Thread: williams for starters?

Originally Posted by WillN

Go for the Williams. I have used it for over 40 years and have found it to be a good soap. There are better and there are worse with Marvy being near the bottom of the list.

I have never had any trouble lathering with Williams though it does need a little more water than others. I think if it were $7.00 instead of $.97 at the local grocery, it would get a higher rating.

Just my opinion.

Will N.

I don't think the price would affect it's rating at all...If anything it'd be worse.
YMMV but like I said I've tried this soap about 15 times on different pucks and the Vintage stuff was 10x better than the new stuff because they changed the formula years ago.

Also if you have anything remotely near hard water...good luck lol.

if it works for you....don't fix it.

You must get the Williams soap , just so you can say you tried it . I think we all need to try it at least once . I tried it back around 1971 or so . It sucked , and I went back to the Gillette Foamy or whatever it was I was using . If what I was using was the "vintage stuff" , the new stuff must REALLY suck .

At about a buck a puck, you gotta try it. Worst case scenario, you'll get bored with it like me and have a shower soap with a vaguely interesting scent.

If you want cheap locally available soap, buy a puck of VDH from Walgreens. If you want, you can grab a stick of Arko for pretty cheap, as well. Every one should try Williams at some point, but that point should not be learning to shave, IMO.

I use Williams - it works fine for me; I get great shaves with it. Whether or not you'll like it or learn to use it is another thing entirely. No one should say it won't work for you.. except you.

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

You might also add some glycerin (easiest source is Astroglide or KY Jelly) to the lather -- that would improve the Williams lather a fair bit.

Charles

Uh, your best source of glycerine is just getting some glycerine at the drug store. KY and other lubes also have carbopol polymers and other things that could detract from your shaving experience (they polymers tend to leave a thin, tacky film on things and can be difficult to clean off--especially from steel).

I've actually 'mixed' it with glycerin (in the microwave). Just to try and stretch my Col. Conk a little bit.

Uh, your best source of glycerine is just getting some glycerine at the drug store.

I didn't think about the extra ingredients -- you have a good point.

My local health food /bulk store has a section for soap-making supplies. Vegetable glycerin is there, cheap, and works nicely.

Charles

Otherwise, I don't see anything wrong with it, I mean if you're trying to save a little cash anyway. When I'm shaving, I couldn't even tell you how many times I'm dipping back into the mug to add a little lather. So long as you have fresh lather going you really can't go wrong. However, the Williams does seem to dry up rather quickly, which may've contributed to the negative conotations attached to it.

Williams has been my fave for years. I do not find that it dries any faster than anything else, for the most part. 4 drops of glycerine make it pop even better. As you learn to shave more proficiently, your speed will pick up, keeping the drying factor down, no matter what you use. Not a big deal to use cooler water(which slows drying) and picking up the brush for a swipe on occasion until then.