It's phenomenal (Williams) when I rub it on my incredibly handsome face like a shave stick. Tough to top!
Williams Institute for Shaving Excellence (WISE)
- Thread starter TheVez2
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Where are you finding the soap now? I used my last puck up and it’s hard to find now as it was discontinued.
Most of us are using pucks purchased before it was discontinued. It's disappeared from all store shelves in our area and the on-line prices, recently $35 a puck on Amazon and $42 on ebay, make no sense given the alternatives out there.
Best similar option in the same price range is Arko for roughly a couple dollars per shaving stick. Best tallow based option is Mitchell's Wool Fat (same top 3 ingredients), much larger puck that goes for $12-$15 U.S.. Italian Barber offers the Razorock What-The-Puck soaps (non=tallow) that work well for around $3 - $4 per puck or a bit less for a stick. I've used all three of these and they are excellent substitutes for MWF.
Yea I bought a box of arko when mug disappeared.
I use Van Der Hagen Deluxe or Proraso Green.
if anyone has more mug than they can use in this lifetime and want to do a work of mercy send me a pm because I would like to obtain some if at all possible.
Smart move.
Blooming: Just for fun, I tried covering the puck with water as I washed my face. It made a big improvement in the quality of the suds. It didn't seem to increase the amount used.
Long time since we interacted my friend! I wish I had bought a bunch of Williams like you did!
I'd be living on a Caribbean island off of the proceeds!
Guys it’s been 8 months or so since I last used mug. I like arko, I like derby, and the like but not having mug is like a hole in the heart. It just doesn’t go away. Just big ole empty hole. Not even duck tape can fix it.
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- #2,812
I'm currently in the middle of a Williams challenge. Since it's unobtanium now, we're trying to see how long we can make our pucks last. Today was shave 113, with about half of my puck remaining.
How are you lathering it and how many passes on your shaves? How is the lather and shave quality?
My Williams pucks, when used straight and not in a blend, typically last for around 75 - 90 2+ pass shaves which I consider great for what was a 99 cent puck at our local grocer. Represents usage of roughly one-half to two-thirds grams per shave. Assuming 200 shaves it sounds like you are only using a quarter gram per shave which is really efficient.
My approach is to load aggressively with a 26mm boar brush. Lather produced is great.
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- #2,814
@Lane101 I'm face loading directly off the puck like it was a shave stick, then rubbing water into it on my face with my hand. No brush, no lather. Williams doesn't need it. The slickness is king and is all you need for a great shave. 2+ passes. Look up my Williams videos on YT (Spider Shaves) if you want to see the technique in action. I did one at the beginning of my challenge and another on shave 100.
I have about three pucks of modern Williams I bought right before it was discontinued for about $1.50 a piece, a vintage Palmolive in a non-descript green box, some Colgate pucks and the remains of a SeaForth! puck, but I've been on the hunt for some vintage Williams for some time but always came up dry. This past weekend I stumbled on an unused "Currier and Ives Shaving Bowl" in an antique store, saw the "J.B. Williams Co. Glastonbury Connecticut" on the label and wondered if it was produced by Williams. What threw me off was that it had a fairly strong rose/floral scent, and the wood bowl seemed like it had been freshly turned vs. decades ago. I didn't set it down because the plastic band holding it closed had already split, and the protective wax paper cover was inside and once removed, I could clearly read "by Williams" imprinted in the top of the soap. Googling for Currier and Ives Wooden Shave Bowl returns mostly ebay listings or the label with the Train on it, but not the sailing ship. I have a general rule that everything I own is to be used, no "hangar queens," but because the label is in such great shape and the wood bowl is bare wood, this one is giving me pause, but I'll let it sit while I finish a few other soaps before dipping into it.
My current vintage Williams stash...mostly Cranford.
You old Williams is better preserved than my old Williams. The modern puck is just there to prove it's Williams underneath the scum.
I will son lather and try to discover how old the Williams might be.
I loaded from this Williams puck and whipped up a thick, dense and essentially scent free lather.I let it sit for at least 15 minutes. It got a little coarser, but did not dissipate much.
It was lasting so well that I went ahead and shaved with it. I wasn't able to whip it back to its original density, but it was a good lather and a good shave.
In any case, I am a convinced shave stick user, so this puck has qualified to be grated into a twist-up. Perhaps I'll mine some scent from the core.
It was lasting so well that I went ahead and shaved with it. I wasn't able to whip it back to its original density, but it was a good lather and a good shave.
In any case, I am a convinced shave stick user, so this puck has qualified to be grated into a twist-up. Perhaps I'll mine some scent from the core.
Enjoyed a shave with my latest Van der Williams blend today. Great quality lather with plenty of Williams signature slickness evident. Also with Williams at around 25% of the blend it's a great way of extending what is now a limited supply of unobtainium.
Link to shave details below:
www.badgerandblade.com
Link to shave details below:
What did you use today? +Rate the shave 1-10 (10 best)
Today's shave: Razor: Weishi Long Handle Blade: Astra SP shave #7 Brush: Razorock Big Bruce 26mm plissoft Soap: Latest Custom Van Der Williams Blend with some Arko, Dove, Ivory & Proraso Red added Result: Excellent 2+ pass 9.5/10 shave. Shave was BBS Typical shave that started with washing my...
www.badgerandblade.com
I just came across an unused puck of Glastonbury. My intent is to use it. Pros vs cons of grating and adding scent, or just use it in conjunction with another scented soap like Blenheim bouquet. I also have a large stash of Blenheim cream that I could use to make an uber soap. Leaning towards leaving as is and amending with others.
