So what's wrong with Williams exactly?

[HoosierTrooper]

I'm not going to sit here and pretend that Williams is the most luxurious, easy to lather soap on the planet.

However, there is a satisfaction in making it work, and work well, that gives it a spot in my rotation.

Much as the muzzle loader or single shot rifle has a following in the hunting game, modern Williams may not measure up to the latest semi-auto magnum shaving soaps with superb optics and scents, but shaving with that old smoke pole of a soap makes me better at the game.

Your mileage may vary, but I honestly don't get the hate for the stuff. Does the idea that somebody, somewhere is enjoying a product bother the Williams bashers so much that they have to come storming in and be the Fun Police, and make sure that anyone who is actually having a good time using this simple product feels like they've done something wrong?

Perhaps it's the twisted bitterness of the animosity that this humble puck generates that make the Williams shave so enjoyable. Where there is the darkest shadow, they say you also find the brightest light.

On the outside chance that this is true, that the sputtering and sneering is the needed Ying to the Yang of crafting an enjoyable shave out of Williams, then bring it on.

As one member's little girl pointed out, Williams smells "shavey". It's the Model 94 of shaving soaps, hopelessly outclassed by better soaps, yet it still gets the job done, and probably sends more American whiskers down the drain every day than all the others combined.

+ 1 gazillion

 

[man00ver]

John everyone is entitled to there own opine, I could not agree more about the Tabac smell.

I will ask though, what you are comparing the Williams soap to?

Reasonable responses like this are not permitted in the Williams War Zone.

In case the "biggrin" smiley didn't make it clear, I was just drubbin' on ya in the most good-natured way. I've used several very nice soaps and creams, both vintage and modern, but new Williams is where I started last year (killing 3 pucks before trying anything else). I learned it well, I love the clean lemon smell, and the lather I make with it is so slick it's like whipped cream with a dose of antigravity juice. It will always have a niche on my top shelf.

 

[acutao]

I have a buddy that can go to the river with a $50. fly rod and a $15. reel and flat-out out-fish almost anyone that has a $550. Sage set-up. Guaranteed.
Those Sage guys will go back to the water cooler and dis' his gear every time (guaranteed).

BTW, some $50 fly rods work. I have a $600 Orvis 4wt, and $25 Cortland Steelhead rod. I catch fish with both of them. And your friend, like many of us, has paid his dues and learned the necessary skills, whether its fly fishing or shaving.

There is a reason so many of us who have used soap and a brush for 10 plus years hate Williams. Because unlike your friend's $50 fly rod, or my $25 fly rod, it doesn't work.

Whoa Daddy! This is some thread.

Touché goby. But at the same time thanks for verifying my point. Someone that can afford a $600. Orvis probably doesn't want to hear that it is likely a $400. rod made by someone else and branded Orvis. Just like someone that bought a $30 puck of soap doesn't want to hear that Williams works for someone else.

 

[Jim]

Reasonable responses like this are not permitted in the Williams War Zone.

In case the "biggrin" smiley didn't make it clear, I was just drubbin' on ya in the most good-natured way. I've used several very nice soaps and creams, both vintage and modern, but new Williams is where I started last year (killing 3 pucks before trying anything else). I learned it well, I love the clean lemon smell, and the lather I make with it is so slick it's like whipped cream with a dose of antigravity juice. It will always have a niche on my top shelf.

Fair enough!

 

[Seraphim]

Williams itself is the swirling black hole Ying to any number of other fine shave soaps Yang out there.

Average is fine. What we must come to grips with here is indeed the very concept of average. What you may not be aware of is that your average guy is just that- average. It is mathematically predestined, an inescapable certainty. Now, if you happen to awake one fine morning, and look in the mirror, see a thin smear of Williams froth upon your face, and think to yourself "hot damn, now THIS is Living!", well no need to despair....you are in good company. You are an average guy. No shame in that.

