Trying Williams soap for the first time today

[bladeruner]

Ok so after reading so much debate over Williams I decided to try it for the first time today. I have two unused puck's I bought off the BST months ago(one regular and one menthol)both are tallow first on the ingredients.

I have decided to go with the regular and my '08 B&B brush. My razor of choice will be a slant with a red Personna. Why today? you ask. Well I was reading some threads and I got all pumped up and was ready to shave I was going over all my stuff deciding what would be my flavor of the day when I started realizing I have a lot stuff Then I saw that I had things I haven't even got around to trying yet when came across those two pucks of Williams. So I said what the hell, why not.

I can't lie I'm a little excited to see what all the fuss is about. So off I go to the shower and I will post the results right after. So here we go again. Another Williams thread. Please feel free to us all know your hatred or love for this soap. And in about 45 minutes I'll let you know what my first impressions are about one of thee most controversial soap discussed here on B&B.

Wish me luck

 

[guitarslinger]

MENTHOL?!?!?!

Do you have some vintage stuff?

This might not be a fair assessment.

 

[mmack66]

Sounds great, but all of the hand-wringing is over the soap that is in current production, of which sodium tallowate is the second ingredient. The stuff you have is generally regarded as good.

 

[talibeard]

both are tallow first on the ingredients.

So both are vintage. That is not the stuff causing all the controversy around here.

Anyway, enjoy the shave!!

 

[michiganlover]

So both are vintage. That is not the stuff causing all the controversy around here.

Anyway, enjoy the shave!!

Correct. Vintage Williams is regarded by many on the board (myself included) to be among some of the best shaving soap available. It rivals, or can hold it's own against most of the top quality soaps sold today.

I would be awful surprised if you get anything other than a superb shave from it, as it lathers easily, and produces a rich lather.

The highly debated Williams is the current product which is tallow second, and widely available in many smaller drug stores.

 

[bladeruner]

MENTHOL?!?!?!

Yeah Menthol! I know crazy right? There was a guy selling about 13 or so puck of vintage Williams and one them was menthol. I'm a fan of all things menthol and I had to get it.

So both are vintage. That is not the stuff causing all the controversy around here.

Anyway, enjoy the shave!!

Yeah your probably right. I just thought from what I remember from the threads that some people just had a general distaste for Williams.

Well I just got done with my shave. My first impression overall on a scale of 1 to 10 I give about an 8.5 When I took it out of the package and smelled it, it just smelled like regular generic hand soap. Which is ok for me because I'll take performance over smell any day. I let the puck soak with a layer of hot water over it and left my brush soaking in my lather bowl.

I finished my shower and proceeded with my shave. I squeezed most of the water out of the brush and began to load. The one thing that impressed me the most is how fast and easy it loaded. Before I knew it stared building actual lather on the brush. I stopped immediately and rubbed the puck with the small amount of half built lather on my face(yeah I do that sometimes with my soaps just to make sure I make enough lather). After that I proceeded to build the lather directly on my face. Like I said before with just a few swirls of the brush I already had a very nice creamy lather building. I have to say I was really impressed with the lather it produced. I definitely did not expect that.

After my first pass I rinsed and got a bit of the soap in my mouth and it literally tasted like vomit. I did notice that It dried my face a bit but it was manageable. I've has worse(C&E Nomad) once I re-applied for the second pass it was ok. No razor skipping or anything like that. I think if I would have added just a bit more water to the brush the lather would have been just right.

I had enough lather for my 3 passes and touch up. I probably had enough lather for a 4th pass because when I squeezed the brush there was a lot of rich creamy lather left. Once again I was really impressed by the quality and the amount of lather it produced with ease.

Overall it was a good shave with some minor irritation and nicks on a small area of my neck. But I attribute that to the not so good shave I had yesterday. So there you have it my fist go at Williams was a success. And yes I know the vintage tallow versions are probably better than the modern day version. So I'm going to the store and buying a puck of the modern version to compare. People have mentioned having trouble building lather with the present day version that's going to be interesting to see what happens.

 

[michiganlover]

When I took it out of the package and smelled it, it just smelled like regular generic hand soap. Which is ok for me because I'll take performance over smell any day.

Any scent Vintage Williams may have once had has been long lost.

