I’ve been able to “speak” directly with Will via IG on a few occasions. He is awesome.
Best of luck - please update with your results ?
Best of luck - please update with your results ?
Barrister and Mann's new Omnibus base: discussion and reviews
- Thread starter SterFry
- Start date
I saw on Barrister and Mann's Instagram that they are releasing/have samples of Vesper and a soap called "Smoking Bishop". I've had Vespers and I liked it but it wasn't a buy for me. Smoking Bishop does sound very interesting though...
Shaving Soap Sample: Smoking Bishop - https://www.barristerandmann.com/collections/shaving-soap/products/shaving-soap-sample-smoking-bishop
Shaving Soap Sample: Smoking Bishop - https://www.barristerandmann.com/collections/shaving-soap/products/shaving-soap-sample-smoking-bishop
Just ordered a sample of Smoking Bishop, it does sound interesting. I noticed Maggard has the samples as well.
I've had the pleasure of speaking with Will as well and can say that he really is a kind and generous man. I really appreciate him a lot. After dealing with a recent issue, I have a newfound respect for him and a far more positive perspective on his B&M brand than I already had before.
The smoking bishop sounds great. Where does it end!!
My friend..... It doesn't.
My first order "disappeared" at a UPS mailbox. He resent the jar of LGC no questions asked. I'm a big fan.
That's for sure. Will is a never ending fountain of great and unique scents. Most of my other soaps are obsolete now. Paa CK6 and southern Witchcrafts are the only two that can keep up at the moment.
I want to take a side track from discussing the latest releases and circle back around to discussing the base, it has been quite a few pages since we have discussed it generally. I think doing this at least every few months would be helpful for new members.
There was recently a video posted showing how to lather Omnibus for somebody who was new to the base. It showed using the Italian barber method and to say that I strongly disagree with this is an understatement! However, the scientific method is about trying to disprove your own hypothesis so I decided to give it a go and here are the plusses and minuses:
-Most important, and very surprising, going to the tub with a soaking wet brush does not cause excess loading. If anything, it is an impediment to judging how well loaded your brush is due to all the foamy lather. It seems that loading of this soap is still a mechanical process regardless of brush dampness, it is being picked up more than being dissolved.
-It is fast, regardless whether you face or bowl lather. You barely need to add any additional water, it is just a process of tamping down all the bubbles with agitation. I find this the exact opposite of a carefully built lather, but it works, mostly.
-For those that want a higher structure lather, this might be the best method. Just get the bubbles whipped down and make one more small water addition and you have a well hydrated, high performance lather that should sit on your face thickly while feeling noticeably wet. For face latherers especially, I can see how this would be better, you would just need to do some painting to distribute it around and get it spread on thick!
-The number one negative is the water integration. You can get the lather very wet, but it is more prone to running all over the place. I can see that it is not integrated well, but can't seem to get it integrated. I am still going with this being caused by not building the lather up to this level. I really didn't add much water beyond the high structure phase and have a lot of experience using this base so I am not calling this user error. I like wet lather, but I stop just short of having it run down my handle.
-As mentioned above, the lather quality just isn't as good for a soap that cost a lot on a per shave basis. The earlier descriptions of a glue like lather are very accurate if you build up to that. It keeps taking water, feels wet on face and doesn't run. It seems to stick like magic, like glue. Glue that rinses off really easily.
I guess what I am saying in too many words is that I don't like this method for me, but there are some compelling reasons to do this. I still think it's a waste of money, but that depends how much you value your time vs how much you spend on soap. I have decided not to add any more Omnibus to my stable for the time being because I had to switch to morning shaving and I don't like the glossy face look on me. I am re-entering my artisan soap cynic state again so this is not the only one that is getting a more critical eye. I still love the scent discovery that this brand brings!
There was recently a video posted showing how to lather Omnibus for somebody who was new to the base. It showed using the Italian barber method and to say that I strongly disagree with this is an understatement! However, the scientific method is about trying to disprove your own hypothesis so I decided to give it a go and here are the plusses and minuses:
-Most important, and very surprising, going to the tub with a soaking wet brush does not cause excess loading. If anything, it is an impediment to judging how well loaded your brush is due to all the foamy lather. It seems that loading of this soap is still a mechanical process regardless of brush dampness, it is being picked up more than being dissolved.
-It is fast, regardless whether you face or bowl lather. You barely need to add any additional water, it is just a process of tamping down all the bubbles with agitation. I find this the exact opposite of a carefully built lather, but it works, mostly.
-For those that want a higher structure lather, this might be the best method. Just get the bubbles whipped down and make one more small water addition and you have a well hydrated, high performance lather that should sit on your face thickly while feeling noticeably wet. For face latherers especially, I can see how this would be better, you would just need to do some painting to distribute it around and get it spread on thick!
