William's Soap

**copenhagen1221** · 08-03-2009, 01:43 AM

I just picked up a puck of this soap (I mean come on, it's dirt cheap), and I've been having a terrible time getting a good lather going. I nearly squeeze my brush til it's bone dry and I'm still getting bubbly lather. Anyone have any tips and tricks for me?

**calcustom** · 08-03-2009, 02:04 AM

Mantic has some excellent videos on shaving and one of them concerns making a lather from soaps and creams.
See if this gets you going in the right direction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc

**LexusAussie** · 08-03-2009, 02:18 AM

Bin the Williams and buy some Tabac. That Williams is horrid!

**Koss** · 08-03-2009, 03:00 AM

I've never used or even seen Williams around here... but maybe I can help!

Are you getting enough soap on your brush? Keep swirling and swirling and swirling until you have this thick heavy dry cream on all the tips of your brush, and even filling in a little bit inbetween the tips.

Another thing to look out for is if you are adding enough water. There is a point where it can be dry and still bubbly and thin. Oddly enough. Adding water will start to absorb into the soap already loaded inside the brush and spread more and more lather in your bowl or where ever your building your lather. As long as its not runny like soup or gravy... then it is not yet at that tipping point of TOO much water. Its kinda hard to tell unless you go through the whole process in practice. Starting off as dry as possible, and adding a few drops at a time until you go from bone dry, to perfect lather, to a watery mess over and over and over again.

I suggest what a previous poster said, check out mantic's vid on building a lather if you have not already. he does an excellent presentation and explanation of it all. Remember that his brushes are most likely better then what you and I are using... so you need to load your brush with more soap. It will take longer to load and to build lather then he will. Also, skill comes into play greatly during all this too!

**billyz** · 08-03-2009, 03:25 AM

I will straight up admit that I have nothing that compares to the experience of ANY of the regular posters on B&B- however I think I just might have the answer to your question:

FACT: It would seem from my research on the site that Williams soaps are notoriously poor latherers.

FACT: Even for the few that have succeeded in getting a satisfactory lather from their puck of Williams complain of it drying out their face. So, we can assume that moisterizing is also something Williams doesent do well.

I thought about those aformentioned facts a bit and then started thinking of ways to get a good shave from my recently purchased Williams. Inspiration came from two sources, namely, history and the box graphic.

Williams has been around for 159 years- that just doesn't happen if your product is poop. But what about all those dudes that say that this soap sucks? Hmm... maybe they're doing something wrong. I'll look it up on the ol' internets.

Hmm, whaddya know:

http://www.williamsmugsoap.com/shavingtips.asp

Note tip #1: DON'T SPARE THE HOT WATER.

That started me thinking that maybe we shouldn't aproach this particular soap like we do all of these high faluting soaps. None of this shake your brush out twice, or let it drip 'till it doesn't anymore business, no sir, I'm gonna go at this thing with a brush that's as wet as I can get it.

But I'll eat it before I hold it in my hand. Well it says it's mug soap, and it's got this cool picture on the box of a mug overflowing with lather, so I go ahead and stick this thing in a mug and nuke it for twenty seconds and press it down hard-- just so it doesn't bounce around in the bottom of the mug all the time. "Don't spare the hot water" hunh? Fine. I fill up the sink will hot water, throw in my Omega boar brush, and fill the mug with hot water while I take a shower.

While in the shower I remember the whole moisterising problem and apply some grapeseed oil to my face and let it sit (I use grapeseed oil when I don't want that menthol kick that most preshave oils have- it's very light and easily absorbed).

I towel off, drain the mug, pick up the soaking wet boar(somehow I'm thinking boar hair is appropriate- I figure I'll go at this thing old school and see what happens), and go to work. Bubbles_not lather_ immediately start over flowing from the now softened puck in the mug. Well, I can't use this stuff so I'll keep going at it until (if) it starts getting dense.

It took about 3/4 minutes of beating the crap out of that puck, but wouldn't you know that eventually I had built up a nice creamy, and could you belive slicklather?

3 passes: WTG, ATG, XTG/touch up. The oil kept my skin nice and moist and I got a BBS shave using my Parker 89r, loaded with a fresh Dorco 300.

