Some time ago my wife and I were on vacation and I had forgotten my shave soap. I had heard about Dove soap that can be used for shaving. The hotel had some in the bathroom and thinking I was going to get a poor shave I tried it. What a surprise. I was able to work up a wonderful lather and got a great easy BBS. Now, I use Dove in my rotation but I enhance it with Williams puck soap. I used to use Williams on a regular basis but of late with all the formula changes, Williams is not the soap it once was. Now I mix by shaving and melting together a half bar of Dove Shea Butter or a Tangerine soap with a puck of shaved Williams, letting it harden in my bowl. I think I wound up with a soap that I like a bit better than VDH or Col. Conk . I think it's a great budget soap
i have mixed edwin jagger sandalwood with williams, works well.arko stick and wilkinson sword stick mixed work nicely as well. i like mixing stuff.
When I was younger and in a hurry, I used to soap up with bar soaps. Many of them worked good enough to have a decent shave. Ivory and Dove were both pretty slick and shaved nicely.
Before the formula was changed I would agree, I'm not saying it's a bad soap, It's just not what it once was and in order to bring it back to where I remember it I found a way to enhance it a bit, at least for me. When I first started shaving in'62 I used Williams exclusively and I was able to work up a great rich lather quickly , now I have to work at it more. Sorry if I hurt any feelings.
I have used Dove as a shaving soap with good results. The CVS store brand counterpart worked really well, too.
I used to make Van Der Williams, and liked it. However, I have no difficulty lathering Williams by itself once I acquired a 4th Generation synthetic brush, an H.I.S. 1865. I absolutely love this brush. I barely cover the top of a puck of Williams with water while I shower, then lathering with the 1865 is really easy.
Seems like a lot of work given all the great, affordable shave soaps available on the internet. Did I mention I make my own razor blades?
And just to be complete with my comments, I quite often DO NOT add water, and still get plenty of lather. I just prefer to do it that way.
