Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap Refill by Mitchell's

The lather is thinner than what I used in the past. However, I have consistently experienced close comfortable shaves with this soap. For those not used to shaving soap, know that fa refill lasts a very, very long time. I've been shaving with it for over two years now and am half to two thirds of the way through only the second bar. I further enjoy the fact that it doesn't bathe me in an unpleasant perfume.

I've only tried a few different shaving soaps in my time wet shaving. TOBS (Taylor of Old Bond Street) Sandalwood has been my go-to for a few years now. My only nitpick is the fragrance...which is an oddly clean and powdery sandalwood that projects across my entire bathroom. The fragrance also has some decent longevity, and I can still pick up notes of it while I'm getting dressed and putting on cologne, which it sometimes clashes with. I guess my takeaway is that I needed a change from that scent. Mitchell's Wool Fat soap seemed like a good alternative, and from what I could tell from skimming forums and reviews, it doesn't smell nearly as strongly as TOBS.I'm pleasantly surprised so far. It lathered in my hard water relatively well. Just bloomed it in hot water for a minute beforehand and went to work on it with a medium body boarhair brush. The soap had a slicker feel than I'm used to and the lather had slightly less structural integrity than TOBS but my shave didn't seem to suffer for it. Like I usually do, I used the remaining lather I'd made to wash the rest of my face, which worked like a charm. The post shave was just okay. I honestly felt like I'd done a worse job on my neck than I actually had. Might have been the switch to a tallow soap, might have been the lanolin but my neck skin felt a little roughed up and gummed up, even after my post-shave alum block and witch hazel. As my skin dried and everything calmed down, I could finally tell that I'd actually gotten an extremely close shave and had miraculously avoided any damage in the usual spots around my adams apple. Good stuff.The fragrance is also a nice surprise. The Kent company, which markets and sells a repackaged version of this same soap in India claimed it had elements of Pine, Patchouli, Lavender, Musk, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cedar, Sandalwood. I now see what the folks on the forums meant when they called that BS.It does have a clean lavender note up front, a bit of soft powdery musk in the middle and a nebulous slightly woodsy note hanging out somewhere in the background. All the other notes they claimed are MIA though. This is a very subdued version of a classic old-school barbershop scent. No long distance projection, no longevity past the end of the shave.Actually, now that I smell my hands hours later, I can actually detect a bit of that musky woodsy accord hanging around. After it managed to trigger a sense memory of helping my aunt shear sheep as a kid, I now realize that I'm actually smelling raw lanolin. So I guess with that in mind, I'd have to reframe this soap as mostly smelling like lavender and lanolin.Which I could definitely get used to.

MWF was one of the first soaps I discovered early on when I returned to DE shaving, and after I figured out how to get it lathered - it’s been a great baseline to use as a comparison point to other vendor’s products. It is listed as unscented, and with the exception of a lanolin scent - it is.Lather:MWF is known to be difficult to lather. The trick seems to be dialing in the water amount (usually more than other shave soaps) that it needs to properly lather. However, once you’ve figured out how to dial it in for your specific water - it is easy to repeat your success in subsequent shaves. Hint – a good brush makes a WORLD of difference here… Do I want to take this camping, or use it in the field – No. Too much work to lather and uses too much water (a heavy resource to pack in). At home where I have a sink and running water - it’s fine.Slickness:When properly lathered, MWF is one of the slickest soaps I’ve ever used. For several years I have used it as the baseline when evaluating other shave soaps slickness. I don’t know if it’s the lanolin, or the extra amount of water required to get it lathered that makes it so slick, but by goodness it works. The best part is that when properly lathered, the slickness lasts and does not dry out too quickly. I can lather my entire face at the beginning of my shave, and not be rushed to complete it before the lather dissipates.

I have been a mug shaver since the late sixties so, as you might suspect, I have tried a wide variety of different shaving soaps and this one is far and away the best I have ever used. The richness of the lather must be experienced in order to be fully appreciated. I was a little hesitant to try this, given its price, but my experience is that, shaving once a day, a puck is will last about five weeks, which helps to mitigate the price a bit. I highly recommend Mitchell's soap.

Finally, a shaving soap that offers top-notch protection AND a pleasing scent. I haven’t even nicked myself after a week of daily shaving with my Merkur 37C slant razor. The scent does not last too long, but that’s OK as I use an after-shave balm. Price is very reasonable. Highly recommend.

I don’t know how Mitchell’s got their shave soap recipe so good so long ago, but this stuff is amazing. Not only does it do a great job during the shave - it leaves my face feeling fantastic when the job is done. This is one of my favorite shave soaps (yes, I’ve tried high quality artisan shave soaps). My skin loves this soap. I love this soap. It doesn’t have any strong scent so I can pair it with any aftershave or cologne I want. I couldn’t be happier with this product.

Work great and smells great

This is a shave soap that will not leave you wanting. I have used many fine shave soaps and MWF is at the top of top tier soaps. Lathers easily and will provide a thick, luscious, moist lather. Leaves the face feeling conditioned, not dry or Irritated as some lesser soaps can.I have heard some complaints of “hard to lather”, I did not experience that at all. In MHO, I thought it lathered easier and quicker than other name brand soaps such as Taylor’s of Old Bond Street and some RazoRock soaps.Not much of a scent so it won’t interfere with your choice of aftershave. I find the scent sort of old fashioned barbershop rather than perfumed.