Thread: Is Williams a lost cause?

So after unsuccessfully creating a lather on more then one occasion with my Williams mug soap , i`ve been watching some videos and putting in some time reading through posts with others opinions on the matter. I`ve come to that point in my life where i`m thinking of tossing it out. I don`t generally toss shaving equipment out unless it really sucks. I really want to like William`s because it`s cheap as anything even in Canada but if it doesn`t work and provide a comfortable shave why should I keep it?

I read Disburden`s post on unlocking the secret to William`s and even after using his method i still failed to achieve any lasting lather. It was still all airy and bubbly and i`d been working on it for about 5 minutes, let alone when i put it to my face it disappeared within 20 seconds. Should I keep playing around with it or toss it? I want some opinions.

Also I want an everyday soap as the soap i really love is 20 USD per tub which if I factor in conversion and shipping it works out to about 40 bucks so i`m saving my last tub. I thought that my everyday soap could be William`s but unless something changes i`m going to have to find another soap. I like soap pucks... Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Guys.

The saving grace for most difficult soaps is 3-4 drops of glycerin. If bowl lathering, put in bowl before whipping lather up. If face lathering drip 3-4 drops of glycerin on moistened puck, load brush and face lather. No soap is a lost cause. Worse comes to worse use it as one of the soap/creams for an Uberlather. Also, have you switched to bottled or distilled water? In many places it's the water that is the culprit. Last observation: If the water you are starting out with is very, very hot that will kill your chances for a good lather. I have had the best results with either tepid or cold water. But I am also a cold/tepid water shaver.

Before I forget. I found an inexpensive Mexican shaving puck called Noble. Look it up. Lathers great!

Try Arko. it's a stick but you can grate it down and pack it in a puck dish. Loud soap smell but lathers just by looking at it :<0)

Cheap ! Mix it with your Williams or anything to tone down the soap smell. It's not bad just a lot of it.

I've lathered with a little bar of hotel soap and my fingers when I forot my gear while traveling, so I'm sure Williams can be used to make a lather. Like Razorfeld, I shave with barely warm water or cold most of the time and am a face latherer. I'd not throw it out, but instead try the glycerin, or using some Williams and some of another brand (Arko is the least expensive I use) and build a combo lather. Believe me, almost any shaving soap can be worked with enough patience.

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

I've lathered with a little bar of hotel soap and my fingers when I forot my gear while traveling, so I'm sure Williams can be used to make a lather. Like Razorfeld, I shave with barely warm water or cold most of the time and am a face latherer. I'd not throw it out, but instead try the glycerin, or using some Williams and some of another brand (Arko is the least expensive I use) and build a combo lather. Believe me, almost any shaving soap can be worked with enough patience.

I agree with Harold, Bob and Beluga. You can get a "shaveable" lather with Williams.

It takes a bit of time to face lather. I do not use glycerin but we do have softened water.

I use Williams as a pre lather on occasion but VDH is a much better choice. My main use for Williams is a lubricant for the DMTs.

Grating soap? Hummmmm.
I just find the need to cheese grate my soap before I use it to be rather.......odd!
The initial grater expense would cost more than the puck of soap, probably 3-4 pucks.
Kind of like the idea of buying cottage cheese and placing it under pressure, drawing out the moisture, and waiting for it to turn into cheddar cheese.
I've tried probably ten pucks of Williams over the last twenty years and have never enjoyed its qualities.

Originally Posted by Scareface

Grating soap? Hummmmm.
I just find the need to cheese grate my soap before I use it to be rather.......odd!
The initial grater expense would cost more than the puck of soap, probably 3-4 pucks.
Kind of like the idea of buying cottage cheese and placing it under pressure, drawing out the moisture, and waiting for it to turn into cheddar cheese.
I've tried probably ten pucks of Williams over the last twenty years and have never enjoyed its qualities.

Yea, I don't like grating soap pucks either. For Arko shave sticks I just mold them into a bowl, they are soft enough to do that, for home use. With the Palmolive shave stick I just slowly heated it a bit at a time till soft enough to mold into a bowl.

Bob

If it isnt working for you IMO yes it is. If you are looking for super affordable mainstream options you can always grate Palmolive Stick or as was mentioned Arko Stick into a bowl and the performance of both is excellent. You can also buy arko in a puck that comes in a red plastic tub for like $4-5 US if I recall.

Yes, you can lather Williams but imho it is not worth the effort. I agree with Pups that Arko is a much better bet and would add the Palmolive shave stick, formed into a bowl if you like. Just came off a week long use of the Palmolive stick formed into a bowl and really have to ask myself why I would bother with the more expensive soaps I have. The only answer to that is because I can and not because it is necessary.

Bob

I used my Williams in the tub to wash the stink off. Toooooooooo many other soaps that require less effort.