Williams shaving soap

shavemaniac;41131 said:
I agree with Jeff. Absolutely cheap - 99cent. But, I will not classify this a shaving soap. I know, some people loves it. I had no luck. It does produce good amount of lather - but, it lacks moist and slickness. I tried several times to confirm that I am doing it right - it always dries so quick on my face. I had to relather my face half-way shaving. It leaves a soapy-feeling on my skin even after washing my face throughly. My skin felt dry after the shave.

- Z

It's post like this that drive me nutz. Listen how can you give a soap that's 99 cents a 0 in price. Instead of freaking out about the soap, be legit.

The soap is cheap. It's difficult to make the lather if you don't know how but personally for me, it is worth the wait.

This is my go to soap. I love the smell, the lather in it, the fact that it doesn't leave my face feeling like it's flaking off.

The trick with this soap is how you make it.

Let the whole puck set it hot water.
Load your brush and make your lather on the brush.
Make sure you get that super rich lather that is hidden in the brush.
Leave the remains on the brush in your bowl on your puck to help with the next attempt at the lather.

Be patient with the soap and you will be rewarded with an awesome smelling, slick lather.

I agree with the glycerine addition- that and a boar brush for me turned this soap into... well... better than I'd expect from a $2 cake

I think that many men started traditional shaving with this stuff because it is available at most drugstores and supermarkets. Then as we discovered the huge variety of products available these poor little pucks faded quickly from memory, I just wish it was a little better as I would keep it my rotation for posterity but as it stands now I am done with this stuff.

I totally agree with you.

sucks!

Two more cents worth of opinion. Since this was the first soap I used, I assumed that any problems I had getting a good lather were just me, and that I had to work on it. With that attitude, it's not surprising that I did learn to make a good lather with it and get good results. Never tried bowl lathering with it, as I took naturally to face lathering.

I get a great shave with Williams, and appreciate the comparative absence of scent. Later, I did discover a couple of other soaps I like even better, but Williams remains a reliable standby, and I'll keep a stock of it.

I picked up 2 pucks of Williams at my local drugstore yesterday, i never used it before.
After having tried it i wonder why it's still on the market after all those years.
The soap smell a bit like an Arko stick, but doesn't perform halfway as good as Arko.
It's pretty hard to get a good lather whit it, and once you apply it, it dries up in 2 mins and you need to lather again.
I don't recommend it at all, maybe it's good as a bath soap but not for shaving.
For the price, get an Arko stick, and enjoy.

Not the best lather. Not the best lube. But...it works. Very good scent, I have to admit. Feels old timey. And I think for a newb it's a great way to learn how to lather. If you can master "the beast"(williams) your gonna love almost anything better. :blush:

I like it for the scent mainly...but really it's not a horrible shave. :001_cool:

Not bad, especially for the price. The effort required to work up a good lather is not really deserving of the effort. The scent is not too bad and is easily available at large retailers and drug stores.

I just love the post! It made me LOL; one of the best written pieces around. Clever and indeed very funny.

For the price and with the effort, yes indeed this soap works. But, realistically things have evolved sine 1840. There are many more lubricating and more moisturizing products now available. But, if you want to dig into the trenches and recall the past, this has the right stuff. :biggrin1:

I cover the puck with hot water while in the shower, pour the water off when I towel off, then add some more hot water to soften, pour that off and then get to lathering this up. You can indeed get a good lather with a little effort. In this regard, the soap provides a good challenge, because if you can lather this soap well, you might be able to get a good lather from a stone.

As to the actual qualities:

Lather when made right is adequate, but not spectacular- not that slick, nor that long-lasting, nor that protective, but a real good shave can indeed be had. Not much moisturizing, but an ASB can help with that.

Price, heck it is usually under $1 for a small puck 1.75 oz.

Scent, is really quite nice.

Packaging is a 10, but there is no place to rate soaps on this aspect. The cheap plain cardboard box is a classic winner.

Should you try it- of course, if for no other reason than your lathering skills will improve exponentially.

Seems Martin Van Buren was President when this soap was introduced. Pre-dates the Civil War. The fact that this product is still on the market after 169 years tells you something. Everyone should give it go, if for no other reason than your great-great-great-great grandfather may have used it. Heck, Abe Lincoln may have used it- but then again he had a beard- was it Williams to blame?

Topgumby;1601833 said:
Now listen up, you mamby-pamby whiners! It seems that some of you are having problems with Williams Mug Shaving Soap. This isn't surprising.

Williams is not for the weak and worthless! Don't look around, numb brush! I'm talking to you!

You with your soft creams and your Euro-soaps...You are a disgusting soapbody! Williams has been delivering great shaves to great Americans since 1840. It has been to the Halls of Montezuma and to the Shores of Tripoli. For one hundred and sixty nine everloving years, this piece of history has been doing it's job. You can't even be bothered to swirl a brush for a few extra minutes!

I hear your sniveling..."It's hard to lather. It dries too quickly". Well, see here, private Crybaby. You have to work to make Williams do it's magic! You have add plenty of water and lather like you got a pair! Now, grab your puck and sing out:

"This is my Williams, this is brush
It'll lather just fine if I get off my duff!"

Now, let's review.

Price: Out-freaking-standing! You could buy a deuce and a half full of this stuff and still have beer money!

Quality: It's been around so long because It's quality! There is more to quality than fancy-pants scents and oh-so-soft creams. Will a tube of Proraso in your pocket stop a bullet like Williams? I thought not!

