitchell’s Wool Fat - also contains lanolin.


B