One of the useful things I learned in the Spanish forums is that some pucks of MWF lather well, and others just don't lather at all. That simple. If you do get the bad puck, you may load for half an hour with one of those brushes witches use for flying, that you won't be able to lather it properly. I experienced this myself with a couple of Shavedash samples. I was a newbie by then and ordered a MWF sample and a Kent sample, just to see if it was true that it was the same soap. I was surprised to find out that the scent in the Kent sample was faint, and much more perceivable in the MWF sample. But then I learned that the Kent sample lathered perfectly, no problem, and the MWF sample would only lather in "superlather" mode together with a cream, as our friend CHSeifert says.
I shared this with my fellows at the Spanish forums and I was told that their experience was that the Kent soaps usually turned out to be better than the MWF "original" soaps, for who knows what reason. Perhaps that Kent is a "luxury" brand with "luxury" standards and that their quality control is better than MWF's own, but that's just speculation. Later on I ordered a Kent puck and bought a used MWF ceramic bowl, and couldn't be happier. The water in my area is medium hard, and I regularly obtain excellent lathers and better shaves out of my Kent soap. It's true that the lather from this soap is not as dense as other soaps' like, say, Tabac or the Eufros Tallow, but it actually doesn't need to be that way. It's a bit more fluffy, but it works perfectly all the same. As long as it doesn't vanish on my face (well, that happens with my Mystics quite often...), I'm happy, and it won't do that.
I personally consider MWF as a classic that is still able to cope with the big dogs out there. It's the old, wise man, still able to teach a few lessons to the youngsters, with a simple formulation that lacks all the bells and whistles of the modern soaps, thoroughly equipped with Shea butter, Tussah silk, Rhassoul and all those things. It definitely has a place in my rotation, and I rotate it every week. I agree that it works best with boar brushes and it's with boar brushes that I prefer to use it. Another "secret" to lather it is that it requires a generous load. If your brush is not able to load enough, even after soaking the puck, pick up the puck in your hands and rub it against your face in the same fashion you would do with a shaving stick.
So, if you're having that much trouble with a MWF puck, my advice is that you use it for washing your hands or combine it with some other cream and "superlather" it. Just get another puck and chances are that it will work better than the old one.
By the way, last time I used my MWF, I was told that even my hands were super soft that day. I told her what soap I had used for shaving and she said that if it left the skin so soft, she might use it for washing her hands some day
. Just a hint on another use for a MWF puck that won't lather.
