Williams mug soap being discontinued is confirmed

Awwww. Poor old Williams. I like it just fine as I like most tallow based shaving soaps. Sure, Arko is easier at the same price and for a mere 60% more Stirling is at least as good as Arko and has wonderful scents to beat the band.

Far as Williams goes it makes fine lather with some hot water, a stiffer-than-badger brush and maybe a few drops of glycerine. I suppose it is past its' time in a world where people buy $25 soap cakes, lather with $200 silvertips and don't have the finesse or patience to figure out the simplest puck on the planet.

 

From my experience there was nothing to like.

 

Same here. Never got a good lather

 

Too many people who would disagree it is a simple soap. And as far as the requirement to pay $25 and up just to get a good soap, I say bunk, and I know many would agree.

 

Van Der Hagen Deluxe soap, one of my absolute favorites, is available in a 6 pack on Ebay for 11.50, making it less than $2 a puck. Or, you can actually buy the Deluxe box set every time for around $14 and get a puck of soap, bowl and boar brush. I have honestly considered doing that a few times when I need the soap just to add bowls. Seems like I need a few extra. Why pay a ton of money for either soap or a bowl when you can go cheap for both and have a bonus brush? I also love that brush...yeah it's cheap but I'm a boar lover and it does a great job with hard soaps. While my Pro 48 is awesome, sometimes the shorter loft of the VDH works better.

 

If it wasn't for the cheap starter sets I don't think there would be as many traditional shavers. This kit is what got me started. If I had to, what I would consider to be less convenient, order items from a specialty online company I would never get around to doing it. Not to mention taking a risk that it may not be as it seems when you finally receive it.
The kit near me sells for $9.99, I picked one up to get my feet wet so to speak and then got one for each of my teen age sons. To get started out. My 12 year old is already looking forward to when he can get his starter set.
True it is not the best, but IMHO it is necessary to have a readily available inexpensive good quality product to introduce people to traditional shaving.
Don't get me wrong , I love the pricey high quality soaps and products as well. A little to much if you ask my wife . " I though you said you were doing this to save money?"

Van Der Hagen shave soap $2.00
Van Der Hagen shave set. $9.99
lifetime of enjoyable shaving $ priceless

 

Yes, and it was confirmed this morning.
I had a puck of Williams under my bathroom cabinet that is probably close to three years old. Last time I used it was for Williams Week back in 2013.

First, it is true what they say - leave a puck of Williams to sit out and the scent will go away. It did, which left me with a soap with just the slightest of skeeter-be-gone smell. There's a reason I have 30+ different soaps, all with a different scent - I like all the different scents! I don't want a scentless soap!! And I'm not going to put up with a soap that smells like a urinal cake.

Second, I'll be honest, I whipped up a rich, thick, fantastic looking lather. Then came the second pass... nothing. Williams up to its old disappearing tricks. I managed to squeeze out enough to get my three passes done, but I hate thin, wimpy shave soap.

In my opinion (again, my opinion) this soap is not even worth the $1.09 I paid for it.

For those of you who love it, more power to ya!!

 

Haha it's weird that the lather disappeared.. It says long lasting lather on the box...

 

Your sacrifice in the line of duty will not be forgotten and I salute you..

 

I wasn't a big Williams fan but its sad to see a product with such a long history go. It was my first soap when I started wetshaving.
I'll hang on to a box or two for nostalgia.

 

What will all the local bars use now!?

 

It also made a great speed bump

 

Lead paint had a long history, but were we sad to see that go?

I know, I know. Williams won't kill you the way lead paint can, but I still don't see the reason for sentimentality for a disappearing product by you folks who never really liked the stuff to begin with. I don't get it.

 

Well, I bought two pucks yesterday at the local supermarket and paid $1.09 each. I used it this morning just to see if all of the negative comments were true. I agree that it's a thirsty soap, watery lather and seemed to dry quickly in my face. But, all things considered, it's usable and not all that bad. Considering it was just $1.09, I would say that it's good for the price. Is it my favorite? Nope! However, it's not all bad. Hey, it did the job with no problem.

 

I bought a puck and have never used it and probably wont...When I heard they were done, I figured I would pick one up just in case I ever feel I need to not miss out on the fun... and I also like to try things that get very mixed reviews to see where I fall (similar to feather blades)....I keep it displayed in my den because I think the box has a very cool and somewhat vintage look, which is cool in any den.

EDIT: and as far as "cheap" goes...something that is "cheap" doesnt mean its a cheap/bad, and I would say VDH is a great example of that....still one of my fav's is VDH luxury and probably always will be since it was my 1st.

 

What will it go for in the future?

This past week, at an antique store, I saw a vintage puck(NOS) for sale for $12.95!

 

this is why we all need to buy it all up and in 5 years we will start a campaign of how williams was the best soap on the market and we can sell it all off for $20 a puck

 

A week later and they're all still there.

 

Williams, like its brethren Arko , reminds me of road kill. When driving down the road and you see the road kill far off you tell yourself you will not look. However, at the last second you take a quick look and then are sorry for taking that quick glance. Williams and Arko are in a class of soaps you love to hate but hate to love. Like the road kill, you take a quick glance (shave) and then ask, why? But then you do it again. Come on, we have to have some closet sniffers out there.

 

It is kind of sad to see something that has been around since 1840 get discontinued. I found Williams to be OK, but not fantastic. Van Der Hagen is definitely better, costs about the same, and is also widely distributed in brick and mortar stores. I heard that the Williams formula changed forty or so years ago. Perhaps that was a mistake.