Noble Otter

"Cushion" is meant to describe the amount of protection the lather provides. Yes, there is a difference between the better providers of such and those that do not.

Of course NO and WKDM are different, but they are both so good in all depts that it's purely subjective.

NO clearly has slickness in spades, but it's interesting that so many are saying it falls down in cushion, that certainly hasn't been my experience. I find them more equal. Both are super creamy but maybe with a slight edge to WK, though I*m not sure myself if that's also due to it not being so insanely slick.

.... it's purely subjective.

That’s why each and every opinion here is totally valid.

That’s why all each and every opinion here is totally valid.

That’s why all each and every opinion here is totally valid.

Make that...ALMOST every opinion..

For those of us who have found NO to be long on slickness and short on cushion...

I have run an experiment the last couple of days that has proven quite illuminating. I made the assumption that if my NO lather is super slick and not cushy enough, that I may be overhydrating the lather. So for the last couple of days, I have deliberately stopped adding water as soon as the lather was creamy, shiny and still quite stiff. (Usually, I would have added more water until I thought the base could not take more water.)

The result I got was surprising because by adding a lot less water and stopping short of maximum water amounts in the lather, I got a shave that was just as cushioned as what I would expect from DG or WKDM.

I therefore challenge you to cut down on adding water to NO and to add ONLY just enough to get the lather to be shiny, smooth and consistency-wise to beat egg whites.

I believe this will fix the cushion issue for most of you. I will admit that if you do so, it will take just a tiny bit of slickness off, but I believe the tradeoff is more than worth it.

For those of us who have found NO to be long on slickness and short on cushion...

I have run an experiment the last couple of days that has proven quite illuminating. I made the assumption that if my NO lather is super slick and not cushy enough, that I may be overhydrating the lather. So for the last couple of days, I have deliberately stopped adding water as soon as the lather was creamy, shiny and still quite stiff. (Usually, I would have added more water until I thought the base could not take more water.)

The result I got was surprising because by adding a lot less water and stopping short of maximum water amounts in the lather, I got a shave that was just as cushioned as what I would expect from DG or WKDM.

I therefore challenge you to cut down on adding water to NO and to add ONLY just enough to get the lather to be shiny, smooth and consistency-wise to beat egg whites.

I believe this will fix the cushion issue for most of you. I will admit that if you do so, it will take just a tiny bit of slickness off, but I believe the tradeoff is more than worth it.

Did this. This is the consistency I always use. Didn’t matter for my face. As always.....YMMV....

For those of us who have found NO to be long on slickness and short on cushion...

I have run an experiment the last couple of days that has proven quite illuminating. I made the assumption that if my NO lather is super slick and not cushy enough, that I may be overhydrating the lather. So for the last couple of days, I have deliberately stopped adding water as soon as the lather was creamy, shiny and still quite stiff. (Usually, I would have added more water until I thought the base could not take more water.)

The result I got was surprising because by adding a lot less water and stopping short of maximum water amounts in the lather, I got a shave that was just as cushioned as what I would expect from DG or WKDM.

I therefore challenge you to cut down on adding water to NO and to add ONLY just enough to get the lather to be shiny, smooth and consistency-wise to beat egg whites.

I believe this will fix the cushion issue for most of you. I will admit that if you do so, it will take just a tiny bit of slickness off, but I believe the tradeoff is more than worth it.

Did this. This is the consistency I always use. Didn’t matter for my face. As always.....YMMV....

I use NO The Trail and like it a lot

I guess this post is going to go a little against the grain of this thread so far which praises the Noble Otter shaving soaps quite highly.  That was the reason I finally acquired a tub from Top of the Chain - I tried the Nectar Amissa yesterday.  It lathered well and went on in the normal fashion.  I was not impressed with the scent either on the tub or in the lather - it was very mild and rather nondescript in my opinion.  From the description I was expecting more.  Those of you who know me will know that I like my soap to smell like something.  I may or may not like a given scent but (virtual) absence of scent is unforgivable and whats gone "amiss" in this soap is the scent of the nectar.  I was using the Rockwell 6s on plate #5 with a (second use) Polsilver SI but after going over my left cheek on the first pass I switched out to plate #2 as I didn't get the feeling that this lather was up to the aggressiveness of #5 and I had no desire to lose any blood that day.  #2 is a pretty mild shaver and I finished off with no issues - nice face feel post shave, however, the combination of not enough scent and not enough slick relegates this tub to the box of unloved products.  Who knows?  Maybe I was having an off day but I've got so much excellent soap to use that its hard for a new soap to crack the lineup.

Marko, I received a sample of Barrbarr in a trade and I had a similar experience to yours. Lather was good, nothing phenomenal but the scent is so light you can barely smell anything. What I can pick up on smells faintly of a cinnamon cookie. Definitely not what I was expecting after reading all of the comments saying "this is the best barbershop scent I've ever smelled!" I'm now glad I didn't make a blind purchase of a full tub.