Having their soap outsourced and made to spec makes sense considering the modest building they reside in. I don’t see this as a negative at all. You have a large industrial process with presumably the utmost cleanliness, precise ingredients, consistent processes etc., all leaving us with the perfect MWF puck each and every time.
Who has history of Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap, Ltd.
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Agreed!
In a word, it is superb and classic along with Haslinger and Tabac. Fortunately, I experienced those early on and saved me from the soap rabbit hole.
I'd like to see some evidence on this outsourcing claim.
Not that I'm for or against it on principal, but I'm just not sure who could have made it. In the dark dark days of UK soaps after all the great old London brands went veggie (and downhill) Mitchell's recipe never changed. So it's fair to infer they were not made by the factory that made most of the old tallow 3t's, penhaligans etc
Not that I'm for or against it on principal, but I'm just not sure who could have made it. In the dark dark days of UK soaps after all the great old London brands went veggie (and downhill) Mitchell's recipe never changed. So it's fair to infer they were not made by the factory that made most of the old tallow 3t's, penhaligans etc
I've always used any shaving product that had lanolin in it if I could. In my disposable multiblade days I got better results with a 99 cent can of Barbasol with lanolin than any top priced "gel".
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
Like you I do not care if the manufacture is outsourced or not. It does seem difficult though to pinpoint exactly where MWF is made or by whom which seems odd as Bradford is not exactly a big place and it should be a simple process to determine the exact place of manufacture. The only Mitchell's building I have seen is what appears to be a small house which I assume is an administrative building and which appears too small to be used for manufacture. Were I the proprietor of Mitchell's and had my own production facility I would surely make it better known. I would for example provide photographs of the facility and videos of the manufacturing process to interested parties. Perhaps it is the lack of such material which causes the suggestion or assumption of outsourcing but I have seen no firm evidence either way. Mitchell's themselves appear to be deliberately vague on the matter.
It’s a great soap, one that is my daily driver right now. It has a very light powdery scent - as someone mentioned above, it smells like “soap,” but in a very pleasant way. If you use scented soaps/croaps, Mitchell’s would be good for a few days of palate cleansing. The lanolin moisturizes the skin but does not clog. It’s a bit thirsty, so it’s best to put roughly a teaspoon of warm water on the surface of the puck while you get the rest of your stuff in order (stropping a blade, showering, washing your face, or whatever). It seems to last forever. I’ve been using this puck for most of a month now and it looks like I’ve barely touched it. A refill costs $13 and should last for a year. It’s really a great soap.
One issue would be if you’re working with hard water. Reviews on some shave sites show that Mitchell’s just won’t lather with that stuff.
Behind the MWF house , there's another building attached to it, you can see it using the aerial view.
Don't know if it's just a storage place or something else.
Don't know if it's just a storage place or something else.
Thanks for the tips! I'm looking forward to trying it
Thanks for the tips! I'm looking forward to trying it
Having said that, I just looked at a B&B thread from several years ago that had so many forum folks arguing whether Mitchells was overrated or not that I think we can replace the acronym YMMV with MWF.
I have used many including Tabac, Proraso, etc. But the only stuff I use now is MWF. We have hard water at the house and it does not seem to be a problem. My routine is hot towel (or shower), lather with MWF (2 or 3 pass), hot towel, alum block, hot towel to remove alum, cold splash, pat face dry (important), and completed with alcohol free original Thayer's witch hazel. If I feel like it I follow with an aftershave. Love MWF.
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It’s just two days short of two weeks since I felt “adventurous” and contacted the good folks at MWF, but there has been no response.
Too bad, I was really hoping to receive a reply from them.
Too bad, I was really hoping to receive a reply from them.
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I just ran across this website which seems to provide a good bit of history of modern Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap:
I also have their bath soap. Let me tell you as a dried up old man anyways these days of constant washing of hands was giving me all kinds of dried cuticles and corners of my nails turning into dry snags. But problem solved. My hands are in better shape now than before. I've always used anything I could find with lanolin in it. Even in the dark ages before wet shaving.
Interesting. The highlight for me was learning that Camwrap (Campus wraps), the original USA distributor of MWF helped design the familiar ceramic soap dish sometime during/after 1976.
I started using my first puck of MWF on February 2nd. I shave 6 days a week. It looks like this puck will go at least another month, maybe two! This stuff not only works great, it really lasts a long time!
@Keyvan , this thread appears to have the most recent information on MWF. Unclear who manufacturers their shaving soap.
Per the photos above it was noted that the HQ appears to be too small for this. Also a look at their published financials only shows 2,156 British Pounds (GBP) of fixed assets of which 2,000 GBP (14,207 less 12,207 in depreciation) is for fixtures and equipment. Financials only show balance sheet information, no income statement.
However the filings do show outstanding debt owed to MWF from retailers/resellers of 29,873 GBP at the end of March, 2022. Assuming 30 to 60 day trade terms implies annual sales of between roughly 180,000 GBP to 360,000 GBP plus any direct to consumer sales from their web site. The filing also indicates an average of 6 employees during the prior fiscal year. Definitely a small business.
Would expect a manufacturing operation to have more in fixed assets/equipment (especially for triple milled soap as noted above) so this fits with the perspectives above that they contract to a third party for their manufacturing.
@EclipseRedRing FYI you may find the above interesting. Per the financial filings MWF appears to be family run with 5 shares of stock split between two family members. Filings are available in the public domain.
Per the photos above it was noted that the HQ appears to be too small for this. Also a look at their published financials only shows 2,156 British Pounds (GBP) of fixed assets of which 2,000 GBP (14,207 less 12,207 in depreciation) is for fixtures and equipment. Financials only show balance sheet information, no income statement.
However the filings do show outstanding debt owed to MWF from retailers/resellers of 29,873 GBP at the end of March, 2022. Assuming 30 to 60 day trade terms implies annual sales of between roughly 180,000 GBP to 360,000 GBP plus any direct to consumer sales from their web site. The filing also indicates an average of 6 employees during the prior fiscal year. Definitely a small business.
Would expect a manufacturing operation to have more in fixed assets/equipment (especially for triple milled soap as noted above) so this fits with the perspectives above that they contract to a third party for their manufacturing.
@EclipseRedRing FYI you may find the above interesting. Per the financial filings MWF appears to be family run with 5 shares of stock split between two family members. Filings are available in the public domain.
Great summary!
Anyone think of stocking up ? Tabac ,La toja and others have all changed formulas. Tabac was my golden one lol. MWF is great and might get me by, Arko is cheap but haven't tried it. I know others make good stuff but hate looking for something I already have found again.
I'm at 8 pucks in the stash but planning to double it as too many old classics have disappeared or reformulated.
Speick tallow stick is one of my all-time favourites and whilst I have a few in my stash but once finished, I won't be getting the vegan version as I didn't like it anywhere near as much as the tallow version.
MWF is a family run business and not a huge company so it's less likely they'll succumb to the pressure of going vegan, but you can never tell these days!
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