So there you have it my fist go at Vintage Williams was a success. And yes I know the vintage tallow versions are probably better than the modern day version. So I'm going to the store and buying a puck of the modern version to compare. People have mentioned having trouble building lather with the present day version that's going to be interesting to see what happens.

No probably about it, the Vintage Williams is millions of miles better than the current version. Even people who like the current version will indicate it is a passable shaving soap; they don't usually say it is a great shaving soap.

In comparison, those who have tired Vintage Williams usually will rank it near the top of the soaps they have tried.

 

[bladeruner]

Correct. Vintage Williams is regarded by many on the board (myself included) to be among some of the best shaving soap available. It rivals, or can hold it's own against most of the top quality soaps sold today.

I would be awful surprised if you get anything other than a superb shave from it, as it lathers easily, and produces a rich lather.

The highly debated Williams is the current product which is tallow second, and widely available in many smaller drug stores.

I just got done posting and saw this. And yes I agree it is a good soap. The only reason I gave it an 8.5 was because it dried my face a bit but I think I needed just a bit more water in the brush. I can see this puck going fast Now I wish I had bought the whole lot.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Vintage Williams is as good as it gets. I grate it into a Ziploc container so that I have more surface area to work with. About 10 seconds is all it takes to load the brush with plenty of soap. Great stuff!

 

[Gamma]

With the old Williams - I find soaking the puck in very warm water for a couple minutes is the key to insanely thick lather. I soak, then drain, then go at it with a damp/wet brush.


I like the idea of griniding up the pucks into a bowl... but I like to see the puck in the bowl too.. Hmm.. decisions decisions..

 

[Seraphim]

Now that you've tried the vintage stuff, go get a puck of the new stuff and a liverwurst sandwich and tell us what you think of it.

 

[bladeruner]

Now that you've tried the vintage stuff, go get a puck of the new stuff and a liverwurst sandwich and tell us what you think of it.

That bad huh

 

[Seraphim]

That bad huh

Who said anything about bad? Sure, liverwurst doesn't taste very good, and it leaves a strange aftertaste in your mouth for a long time afterwards, but it's a classic. Men have eaten liverwurst sandwiches for years upon years, and if you don't happen to like the way it tastes, well that simply means you aren't eating it correctly.

 

[michiganlover]

Who said anything about bad? Sure, liverwurst doesn't taste very good, and it leaves a strange aftertaste in your mouth for a long time afterwards, but it's a classic. Men have eaten liverwurst sandwiches for years upon years, and if you don't happen to like the way it tastes, well that simply means you aren't eating it correctly.

I hear if you douse it in a liberal amount of ketchup, mustard, and horseradish it will taste just fine.

Reducing the amount of Liverwurst in the sandwich is also said to help.

 

[Seraphim]

I hear if you douse it in a liberal amount of ketchup, mustard, and horseradish it will taste just fine.

Reducing the amount of Liverwurst in the sandwich is also said to help.

Yes, liverwurst with a shot of KMF and glycerin.....er, I mean mustard and ketchup is passable.

 

[Royall Lyme]

I need to get me some vintage Williams! Does anybody have an extra puck they could sell me?!

 

[Topgumby]

Ok so after reading so much debate over Williams I decided to try it for the first time today...

Wish me luck

Enjoy. Finding out for yourself with no preconceptions is the way to go, both with the vintage and the new stuff.

If you can make the new version work, you'll be in the company of some fine folks here. If you can't, you'll still be in the company of some fine folks!

Cheers!

 

[Seraphim]

Enjoy. Finding out for yourself with no preconceptions is the way to go, both with the vintage and the new stuff.

If you can make the new version work, you'll be in the company of some fine folks here. If you can't, you'll still be in the company of some fine folks!

Cheers!

I agree completely!

 

[CaptainK]

Williams Menthol?! Oh, how I miss that stuff! I used that exclusively for years, until it disappeared. Tell me, does it still have any menthol scent/cooling?

 

[bladeruner]

Williams Menthol?! Oh, how I miss that stuff! I used that exclusively for years, until it disappeared. Tell me, does it still have any menthol scent/cooling?

I'm not at home right now but I will check
I was planning on buying a puck of the new Williams today and giving it a go. But I am a bit reluctant to do so. I took yesterday off and was looking forward to a good shave today and don't want to have a bad experience. I might just buy it and do some test lather's fist.