-The number one negative is the water integration. You can get the lather very wet, but it is more prone to running all over the place. I can see that it is not integrated well, but can't seem to get it integrated. I am still going with this being caused by not building the lather up to this level. I really didn't add much water beyond the high structure phase and have a lot of experience using this base so I am not calling this user error. I like wet lather, but I stop just short of having it run down my handle.
-As mentioned above, the lather quality just isn't as good for a soap that cost a lot on a per shave basis. The earlier descriptions of a glue like lather are very accurate if you build up to that. It keeps taking water, feels wet on face and doesn't run. It seems to stick like magic, like glue. Glue that rinses off really easily.
I guess what I am saying in too many words is that I don't like this method for me, but there are some compelling reasons to do this. I still think it's a waste of money, but that depends how much you value your time vs how much you spend on soap. I have decided not to add any more Omnibus to my stable for the time being because I had to switch to morning shaving and I don't like the glossy face look on me. I am re-entering my artisan soap cynic state again so this is not the only one that is getting a more critical eye. I still love the scent discovery that this brand brings!
I agree with these words 100%. My experiments in this regard have been utilizing mid-to-high end badger brushes with Omnibus. Many people have indicated troubles using badger when not having any issues with synths. My first initial shaves with Omnibus were all with synths, as that is what I use the majority of the time. But before reading about the troubles people were having with badgers and Omnibus, I had a couple of great shaves with Paladin badgers.
Then I started reading about people using badgers not having enough for 2 or more passes. Having thin and insufficient lathers, etc. So I started experimenting. I did notice that due to the superior water retention and release properties of the badger, it was very easy to replicate the issues that were reported. You see, i normally wring out my badger brushes before loading. I give them a good 5 to 15 minute soak in luke warm water, then wring out most of it. Then I get to the loading with a slightly damp brush. And I face lather. No bowl is used. I drip water directly into the brush with my hand if its needed.
As a test, i started using Omnibus with varying amounts of water left in the brush. As I increased the water, the lather got thinner and less effective, regardless of how much loading I did. Then after a point of no return with the water content in the brush, the lather became nearly useless, and was flying all over the bathroom as I tried to face lather. With this last shave, I barely had enough lather for a second pass. Issues replicated.
Therefore, to use a proper badger brush with Omnibus, I will wring out most of the water content before loading. (i normally do this anyway with any soap.) I do have to load a bit longer than a synth, but not excessively so. With my standard technique, i yield a quality lather, with enough for 3+ passes.
Of course, to get perfect results every time, just use a synth. The synth will only hold water ON the bristles. The badger holds the water IN the bristles, and then releases that water in a much more natural way. But with a badger, it is super easy to over-hydrate the lather. Its almost impossible with a synth, unless you are the one dumping in too much water during the process.
I'm not following what you're trying to say in that post. I think it's perfectly fine to think this base has its flaws-because it does. It is so thick and unctuous that it sometimes feels like im lathering with mayonnaise. Instead of feeling soft and velvety it feels more like goo. I found that I prefer some structure to my lathers because that structure makes it feel softer on my face and provides a nice barrier between it and the steel. I think B&M could have stopped tweaking the base at Reserve and it would be perfect. I cannot get Omnibus to feel soft no matter what I do. I still think Omnibus is a fantastic base- I plan to buy more although it's not my favorite soap, I like the brand and I do get great shaves with it. The post shave is certainly the best of all the prior bases I think. Whichever consensus/testers he used that gave the nod just prefer this style of lather- i don't. I've used many different soaps and this one is not the best feeling to me but it's still really good. Another very similar lather is Gentleman's Nod C4. Same style, worse post shave properties and at a higher cost.
For all the Euro fellows that want to try B&M 'out-of-regular-line' soaps, Maggards offers a very fast shipping option (Fed-Ex 7 days shipping) at €19. As a bonus you can also buy many samples unavailable in Europe.
And I never paid duty fees when my order was under 99 euros.
Remember that you can't buy alcoholic splashes but you can get the superlative B&M balms.
And I never paid duty fees when my order was under 99 euros.
Remember that you can't buy alcoholic splashes but you can get the superlative B&M balms.
I guess it’s really a response to the video posted, but give it a try as I described for more structure, it works for that.
@APBinNCA @BradWorld @Barbarian80
I want to thank you guys for your time and opinions on this subject. I know exactly what you're all talking about when I comes to building lather with the Omnibus base, water amount and type of brush fiber used. I think with Omnibus there's a little more experimentation and experience needed to dial in the desired lather with it. This is easily lost on those less experienced than us.
I think this discussion needed to happen and is helpful to our newer members and/or those that have never used an Omnibus B&M soap yet.
Thanks again gentlemen.
