Thread: Williams mug(modern) VS Arko

Just to be clear i like both of the products. I found Arko easy to lather compare to Williams mug but for the quality of the lather i prefer Williams. If i compare the slickness, cushion and the protection my go is williams, don't get me wrong Arko do the job fine to and like i said i like them both. As for the scent i found them similar clean fresh scent and for both of them the price is right. There's lots of wet shavers who dislike both of those soaps but me i like and use them often and continue to use it even that i have real quality soaps and creams. Gino

I buy a puck of Williams about once every year to see whether I still can get a decent shave from this soap (I can) and in the faint hope that the manufacturer might have gotten their act together (they never did), but I rarely finish the puck and it usually ends in the bin.

No need to try to work miracles from a truly inferior product when there are so many better alternatives.
Arko being one of them; by no means one of my favourites, but it gets the job done quite nicely.

With respect to Williams, time to start hoarding if you like it. There were several communications with the manufacturer Combe Inc. quoted on shaving websites that Williams Mug Soap was about to be discontinued or in "limited distribution", probably meaning selling off the remaining stock.

In a way, I regret to see a classic disappear.
If Combe had paid more attention to Williams after the 2002 acquisition it could have become a cult shaving soap.
But the way this soap deteriorated over the years, it should be easy to find a superior replacement.


B.

There are plenty of threads on new Williams but I'll just give my opinion quick. I have never been able to do anything with it. I have a puck of the old stuff that is excellent. The Arko I really like and it is so cheap!

Originally Posted by beluga

I buy a puck of Williams about once every year to see whether I still can get a decent shave from this soap (I can) and in the faint hope that the manufacturer might have gotten their act together (they never did), but I rarely finish the puck and it usually ends in the bin.

No need to try to work miracles from a truly inferior product when there are so many better alternatives.
Arko being one of them; by no means one of my favourites, but it gets the job done quite nicely.

With respect to Williams, time to start hoarding if you like it. There were several communications with the manufacturer Combe Inc. quoted on shaving websites that Williams Mug Soap was about to be discontinued or in "limited distribution", probably meaning selling off the remaining stock.

In a way, I regret to see a classic disappear.
If Combe had paid more attention to Williams after the 2002 acquisition it could have become a cult shaving soap.
But the way this soap deteriorated over the years, it should be easy to find a superior replacement.


B.

Williams Mug Soap

Note the box has "mug" written in blue instead of white trimmed in blue, meaning that the "pre-raped" soap is displayed on their website.

Combe denies changing the formula, said it is the #1 seller in the world. LIARS!

Glad to see it go if they were going to mess up this iconic American product. It deserved a better fate.

Maybe they mean historically it's the number one seller.

Williams is fine. As it is gone, your'e gonna miss it! I won't, however. Think I have about 20 pucks left!

No contest for me. I have hard water and that may be part of my problem with modern Williams. I don't enjoy the citronella scent at all so I probably wouldn't use it even if I could get it to lather. Arko makes a pretty good lather and the sticks I have just smell like Ivory soap so it's very usable. It is a little drying for me though so there are other soaps I like better than Arko too. I did recently pick up a puck of vintage Williams but I won't get around to using it until at least after my summer of menthol is over.

Uh oh. If Williams is discontinued I'll have about 500 drops of glycerine to put on ebay.

Williams - if coaxed with brush and glycerine not hardly the worst soap in the world.
Arko - without coaxing sometimes my idea of one of the best.

I can't speak to Williams as I have never tried it given the number of negative reviews/comments that I have come across.

Arko on the other hand is an exceptionally functional soap especially when the cost is factored in. The scent is bland and strongly anti microbial hand soap like but the ease of lathering and slickness are on par with many soaps costing 3-5 times as much.

I use it infrequently but appreciate it greatly. Fortunately I am at a point in my life that I don't worry about the cost of a good artisan tallow based soap and enjoy experimenting looking for the ultimate shaving soap...but if this were 20 years ago (and both I and my knees and my shoulder and...wish it were as well) I would be using Arko regularly and using the money for other things.

Just my 2 cents worth.