When I was playing with Williams 3 things seem to help, milling it and soaking it in hot water that seemed to help it lather up . The other thing I kinda liked I learned from an old timer on another forum who had funny stuff to say about the prices of premium soaps. He would put a Williams puck in a mug then pour a melted VDH puck over it. He would then shave the top of the puck down so that each puck made one even surface and your brush would hit each soap simultaneously. I tried this and it made a pretty nice soap. Also I would just put Ingrams shave cream on top of the Williams puck and lather , the scents were complimentary.
I think Bob did something similar - grate up a puck of Williams, melt down a puck of VDH, then stir the grated Williams into the melted VDH.
The following is a full and comprehensive list of approved items that any true fan will allow to be placed in his/her beloved Williams: 1. Water 2. Air 3. Brush Any other shaving soap or cream, or any substance that represents itself as a shaving soap or cream, or any other substace that is even remotely related to, or believed to be related to shaving, such as glycerin, cologne, aftershave, perfume etc is strictly forbidden.
I get a pretty good lather from the current Williams and I agree with you Jeff that the amount of water used is critical. I agree with you even more that a boar brush handles the Williams much better than a badger. I let my brush soak and then give it three or four hard shakes. After a few dozen aggressive swirls on the puck I get to work on my face and easily work up plenty of good lather. Not as rich as most other soap but still provides a helluva shave.
I have a hard time with new Williams, it's always too foamy and thin for my liking... ????? To make it work I add a healthy dose of glycerin and some times a squirt of cheap Arko cream... I'm still a Newb as I just can't get great lather from Williams.. It's one of the soaps that has beat me. And I got 10 pucks in the DEN !
It doesn't work for everyone. Don't feel that you have to hold on to those 10 pucks- there are Williams fans on TSD who will trade or buy your stock.
Having not been rich enough to buy the vintage williams, I have to say that once I got the hang of lathering the new stock - it actually provides a good shave. I find that boar brushes work best though with it - I have no idea why but I can get a perfect lather quickly with my Semogues. Using a badger, it's more of a play around to get it just right.
Howdy! Yes, the new Williams formulation takes some brushing, but for me it seems to work well. I get a great lather; however, this is the only soap I have tried so far. I have a few of others waiting their turn. Always, Gene
One thing that may help is simply letting the soap set in a small amount of water overnight. When you shave in the morning, the puck is more pliant and provides more product to start with. That can help to provide a better soap to water mix.
One thing I use my current Williams for is brush break in. I have several pucks on hand so I don't have to worry about using a more expensive soap breaking in the brush against my forearms daily for about 2 weeks to get a brush prepared for shaving.
My answer to these soap problems is copied from a fellow shaver on this site. My newly acquired Suribachi !! Find that all*of my soaps and creams work better with this bowl! I rub the round or stick around the sides and bottom. This Keeps the soap dry and your able to store it in its original containers. And by increasing the the surface area of the soap to brush ratio it really improves your ability to make leather. * still can't make Neutrogena lather.
I heard a rumor (tongue in cheek...) that there is a world-wide shortage of urinal cakes and citronella candles, so the Williams company is repackaging these to sell for that purpose. Since they won't be available anymore Krogers is clearing them out...
If it doesn't work for you as a shave soap it can be used as a shower or hand soap, might as well use it up. As johnus said the Suribachi is an amazing bowl. I had sstarted getting onto face lathering a little more until I started using it but now I've gone to the Suribachi full time.