So I had an epiphany today! I managed to get my Williams to make a beautiful lather. I took the cheap synthetic brush that I bought at the body shop, and I stuck it in a cup of cold water as I stropped my razor. Just had the puck dry in a mug. I didn't shake out the brush since it didn't hold much water. Stuck that stiff hair badboy on the Williams, and Boom! Lather explosion Those nylon tips worked wonders on the hard soap. Gave me an excellent shave. And I have no qualms of the wastefullness of lathering on the puck at 1.50! Thanks guys here at TSD. Finally starting to feel like I'm getting a handle on things.
Yeah, What's with the Cold Water? Does is slam your pores closed and make your whiskers stand up?.... I've heard this and tried it once. Froze me out. But I'll try your technique with the Hot water, sure enough!
Hahaha I take icy showers after my morning workout followed by a cold shave. The shower is cold enough that the subsequent shave feels warm to me It's quite invigorating to say the least! And I still manage to get close shaves so no qualms there either.
I've read enough posts where cold water made the Williams lather better. Some cold water shavers feel the tighter pores, and the hairs standing up, results in less irritation and closer shaves. I can get Williams to lather up pretty good with a pure badger brush. It gets a bit softer with use and stored in a screw-top container to retain some moisture until next use.
I don't know if the cold water makes a difference on the Williams. I just know that it takes more water than a softer soap like the Cella that I like. I also don't know if there are any benefits to cold water shaving in tighter pores and such. I just know that I like the feeling of cold water in the morning. I shaved cold back when I used cartridge razors too, just habit I suppose. The only time I use hot water usually is when I'm camping of all places. I tried lathering Williams with the Shea whatever brush from Target. It worked pretty well, the lather was a little thin. I suppose I could have fixed that with more soap. I combine face and palm lathering so I don't have as much mixing room as in a bowl.
Gotta try the cold water thing. I just got some Williams and liked it in hot water, so now I'll try cold.
Miser's Delight Shaved with the cheapo Williams today. Worked it into a thick paste and added a few drops at a time in the lathering bowl. Got a pretty good shave with a self-honed razor. Cheap+cheap+cheap (soap, bowl, str8-edge) can = good shave. It just doesn't have a very wide-range for hydration levels, once you reach it it works well enough. Later passes with simply a wet-tipped brush for some of the ATG-esque passes work out well, too. Welcome to the club, Frenchie.
These are the best kind of posts. I like that Williams brought about your wet shaving epiphany. I've been on a Williams kick lately, having used it exclusively the past couple of days, although I haven't tried the cold water shave yet.
I just used up the last of my Williams. I always let it soak in hot water with my brush while I take a shower. Remove the brush and soap from the water, shake out he brush, and go to work. I find I can get a very good shave (albeit using shave oil as a pre-shave) from Williams. I've been on an Ogallala kick lately, though. OMG it's my favorite ever.
I've been using Williams exclusively for some time now and one trick I've learned to get superior lather is when I start a new puck I drop it in my mug and cover it with warm water and allow to sit till the next morning for its first use. (ie soak for 24 hours) This softens up the Williams considerably gives me a very thick rich lather right from the beginning. I've also found the type and size of brush makes a big difference. A large boar like my Omega Professional 99 really does the best job. Just for kicks I recently ordered a Omega 10077 which is fairly tiny compared to the 99 and found it very hard to whip up the rich thick lather I like with that brush. It's also way to small for my hands so I won't be using it any further. If I keep it it would be as a travel brush but I don't travel. The 77 is an excellent brush in its own right, not a single hair has come loose since I took it out of the box but I will stick to my large Professional, evidently I'm hooked and can't change and it's perfect for whipping Williams into giant fluffy mountain of lather.