Scent: It smells like soap, not some cheap short time house! It's soap, not foo-foo juice!

Lather: It lathers just fine, girls, if you want it to! You have to work to lather my beloved Williams. If everybody could lather Williams, it wouldn't BE Williams. As to that lather drying out, stop lollygagging and shave!

Efficacy and Moisturizing: Are you trying to be cute? What the Efficacy does that fancy "Efficacy" word even mean? And Williams doesn't moisturize because the men who settled this country wanted tight skin while they squinted down the sights of their weapons, not to be all soft like maggots!

So you non-hacking creamworms can go home to Mama and cry about your poor little wrists getting all limp and tired from trying to lather Williams. The real shavers will proudly pound that puck in to sudsy submission! Get out of my sight!

Now, excuse me for a few hours, I have to go and make this Williams lather...

+1 best quote in this thread!
I agree with the assessments.

I use this in combination with Mama Bears soaps

to create a Super Lather.
To me, it is better than VDH as a base soap.
JB

I love the smell. The price is just right and I have managed to create some great lather by using purified water. It takes a couple of minutes but it works!

I want to like this soap and would love for it to be a go-to shaving soap, but it is only mediocre. I like the scent...kind of reminds me of a lemony scent. Not completely moisturizing. The best lather comes by using it as a shaving stick, although "best lather" is an overstatement. At such an incredible price it really does get the job done...but I'd rather pay another buck or so and get a VDH soap.

Smelt it in the supermarket, I couldn't get past the laundry detergent odor. It is cheap but not my gig. Might do great on stains!

Eager to give this cheap bar a go tomorrow. $1.57 at my local CVS. The wife and I think it smells like, well, soap. I'll give it one shot, then it goes to the shower. I have a couple pucks of good stuff that are being pushed aside for this trial!

EDIT: Hey! This wasn't bad! I took every step to make sure this soap would perform to its potential: soaked the puck and the brush in hot water while I showered; immediately went back to the sink following the shower; puck in the left hand, brush in the right, and worked for maybe 15 seconds before going to my face to finish the lather. Plenty of lather with more body and staying power than others have noted. The lather lacks slipperiness, and the shave wasn't as close as I have gotten with other soaps, both inexpensive and pricey, but it was more than adequate. I used my 2 bladed cartridge for the shave.

The scent of the lather was much superior to the soapy scent of the dry puck (Lemon scented Pledge?). Someone earlier mentioned a lemon scent with a hint of vanilla. I definitely picked up on the sharp, clean lemon scent. This and the more than adequate final result will have me using this puck for years to come. It gets another workout tomorrow!

Williams is not the best soap that I have ever used and I certainly do not hate it. There is something about it that I simply keep coming back to. It shaves very well if you are willing to put in the time to get it to lather well. It took me a long time to figure out how to make the soap lather, but once I did...I was not disappointed. The lather is not the best in the world but it makes up for it with this layer of slickness that remains regardless of the lather. I can get a BBS shave from Williams if I take the time to do so. The key for me is to use a wet brush and load the brush for a while...2 minutes or so, then lather on your face using plenty of water. When you get it right, the results are fantastic. The best thing is that the soap is very inexpensive. However, you can get the same results with less effort by using VDH shave soap.

I have no problem whipping up a big froth of creamy lather with Williams, even with a cheapo VDH boar brush. I used to mill some into a little container for traveling with, and it worked OK.

If all you've ever used is Williams, you might think this is what shaving soap is supposed to be like. It's somewhat better than shaving with no soap at all. While it can make plenty of lather, it takes some work to get it there. The lather that results is short lived, doesn't do much to lubricate and leaves your skin dry as a bone.

It may be the cheapest shaving soap there is, but when you can get a stick of Arko or a puck of Conk for under four dollars there isn't much reason to recommend Williams.

Not the worst soap ever made, but not great either.

Price: Can't argue with the price, about a buck a puck at my local grocer. If you love this stuff then I'm happy for you.

Quality: Average (see comments on lather and efficacy)

Scent: Somewhat sweet and soapy but not offensive, OK for the price. Kinda reminds me of hotel soap.

Lather: Here's' where the product suffers. The whole "for a lasting lather" thing is a joke :lol:

The lather was THIN and it completely vanished on its own. It provided no cushion for the blade and I could actually feel the blade.

Efficacy: here's where I'm torn. While the lather was thin, provided no cushion, lubrication was marginal, and I had to keep reapplying it due to the lather vanishing the soap performed surprisingly well. I have sensitive skin and at the end of the shave there was no razor burn and the shave was CLOSE.

Moisturizing: Didn't really moisturize but didn't dry my skin either.

Bottomline: If the manufacturer would address the lather issue they'd have a killer product. Miles better than the canned stuff but not something I'd buy regularly. I wouldn't mind buying a puck now and then for traveling though.

I enjoy using this soap with a little added cream from another company, it creates a much more consistent lather with less bubbles. This was one of the first soaps that i started using and due to its price I will still keep a t least one in stock in my collection. I think the most alluring quality of this product is the scent that it gives off, reminding me of the outdoor for some reason. It also does a fairly good job at lubricating and giving my face a nice clean feel after the shave. I will say that there are better products out there but I still like going back to my mug and creating a nice warm lather from this stuff.

I have absolutely no problems with this soap. Its cheap,last a long time and very easy to make lather. I get an irritation free close shave every time.

Search

Williams shaving soap

Show only: