What Products have Exceeded Your Expectatons?

[muskokabrian]

Everyone's tastes are different and here in the wonderful world of wet shaving we are fortunate to have products that fit everyone. Some products have a real wide appeal and get a lot of praise on the forums and while many have lived up to expectations, there have been a few disappointments. For me, Tabac was the biggest. Derby blades goes in that bucket too.

However, there have been products that exceeded my expectations. So I pose the question: What products have exceeded your expectations?

My list:

Feather Blades... why did I wait over a year to try these babies? Goodbye neck irritation, hello smoothness.
Mitchell's Wool Fat... bleat... bleat... bleat...need I say more?
Cade a/s balm... it's entirely under-hyped in my opinion. Pricey though so maybe that's why.

[aceofhearts]

+1 on the Feathers and TOBS!

[atison]

Feathers (only slightly as I had high expectations)
7 o'clock blacks (didn't expect much so they blew me away)
Tabac (was scared of the scent before I tried it but love everything about the soap)
Palmolive (didn't expect much, would pay much more then they are asking)

[Foyle]

The Edwin Jagger DE89L. A truly amazing razor! Cella Crema Da Barba. A great soap! When it's time to re-order I'm going to try the kg brick.

[JonnyAngel]

I am trying to think of the products that have really been few and far between. It is hard to say which ones have really shined, but I will have to give it a try.

Soaps/Creams

Castle Forbes Lavender: For your money you get a large, dense long lasting product with one of the finest scents around and a great lather.

Al's Da Bomb: Very similar to CF, but I get more lather with more moisturizing than any cream I have ever tried.

Mitchel's Wool Fat: Tallow and wool fat. Odd to lather, great to use, lasts forever.

Aftershaves

Aqua Velva: I never ever thought I would like this stuff and it is one of my favs.

Musgo Real: The best overall product ever! The scent, the feel, the skin care.

[Codfish]

Exceeded:

+Mitchell's Wool Fat soap
+Gem Micromatic open-comb
+Iridium Super blades

Disappointed:

-Gillette SS

Codfish

[craig87c]

GEMs, Palmolive stick, Aqua Velva.

[shrubble]

Exceeded:
C.O. Bigelow/Proraso (how have I lived so long without this stuff???)
GEM Clog-Pruf SE
Merkur 180
$3 Boar Brush from CVS that WILL... NOT... DIE...
Wilkinson Swords (who would have thought?)
The Clubman

Disappointed:
Marvy Mug
Derby Extras

[Wetshavemike]

Trumpers Limes Skin Food. Scent, meh. A bit expensive. Lasts forever, and made a dramatic improvment in my skin! (I have psoriasis)

[BladeRunner001]

Hardware:


Shavemac D01 (3-band and 2-band)
Simpson Chubby (3-band and 2-band)
Japanese western style straight. I yet have to try one I didn't like
Sheffield straights
Swedish straights

Software:


Tabac SS/SC
D.R. Harris SS
SRD Bulgarian Rose. One of the BEST glycerin-based soaps out there
Al Raz' da Bomb SC...Can't beat Al's cremes
Floris SS
Trumper's
MWF/Cella
Acca Kappa SC (especially when combined with the SS)
Mama Bear SS

[tbress]

Arko shave stick
Superior70 bay rum

Both products are available for ~$2 so I wasn't expecting much. Both are amazing performers.

[Rusty Wilkinson]

Agreed on the Cade balm, awesome stuff. I also love the Cade soap, it's the only soap I use. Also, I have tried many, many different blades but I always find myself wondering back to American Personnas.


Biggest dissapointment? T&H West Indies Lime Cream

[maxman]

European Palmolive.
Real Shave Co.
Personna Med Prep. blade (I'm a Feather man through and through)

[IridiumMourner]

Feather blades
Cella Soap

[PozzSka]

Soap:
- Benton Clay (for a melt and pour based glycerin soap, this is my fav and very nice shave product)

[BCatl]

Many products have, however, the one that has probably benefited me the most is simple Alum. I never even considered it before I came to B&B.

[sas71]

Feather blades
Merkur HD
:thumbup1:

[dpmtherrien]

Both the folding and non-folding Kai straight razors. :thumbup1:

[Zarba]

Everyone's tastes are different and here in the wonderful world of wet shaving we are fortunate to have products that fit everyone. Some products have a real wide appeal and get a lot of praise on the forums and while many have lived up to expectations, there have been a few disappointments. For me, Tabac was the biggest. Derby blades goes in that bucket too.

However, there have been products that exceeded my expectations. So I pose the question: What products have exceeded your expectations?

My list:

Feather Blades... why did I wait over a year to try these babies? Goodbye neck irritation, hello smoothness.
Mitchell's Wool Fat... bleat... bleat... bleat...need I say more?
Cade a/s balm... it's entirely under-hyped in my opinion. Pricey though so maybe that's why.
Real Shave Co. Cream and Balm. Very, very good.
Derby blades. First time, not so good. 2nd time, excellent.
Astra Superior Platinum: My Go-To Blade
Gillette Super Speed. Much niver to my face than my Merkur 38C. That couldbe because I'm a newbie...
Wally World generic Witch Hazel: Cools the burn, cheap enough that you can pay for it with the change in the ashtray.
"Classic" Old Spice: Love the scent.

[kingfisher]

Everything from Saint Charles Shave. Especially their soap, only because the aftershaves already have an outstanding reputation but their soaps don't get that much press around here.

[Sterling Cooper]

Feathers.

Gillette 1930s NEW--my go to razor out of a couple dozen

Palmolive (gut 2.2) shave stick. Picked one up in Germany last Spring. Wow, what a great bargain!

SCS Savory Rose Aftershave Balm. Great product, great scent, great price.

Penhaligon's Opus 1870 EdT. Yes, it should be good for that price, but it goes to 11. Time to musk up!

Nesti Dante Bath Soaps

[Fbones24]

Exceeded Expectations:

- Goodfella DE
- Arko Shave Stick
- L'Occitane Shave Soap
- L'Occitane Aftershave Balm (Cade and L'occitane)

The above products are products that I bought on a whim and have now far exceeded my original expectations of them. The L'Occitane Balms are the best I have used actually.

[Greyfox]

Simpson Duke 3 in best.

[BlackBard]

The Art of Shaving soaps. I have tried Lavender and Lemon. I have Sandalwood on hand, but have not tried it yet. These are excellent soaps.

[infotech]

Merkur Futur
Iridium Super blades
Truefitt & Hill Pre-Shave Oil - skin conditioning
Art of Shaving creams - I know P&G bought them and I should hate them for that, but they work and smell so good.

[masonjarjar]

Barbasol Pacific Rush aftershave. I think I "almost bought it" aobut 5 or 6 times before I actually did. It's great stuff, really, will keep buying it as long as it's around. I'm over 1/2 way though the bottle already while most of my other aftershaves are languishing around the 3/4 mark..

[Sfbagger]

Feather blades.
Proraso cream.
Omega 49 brush.

Jeff

[GFlanagan3]

blew me away: Treet 'black beauties', MWF and Queen Charlotte soap..Ogalla bay Rum..also really liked Feathers
not so good for me (ymmv) Cella, Tabac, Shark blades, IP's

[JoshuaA]

Exceeded Expectations:

- Goodfella DE
- Arko Shave Stick
- L'Occitane Shave Soap
- L'Occitane Aftershave Balm (Cade and L'occitane)

The above products are products that I bought on a whim and have now far exceeded my original expectations of them. The L'Occitane Balms are the best I have used actually.


That's good to hear. I just snagged a couple of sample packs of L'Occitane balm at Pasteur's. :thumbup:

[Quercus]

Feather Blades,
Just about everything from Nivea
Just about everything from Speick
Just about everything from Proraso
Shavemac Brushes

[Sabre]

Another for both L'Occitane Aftershave Balm's.

[rylandbrown]

C.O Bigelow
Merkur 23c
Omega 49 Brush

[Xman74]

Merkur 45 Fakelite razor - I bought this on a whim and am constantly amazed at the fantastic shaves it delivers with almost any blade.

Shavemac D01 2-band (short-loft) - This thing is a scrubbing machine, better than any boar I've tried, but borke in beautifully and is nice and soft on the face.

Floid Amber AS - Love or hate the smell, this stuff makes my skin feel amazing, better than more expensive ASs and ASBs. Truly a wonderful product.

[btuer60]

Exceeded:

'65 Tech with plated handle
Omega boar 10066
VDH Glycerin
Skin Bracer

Disappointed:

Clubman Pinaud - had a family member pick it up for me in NC as it is not readily available in Canada. I was really looking forward to trying this as so many seem to love it. The scent just doesn't do it for me - Skin Bracer is much better at evoking memories of childhood barber shop visits.

[FL shaver]

Tabac soap and Arko shave sticks. Brush either of these products on after splashing with water. Shave and rinse. Repeat day after day. Simple, cheap, effective wet shaving.

I'd include Speick and Palmolive sticks, but you can't get them for a buck a stick here in the United States.

MWF and AOS creams would get a mention, too, if they were cheaper.

