You are missing one of shavings pleasures the feel of MWF while you are shaving and the post shave feel. Try it. If you do not want to shell out for a full replacement puck or a ceramic bowl, you can always get a sample for 3.50 from Gary's Sample Shop. http://sampleshop.blogspot.ca/
I'm with Titan on this one. I don't care how great MWF is supposed to be, I refuse to struggle with a difficult soap when there are so many other great soaps out there that are so much easier to lather.
Call me clairvoyant, but I'm getting this subtle sense in this particular thread that Steve isn't buying anymore MWF...
I was put off trying it due to the difficult reputation. Caved and never looked back, this stuff is just plain awesome. I've never had trouble lathering it, even with the relatively hard water here in Edmonton.
Grande Prairie water is not as soft as Edmonton water and I have no problem getting an excellent lather. I had been using a brush for years, but I did not learn how to properly create a lather until the first week of December 2013.
This has a lot of merit. I did this for years when traveling-before I knew that shave sticks existed- and it consistently made better lather than when home using a bowl. This works especially well with poor soaps, but works doubly well with better soaps, such as MWF.
I've heard people have difficultly with MWF, but I personally have never had any trouble with it. Could it be that there are some differences between batches? I also personally feel it is one of the best lathering soaps out there. Keep at it and you'll get the hang of it or move on to something else if you don't feel like it. Best of luck!
It's a water hungry soap. The people for whom it works well; either A, add a lot of water to the soap when they receive it, and continue to keep it hydrated, or B, use a lot of water during the lathering process.
Using the Fat on a weekend away from home. Unknown water, but I put my trust in the Fat as it is the only soap with me. If the fat does not work my shaves will be brutal. 1st shave with the fat is awesome. The lather exploded off the puck when I was loading the badger brush. The soap scent was stronger as well in a very pleasant way. A very easy soap to lather.
I just tried it for the first time today and had no difficulty getting a nice lather. There's a great thread on B&B for getting great lather with MWF/Williams soaps. (hint:Google "how to lather Mitchell's Wool Fat")