Final verdict? This is a fun, economical, nice smelling ( LOooove that scent!), anachronistic soap that shouldn't be used if you're in any kind of a hurry.I'm not sure that the oil was necessary TBH as the lather was nice and slick. Are there better soaps out there? Absolutely. Is Williams anywhere near as bad as most folks say it is? NO WAY.

**MikeLip** · 08-03-2009, 03:58 AM

Williams was my only soap for a long time. It wants a LOT of soap on the brush. Th thing to do is to not let the soap dry out so it's easier to load the brush up, and to use a BOAR brush. Those wimpy, girly-man badger brushes just can't handle Williams!

On the other hand, there are lots of better soaps out there for not much money - Mama Bear springs to mind. Williams IS kind of tough to lather well, but it is doable. And yeah it does tend to dry your face out, but that's OK depending on your skin type. I never minded it, and still prefer a s eomwhat drying soap or cream.

Boar, lots of soap and patience.

**SiBurning** · 08-03-2009, 04:07 AM

The easiest way to use Williams is to not bother building a lather. Use it as a shave stick. Rub it on your wet face, adding more water as necessary. Meanwhile, pick up something better.

Nice to know you can make a lather with it. You definitely want to use a lot more than most good soaps, lather or not.

**michiganlover** · 08-03-2009, 04:30 AM

While I have gotten passable results with Williams, I truly believe the product is horrid overall. Come on, it smells like Citronella (gross), and dries out your face (in other words it has ZERO moisturizing properties).

For roughly .50 cents more per puck, you can buy VDH Deluxe (check your local Wal-Mart) and VDH beats Williams to death in terms of lather, performance, and moisturizing properties. It's really no contest, VDH is the superior product.

Don't suffer through the awful Williams when better products are only slightly more expensive.

If you still want to try to make it work, pre-soak the puck with a about a teaspoon of water on top, while your brush soaks. Then as said above, make sure to load the brush heavily with quite a bit of product. The entirety of the brush should be white with soap.

**Obelit** · 08-03-2009, 05:12 AM

Gentlemen,

Your conclusions are on target about Williams shave soap. I used a puck or two of it many years ago and finally decided to find myself a better soap. And I did. Many better soaps. Life's too short.

Obelit

**RBE17** · 08-03-2009, 06:06 AM

I picked a puck up at CVS yesterday for $1.59. I took it home, soaked a vulfix badger brush for a little. I put some hot water on the puck. After soaking both a little I shook the brush off, dumped the water off the brush and proceeded to lather. It didn't take long to have tons of lather. I did not shave as it was the middle of the day and this was only a test. I am looking forward to trying it though. The main reason I bought it was because it contained tallow.

**The Nid Hog** · 08-03-2009, 07:28 AM

I like Williams a lot and I think that it deserves more love. To sum up a couple of points that I think have already been made, it helps to soak the soap in some hot water while you're showering or otherwise getting organized. I also agree that you shouldn't be stingy when loading the brush. Beyond that, I don't think that you need to worry about anything else. To me, Williams is a reliable workhorse that you can count on for a good shave.

**markb** · 08-03-2009, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by The Nid Hog

I like Williams a lot and I think that it deserves more love.

+1. I also use it with great results..

**gollum83** · 08-03-2009, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by billyz

Note tip #1: DON'T SPARE THE HOT WATER.

What he said. Soak the living daylights out of the puck when you first get it. Another thing that will work great is milling the little bugger into a container and using lots of water in the process. After that it should be smooth sailing.

**The National Razor** · 08-03-2009, 07:55 AM

I had to completley submerge the puck in water. Maybe try putting it in a mug, and filling with water until the puck is covered. Let sit for a few minutes, then try building lather with the water still in the mug.

I got a decent lasting lather that way. Still, for me it wasn't worth all the hassle when there are so many good soaps out there. Good luck to you

**kzoo1** · 08-03-2009, 08:36 AM

This method works best for me. I also agree, this is an under appreciated soap.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsj58fqVjY[/YOUTUBE]

**Seraphim** · 08-03-2009, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by copenhagen1221

I just picked up a puck of this soap (I mean come on, it's dirt cheap), and I've been having a terrible time getting a good lather going. I nearly squeeze my brush til it's bone dry and I'm still getting bubbly lather. Anyone have any tips and tricks for me?