[miamimoe]

Exceeded my expectations:

Musgo Real Shave cream-Just great stuff. Love the smell and performance.
Gillette Nacet Blades-Not the sharpest, but oh so smooth; works fantastic in my vintage Gillettes. Iridium Supers are my first choice, but are not currently available.
SCS Oakmoss Lavendula ASB. Wonderful smell, great for the skin, a little goes a long way.
Simpson's Colonel XL2. Was not in love at first, but after a few months of break-in, I think it's the perfect brush for me.
Provence Sante' shave soap. Lathers easily even with my hard water, protective, slick, and leaves my skin feeling great.

[Drewser]

Gillette New open comb razors- beat out my Merkur Slant for comfortable close, now I can't stop buying them.

Queen Charlotte Soaps Celestial Woods cream- most natural and true pine woods scented soap/cream, and very very good. Looking forward to trying other scents.

Pino Silvestre AS - purchased primarily based on the scent, but got a top-notch performer with menthol which does a great job soothing razor burn, and who doesn't love the bottle?

[Drybonz]

My Rudy Vey brush

[Marco]

The products that have definitely exceeded my expectations are some top quality non-tallow based soaps, discovered in 2010. And they are:

Martin de Candre :thumbup1:
La Toja stick :thumbup1:
L'Occitane Cade :thumbup1:

And the new Acca Kappa 1869 Almond shaving cream. :thumbup1:

[BillC]

Palmolive Shave Stick
Speick Shave Stick

Speick Aftershave Splash

Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle

[oc_in_fw]

Time to musk up!


Have you seen "Anchorman"? Thanks to that little line you posted I am going to have "60% of the time it works every time" going through my head.

[Slivovitz]

Several vintage razors which were bought mainly for the cool collectible factor have turned out to be great shavers.

Schick type A magazine repeater
Schick C2 magazine repeater
Valet Auto-Strop, C type
Valet Auto Strop, cutout blade type
1913 Kampfe Lather Catcher.


My Omega boar brush and Tweezerman badger, both of which I bought as cheap starters, have turned out to be pretty much my favorites. Each was around $13.

[shumanfoo]

I haven't tried all that much.

I've tried almost everything thing based on raves from B&B. So my expectations were always very high.

However, I tried some blades from Russia that just blew me away.

Voskhods first. Teflon coated. Swedish steel. Smooth and long lasting.

Then I just tried some Ladas the other day. I would say as sharp as Feathers but somehow more forgiving. Swedish steel but a different grind.

I tried these on a lark not knowing what to expect. They were better than about 5 other brands I have tried including Feathers.
:thumbup:

[subzero]

After using Tabac for a while I decided to give some TOBS a try (with a few drops of glycerine :wink2:) and it was wonderful.

Also I've recently received some Gillette Super Thins which I've found to be sharp and amazingly smooth for me. They're certainly a contender for my #1 blade of choice. I've used feathers numerous times but only can get 2-3 shaves out of a blade before the tugging and irritation, with the super thins I'm on shave #4 and still going strong.

[reyrascon]

Musgo Real balm and splash - love the smell, fantastic aftershaves
Tabac soap - great lather and I love the smell
Speick splash - fantastic aftershave
La Toja stick and splash - great products, too bad they are not more accessible

[Navy Cut]

my Omega boar has exceeded my expectations 10-fold!!

[DavidP]

Arko shave stick. $2 for a good tallow soap? Such a great product.

[edorgon]

:001_smile...the entire DE shaving experience, reborn after 50 or so years! :001_smile

[reyrascon]

:001_smile...the entire de shaving experience, reborn after 50 or so years! :001_smile

+100

[bew47]

Let's see here:

Razor:
An OLD type Gillette included in an Ebay auction for an Old Spice mug.
My feather portable, still a go to razor.

Soaps/creams:
CO Bigelow
Godrej products
Erasmic
VDH Deluxe
Evanest bay and rum soap from ebay

A/S:
Ivy club
Florida water

[theagent]

exceeded my expectations?

Wilkinson Sword blades from Walmart. I was certain that these blade would be terrible, and they surprised the hell out of me. Definitely not the best, but I would definitely say that they exceeded my expectation.

I was afraid to try Feather blades at first, but my expectations were still quite high, so I can't throw that in the list. I can say that Derby blades were a huge let down... They were my first, and I had such high expectations. They've been the worst that I've tried thus far... and I've now tried about 6 or 7 different blades.

Can't comment too much about soaps, I didn't have high hopes for that Tabac! :laugh: Ogallala Bay Rum and Sandalwood was a bit of a let down. Love love the scent, but the lather is just so-so.

[steveo]

Valobra shave stick
Proraso a/s splash
TOBS creams

[nav]

- Frank Shaving finest brush: I was not expecting much at all but it has totally delivered! (although I had to get a custom: Fan shape with 47mm loft)

- Semogue 1470 boar: this little beauty has become my favourite and only boar brush. You would never think it will hold lather for 3+ passes...but it does! It is nice and soft on the face and can tackle the hardest of hard soaps!