I want to thank you guys for your time and opinions on this subject. I know exactly what you're all talking about when I comes to building lather with the Omnibus base, water amount and type of brush fiber used. I think with Omnibus there's a little more experimentation and experience needed to dial in the desired lather with it. This is easily lost on those less experienced than us.
I think this discussion needed to happen and is helpful to our newer members and/or those that have never used an Omnibus B&M soap yet.
Thanks again gentlemen.
Some negative reviews floating around, which honestly surprises me, unless the price is really that much of an issue.
So, I am updating my experience:
Henson Razor with Nacet blade. Loaded Lavanille with a Yaqi Surf (synthetic 22mm) after giving it a few good shakes, loaded for roughly 15-20 seconds, then proceeded to face lather on a slightly wet face, then very gradually started adding water, when it started getting rich -- I proceeded to add a lot of water each time, that prevented it from getting runny and I was rewarded by hands down THE best lather I've ever seen, it was like glue, extremely protective, the razor was floating (I need that as I have very sensitive skin, for some it might be overkill) it is more sleek than K2E but not by a huge amount, but overall experience I'd give K2E a 8.9 and B&M a 10, that includes balm & splash quality, have more reasons but I won't go into detail here. Hopefully it will last quite a while, it is harder than K2E after all, it feels like it doesn't take that much product each time, but time will tell.
I have already ordered two more scent combos, this is going to be my main soap for the foreseeable future, I was very surprised by it in my last 3 shaves, it takes a while to build, but it's totally worth it. Also, Seville is coming next and considering I lathered the harder one according to some (Lavanille) it's going to be a breeze.
No hyperbole, this is the real deal, for me B&M single handedly restored my faith in the artisan soaps of this tier.
My only complaint: don't be so safe with scents in Europe, also.. I liked the older & funkier labels way more. And please give us leviathan one day. That is all.
So, I am updating my experience:
Henson Razor with Nacet blade. Loaded Lavanille with a Yaqi Surf (synthetic 22mm) after giving it a few good shakes, loaded for roughly 15-20 seconds, then proceeded to face lather on a slightly wet face, then very gradually started adding water, when it started getting rich -- I proceeded to add a lot of water each time, that prevented it from getting runny and I was rewarded by hands down THE best lather I've ever seen, it was like glue, extremely protective, the razor was floating (I need that as I have very sensitive skin, for some it might be overkill) it is more sleek than K2E but not by a huge amount, but overall experience I'd give K2E a 8.9 and B&M a 10, that includes balm & splash quality, have more reasons but I won't go into detail here. Hopefully it will last quite a while, it is harder than K2E after all, it feels like it doesn't take that much product each time, but time will tell.
I have already ordered two more scent combos, this is going to be my main soap for the foreseeable future, I was very surprised by it in my last 3 shaves, it takes a while to build, but it's totally worth it. Also, Seville is coming next and considering I lathered the harder one according to some (Lavanille) it's going to be a breeze.
No hyperbole, this is the real deal, for me B&M single handedly restored my faith in the artisan soaps of this tier.
My only complaint: don't be so safe with scents in Europe, also.. I liked the older & funkier labels way more. And please give us leviathan one day. That is all.
Out of all my soaps - three high-end, current-formulation artisan soaps; one top vegetable soap; one top croap; and some previous-generation artisan soaps - B&M Omnibus is my favorite. I almost have to make myself use the others. Richness of lather, cushion, and post-shave feel are unmatched. Slickness is beat by one or two others but it’s still very good. Using a synthetic brush and a copper bowl, I can easily make a lather in less than 30 seconds (and I have hard water).
In Omnibus, I have a tub of Le Grand Chypre , and samples of Passiflora, Nordost, and Taiga. I love the scents of the first three. I’d like to buy a couple more tubs of Omnibus but need to work through some of my other soaps first.
In Omnibus, I have a tub of Le Grand Chypre , and samples of Passiflora, Nordost, and Taiga. I love the scents of the first three. I’d like to buy a couple more tubs of Omnibus but need to work through some of my other soaps first.
Anyone try the Smash scent that Will did for Mammoth?
B&M is one of my favorites, if not #1. Curious which one or two others beats slickness in your opinion?Out of all my soaps - three high-end, current-formulation artisan soaps; one top vegetable soap; one top croap; and some previous-generation artisan soaps - B&M Omnibus is my favorite. I almost have to make myself use the others. Richness of lather, cushion, and post-shave feel are unmatched. Slickness is beat by one or two others but it’s still very good. Using a synthetic brush and a copper bowl, I can easily make a lather in less than 30 seconds (and I have hard water).
In Omnibus, I have a tub of Le Grand Chypre , and samples of Passiflora, Nordost, and Taiga. I love the scents of the first three. I’d like to buy a couple more tubs of Omnibus but need to work through some of my other soaps first.
I need to review my soaps for this quality in order to make sure I correctly say which one(s). Will post again after I do.