Bubbly lather is what Williams is all about.

Not rich, thick lather, but rather copious, bubbly lather. Sure it looks kinds nice, all frothy and white. But what you are really seeing there is mostly air--thus it dissapears rather quickly.

Does it work?

Sure it does.

So does a Bic disposable razor.

In both cases, there are many, better alternatives available.

I will say that everyone should get a puck of Williams and give it a go for a week. I did that, and found that by trying to get a decent lather out of it (soaking puck, not being afraid to load up my brush like a mutha, etc..), caused me to get much better results once I stopped using it and returned to some true quality shave soaps (Tabac, Valobra shave stick, etc.).

There certainly is a certain cratchety old bastard, cheap-skate appeal of Williams. And that's cool. It's just not very pleasant.

**MikeLip** · 08-03-2009, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Bubbly lather is what Williams is all about.

Not rich, thick lather, but rather copious, bubbly lather. Sure it looks kinds nice, all frothy and white. But what you are really seeing there is mostly air--thus it dissapears rather quickly.

Does it work?

Sure it does.

So does a Bic disposable razor.

In both cases, there are many, better alternatives available.

I will say that everyone should get a puck of Williams and give it a go for a week. I did that, and found that by trying to get a decent lather out of it (soaking puck, not being afraid to load up my brush like a mutha, etc..), caused me to get much better results once I stopped using it and returned to some true quality shave soaps (Tabac, Valobra shave stick, etc.).

There certainly is a certain cratchety old bastard, cheap-skate appeal of Williams. And that's cool. It's just not very pleasant.

At risk of starting a war, I guess I have to say I agree within limits. I will not say Williams is a bad soap. It's not. As I stated before I used it exclusively for a very long time and bubbly foam is not what you get when you work for it.

And I use Bic Sensitive razors when I travel. They work fine.

Yes, there are better soaps out there, but hey, it's a buck! And it works! You owe it to yourself to try it. If you don't like it, I don't blame you and yes there are better soaps out there and for not much money. Mama Bear always springs to mind.

I use IK and wonder if I am not overspending on soap.

**Jwolf24601** · 08-03-2009, 09:15 AM

Williams is great stuff, it's very hard though and does well with a good soaking.

With it I will use it in amug and add just enough hot water to it to cover the puck when I get in the shower.

When I get out I just start whipping away on the puck, not draining or adding any water.

It lends itself very well to making lather right on the puck.

I get nice thick creamy lather this way using Very hard alkaline water (southern nevada well water)

A great value IMHO!

**masonjarjar** · 08-03-2009, 09:28 AM

if you use it every day, it gets nice and soft and much easier to lather. The first few uses out of the box, you're going to get thin lather. I used Williams for years and know from experience. It takes about 4 or 5 days of daily uses for the puck to start giving great lather. Problem here is, everyone rotates so no one has the patience to wait it out past the few uses. Give it a chance.

**_JP_** · 08-03-2009, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by masonjarjar

if you use it every day, it gets nice and soft and much easier to lather.

Correct! When I'm done shaving I like to cover the soap while it is still wet, which makes the next lathering much easier.

The first few uses out of the box, you're going to get thin lather. I used Williams for years and know from experience. It takes about 4 or 5 days of daily uses for the puck to start giving great lather.

You're not doing it right. Just let a bit of very hot water soak on top of the puck for the first use. Pour that off and then get to work with the brush. With a brand new puck it can take more effort to load up the brush, but the soak should do a lot to help that along.

Give it a chance.

Yes! And give yourself a chance to learn how to lather it. The real trick is that Williams needs water and a bit of extra effort with loading up the brush. If you build the lather correctly you should still feel lubrication on your face after the razor has passed over it.

And that brings up another point about Williams - it's takes more effort to rinse off. I've learned that if I'm careful to really rinse after shaving that I pretty avoid that "tight face" feeling.