Williams shaving soap
- Thread starter Al H
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- Bideford, North Devon
Al H said:
I was given some by my American friend. It was ok but nothing I'd rush out to buy. Your better off, if its a cheap American soap your after, going for Van Der Hagen. Now that is a pretty good soap in my opinion.
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- 120
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- San Antonio, Texas
William's Mug Soap has a reputation for being difficult to lather. It's proponents say that it is worth the effort, while every one else thinks of it as cheap junk. I am of the latter mind. I can buy William's for less than $1 a puck at a store located less than a mile away and I still don't buy the stuff. If you're looking for a good, low cost American soap then let me just say that all of the Van Der Hagen soaps are far superior and costs only pennies more.
Vintage William's is a whole different story, it's a fairly nice soap.
Vintage William's is a whole different story, it's a fairly nice soap.
Al H said:
Never tried it, but the current stuff gets fair reviews. Nothing special kinda soap from what I've seen in print. There are some people who really like the old pucks from 20-30 years ago or longer.
The VDH is a best bang for the buck product. Widely available in the US stores and only a few bucks for a soap that performs better than usual.
About five years ago I had the pleasure of talking on the phone with John VDH himself. Very nice old geezer who even sent me out a bunch of things to sample. I would guess his son's running the deal now.
Martin
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Al H said:
a good soap you need to massively load the brush (should improve with time) as its new but produces a great slick lather and made a decent shave.
i like mug soaps, not to big so they run out quicker and in the countries that actually sell them a decent price and easily available
- Messages
- 120
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
VDH Glycerin is a good soap for face lathering, nice and slick and it seems to lather easier when molded into a twist up shave stick container. VDH Select is a bit easier to load and smells nicer. VDH Deluxe takes a little more work, but it has shea butter in it and smells a lot like TOBS Rose.
Some folks like to melt the VDH and then grate the William's Mug Soap into it or place the William's puck in the center of the sea of VDH. It's usually referred to as Van Der William's and gives the best of both worlds--tallowy goodness with glycerin slickness.
Some folks like to melt the VDH and then grate the William's Mug Soap into it or place the William's puck in the center of the sea of VDH. It's usually referred to as Van Der William's and gives the best of both worlds--tallowy goodness with glycerin slickness.
- Messages
- 120
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
I'm glad that it worked so well for you. Van Der William's is a particular favorite among the Van Der Hagen/William's Mug Soap debaters on the American shaving forums, it's the one thing that both sides agree on.
