Mitchells Wool Fat

Pjotr said:
Since that post I've become an avid fan of MWF. Still not quite as good as Tabac or Speick I don't think but a great soap with a great scent. I'd be happy if it was my only soap.
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What's changed your mind? I've been blaming the crap water for it's averageness. We have the same quality water, so it's not that.

I agree the skin conditioning of the stuff is without doubt. I just can't get a decent shave, even with a good lather from it.
 
Don't really know. I know it doesn't produce as thick or as creamy a lather as Tabac or Speick but it's only marginal and I love the scent. Also I think you have to use more product than most which caught me out the first time. I'm not a believer in the water hardness/salinity thing. I suspect it's in the realm of scientific interpretation that produces the "water flows downhill so I must have a brush stand to dry my brush" argument. There is no doubt that using seawater seriously affects the performance of a soap. But the range of drinking water hardness/salinity standards within Australia are at least is a factor of 1000 less than seawater and within that range, assuming a direct correlation between water quality and performance, the affect is hardly measurable. It's almost like saying you can notice the difference in lather quality at the higher altitude of the second floor of a building or something like that.
 
Pjotr said:
Don't really know. I know it doesn't produce as thick or as creamy a lather as Tabac or Speick but it's only marginal and I love the scent. Also I think you have to use more product than most which caught me out the first time. I'm not a believer in the water hardness/salinity thing. I suspect it's in the realm of scientific interpretation that produces the "water flows downhill so I must have a brush stand to dry my brush" argument.
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You're such a cynic. Next thing you'll be saying that a carbon tax won't address pollution... *insert smiley appropriate to your interpretation*

Ok, late addition. I shaved with MWF today and it was pretty good. 3 Passes with impressive glide and protection. Face feels very good. Not the closest, certainly not what I'd expect from 3 passes, which is 1 more than I usually bother with, but I'm blaming the blade for that. Only difference from trying it last time is soaking the soap first and using my Duke; a far more user friendly brush for loading than the Chubby.

Still not the creamiest looking lather, but better than previous attempts. Probably worth burning through this free chunk to see if it's worth persisting with.
 
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Drubbing said:
I shaved with MWF today and it was pretty good. 3 Passes with impressive glide and protection. Face feels very good. Not the closest, certainly not what I'd expect from 3 passes. Only difference from trying it last time is soaking the soap first and using my Duke; a far more user friendly brush for loading than the Chubby.

Still not the creamiest looking lather, but better than previous attempts. Probably worth burning through this free chunk to see if it's worth persisting with.
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Soaking the puk ( warm water only ) is half the equation. - the longer time the better.

Using a badger brush is an uphill battle. Switch to a firm boar ala Semogue 1305 or Omega equivalent. ( 11126 )

:):):):):):):):):):):)
 
Didn't say I can't load it. The problem has been getting it slick, it likes to stay airy. It's usually come quite good on the 2nd lathering, as it's dried out a little. Anyway, tried it again this morning and I can get the hang of the lathering, but still not that impressive a shave.

Took 4 passes to get the sort of result I normally get in two. The only upside was 4 passes would leave me a bit raw. This stuff doesn't, so yes, it looks after the skin very well, but fails on the main criteria for me.
 
You need more product than Speick or Tabac. The latter are more forgiving even when the product/water ratio is wrong. MWF just behaves like a dog if it's not right. It's not as creamy as those two either. But more than creamy enough as far as I'm concerned.
 
Pjotr said:
You need more product than Speick or Tabac. The latter are more forgiving even when the product/water ratio is wrong. MWF just behaves like a dog if it's not right. It's not as creamy as those two either. But more than creamy enough as far as I'm concerned.
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I think I had it right - or as right as it's going to be. Although I reckon I made it even better yesterday, and the results are still not worth the effort.

Maybe I'm picky. I don't go for the Ultimate shave every morning, but I can get a very nice result with less effort/passes, with other products. The hype merchants all bang on about its ability to create world peace, but if a soap lathers good enough to provide an effortless and comfortable shave, then I'd say it was lathered well enough. Just doesn't shave very well. Like I said, maybe I'm picky.
 
Drubbing said:
I think I had it right - or as right as it's going to be. Although I reckon I made it even better yesterday, and the results are still not worth the effort.

Maybe I'm picky. I don't go for the Ultimate shave every morning, but I can get a very nice result with less effort/passes, with other products. The hype merchants all bang on about its ability to create world peace, but if a soap lathers good enough to provide an effortless and comfortable shave, then I'd say it was lathered well enough. Just doesn't shave very well. Like I said, maybe I'm picky.
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I think your selling MWF a bit short when you suggest it simply creates world peace.

Yeah, generally speaking I agree that you can't deny your own reality.

IMO, MWF is no better than many of the French soaps that use shea as a conditioning ingredient. Some people just responds extra well to the skin conditioning properties of lanolin and as such they can get a bit funny when vocalising about "the fat."

Me,.... I've tossed my M de C in the bin and now just use Woolworth's Home Brand Canola margarine for that extra special shave ! ( at $1.29 for a 500g tub, it's good value for money !) :D:D:D:D:D
 
I quite like my MWF. I rotate it in more frequently than some of my other soaps. Face lathering wtih my Shavemac 177 brings up a really nice creamy lather - quite surprising for a soap puck and a silvertip brush. I soak the puck in water and tend to load for a good 10 seconds though, and dip the brush in the hot water to wet the lather up a bit as I build.. but overall I don't seem to have too much of an issue generating a nice healthy 3 pass lather.
 
Lordconstipation said:
Soaking the puk ( warm water only ) is half the equation. - the longer time the better.

Using a badger brush is an uphill battle. Switch to a firm boar ala Semogue 1305 or Omega equivalent. ( 11126 )

:):):):):):):):):):):)
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I actually haven't been able to make a good lather with MWF and my new(ish) Semogue 830 at all. It's going great on Proraso and other creams, but my Shavemac 177 can't be beat.
 
Every time I come back to Mitchells Wool Fat I am always very happy with the results.
A very hard soap to get right. I find softening the top layer with about a tablespoon of hot water whilst showering leads to better over-all results.
The soap needs quite a bit of water to lather properly, but once on the face my experience has been that the blade is a lot more slick across the skin than the other soap I have used (P160).
 
Find that it work well if you slice a thin piece off the puck and press it into the bottom of your scuttle. Thinner with more surface area for the water to get to.
 
Where would be the best (cheapest) place to get a hold of some if this stuff, if someone wanted to try it?
 
The UK sellers do a good deal on it, I've purchased from Connaught Shaving. I love the smell and the soap. Unfortunately, I fall into the group that Mantic mentions in his video, I get irritation and the odd ingrown from use.
 
mr626 said:
Where would be the best (cheapest) place to get a hold of some if this stuff, if someone wanted to try it?
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If you don't like it I'll happily buy it off you. I think Connaught's the cheapest around. I love the scent and have never had any problems getting a lather. What people fail to mention (not helped by it being a talloate first, veggie soap sucks, fanboy soap) is that it's not an A class lather to start with, almost but not quite in the same league as for instance Tabac and Speick amongst many others including some superb veggie based soaps/creams. In my humble, gentlemanly opinion of course. So, if you don't get it right it'll turn to shlop quite quickly. You can't say that because you get shot down by the "Wow, da Fat just exploded on my face" brigade and it's assumed that you're a kack-handed vegetarian dunce.
 
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