Thread: I tried MWF...Eh..

QUOTE=thebigspendur;774547]I have just a few thoughts here..... I find it requires more water than most other soaps to produce a good lather and little more elbow grease.[/QUOTE]

+1 I have the same experience with Florida's hard water. But MWF feels great to me, has a nice smell and I'm glad it was recommended on this site.

I am not saying MWF is bad gentlemen. I just don't enjoy as much as most..From the talk o this thread, it might just be I don't have the techniques down for it? I use a Georgetown G10 Scuttle and a Omega Boar, or my Badger super.. I do like the lather better when I use the boar brush...

Saying all that, I overheard two gentlemen talking at work about DE shaving..I spoke up and started asking about their shaving routines. One of the gentlemen apparrently is on this site also (Goes By the Name" High Plains Drifter,or HPL1"?)...Any way, we got into the MWF disscusion and he said that he was generally disatisfied with soaps that he had used and was making his own! He brought some in yesterday and gave it to me in a little tub. I carefully opened it and a pleasant odor of limes wafted out. I greedily stashed the tub away (after thanking him profusely). This morning I broke it out for use...I warmed my scuttle and brush (badger) and started the process of building a lather. The lather formed into a creamy slick foam that went on smoothly. The concoction had a lot of moisturizing propeties and the razor slide dow my face with little effort. I was very pleased with the soap and its performance. Now I can only hope that he sells this soap on the side..So I can stock up!

Get his recipe! No telling how long a "batch" of soap would last...

I'm just about ready to give up on MWF. I have had zero problems getting a decent lather with other soaps and creams. I have tried all three of my brushes, loaded the brush with plenty of product(I think), tried adjusting the water and I wind up with pathetically thin lather that provides no cushion and results in terrible shaves. I know I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure out what it is.

This from Marco, B & B's Man in Italy:

1. MWF works much better for me if the surface of the puck is previously softened with some drops of warm water;

2. Using warm (not hot) water during the entire lathering process gives me the best results;

3. To my knowledge Mitchell’s Wool Fat seems to love stiff brushes. The best lather I get is, in fact, using my boar brushes or my badger brushes that have great backbone. I like to use any of my Semogue boars and some of my favourite Simpson badgers. I particularly enjoy making lather with my Chubby 1 Super and with my Duke 3 Best;

4. My shaving brush has to be very heavily loaded. I load it for about one minute, which means making over 100 swirls on the surface of the puck. Then I slowly add a few drops of water to the mix and the lather progressively becomes thick, cushioning and slick;

5. This soap, like my beloved Cella, gives me a much, much better lather when face lathering. I do not know why, but bowl lathering with MWF for me fails miserably.

Following the five points above allows me anytime to obtain an incredibly good lather and a very close, comfortable shave. Mitchell’s Wool Fat is one of my all-time favourite shaving soaps.
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I know I've posted this before, but to the OP, try this: Get some Musgo Real shave cream in the tube, and some glycerin. Whip up your MWF, transfer it to a scuttle or bowl, or mug. Add a dollop of Musgo, 5 drops of Glycerin, and I you'll have Glen's Lanolin overload. I think you'll like MWF a whole lot more....

When he spoke about the ingridients I immdiately did the Homer on him..I know nothing about chemistry. He was talking about acids and tallow..It started to sound like Charlie Browns teacher aftera bit..WHen I see him again I will tell him to come back on SRP and give up the receipe to you more savvy folk. But I can not get over how good that stuff was, and easy to use. That was by far the best shave I had yet...I used my same routine, except using a Gillette DE (Fatboy..I have been enjoying DE's lately). I'll tell ya though, I don't think I can go back to store bought again after that.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Get his recipe! No telling how long a "batch" of soap would last...

There have been many threads dedicated exclusively to lathering techniques for MWF, and I don't think I'll add anything except to say don't give up on it. Once you nail down a specific technique that consistantly works well you will be rewarded with some very fine shaves indeed. It's one of the best moisturizing soaps I've come aross, and I've sampled a few.

Mitchell's does take some more effort to get a lather from (at least when compared to soft soaps). I actually learned how to lather with Mitchell's ,when starting out learning how to make shaving lather. I guess as a result, some other soaps will seem much easier to lather. I like Mitchell's for the great shaves, it is mild on the skin, and the scent is nice too.

Hi,

Most of the problems with MWF seem to stem from not loading the brush enough.

One of the easiest ways to use MWF is to rub the edge of the puck on the chops like a shave stick; for me this works really well, and then you can then face lather with any brush, soft or stiff.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