December 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Thank you, Jeff...Have a relaxing sunday.

 

Sunday shave
Omega 11137 boar
Rockwell 6c
Astra blue (new)
Mitchell's wool fat
Dickinson WH and lots to stop the burn
No aftershave yet

I'm going to be very blunt here in this report .
I really hope my opinion on this soap changes over time , as today I started out with hope but ended with utter frustration. Tried less water , loaded heavy , added water and even put water on top of puck. Did get a thick paste face lathering but that even dissipated and where it didnt it was so dry the razor dragged and pulled causing irritation. When I hear people bash Williams it frustrates me because in my opinion it is maybe not the easiest to lather but it does lather better for me and also doesn't cost near as much for a puck . I get better lather from the Williams for $1.20/ puck . Paid almost $20 for the MWF and will work through it since I am cheap and want my moneys worth from the dang stuff. I had a hard time focusing on a relaxing shave as I battled the soap through the whole thing. I would go back to canned airy foam goo before buying this again. Sorry for the rant but I expected way better from this soap.

 

Great shave Pierpaolo!!

 

Thanks Patrick.
On the left the challanger, on the right my champion.
It's a tough contest !!!

 

Why do you think that is, Danny? I have the .84 OC (same as Jaws with 13 teeth, rather than 9). I have never been able to comprehend, why an OC would be "milder" than a safety bar---given that the blade exposure is EXACTLY the same.

 

I feel you, Danny. Many shavers tend to blame the water hardness. Here in Indiana, we have THE hardest water in the country, so in my house, we have a water softener. It does help immensely with lather production.
1) You said you put water on the puck. How long did you allow it to soften the soap?
2) When you applied the "pasty" lather to your face, did you try rubbing it in with you palms and then continuing to "work" the lather with your brush?
3) Regarding adding more water, can you describe how you did this and guesstimate how much water? (this is a difficult question to answer, I know).
Lastly, I wouldn't suffer a crappy lather and therefore an uncomfortable shave just to use up the soap. Not for two sawbucks.

 

Hey Perry!!

Two that come to mind are Wholly Kaw Bare and Noble Otter Bare - both unscented (hence the "Bare"). Both bases are top-tier performers. The Wholly Kaw is on the more expensive side, clocking in around $25/tub. I haven't tried the Sierro base, but it's supposed to be even better than the previous formula, which is still mighty fine.
Ariana & Evan makes a vegan base, shaving butter. I saw a review (I think it was Anthony Esposito (The Stallion), and he said it was quite slick. Jeff @jgreenepa , this one might be of interest to you, since you like unscented.

Anyway, just throwing out a few other options. Good luck with your quest. It's hard to go wrong these days, as most artisans/companies put out excellent soaps.

 

2468?

What?

 

I usually shave at night, but today was a Sunday morning shave for church. More of the same; Solingen SR, Stirling Christmas Eve, and a gifted boar brush. Fifty Laps on the strop before the shave provided good, bloodless results. If anyone has suggestions on a reasonable number of laps on the strop, I would be interested to hear opinions. It seems like 50 (one stroke one each side making one lap) works, but I often wonder if 20 or 30 would be just as effective. The shaves are definitely getting better by using the same setup each day this month.

Chris - enjoying learning, whatever the subject

 

Very cool watch Chris.

 

Thanks, Bruce!

 

Sorry for the frustration, Patrick. It’s not worth it if you’re having that much trouble. I’m the opposite in that modern Williams disappears for me no matter how I lather it and MWF is one of my top soaps.

 

Wonderful shaves, Barry and Pierpaolo!

 

Sorry for your struggles Patrick. I get decent performance from my MWF. I do load very heavy and I use a hybrid or boar brush.

My wheels are turning. MWF produces a light poor lather at first. I usually just rise that down the drain and continue to load.

I just did a test lather and when I finished loading there was almost a full bowl of wispy crappy lather in the sink. I just call that a loss and rinse it away. I imagine more frugal shavers may try to mix that back in and salvage it. I don't think that works.

I wonder if the real issue with MWF is that it produces a light foam early that really doesn't have enough soap. People use to softer soaps may stop loading and try to use that itial foam which fades quickly.

I'm a messy and wasteful shaver. I admit that. From my short history on here it seems those who struggle with MWF may be the ones who are unwilling to make a mess (light foam that flips everywhere) or are unwilling to waste (there's a lot of it at first).

I'm very curious what other's think on this.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

I have the ceramic container and tons of suds fall out over the edges as I load. I wash those off and keep loading. The second iteration of suds on the side is usually decent stuff. I scoop all of that up into the brush once I’m done loading.

 

Thanks Patrick!

 

That's a shame about your troubles with MWF. If you can get a better lather with Williams that's saying plenty. I have hard water so I won't buy MWF. I suspect that you have hard water also. You can try using distilled water, or adding glycerin. I know, I know. Why go through all that nonsense to get that soap to lather. I have read that if you bloom it with warm for a week, that it will break in. However, you have to use it almost daily otherwise it goes back to being a difficult soap to lather. Good luck.

 

December Focus

MWF~~dubl duck #4~~Barbasol FH/Voskhod
I am posting a separate thread, chronicling a new puck of MWF from
opening the wrapper to the first shave.
I am still going to finish up my BAUME.BE shave cream, but felt compelled to break out
the MWF, if only to assist anyone needing pointers vis-à-vis lathering.
This'll be brief.
The soap was super-slick and I was able to squeeze one more shave out of the Voskhod blade.
The Barbasol FH is a serious candidate for the "desert island" pick, so great of a razor it is.
Completed the shave with some Witch Hazel and a healthy splash of St. Johns Bay Rum.​

 

Hey Bruce! Hope you are well!