Williams Mug Longevity

[TheVez2]

With the discontinuation of Williams Mug Soap, I embarked on a challenge to see just how long a puck of mug soap would last. I took all of the luxury out of the act of lathering soap and just rubbed the puck on my face to provide a thin layer of soap to shave with. The uber slickness of this soap lends itself well to this technique that I don't believe other soaps would.

I well surpassed my expectations of longevity, and shaved FAR longer than I ever expected or thought possible. Initially I was hoping to get around 200 shaves out of the 50g puck. At 200 shaves the puck looked to be about only half gone, so I pressed on.

I ended up getting 379 shaves out of the puck. I started my Williams 3017 on Feb 1, 2023 and ended it about a week ago. It was a great experience and I learned a lot in the process. I now know that I could shave for the rest of my life using only my stockpile of Williams, if I chose to, LOL. But I won't. But if the Zombie-pocalypse ever hits, I know I'm good just throwing my puck of Williams in my bug-out bag!

Anybody else ever see how many shaves they can get out of a puck of Williams?

 

[cranewarrior]

So obviously there is an art to it where you get to know a soap and how much you need to use to have a minimally good experience. My first time with Arko I face lathered and rubbed it on my face about 10 times until I got what I thought was a decent amount. It lathered ok but the soap on the right side of my face faded away while I shaved the left. Exactly the behavior I get when I use a bath soap for shaving.

I guess I am saying it's fun to stretch out a soap, but it goes without saying that too little product results in a less optimal shave.

 

[Goblin]

Were you lathering the soap with a brush after applying it, or just shaving with the soap layer?

 

[cranewarrior]

Were you lathering the soap with a brush after applying it, or just shaving with the soap layer?

Me? I used my brush to work up the soap applied to my face.

 

[Lane101]

With the discontinuation of Williams Mug Soap, I embarked on a challenge to see just how long a puck of mug soap would last. I took all of the luxury out of the act of lathering soap and just rubbed the puck on my face to provide a thin layer of soap to shave with. The uber slickness of this soap lends itself well to this technique that I don't believe other soaps would.

I well surpassed my expectations of longevity, and shaved FAR longer than I ever expected or thought possible. Initially I was hoping to get around 200 shaves out of the 50g puck. At 200 shaves the puck looked to be about only half gone, so I pressed on.

I ended up getting 379 shaves out of the puck. I started my Williams 3017 on Feb 1, 2023 and ended it about a week ago. It was a great experience and I learned a lot in the process. I now know that I could shave for the rest of my life using only my stockpile of Williams, if I chose to, LOL. But I won't. But if the Zombie-pocalypse ever hits, I know I'm good just throwing my puck of Williams in my bug-out bag!

Anybody else ever see how many shaves they can get out of a puck of Williams?

75-90 shaves per Williams puck when I use it straight. Under 2/3rds of a gram per shave versus my 1+ grams for other soaps. Nothing close to you 13/100ths of a gram per shave. Congrats! Could be a record.

Right now I'm only using Williams as part of one of my custom shaving soap blends in my current soap rotation. Turned two 1.75 oz/50 grams of Williams into five roughly 3oz pucks of blend. Did some math and I'm technically using under a quarter gram of Williams per shave though would agree this is not comparable to your straight Williams use.

Thanks to 99 cent pucks that were formerly sold at our local supermarket I've a decent stockpile too so will be set for a while.

You are right about the slickness, one doesn't need a thick coating of lather.

 

[Lane101]

So obviously there is an art to it where you get to know a soap and how much you need to use to have a minimally good experience. My first time with Arko I face lathered and rubbed it on my face about 10 times until I got what I thought was a decent amount. It lathered ok but the soap on the right side of my face faded away while I shaved the left. Exactly the behavior I get when I use a bath soap for shaving.

I guess I am saying it's fun to stretch out a soap, but it goes without saying that too little product results in a less optimal shave.

My favorite part of DE shaving is building and applying a nice luxurious shaving soap lather. No desire to stint on usage especially given that all my shaving soaps were purchased for under $10 each, some like Arko or Williams a lot less. Agree it could be fun to briefly experiment with stretching soap and you are right that any savings are not worth a sub-optimal shave.

 

[Lane101]

With the discontinuation of Williams Mug Soap, I embarked on a challenge to see just how long a puck of mug soap would last. I took all of the luxury out of the act of lathering soap and just rubbed the puck on my face to provide a thin layer of soap to shave with. The uber slickness of this soap lends itself well to this technique that I don't believe other soaps would.

I well surpassed my expectations of longevity, and shaved FAR longer than I ever expected or thought possible. Initially I was hoping to get around 200 shaves out of the 50g puck. At 200 shaves the puck looked to be about only half gone, so I pressed on.

I ended up getting 379 shaves out of the puck. I started my Williams 3017 on Feb 1, 2023 and ended it about a week ago. It was a great experience and I learned a lot in the process. I now know that I could shave for the rest of my life using only my stockpile of Williams, if I chose to, LOL. But I won't. But if the Zombie-pocalypse ever hits, I know I'm good just throwing my puck of Williams in my bug-out bag!

Anybody else ever see how many shaves they can get out of a puck of Williams?

P.S. It's nice to see a new thread on Williams. We don't hear much about it since it was discontinued.

 

[TheVez2]

but it goes without saying that too little product results in a less optimal shave.

For most soaps, yes. For Williams, the slickness is insane and a very minimal layer is all you need to get a great shave.

Were you lathering the soap with a brush after applying it, or just shaving with the soap layer?

No. For this experiment, I was not using a brush. Just wiping the soap across my face for like two passes, then using a little water on my fingers to spread it around.

P.S. It's nice to see a new thread on Williams. We don't hear much about it since it was discontinued.

Thanks. It's a favorite of mine. I was very sad to hear of its discontinuation. But I already had a stockpile of like 100 pucks, so I wasn't concerned about running out.

 

[sarimento1]

Great thread!
Williams is such a classic shave soap!

 

[awk_m4]

Williams is one soap that I wish I would have tried when it was available. I've looked for it online and it's amazing to see a one dollar soap command wicked prices. Amazon.ca has it going for $124.42. Only two pucks left!

Amazon.ca

 

[honeycutt]

Check second hand stores. I have scored the old unformulated Williams in the past.