Been years since I tried it so when I found a puck for a buck today, figured for that price a potential pit soap can't be totally horrid. Then again that's what I said about the antique vial of Dr. Phibes' Radium Vita-Tonic that I may or may not have sampled.
I used mine this morning with no special soaking and it made great lather easily and have me a great shave. One of the top performing soaps at any price. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk
I strictly use williams as a back up, of course...since im a 3017er...that means i really never use it
About 30 or 40 years ago I used to use Williams but switched to VDH. Recently tried a puck again. Melted it in an old bowl in the microwave and after it cooled I started to lather up, I think they changed the formula or my memory failed but I really had to work that brush to get a decent lather, it took a lot more time and it wasn't worth the effort.
I should have explained better. I used to melt the bottom of Williams puck with some shavings on the stove , just enough to keep it from moving around in the bowl but this time in the micro wave (15 sec.) Williams shavings did melt, I forgot about the tallow, but maybe I should have prepped it like I used to. On the stove with shavings.
My dad always laughed at that ad, especially when former MLB player Boog Powell slapped his head and said "Oh jeez" when they sang it. (Powell never saw the singing coming).
A small update - I've shave with Williams twice recently. Both times have had dissipating lather. I read back through all these comments and realize I need to go with a really dry brush over a well-hydrated puck. I'll try it again soon. I want to conquer Williams!
Better yet, score a vintage puck, follow the Vintage Williams Project thread from @GDCarrington and really experience a fantastic lather.
Soap, brush and water, those are the three variables. With a given brush, try varying the amount of water in the brush. That worked for me when using Williams, and I got good lather with reasonable lifespan using boar, horse hair, and floppy badger brushes. No secrets, just trial and error, along with refining the amount of water used in the brush. The resulting lather gave satisfactory shaves. Dove bath soap works better for shaving than Williams, and so does CVS Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar. Both are very good value for the money. Some folks might call technique a fourth element, but for the most part that is just swirling a bush. It is quickly learned and soon becomes a non-factor, in my experience at least. A soap should just work without a bunch of fussing around. Soaking the puck, adding shaving cream to it, etc. should not be necessary. If it is necessary, then perhaps it is time to find a better soap. That holds true for Williams or any other brand. All in my humble opinion.
I used Williams for years when I first started shaving back in the 60's and with a bit of a learning curve and dads guidance I got a great rich lather. Later tried VDH and was able to get a faster rich lather. Sometimes I still use Williams soap but prefer VDH or Cella.
Used Williams Soap for my shave this morning and had a wonderful lather. instead of Face lathering, I Bowl lathered, after soaking my Boar brush I gave it one shake, just enough water to work up a great lather in my bowl. applied lather and had a great BB Shave. The change from face to bowl lathering like I used to do made a big difference
