Building Lather With Noble Otter

[doctordial]

Has anyone experienced that this soap needs a lot of water yo build a lather. I shaved with it this morning and got a very thin lather, than I added more soap to my shavi g scuttle and what I call a very small puddle of water. I got one of the best lather I have had in a long time. More than I needed and I hate throwing away a good lather. The shave was very smooth. Face feel is excellent.

 

[Glaze3]

I face lather, so no building a lather in a bowl, but I think all the newer high butter artisan soaps take a lot more water than you might think.

 

[RayClem]

My procedure for lathering Noble Otter and many other soaps is listed below. The procedure does not work for creams or very hard pucks.

1. I immerse my brush in a cup of warm water. I use both synthetic and natural hair brushes (badger, boar, and horsehair) with 24-26mm knots being my favorite.
2. I add 1 Tablespoon of hot tap water to the soap container and allow the soap to bloom for about two minutes.
3. I pour the bloom water into my perheated shave bowl.
4. I remove my brush from the soak water and wring out any excess moisture.
5. I load my brush for 15-30 seconds directly from the container. Softer soaps like B&M Reserve and CRSW Glide may load in 15 seconds and a firm soap like B&M Glissant might take 30 seconds. Noble Otter is a semi-hard soap, so it take me about 20 seconds load time.
6. I then start building a lather in my shave bowl. It rarely takes me more than 60 seconds to build a luxurious lather, except with hard pucks.
7. Occasionally, if I get too little soap in my load, I have to go back and load a little more soap. Occasionally, it I get too much soap in my load, I have to add a little extra water.
8. There are many ways to check for a properly hydrated lather. One test that works well for me is while shaving I dip my razor into a cup of warm water. If the lather sticks to the razor, the lather is too thick and needs more water. If the lather quickly dissapates, then it is too thin and more soap needs to be added. If the lather is properly hydrated, the lather will slowly release from the razor and float to the surface of the water.

 

[kxthor]

Thanks for the tip. I needed to read this.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

My procedure for lathering Noble Otter and many other soaps is listed below. The procedure does not work for creams or very hard pucks.

1. I immerse my brush in a cup of warm water. I use both synthetic and natural hair brushes (badger, boar, and horsehair) with 24-26mm knots being my favorite.
2. I add 1 Tablespoon of hot tap water to the soap container and allow the soap to bloom for about two minutes.
3. I pour the bloom water into my perheated shave bowl.
4. I remove my brush from the soak water and wring out any excess moisture.
5. I load my brush for 15-30 seconds directly from the container. Softer soaps like B&M Reserve and CRSW Glide may load in 15 seconds and a firm soap like B&M Glissant might take 30 seconds. Noble Otter is a semi-hard soap, so it take me about 20 seconds load time.
6. I then start building a lather in my shave bowl. It rarely takes me more than 60 seconds to build a luxurious lather, except with hard pucks.
7. Occasionally, if I get too little soap in my load, I have to go back and load a little more soap. Occasionally, it I get too much soap in my load, I have to add a little extra water.
8. There are many ways to check for a properly hydrated lather. One test that works well for me is while shaving I dip my razor into a cup of warm water. If the lather sticks to the razor, the lather is too thick and needs more water. If the lather quickly dissapates, then it is too thin and more soap needs to be added. If the lather is properly hydrated, the lather will slowly release from the razor and float to the surface of the water.

I like it. A man with a plan.

 

[SHAVEWIZARD420]

I use a crazy amount of water when making lather, especially during the 2-3 passes. Most soaps can handle darn near as much water as you throw at them, just keep working the lather and it may surprise you.

 

[BigD]

My procedure for lathering Noble Otter and many other soaps is listed below. The procedure does not work for creams or very hard pucks.

1. I immerse my brush in a cup of warm water. I use both synthetic and natural hair brushes (badger, boar, and horsehair) with 24-26mm knots being my favorite.
2. I add 1 Tablespoon of hot tap water to the soap container and allow the soap to bloom for about two minutes.
3. I pour the bloom water into my perheated shave bowl.
4. I remove my brush from the soak water and wring out any excess moisture.
5. I load my brush for 15-30 seconds directly from the container. Softer soaps like B&M Reserve and CRSW Glide may load in 15 seconds and a firm soap like B&M Glissant might take 30 seconds. Noble Otter is a semi-hard soap, so it take me about 20 seconds load time.
6. I then start building a lather in my shave bowl. It rarely takes me more than 60 seconds to build a luxurious lather, except with hard pucks.
7. Occasionally, if I get too little soap in my load, I have to go back and load a little more soap. Occasionally, it I get too much soap in my load, I have to add a little extra water.
8. There are many ways to check for a properly hydrated lather. One test that works well for me is while shaving I dip my razor into a cup of warm water. If the lather sticks to the razor, the lather is too thick and needs more water. If the lather quickly dissapates, then it is too thin and more soap needs to be added. If the lather is properly hydrated, the lather will slowly release from the razor and float to the surface of the water.

A man after my own heart. Procedures and processes always yield the best results in life.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I use a crazy amount of water when making lather, especially during the 2-3 passes. Most soaps can handle darn near as much water as you throw at them, just keep working the lather and it may surprise you.

Ah, that's kinda how I do it, too.

Some soaps have a point at which they sort of just fall apart and run down my chest. Too much water does them in, and before I consider them sufficiently hydrated. A few soaps - WSP Formula T is this group - will hold exactly the right amount of water for me, but with just a tad more than that they fall apart.

Many soaps seem to be able to take as much water as I want them to hold - which is a lot - and be fine. Maybe one can break them, but not in my experience.

Other soaps - Grooming Dept Pekin (duck based) seem to require extreme hydration. To me that's not a drawback, but it might be for someone liking less water than I tend to like in the lathers.

Unlike a lot of gentlemen who talk about well hydrated lathers I do not want thin and barely visible lather. No gray water for me. I like my lathers very, very wet, but I also like more of the Santa Claus lather (not an extreme SC lather) than some guys. I like it wet, creamy, foamy, and a little bit on the visually thick side.

I know only the part that touches the skin and whisker actually matters to the shave, but I like what I like and why not.

Happy shaves,

Jim