I am starting to like Williams

[s1mp13m4n]

Let me say this first...it is not the best soap I have used. I havfinally figured out how to use Williams and make it lather. I have figured out that it takes far more water than say VDH and it takes far more time to load the brush and face lather with it than lets say VDH does. However, when you get it right...the stuff works very well. Despite to lather, it has this layer of slick that nothing that I have in my soaps can match. I am not saying I want to use Williams everyday...because it takes more work to get the same shave that I can get from VDH, but there is something about it that keeps me coming back to it. I have used my supply of Williams up and am now out of it. I am trying to find it locally and so far I can not find it. :(
I have found that my best brush to use with Williams is my Tweezerman badger. It seems to have the right balance of still to scrape the soap yet soft enough to not tear your face up while lathering. For me Williams soap works the best with my Lord Merkur Tech razor and redbox IP's.

[Loner16]

I agree there are nice soaps out there besides Williams. I enjoy experiencing the different scents and textures of the myriads of soaps and creams available so I understand not sticking to just Williams alone.
What I don't understand, but tend to get a kick out of, is the venom injected into every thread that mentions the product as if by an extremely perturbed Rattler that's just been stepped upon..
I use Williams and will continue... just not every day when there are an infinite number of other choices that are very nice also.

[synapticmisfires]

I like to see these posts that are slightly positive about Williams. It's not a great masterpiece, but I think it's a case of getting more than you pay for. When I first joined B&B all mentions of Williams tended to be ridiculously negative, it's nice that there seems to be a growing trend of appreciating it for what it is.

[BrianL]

Some Safeway and Kroger branded stores carry William's here and so does CVS pharmacy.

[Seraphim]

Williams is a _____ shaving soap that gives a ______ shave.



You fill in the blanks!

[Saltchuck]

Welcome to the club! Williams can certainly deliver a very good shave, if you know how. And figuring out how to get a good shave with Williams will improve your technique with other soaps too.

[Topgumby]

Williams is a _____ shaving soap that gives a ______ shave.



You fill in the blanks!

Williams is a traditional shaving soap that gives a great shave.

There, that wasn't so hard.

Yes, there are soaps that offer more "luxury", and in a world of instant gratification it's tempting to stop once you've plucked the low hanging fruit of easy lather.

Williams isn't for everybody, and that's fine. Teddy Roosevelt would have been a Williams guy, I think.

Let's see what he thought about it:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better."

(Pay no heed to the Williams haters)

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly;"

(Yes, Williams can require some effort. It's like life that way)

"Who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed;"

(The bitter tears shed lathering Williams can water the garden of lathering proficiency)

"Who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly,"

(Bending Williams to your will can be a triumph to be savored, but there is no guaranty that you'll get it. It's shaving soap with no safety net)

"So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

(Don't be scared by the bad rap that Williams gets, if you don't try it, you'll never know)

[Deltaboy]

Here Here it takes more water and work but it WORKS just like it did for my Granddads.

[s1mp13m4n]

I can not find it around where I live. I can not find it @ Rite Aid, Walmart, Target, Food Lion, Bottom Dollar, Farm Fresh, etc. I do not have a KMart close, hmmm. :) Now that I know how to use Williams, I am finding that it works very well. Like I said, there is something about it that keeps me coming back to it. I am interested in value for the money, not image or name brand.

[Schwert]

Williams is a traditional shaving soap that gives a great shave.

There, that wasn't so hard.

Yes, there are soaps that offer more "luxury", and in a world of instant gratification it's tempting to stop once you've plucked the low hanging fruit of easy lather.

Williams isn't for everybody, and that's fine. Teddy Roosevelt would have been a Williams guy, I think.

Let's see what he thought about it:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better."

(Pay no heed to the Williams haters)

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly;"

(Yes, Williams can require some effort. It's like life that way)

"Who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed;"

(The bitter tears shed lathering Williams can water the garden of lathering proficiency)

"Who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly,"

(Bending Williams to your will can be a triumph to be savored, but there is no guaranty that you'll get it. It's shaving soap with no safety net)

"So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

(Don't be scared by the bad rap that Williams gets, if you don't try it, you'll never know)

I tip my Akubra to you Topgumby....I tip it again.

[DougK]

What Topgumby said. I love CADE, but if all I had to shave with was Williams, I'd be a happy camper and get a great shave every day. Which reminds me, I should stock up on it next time I go to the grocery store.

[_JP_]

Williams is a shaving soap that gives a shave.



You fill in the blanks!

What blanks?

[Deltaboy]

I love using it! I get great shaves and for me it is a Issue of PRIDE for me that I can do that with this much maligned Shave Soap. Anybody can get good lather out of a 10 dollar + puck but it takes skill to master and use Williams.

[Seraphim]

Here Here it takes more water and work but it WORKS just like it did for my Granddads.

Your granddads used the old formulation stuff, before Williams was bought out by Nabisco.

[redwing]

williams: i grate 2 pucks into my bowl; but i sprinkle AV blue as i go, and a couple of drops of glycerine / puck;

then i take a toothpick & poke holes into the filled bowl & pour some AV & let it permeate the holes;

mentholly williams - very cooling....

[media]

I absolutely love the scent of williams. To where I even bathe with the stuff. For some reason when I shave with it, it just tears up my face. I would REALLY like to have a good shave with it. I got the lather right I thought, but it was a massacre.

[Haber Dashing]

after shaving with williams, vdh, and proraso made c.o. bigelo cream for a couple of months I have just now gotten to the point where I can get a really good lather with williams....I feel like I was in the show kung fu...when you can walk across the rice paper without tearing it you will be ready...if you can get a good lather with williams...you have truly accomplished something...when I face lather with williams I load up so much soap and water on my face and in the brush that I could audition for a mall santa...when it comes to williams there is no such thing as too much...more soap...more water...more soap...more water...then scrub your face like a janitor cleaning a latrine with terpentine, think...this puck is only a buck...and LOAD IT UP...really...it doesn't do squat unless you've almost worked half a lather on the puck then get it on your face brush dip in the water, brush dip in the water...etc etc...take common sense and throw it out the window...with this stuff it won't work...you have to get mean and work it like you were trying to make lather out of a urinal puck...and low and behold after clubbing it into submission like a baby seal...it will lather...it almost makes you feel proud that you could make lather out of this stuff

[luvmysuper]

Some would argue that the Urinal Puck example is very fitting.
I'm not one of them, but some would.
I get every bit as good a shave from Williams as I do from MWF.

[Topgumby]

Haber Dashing - Excellent post!

You have captured the experience Williams perfectly!