I’ve been using Barrister and Mann for quite a while, and despite trying plenty of other soaps, I seem to keep coming back to it. I recently picked up some Noble Otter, and since I really like a number of their scents, I was curious to spend some time with the soap itself.
Noble Otter is a very good performer. I get a comfortable, close shave from it without any real difficulty. I can also get the lather exactly where I like it—not too pasty and not too wet. The difference for me is how much soap it takes to get there. I find myself using considerably more Noble Otter than I do B&M.
That isn't necessarily a criticism of NO. It lathers well and does what it needs to do. But when I compare the two side by side, B&M still wins for me, particularly in protection and residual slickness. The slickness is important because I tend to do a fair amount of buffing, especially on my neck.
I usually do two or three passes every day. My shave also covers considerably more territory than just the usual face and neck. I go pretty high on my face, up to the tops of my cheekbones, and I shave above and around my ears as well. I keep the hair on the sides of my head extremely short, so I basically shave that area rather than leaving a conventional sideburn.
The neck gets a thorough treatment too. I shave well down the neck every day, and once or twice a week I'll take the shave even farther down and around the entire neckline, approaching the collarbone. On the final pass I do quite a bit of ATG buffing on my neck. That's probably where a soap's protection and residual slickness matter most to me.
B&M handles all of this extremely well. I can make multiple passes over areas that are shaved every day, while also going after areas that don't get quite as much attention, and the soap gives me plenty of cushion. I don't have particularly sensitive skin, but if a soap doesn't have enough protection or slickness, I can occasionally get a little burn. I don't have that problem with B&M.
My setup is pretty consistent. I use a scuttle every day because I like a warm lather, load my brush in the scuttle, and then face-lather. B&M is a thirsty soap, so I don't hesitate to keep adding water as I work the lather on my face. Once you get the water-to-soap ratio right, it produces the kind of dense, slick lather I want.
B&M remains my benchmark. For the way I shave—with multiple passes, extensive neck work and plenty of buffing—the cushion and slickness are hard to beat. At this point, I'd still put B&M at the top of my list as an all-around performer.
