Thread: Is Williams a lost cause?

A little late to the game here, but for several years I had williams soap and couldn't get anything decent out of it.

Last year, I forced myself to use it in a mug for two weeks with nothing else, and for lack of a better way to put it, I can get a very good lather out of it just because in two weeks I learned to out of no choice to do anything else*

It helps, and I know a lot of you guys don't like to do this, but it helps a whole lot with williams to have a brush that you can leave lather in. It's a hard soap and doesn't yield much soap, and aside from the quality of the soap itself being a little cheap, that's really where people are behind.

I shaved with it today, no problems. I make my brush medium wet, like what you'd flick off, and then put that in the mug to dig out some lather and that's it.





* the soap itself makes a dryish feeling lather, even if it's got plenty of moisture it has a sort of thin and not very lubricating feeling, but with a properly sharpened razor, there is no harshness left after the shave. If one is to use a very slick soap to cover up an edge that is a bit harsh, williams is not the soap for that.

I have been leaving soap in my brushes for several years now and with no ill effect to any brush. It remains the case that no brush that I have can't be easily washed out if needed, and none have dropped hairs or anything, despite the fact that I store some hanging and some sitting up. I started leaving soap in my brush because it was stinking after a couple of weeks of daily shaving. Leave a soap that has a preservative in the brush, and all of the sudden, no stink can grow in it. Now with 3 brushes, I just use each one a couple of days so that each brush gets a chance to dry out without me having to dry it out, and in the off cycle each brush dries completely - not all of my soaps have preservatives in them, and I think williams might be one that allows the stink to form if it's left in a brush.

No, I won't dispute that you can get a usable shaving lather from Williams. I don't leave soap on my brush nor do I cover Williams with water prior to loading my damp brush. It is just that it take a lot more effort to get a lather that for the most part is not as good as what you can more easily get from an Arko or Palmolive shave stick at only a few dollars more in cost. Spending those extra few dollars is more than worth it for ease of lather-ability and much better lather. I mean even an Ivory bath soap bar will work but do you want to use it on a regular basis?

Bob

+1 BobH

I did a pre-lather with Williams this morning. I formed the lather as if it would be used to shave.

It took a bit (well, a lot longer than VDH) but it did lather well. I let it sit for a while and the Williams did not start to dry until minute 4. Plenty of time to shave.

Probably a detailed thread here but I went and bought some this morning. I am not sure if it's the water, brush, or technique but I had NO problem lathering up in less than a minute and it was a GREAT shave. No drying out or disappearing. I just don't know the difference in what I do but its never been a problem for me. I'll take it though.

Keep going with it, it's bubblier on the surface, just like a bar of ivory bath soap. It will get a little smoother on the surface and tired over time. But, I'm one of the people in the camp that it lathers for me as well as anything else, unless I wash my brush out, and then I think it really boils down to being a matter of the soap not transferring to a brush very efficiently (so it's an issue not of the soap not being able to lather, but an issue of not enough soap because it doesn't come loose from the cake that easily).

Of course, the lather is a bit dry feeling, but it's perfectly serviceable, and if someone is getting a rough shave, it's because shaving with williams is like playing guitar without reverb. it's still soap, but it offers no extra assist.

Originally Posted by rolodave

+1 BobH

I did a pre-lather with Williams this morning. I formed the lather as if it would be used to shave.

It took a bit (well, a lot longer than VDH) but it did lather well. I let it sit for a while and the Williams did not start to dry until minute 4. Plenty of time to shave.

That's the problem: 4 minutes may be fine for a DE pass, but is not sufficient to complete a proper straight pass.

Neither am I going to rush a straight shave pass just for the sake of using Williams, nor do I believe that I should have to lather up again when ½-way through a pass.


B.

Originally Posted by beluga

That's the problem: 4 minutes may be fine for a DE pass, but is not sufficient to complete a proper straight pass.

Neither am I going to rush a straight shave pass just for the sake of using Williams, nor do I believe that I should have to lather up again when ½-way through a pass.


B.

That is a very good point. How long does a SR shave need to be?

So, I timed myself this morning. Big Surprise!

2:45 from lather finish to a one pass DFS.

I was shocked and saddened. Shocked that the time was so short and saddened that all this time, effort and money is spent on something lasting less than 3 minutes.

OTOH, I have a smooth face with no burn or irritation. The wife is happy which is all that matters.

I neither praise nor condemn Williams. Of the 3 dozen soaps I own it would be second from last in shaving comfort and results. Well, I guess I do condemn the soap.

Enough about Williams.

My two pass daily shave is about five minutes. The first pass is stock removal, and the second is light blade buffing (so it could be faster if I wasn't trying to get a very close result).

I've never had a problem with any soap drying out except soap that I've made (as in from lye and oils).

I still like williams fine for what it is. It's about a penny a shave.

I really like MDC for what it is (and someone willing to navigate the french site to get to english and register can get it shipped for less than $60 again), and I'll make a comment that will horrify some. When I use MDC, I don't wash my brush (just like anything else), and I can literally shave two days in a row with the same brush - on the second day I don't add any additional MDC, I just dampen the brush and work up a lather again. The first day I am sparing on how much I use in the first place. I wouldn't be surprised to get 3 years worth of daily shaves out of one tub, it was probably dumb of me to buy another one yesterday because I've barely made a dent in the first one (admittedly, I do usually put a little extra on the brush each day). The second day no-added-soap shave with MDC is still better than most soaps are with a heavily loaded brush. It feels like a cream, I think ...well, because it's pretty much just a hard cream.

And I do like cella, that was mentioned earlier as a good soap for what it costs. It's fabulous. My wife uses it to shave her legs, I don't use it as much because I can only keep two soaps at a time in my cabinet upstairs, but the cella has stopped us from buying bottle after bottle of "skintimate" shave cream.

Originally Posted by BobH

No, I won't dispute that you can get a usable shaving lather from Williams. I don't leave soap on my brush nor do I cover Williams with water prior to loading my damp brush. It is just that it take a lot more effort to get a lather that for the most part is not as good as what you can more easily get from an Arko or Palmolive shave stick at only a few dollars more in cost. Spending those extra few dollars is more than worth it for ease of lather-ability and much better lather. I mean even an Ivory bath soap bar will work but do you want to use it on a regular basis?

Bob

I can't argue about the dollars thing. My back and forth is Williams one day or two days or three (whatever I feel like) and then MDC for one day or two days or three, and then back to williams. I have other soaps and creams that I use sometimes, but mostly those two. They are quite a contrast!! My refusal to wash a brush out makes MDC last a VERY long time. I've probably shaved 100 shaves with my MDC and I've used less than a quarter of the container.

Now that the dollar is up, that's a good reminder to head over to their site, navigate my way through the white flags, and get another jar of it before the exchange rate is crappy again.

Originally Posted by DaveW

I can't argue about the dollars thing. My back and forth is Williams one day or two days or three (whatever I feel like) and then MDC for one day or two days or three, and then back to williams. I have other soaps and creams that I use sometimes, but mostly those two. They are quite a contrast!! My refusal to wash a brush out makes MDC last a VERY long time. I've probably shaved 100 shaves with my MDC and I've used less than a quarter of the container.

Now that the dollar is up, that's a good reminder to head over to their site, navigate my way through the white flags, and get another jar of it before the exchange rate is crappy again.

Funny, you just mentioned two soaps that, only in my opinion, are not really worth it for the same reason, cost too much for what they do. As always it is a case of YMMV with all things shave related.

Bob