Bladerunner7
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WILLIAMS MUG SHAVING SOAP
First Look - An illustration of a shaving mug with exploding lather and a brush inverted into it, one of the most recognizable images in the wet shaving world. As a child I often thought that little box contained instant sachets that could magically turn water into a root beer float. The blue and white color box which contains the shaving soap puck inside may look simple but remains one a fine work of branding excellence.
Side note – 22 year old James Baker Williams founded Williams & Brothers in 1840 when he developed Williams Genuine Yankee soap with just eight employees to aid him in the manufacturing process. in 1860 the company grew to 14 employees with the men mixing the compounds, boiling the tallow, and pressing the soap into bars, while the women wrapped and labelled the soaps. It was one of the first factories to hire women.
By 1885, the company changed its name for the third time to J. B. Williams Company with shaving creams, talcum powder and other toiletries added to their list of products. In 1917 the first Ice Blue After shave was launched which would become Aqua Velva, it was ten years after founder J B Wiliams passed away. In 1957 Pharmaceuticals, Inc in New Yourk bought the company only to sell it to Nabisco in 1971. While Aqua Velva was bought by Combe Incorporated eventually, The Williams Mug Soap was acquired by the Beechma group from Nabisco and was to be discontinued in 2015. An outcry from the soap’s loyalists saw the puck walk a few more miles miles more before breathing its last between 2022 and 2025
First Whiff – According to die-hard fans of the product, the Williams Mug Shaving Soap is supposed to have a mild, clean, and slightly citrusy scent that is masculine in its projection, a few even pick up a bergamot note. I’m a fan of citrus based fragrances and bergamot, so much that Earl Grey remains my favorite tea blend. At first whiff I got none of the notes described, it just came across as a weak detergent like fragrance . So I took a second whiff and it and my fairlysensitive nose was unable to pick up anything, nothing floral, citrus or even lavender in there. Even most dish washing soaps pack in a better scent. I put this down to the soap being fairly old and figured that it would smell better when lathered.
First Lather – I have used the reformulated Williams Mug Soap in the past and wasn’t impressed with it at all. Having said that, I have to thank my buddy Jeff for giving me one of his precious old formula Williams Mug Soaps, in an effort to change my mind. While the reformulated version had Sodium Tallowate listed as the second ingredient, the Canadian made one I was using has tallow as the first. The list of ingredients is listed as Tallow, Stearic Acid, Water, Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide and Isopropyl Cresols. With great expectations I proceeded to build a lather using a teaspoon of soap, my Yaqi Rainbow Pony synthetic, the HC & Co SS bowl and two tablespoons of water. A sixty second brush swirling produced an airy foam. Having worked with the new formula I guessed the old one would be thirstier with the healthy dose of tallow, so two more tablespoons of water and 90 seconds of brush swirling followed. That bubbly foam was still there but a bit thicker. I let the soap rest for a minute before I added another two tablespoons of water and worked at the soap for 120 seconds, only then did I notice that the lather had transformed into a nice rich and dense looking product which sadly, still smelled like a weak detergent. I was impressed with the lather quality and it was a lot richer than the reformulated product.
First Performance – The history of the iconic shaving soap, the fan boyism and the rareness of the tallow rich version had me excited about the shave ahead. While painting the strokes on my face though even with the dense lather, it felt like any ordinary bath soap. By the time I started my first pass using my Goodfellas Bayonetta and a Gillette Platinum, the lather had started to dissipate. I got through the first pass with a contrasting feeling, the residual slickness was there but the shave felt a bit rough. A second pass saw me finish with a DFS but for the first time I felt the Bayonetta to be an aggressive shaver. Post shave my skin felt a bit dry and tender at the same time. That dense lather was also a frail version of its former self . The so called Tallow rich version performed exactly like the reformulated one with average residual slickness but below average cushion and protection. To prove myself wrong I had two more disappointing shaves with the soap before I gratefully returned it to its owner.
First Opinion – Williams Mug Shaving Soap which once sold for about one US Dollar, now commands prices of 10 to 40 USD, a high price to pay for nostalgia and it still has loyal fans and soap hoarders who protect their precious little pucks with their dear life. At its original price point it was the best value shaving soap that delivered the goods in a humble manner. As for me personally, with all the amazing Artisan soaps available today, paying top dollar for the Mug shaving soap is akin to me buying a sharp stone to shave with over a Blackland Blackbird or a Karve Overlander.
Cover Art Work – 6 / 10
Lather Quality – 6 / 10
Fragrance – 3 / 10
Cushion & Protection – 4 / 10
Slickness – 5 / 10
Post Shave Feel – 4 / 10
Value – 10 / 10 ( At it’s original price point)
Total Point Score – 38 / 70
Availability – Discontinued but available on the Bay at high prices.
