Thread: Has anybody used Williams Mug?

Originally Posted by cessnabird

Big Jim, just a thought... I read in your post that you swirled 10 times on the soap then went to the mug to make the lather. Maybe it's just my opinion but 10 swirls is not going to get enough soap loaded in the brush to make any lasting lather. Try taking your brush out from soaking in water, gently shake just the excess water out but not too much, then go to work on the soap puck for as long as it takes to really get some soap loaded in the bristles, you may even have a semi- lather going on top of the soap. THEN, take it to the mug to build your lather and add small amounts of water as needed. I hope this helps some. Happy shaves!

I have found that I have to go back to the puck, but not so much these last couple of days. The WMS did seem to be getting some lather as I loaded it up. 10 swirls was an upgrade from 8, which was an upgrade from "a count of four" I picked up from another lathering vid. Trying not to be wasteful and measure my brush loading off the vids, maybe I'm erring on the side of conservation. For the cost of the soap I'd just as soon err on the side of waste (a little) if it meant I was able to do what the soap is meant to do. I just assummed it was my lather building technique that was poor, and I think at least in part, that was the case.

I'll play around with this some more tonight.

Originally Posted by BigJim

....snip...
For the cost of the soap I'd just as soon
.....snip....
I'll play around with this some more tonight.

Different brushes work differently...

Another trick is to lather in the palm of
the other hand. Some days I find that the fingers
give the brush better action and build a lather
quicker and better than smooth mug or face lathering.

Also some hard soaps like to be given a splash
and then let the soap soften. i.e. they give up
their soap sparingly. If I use a hard soap
three days in a row the third days lather
seems easier. I think it is because the puck
is wet when I put it up and over night it softens....

To that end I dampen my Mitchell's Wool fat
today if I want to use it tomorrow. It is not
necessary but it works for me when I remember.
i.e. There must be a reason that soap bowels have covers.

So, as promised, I went back to Williams Mug Soap tonight. I doubled up my swirling over the puck and got a much thicker lather, but it did seem to dissappear at first. I tried adding some water, later spilling from my cup into the sink, but it seemed to stick around longer. I think I'm getting there. I also think I'll hit the Williams the rest of the week to see how it responds after repeated use. Thanks Tom.

That's great to hear!! Keep it up!

FWIW: I've been using the WMS consistently over the past few days, and tonight it definitely lathered up easier. I haven't gone back to the VDH yet, but will try using it consistently and see how it does lathering. Everyone claims VDH is easier to lather than WMS, but I'm enjoying the WMS so far (makes me wish it was warmer out though!).

Peace,

If you like Williams, you are in for a treat when you dive into premium soaps! Williams is a decent everyday soap but it really is not the greatest out there. I am using a puck of Haslinger Sandlewood right now that I am really loving, the wife enjoys the sandlewood scent on me after a shave too which is a plus! Keep practicing and enjoy many different soaps and creams, that is part of the enjoyment of wetshaving!

Originally Posted by cessnabird

If you like Williams, you are in for a treat when you dive into premium soaps! Keep practicing and enjoy many different soaps and creams, that is part of the enjoyment of wetshaving!

This is true, no doubt! A good time for guys to recommend soaps and especially where to get samples? It could get expensive to order, buy and try them all, but would be nice to try them out as samples to determine candidates for use.

Originally Posted by cessnabird

If you like Williams, you are in for a treat when you dive into premium soaps! Williams is a decent everyday soap but it really is not the greatest out there. I am using a puck of Haslinger Sandlewood right now that I am really loving, the wife enjoys the sandlewood scent on me after a shave too which is a plus! Keep practicing and enjoy many different soaps and creams, that is part of the enjoyment of wetshaving!

Yeah, the diving in to premium soaps might be a ways off, but it gives my wife/mom/mom-in-law something to consider for Christmas/Father's Day/Birthday. Though I'll have to resource them with vendors or I'll end up with a TON of VDH and WMS! They're always complaining that I'm too hard to shop for...I think it's just that car parts are so expensive. This should be more up their ally.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

This is true, no doubt! A good time for guys to recommend soaps and especially where to get samples? It could get expensive to order, buy and try them all, but would be nice to try them out as samples to determine candidates for use.

Samples can be hard to find but if you sample the refills
you can often save half over the fancy wood or ceramic bowel.

If you like the soap then get the fancy container.

I was in CVS in Fredericksburg, VA this evening and found WMS and VDH boar brush sitting next to each other on the shelf in the same cubby. The plastic handled VDH boar brush was priced at about $9, the WMS was priced at a $1 and some change. Since I'm new I thought I'd wait to see what I could find for both of these products.