Hi Everyone. My new quality Blondie boar brush easily produces excellent lather from a puck of Williams Mug shave soap. Details as follows:
Background: I've been a fan of Williams Mug Shave Soap since my return to DE shaving a couple years ago thanks to its glide and slickness. Also it is the most similar product to the Colgate my grandfather used that is still on the market. After a few months I began blending my Williams with Van Der Hagen (VDH) Deluxe (new formulation with great lather though limited slickness) for thicker lather further modified with a bit of Ivory Soap to maintain slickness (40% Williams, 40% VDH and 20% Ivory by weight) in an IvanDerWilliams (IVDW) blend that has been my go-to soap for about a year. Also as this blend is somewhat softer than the Williams alone it works well with my go-to synthetic plissoft brush noted below.
I started with a basic VDH boar brush and after a few months migrated to a Razorock synthetic Monster Brush that is excellent. The Monster allows me to quickly whip up (via face lathering) lots of rich lather from my IVDW blend. As my VDH boar brush has kept losing hairs I recently procured a new Blondie Boar from Razorock. This is a rebranded Zenith 80N boar with a 64mm loft, 26mm knot and plastic handle that is much larger and more densely packed than the old VDH brush. From online research it appears to be similar to the Omega 10049 boar brush. The blondie was priced at $8.99 so is a good value. So far it has not lost any hairs and after two weeks of use (every other day) it continues to bloom as the boar hair ends split.
Boar Brush on Williams Experience: When used on my IVDW blend the Blondie boar produces lather that is almost too thick requiring the addition of extra water for sufficient hydration and slickness. Took a few uses to dial in on the right amount of added water needed. Based on this result I decided to try the brush on a new puck of Williams Mug alone to see the result. This was a new dry puck and I soaked the brush for about 30 seconds in warm water before use. The result was amazing with lots of thick rich Williams only lather with its typical high level of slickness that provided an excellent shave. Lather was the perfect thickness that formed easy peaks with no bubbles. Never had to re-lather my face when shaving. Squeezed the excess out of the brush back onto the Williams puck and 12 hours later it has not dissipated or collapsed. Spent about a minute loading the brush on the puck (adding water repeatedly) and then face lathered. The Blondie Boar/Williams combination will become a regular part of my rotation.
My synthetic Monster brush will continue to be my go-to for my IVDW blend and the tub of Proraso red (suspect a boars backbone would be counterproductive on this softer croap) that I recently acquired. The overall feel and lathering ability of this plissoft brush is excellent though I now see why many have posted that a good boar brush is best for hard soaps like Williams. The boars backbone clearly drives a much more productive brush loading process.
Have others discovered that a good boar brush is the secret to excellent Williams lather?
P.S. The Proraso lathers easily and I love the aroma (also love Williams). Slickness is OK, better than the VDH Deluxe but not at the level of my IVDW blend or Williams alone. Plan to blend a bit of it with my next batch of IVDW and will report on the results.
Background: I've been a fan of Williams Mug Shave Soap since my return to DE shaving a couple years ago thanks to its glide and slickness. Also it is the most similar product to the Colgate my grandfather used that is still on the market. After a few months I began blending my Williams with Van Der Hagen (VDH) Deluxe (new formulation with great lather though limited slickness) for thicker lather further modified with a bit of Ivory Soap to maintain slickness (40% Williams, 40% VDH and 20% Ivory by weight) in an IvanDerWilliams (IVDW) blend that has been my go-to soap for about a year. Also as this blend is somewhat softer than the Williams alone it works well with my go-to synthetic plissoft brush noted below.
I started with a basic VDH boar brush and after a few months migrated to a Razorock synthetic Monster Brush that is excellent. The Monster allows me to quickly whip up (via face lathering) lots of rich lather from my IVDW blend. As my VDH boar brush has kept losing hairs I recently procured a new Blondie Boar from Razorock. This is a rebranded Zenith 80N boar with a 64mm loft, 26mm knot and plastic handle that is much larger and more densely packed than the old VDH brush. From online research it appears to be similar to the Omega 10049 boar brush. The blondie was priced at $8.99 so is a good value. So far it has not lost any hairs and after two weeks of use (every other day) it continues to bloom as the boar hair ends split.
Boar Brush on Williams Experience: When used on my IVDW blend the Blondie boar produces lather that is almost too thick requiring the addition of extra water for sufficient hydration and slickness. Took a few uses to dial in on the right amount of added water needed. Based on this result I decided to try the brush on a new puck of Williams Mug alone to see the result. This was a new dry puck and I soaked the brush for about 30 seconds in warm water before use. The result was amazing with lots of thick rich Williams only lather with its typical high level of slickness that provided an excellent shave. Lather was the perfect thickness that formed easy peaks with no bubbles. Never had to re-lather my face when shaving. Squeezed the excess out of the brush back onto the Williams puck and 12 hours later it has not dissipated or collapsed. Spent about a minute loading the brush on the puck (adding water repeatedly) and then face lathered. The Blondie Boar/Williams combination will become a regular part of my rotation.
My synthetic Monster brush will continue to be my go-to for my IVDW blend and the tub of Proraso red (suspect a boars backbone would be counterproductive on this softer croap) that I recently acquired. The overall feel and lathering ability of this plissoft brush is excellent though I now see why many have posted that a good boar brush is best for hard soaps like Williams. The boars backbone clearly drives a much more productive brush loading process.
Have others discovered that a good boar brush is the secret to excellent Williams lather?
P.S. The Proraso lathers easily and I love the aroma (also love Williams). Slickness is OK, better than the VDH Deluxe but not at the level of my IVDW blend or Williams alone. Plan to blend a bit of it with my next batch of IVDW and will report on the results.