Didn't catch this post earlier. Not everyone prefers tallow soaps, though it is fairly common. For most, it isn't that tallow is the soap base they'll use or like. Rather, tallow is an easier, lower cost way to produce a high quality shave soap than getting the right mix of vegetable fats and oils. In most cases when companies move away from a tallow formulation, the result is either a reduction in performance and/or an increase in price. Tallow or vegetable base isn't important to me, rather I care how a soap lathers and shaves. Very few tallow soaps fail to perform well above average, though I'd say Williams is one that doesn't excel. The negative on Williams, IMHO, are that it doesn't smell good, is somewhat drying, and is difficult to lather (but not impossible). That said, it is serviceable to me and given the differences in water, brushes, personal taste, etc. I can understand why a few people really like it. Still, I think some are hard on Williams because it's cheap. To those I'd say: don't knock till you try it.
I too began my DE journey with Williams without much disappointment. I watched a video on using Williams, which helped me a great deal. Get the water HOT and fill up your mug with the puck, then stick the brush in the mug with it. Let it soak for about 2 minutes. This will give you time to prep or any other duties while in the head. Dump out the water, shake the brush of excess water, then beginning stirring. In about 2 minutes it really begins to lather. I started lathering in another bowl and got good results. Yeah, the scent isn't great, but it smells like..... soap! Unfortunately for Williams, I found VDH deluxe. 50 cents more and easier to lather with a more pleasant scent. But, I still have a puck of Williams tucked away for a rainy day.
Before I became a shaving connoisseur, I was completely happy with a good cartridge razor, a cheap drug store boar brush & a puck of Williams. I always got decent shaves out of that combo & when I was on the road, playing music, I would quite often shave on the bus with cold water - not the best arrangement, but workable. I've always put moisturizer on my face so the dryness was not a problem. So, Williams = not the best, but it works.
I have been using modern Williams in rotation with my other soaps the past 3 months and I thought I would give some observations. 1. It can be lathered to a proper consistency, takes more time or water than other soaps but you wind up with good thick lather for shaving. 2. Williams is not moisturizing at all, on the contrary it is just straight soap and I could feel it on my skin after the shave was done. I have started adding a dollop of Corn Huskers Lotion at the start of building lather and that helps me considerably. 3. The Scent, I did not like the aroma when the new puck was opened. It has mellowed quite a bit over the last couple of months to where it is hardly noticeable. I am still quite new at wet-shaving but I thought I would donate my two cents on Williams soap.
A few drops of Glycerin helps Williams a lot, it really helps keep it from drying out too quickly. I don't use it for shaving at the present as I have some other soaps for now. I do use it for lather on a barber hone for touch ups and it works great for cleaning and conditioning strops, it's what the old time barbers used. Williams has been around for a while and hopefully will be around a while longer.
I used Williams exclusively until my wife started to buy me some purtier smellin' Evelyn and Crabtree stuff. I find the Williams lathers up pretty quickly if I fill the mug with hot water, and let it sit for a few minutes while I'm in the shower, or attending to other rituals. I dump the water out when I'm ready to shave, and the soap lathers up thick and fast. The smell has never been an issue for me, and I actually prefer it to some of the highly perfumed stuff.
There are probably folks that will call for my immediate execution for this statement but here goes: When I recently tried Mitchell's Wool Fat for the first time, my first thought was, "A prettied up British, Williams...brilliant!" Yes, I love both!
Never tried MWF, but I've noticed that it attracts some of the same type of hatred as Williams. It may also get a bit more respect, though, because it's so much more expensive. If you sold Williams at $20 each and called it Guillaume's, it might get a bit more love. Williams is a $1.69 a puck at my local CVS, and $1.09 at the Shop Rite. Guess where I would buy it. Actually, I have about twenty pucks stockpiled, so won't be buying any for a while. Until I use up some of my other soaps, the Williams only gets used one or two times a week, but it will always be one of my staples. I get a great lather with it, and to me the smell is neutral, which is fine; my favorite scent is unscented. Moisturizing properties aren't even something I notice; I think some people are more sensitive to this than others.
Williams well a very good friend of mine here in the US sent me a puck of Williams mug shaving soap. Then instead of working up a lovely whipped cream lather in my mug I put the brush straight to my face and worked a cracking lather there, Done my first pass with my razor of choice (1937 Senator again a gift from my friend oh and he made me my lovely brush) and my last treat blade (friend as well) will be on the look for more of these, and went back to my brush that was sitting on the corner of the basin and touched up the areas that always seem to need a second pass (like the edge of the jaw). I normally use Penhaligons and The gentleman's groom rooms "Sweat Gale" and get great results from both. but this Williams is "darn fine stuff"and I understand its a $1 a puck in the US. I found some in the UK on Amazon for £1.40 but the P&P was £5.45 per puck I also have a very similar result the day before with Mitchells Wool Fat and this will be another soap I will buy again. I found both soaps leave your face nice and soft and irritation free which is a big thumbs up from me, And I am not sure I will be buying Penhaligons quite as quick again
Agreed I'm still a bit of a noob in the world of DE shaving, but I've tried several methods, brushes, creams, soaps, and aftershaves. While I still prefer Taylor's shave cream to any of the soap pucks I've used, I DID get a decent foam, and limited razor chatter on my skin. For a buck or so, this is a great product.
I've no beef with Williams per se, and YES, one can achieve a lather, but after getting more experience with lathering and experiencing other soaps and lathers, I've come to the conclusion that the lather in williams soap IS OKAAAAY, BUT it can be BETTER if it had HELP. SO, what I've done is grate it down along with a puck of VDH deluxe, kneaded it in a cold mash and compressed it tightly in my mug. Can I just tell you the slickest lather and dense lather that can be produced when you blend yerself a vander-williams? It's awesome! It's my staple soap now. The color of my new hybrid soap takes on the color of VDH, BUT retains the scent of Williams. Again, I'm not knocking williams, but I think it kinda needs help? SO, I figured that williams IS a soap with potential! I even use a boar brush with it! Give it a shot! I got another buddy to try it & he was amazed as well! You may feel like you're butchering a cake of williams, but I'm telling you the possibilites are awesome if ya give this a shot!
Though I've been a Williams user for many years, I don't know exactly when they changed the formula because I didn't pay attention to the list of ingredients. Does anyone know when tallow became the secondary ingredient instead of the first listed?
I tend to describe Williams as foul smelling, but what a worker....wow. For the price it is fantastic. I wouldn't make it my only soap but I definitely would'nt throw it out. It lathered like icing