Yet, if some day you awake, look in the mirror, see that same thin smear of Williams suds that you labored over for countless minutes of boar brush whisking fury evaporating from your face before your very eyes, and instead of a blissful Stepford Wives smile of acceptance coming to your lips, but rather a burning desire for something Better. If you then find yourself immediately taking that waxy yellow puck and flushing it down the hopper or defenstrating it poste haste. Well then, YOU are a man with that little something extra. A man who aspires to Higher things in life. A man not content to go round and round on this merry go round of life without reaching out and grabbing for that brass ring.

Excelsior!

Onwards and upwards!

I have not yet begun to fight!

Give me liberty, or give me death!

or...

Meh, this is good enough...

 

[goby]

Williams itself is the swirling black hole Ying to any number of other fine shave soaps Yang out there.

Average is fine. What we must come to grips with here is indeed the very concept of average. What you may not be aware of is that your average guy is just that- average. It is mathematically predestined, an inescapable certainty. Now, if you happen to awake one fine morning, and look in the mirror, see a thin smear of Williams froth upon your face, and think to yourself "hot damn, now THIS is Living!", well no need to despair....you are in good company. You are an average guy. No shame in that.

Yet, if some day you awake, look in the mirror, see that same thin smear of Williams suds that you labored over for countless minutes of boar brush whisking fury evaporating from your face before your very eyes, and instead of a blissful Stepford Wives smile of acceptance coming to your lips, but rather a burning desire for something Better. If you then find yourself immediately taking that waxy yellow puck and flushing it down the hopper or defenstrating it poste haste. Well then, YOU are a man with that little something extra. A man who aspires to Higher things in life. A man not content to go round and round on this merry go round of life without reaching out and grabbing for that brass ring.

Excelsior!

Onwards and upwards!

I have not yet begun to fight!

Give me liberty, or give me death!

or...

Meh, this is good enough...

That is simply brilliant.

BTW, it's not about money. I could see someone falling absolutely in love with Euro Palmolive, or Proraso, or Razor Rock. There are many great soaps and creams that inexpensive and wonderful to use.

Williams is not one of them.

 

[Topgumby]

Like Satchmo said....

"If you have to ask why I love Williams, you'll never know..."

Some guys relish the fight, others fight over the relish. If you must have your lather handed to you on a silver platter, lift your little pinky in disdain and get out of my den, 'cause me and Mr. Omega are gonna bend some Williams to our will....

 

[GershwinInParis]

What more can be said about Williams? It was my first shaving soap, and I quickly moved on. Currently using EJ/Muhle Sea Buckthorne soap.

I'll admit though, I REALLY liked the smell of Williams. Next time I'm back home in the states, I'll probably grab a few pucks just for fun. Heck, I'd probably even use it in the shower from time to time--though I can't remember if it's that much different from the Imperial Lather bar soap they use here in Oz.

 

[oc_in_fw]

the Fun Police

If they are the Fun Police, does that make us part of the Williams Criminal elements?

 

[Seraphim]

Listen, I unleashed such an expletive laced diatribe earlier, exposing Williams for the fraud that it is, that it crashed the B&B server for the better part of today.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I am a die hard VDH man. I have used Williams when no VDH could be had. Usually I have a backup tube somewhere of Kiss My Face, Neutragena, or Old Spice cream, if not a backup VDH puck, but I have resorted to Williams and found no reason to feel underpriveleged by it.

I use a mug. I fill the mug with very hot water, run hot water on my brush, then dunk it right there in the mug in the water on top of the soap. A minute or two of this will soften up the soap and help the brush to load up with it. I pour off the water, shake out the brush, and generally can pick up enough soap in a half minute of swirling to create a monumental lather. Also, a black badger or a very lofty boar will give you better results on hard soaps than a silky soft silvertip, IMHO.

Williams is not as good a soap as VDH. But it is a perfectly usable soap. No reason to trash talk Williams. Anybody who doesn't like it probably shouldn't use it.

I do think that 95% of all Williams users use Williams simply because that is what they have always used. Nothing wrong with that, either. As for me, gimme VDH, and if I can't get it then I will happily make do with something else.

 

[badgerbuster]

Williams is Excellent.

 

[Seraphim]

Williams is Excellent.

