Thread: Williams Shaving Soap History

Gentlemen,
In this day and age, nobody knows who owns whom. All I know is this: the old Williams, which I tried way back in my youth, was not the greatest offering, but it performed okay. I have not tried the new version, although I do hear, "It's not the same as the old one."

Originally Posted by Obie

Gentlemen,
In this day and age, nobody knows who owns whom. All I know is this: the old Williams, which I tried way back in my youth, was not the greatest offering, but it performed okay. I have not tried the new version, although I do hear, "It's not the same as the old one."

You are correct sir Obie, IMO. Williams gets a lot of love from the nostalgia aspect - ‘it’s what my dad/grandad/uncle/sister used’ - but what people overlook is that the modern version is neither the same soap nor the same company. The box is very close though! If you took the label off and had people compare it to MdC, CF, or any other decent modern offering, it would get trashed. I’ve had vintage Williams, South African Williams, and modern Williams. I like the SA stick because of the rose scent. Don’t get me wrong, vintage Williams is a decent soap, but that’s all it is, nothing special about it other than the name. Heresy I suppose, but I’ve actually tried all of them that I can find and I have no nostalgia for it.

Originally Posted by Steve56

You are correct sir Obie, IMO. Williams gets a lot of love from the nostalgia aspect - ‘it’s what my dad/grandad/uncle/sister used’ - but what people overlook is that the modern version is neither the same soap nor the same company. The box is very close though! If you took the label off and had people compare it to MdC, CF, or any other decent modern offering, it would get trashed. I’ve had vintage Williams, South African Williams, and modern Williams. I like the SA stick because of the rose scent. Don’t get me wrong, vintage Williams is a decent soap, but that’s all it is, nothing special about it other than the name. Heresy I suppose, but I’ve actually tried all of them that I can find and I have no nostalgia for it.

I also have tried those three Williams soap versions. If the old version of the Williams puck were sold today at today's prices it would be a real bargain for a decently performing shave soap. The now defunct SA Williams shave stick was a decently performing shave soap and a bargain if bought in SA and not from when they were briefly imported to America. Imo, the modern Williams shave soap performs poorly and is not a bargain.

I think we are a bit jaded in the shaving community where a decently performing inexpensive shave soap gets short changed. They have their place if you want to get a good shave as economically as possible.

Bob

There are lots of budget options even at today’s prices that IMO, outperform vintage Williams. You can use Vitos Red/Green or 3P from the bricks, or Pre de Provence (if you buy on sale) for around $1.30-1.50 per month. Arko or Derby, maybe $1.00 or a little more per month if you don’t mind the ‘fragrance’. If your budget can stand around 7.5 cents a shave, or about $2.25/month, you can shave with Castle Forbes, at 1/2g per shave, 200ml tub. Granted the ‘price of admission’ on most of these are higher than a puck of Williams, but they’re a similar cost in actual usage.

I chose the history thread because I am not looking for judgments on the soap.

From what I find this has tallow as the first ingredient so I think it is safe to say that it is the "old" formula.

I will have to try to find out what it sold for 43 or so years ago now. I paid $3 USD for it so it doesn't appear that soap bars are a very good long term investment.

I got a puck just like yours, Tim. But the Kroger's price tag us still on it.



Sure like to get that pewter mug, though.



I'll say this, I like the vintage, way more than today's. And in its day, would be comparative to our 2nd, if not a few of our top tier soaps, of today. JMHO

I have to rethink my previous statement. At that price it hasn't kept up to gold but is a lot closer than I would have guessed.

According to the inflation calculator, if it sold for $0.33 in 1970, that would be $2.19 today.

Originally Posted by Steve56

According to the inflation calculator, if it sold for $0.33 in 1970, that would be $2.19 today.

It's cheaper today that it was in 1970 then.

https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/wi...143465-product

They also show sodium tallowate as #2 in the ingredients list.

Bob

Even in it's day Williams was never considered a quality soap. It would never even approach modern second tier or even third tier. It was just a basic gets the job done item. As with now there were all kinds of fancy soaps available imported from Europe. I imagine there were some great domestic made soaps too.

It's just this mystique surrounding both Williams and Old Spice. I guess the same with Burma Shave.