Mitchells Wool Fat Shaving Soap Refill (125g)

I had heard and read a lot about MWF shave soap. I have a wide range of shave creams, croaps and harder soaps. I should say my preference is for the old school hard soaps - ones like DR Harris and Trumper etc. I like the scents and they provide incredible value.So, the MWF. First off it arrived in 2 days rather than the forecast week, so well done to Face & Co. I could have got it a couple of quid cheaper elsewhere but you can rely on Amazon and its sellers. Anyway, the box is a delight. if you are a hobbyist and want to have it sat on your shelf, it will make a classy addition.The soap itself has a lovely scent. Its difficult to describe other than to say it smells really clean. If like me you like that sort of thing, then it is fantastic. If you want a strong wood smell or citrus or something, this isnt the soap for you. A couple of reviews have said it smells of cleaning fluid and I must say i honestly dont smell that. To me the scent is fresh and clean and almost homely.So how does it perform? I live in a very hard water area and the MWF produces an excellent lather. My approach is to bloom it first for a few minutes -i.e pour hot water (not boiling) onto the soap from the kettle and to give a badger brush a decent 5 minute soak at the same time. Then as others have recomended, you whip it with the brush like you are trying to kill it. Id say a 45 second thrash with the brush is enough, and then its lather up with the addiiton of sprinkling drops of water onto it every minute. All in all, for me, its around 4 minutes to produce an absolutely great lather.Some reviewers have made the point that they dont have time to fuss about with blooming and then lathering. That is perfectly understandable. They should reach for a TOBS or other soap cream where you can get a perfectly decent lather in under a minute. Personally, i enjoy the ritual and the "time out" of spending a few minutes whipping up a beautiful lather. Its fair to say that the MWF will not lather in 60 seconds, but its a hard shave soap so to be fair it doesnt pretend to.For anyone that has struggled to get a good lather from their MWF i can only suspect that either they are not blooming the soap, not loading long enough or they have a deficient brush. I had a Semogue Boar brush that for whatever reason just wouldnt produce a good lather from hard soaps. It went in the bin. My badger and synthetic brushes work a dream with the MWF.In terms of shave quality, I rate the MWF very highly. Im no shaving afficonado but i know what I like. The MWF lather is thick, though you can obviously thin it with water if you prefer, and works like a dream. The DE razor glides through it and the shave is free from irritation and soreness. Of course, a pre shave treatment and a decent razor technique helps here, but the MWF lather is a lovely cushion. I have sensitive skin and my face feels very soft after the shave. I normally use a post shave splash or balm but if i didnt have any available this soap would be my choice because even my sensitive skin doesnt really need a post shave treatment with MWF. The only other soap I have in that same league is the DR Harris Windsor soap which is highly recommended if you like hard soaps and old school scents. However even the DR Harris Windsor doesnt leave my face feeling as soft.My estimate, which may be wrong, is I will get at least a hundred shaves from this MWF. That makes it great value. Ive spent double and triple the money on various soaps, creams and croaps with lovely artwork on the tub which to be honest provide only a mediocre shave experience. Perhaps they are brilliant compared to what was available 20 years ago, but they dont make me think wow. The MWF does though.Ive got around 30 soaps and I enjoy rotating them. Even the ones that are not actually that great to be honest but they have a stylish tub or a nice scent etc. If i was going to a desert island for a year and was allowed only one soap I would take the MWF. It doesnt have the sublime Kaizen base of Ariana and Evans but for all round scent, usability, protection and face feel after the shave MWF would be my choice. Its also a third the price of the A&E range.Final thought is that one shaving forums you get people raving about MWF (like me i guess) and also those that struggle to lather it. Ive heard it described as smelling of animal or cleaning fluid. I can only speak as I find and say I have no problem lathering it and think the scent is lovely. I asked my family what they thought of the scent, to see if i was the odd many out and they all said it was great. So, for me I would recommend anyone buying it.

So what do you get?You'll receive a brown cardboard box with the branding on the front. Opening it will reveal the "puck" of the shave soap wrapped in what appears to be waxed paper with a round label on the front detailing the ingredients. Some have asked if plastic wrapping is used and the only thing which might be plastic are the two small stickers sealing the cardboard box.As far as I'm aware the only animal product used in this soap is lanolin which comes from sheeps wool (it's right there in the name "wool fat"). No animal dies making this soap if that is an important factor for you.The puck I received measures 75mm in diameter and about 22mm thick. It's a little too big for the shave cup I use but I manage. This is a hard soap so should last quite awhile if used and treated correctly.As for the scent. Well I've seen people go on about mild and masculine, one review said fatty (no idea how he came to that conclusion) and the list goes on. I'm not going to go on about "notes of this or that", it smells like soap. That's it, a clean soap smell, not floral or perfumed....just soap. It is mild, I've used soaps that smelled of honey that would fill a room with the smell the moment I got it out and the smell lingered on your skin long after shaving....this doesn't. I like the clean scent.Others seem to have had a problem generating a lather or the lather they get is thin and doesn't last even through the first pass (if more than one is needed). Personally I use what is referred to as the "Marco method" (Google it for more info) which works really well. It may take 2-3 minutes to get the lather you want but it's worth it. It's very easy to get a thick, creamy lather which lasts long enough to shave my face and head. Please note I live in a soft water area so your mileage may vary.As for the shave, I used a pre-shave oil and a new blade (Gillette Platinum I'm trying out). I didn't experience any skipping or dragging, the shave was close and comfortable. Others have mentioned a tight feeling or drying of the skin, I didn't notice this but use a post shave balm so this may have stopped it.Overall I'm very happy with the results I achieved using this soap. I like the smell and lather it creates. As I said previously this is a hard soap so while it might cost a little more if it lasts a decent length of time then I should get decent value for money.