Agree with you about not soaking the puck beforehand. I’ve been a big fan of Williams for several years, both vintage and modern, and have never had to “bloom” any soap to get it to work properly. I grate the puck into a Ziplock container and just use a damp brush, usually synthetic but occasionally a boar, and build great lather in a bowl.I used my Williams Mug soap today (Williams Wednesday) and finally got a really nice lather that didn't disappear during my shave. I believe I was using too much water before so I tried using less today and it worked much better. My lather was nice and thick, slick, and protective compared to the last few times I tried using it.
I read a bunch of threads on this soap before using it the first time. Lots of folks said soak the puck before using and use lots of water to get a good lather. Well, I did just that the first few times using the soap.....soaked my puck and brush while showering to get it nice and damp. Dumped water out, shook my brush and started making lather. Lather looked okay, but during my shaves it would start dissipating....weird. Today, I didn't soak the puck before using it. I soaked my brush, shook it off, and loaded from a dry puck. Lather was much better today....thicker and stable. It didn't disappear and stayed together like normal. Had a great shave.
I'll keep using it as I think I finally figured out how to lather it well.....we'll see. It is a bargain and worth trying if you haven't. It hasn't been around forever for nothing.