Of all the excessive hyperbole in all of the many Williams threads, this simple statement may take first prize!

You've really gone too far!

 

[Blade Boy]

It's the smell for me, might as well shave with Ivory. I'm sure it is a fine product for some people, just not for me.

 

[Gamma]

Williams - I shave well with it. Apparently - so do a lot of people. I understand that not every product works equally well or bad for everyone so that's kind of a given. No - it''s not a killer soap to die for but it works. Yes - it's a pale comparison to its former self from years gone by - and here I think lies the angst from those members who's experience trancends decades of use, or who's pockets are deep enough to have sourced the original formula versions.
In any case - Williams - it's soap, it lathers, I shave with it, and it works well enough for me
The anti-Williams posting here is all in good fun (I think), and without it there would be no visible pro-Williams sentment. There lies the balance of the universe. The Yin/Yang of soap in its finest hour. One cannot realize the 'light' without knowing the 'dark'.
Personally - if I had to hate a soap it would be Lightfoot. That stuff smells great but I can't get it to lather worth a damn. But I guess that would be a topic for another thread.

 

[kingfisher]

My 13-year-old son suffers from terribly dry skin/eczema on his hands during the winter. He's a bit of a germaphobe, and he washes his hands frequently. He was washing his hands with that abomination known as "SoftSoap" (a misnomer if ever there was one, because although it is soft, it is definitely not soap).

I gave him a puck of Williams and ask him to wash his hands with it rather than the SoftSoap. In about a week to 10 days, his eczema was cleared up. His hands looked healthier than they had in months.


So you see, Williams is a fine quality hand soap.

That is all.

 

[badgerbuster]

Of all the excessive hyperbole in all of the many Williams threads, this simple statement may take first prize!

You've really gone too far!

Experienced opinion only.

 

[goatee]

i have a hand made puck (bay rum) i purchased on ebay. i have a puck of V.D.H. and i have two pucks of williams.
tried the williams first, but had nothing to compare to.
then the bay rum. (hard to lather) finally the v.d.h. (which i like very much)

also,,, my brushes are boar bristle. a vdh and another which is very similar. then i got a badger hair. (big difference)
going to the puck just once isnt going to cut it. 2/3 times is the charm.

so i found this thread and thought i want to try this williams again. i must say,, i have no problem at all with it.
i like the scent, lather was quite rich, and i even used the boar brush. next time ill use the badger and see if its any better.
but all and all,,,, it was fine.

 

[dk_ace]

I'm not going to sit here and pretend that Williams is the most luxurious, easy to lather soap on the planet.

However, there is a satisfaction in making it work, and work well, that gives it a spot in my rotation.

Much as the muzzle loader or single shot rifle has a following in the hunting game, modern Williams may not measure up to the latest semi-auto magnum shaving soaps with superb optics and scents, but shaving with that old smoke pole of a soap makes me better at the game.

Your mileage may vary, but I honestly don't get the hate for the stuff. Does the idea that somebody, somewhere is enjoying a product bother the Williams bashers so much that they have to come storming in and be the Fun Police, and make sure that anyone who is actually having a good time using this simple product feels like they've done something wrong?

Perhaps it's the twisted bitterness of the animosity that this humble puck generates that make the Williams shave so enjoyable. Where there is the darkest shadow, they say you also find the brightest light.

On the outside chance that this is true, that the sputtering and sneering is the needed Ying to the Yang of crafting an enjoyable shave out of Williams, then bring it on.

As one member's little girl pointed out, Williams smells "shavey". It's the Model 94 of shaving soaps, hopelessly outclassed by better soaps, yet it still gets the job done, and probably sends more American whiskers down the drain every day than all the others combined.

+1

This thread has added to the enjoyment I get out of the soap oddly. Now on the occasion I shave with it, I get immense satisfaction knowing that I can get it to work beautifully and Seraphim can't. His loss...

D

 

[goatee]

ford's model A is not mp3 compatible nor does it have air conditioning, but if someone chooses to drive one,,,,,, it wont bother me.