What do u think of Williams?

[gsurko]

You are not an inferior calibre wet shaver if you find Williams to be below average. Also, you are not an inferior wet shaver if you find Williams to be an acceptable product.

I'll let you all in on a little secret... there is no magical, mystery technique that will make Williams "work for you". It is a below average soap that some people like and there is nothing wrong with that. If you find it not to your liking there really is nothing you can do to change that. You could draw a pint of holy water from the baptistry of St. Peters basilica on Easter morning of leap year during a full moon in a hand forged golden chalice made by the monks of Santa Maria Novella and soak a brand new puck of Williams in it for forty days and forty nights and you will simply end up with holy bubbles.

I have made mounds and mounds of bubbly Williams lather in my time and it simply is not satisfying to me. There is no doubt that it is extremely slick, but there is more to a good shaving soap than slickness. Beard softening and moisturizing are also important attributes, which Williams does not offer me.

So there you have it. You don't need to feel like less of a shaver if Williams isn't for you. There is no secret code to unlock what isn't there.

That's how I feel about the fat.

 

[snowman]

What do I think of Williams?

I think Williams was a fantastic shaving soap years ago, one of the best and like vintage Gillettes an American classic. Over time a company called Combe purchased Williams, cheapened the product, and its now a below average shaving soap that resembles earlier versions in name only.

 

[HectorLavoe]

To the people having trouble lathering Williams: What kind of brushes are you using and are you blooming the soap? When I switched to a 30mm High mountain badger brush the quality of my lathers were night an day. I get a thick lather in less than a minute.

 

[sajones]

It's not my first choice, but I've gotten some pretty good shaves with it. My face seems a little dry afterwards, but I really like the scent. It smells clean and.. old school. And it's an EXTREMELY good value. I read somewhere that the company stopped making this stuff. It's still out there?

 

[Shavetheman01]

It's a love/hate thing really.

Almost everyone badmouths Williams as being "unusable", but no one wants to see a product discontinued when it's been used since the 19th Century

 

[dpm802]

I never had any problems getting WMS to lather. It springs to life for my brush fairly easily.

I'm not sure what's in it, but it causes a stinging sensation whenever I use it. Not painful, but very noticeable. I used it once to shower with and the stinging was all over. But I felt very clean and I smelled great.

The shave I get from it is adequate. Nothing great. I get much better performance from ARKO for just a little bit more money.

I used to use it once a year when we did our Patriotic Shave on the Fourth of July. But now that I have several other domestic Artisanal soaps to choose from, I probably won't be using Williams ever again.

 

[skibik]

Even though I posted negative on this. Don't get me wrong it is an okay soap and I think at the grocery store here it costs something like $1.05. Also, I use an Omega silver tip badger brush and I got a good lather from it. My problem with the soap is that you have to work the puck like you stole it. I got a really good lather, got a DGS but it takes a considerable amount of time to work it up. I bloomed it while in the shower and instead of just loading the brush I lathered right on the puck instead of lathering on the face. Granted if it come down to this being the last shave soap of any kind, including canned cream, I could and would use it rather than letting my beard grow out. I just think that the VDH Luxury soap is way better and doesn't cost that much more per ounce and it lathers 10 times easier.

 

[California Cajun]

What do I think of Williams?

I think Williams was a fantastic shaving soap years ago, one of the best and like vintage Gillettes an American classic. Over time a company called Combe purchased Williams, cheapened the product, and its now a below average shaving soap that resembles earlier versions in name only.

Your analysis speaks for me.

 

[Charlie Van Dyke]

I wish I could still pick it up at the drug store for $1.17.

Drugstore.com sells it for $1.59 and delivers anywhere. Follow the link, stock up, and enjoy.