- MWF: what can I say. I bought this when I was quite a newbie and fell in love with it straight away. I am still amazed at the slickness and skincare it provides!

- Godrej shaving round: this cheap soap from India...WOW the performance is fantastic, thick, creamy and slick lather all over the place!

- Injector shaving system: this exceeded my expections big time! I bought it as a novelty a long time ago, put it off for ages but it is now in my regular rotation!

[MHV]

Sadly, since every product eventually gets a rave review by someone on the internet, I could say that I always approach any product as the second coming of pogonotomy.

But I will say that Valobra's shave stick got me a "damn, that was nice" reaction. I bought it thinking, "hm, a wee stick o'soap which should be a fun thing to carry around when travelling." When I used it, I realized that the lather was truly among the best, and my face thanked me for it.

[TAP119]

Exceeded:
Soaps from ManCave1 on Etsy.com. :001_tt1:
Derby and Shark DE blades :thumbup1:


Products to make me say, "Son, I am disappoint...." :mad3:

1958 D4 Fatboy-not a very close shave
CO Bigelow's Proraso shave cream
Wilkinson DE blades
Feather DE blades (hamburgerized face) :scared:
Walgreen's store brand DE blades (Personnas)
Black or Gray Gillette 7 O'clocks
Astra blades
Van Der Hagen soap
Marvy soap
Marvy brush (boar)
Sally beauty supply chain

[Wemshie]

Palmolive shave soap. 49p (less than a dollar) and it is the best 'shaving' product I have. I prefer other scents etc, but for a solid shave it's got to be palmolive.

[robbert]

Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap, T.O.B.S. Avocado Cream and Shavemac Finest Badger Brush

[BrianL]

Kiss My Face shaving cream by far. I knew it would be good based on reviews, but it really blew me away.

[damooshki]

kiss my face shaving cream by far. I knew it would be good based on reviews, but it really blew me away.

+1 amazing!!

[Will P.C.]

I usually have pretty high expect. for more expensive stuff, so my list will carry some inexpensive items.

Palmolive Stick
Vintage Williams
Thayers

[bew47]

exceeded my expectations?

Wilkinson Sword blades from Walmart. I was certain that these blade would be terrible, and they surprised the hell out of me. Definitely not the best, but I would definitely say that they exceeded my expectation.



Same exact thing with me. I didn't expect much at all but figured what the heck, they're only a buck fifty. I actually really like these, especially given their price and availability.

[caveman]

Col. Conk Amber & Godrej DeLux Shaving Soup :thumbup1:

[DerFly]

40s Gillette Super Speed.

Consistently excellent shaves. Just got it back from the replater today. I'll use it in the morning.

[jansob]

-Simpson Wee Scot: never thought this would be my main brush, but it is.

-SuperMax Super Platinums: No Feathers, but smooth shavers

-Mandom AS: bought it almost as a joke, just to say I'd tried it, and use it every day!

Frank Shaving Best Badger: I hesitate to put this on the list because of "issues" but I thought I was taking a big chance and ended up with a better brush than I thought I'd get. But I haven't compared it to a full-sized brush from the big makers.

[Laney1566]

Williams!!!:sneaky2:

[kbuzbee]

The Art of Shaving soaps. I have tried Lavender and Lemon. I have Sandalwood on hand, but have not tried it yet. These are excellent soaps.

+1! There aren't many products that fall into this category, for me. The thing is I don't often take a "flyer" on things. By the time I actually buy one, I expect to totally love it. Tough to exceed those expectations:lol:

But back when I first tried AOS, I didn't really expect much. I decided to try a bunch of soaps. I expected to like some of the English ones but AOS I tried just to say I had.:001_rolle

Wow, it was pretty good. Over the years, the more soaps I tried, the more I came to appreciate just how much I liked AOS.

Then, about a year ago, I had this odd epiphany... When I was using any other soap (Pen EF tallow excepted) I found myself wishing I was using AOS.

Problem solved, I now use AOS 90% of the time. Cade, MWF, GFT etc make an appearance for a day, here and there. But day in day out, it's AOS for me.

Really didn't see that coming back when I bought my first one.

Ken

[probesport]

Walmart Wilkinson sword DE blades, I did not expect them to be a good blade. I bought some in a pinch since my sampler wasn't here yet and they shaved very good, no issues at all.

I also expected modern Williams soap just to be horrific, and it was decent - not great by any stretch but useable in a pinch. I keep a cake of it in my cabinet now just in case I run out of the handmades that I like.

Pinaud clubman I did not expect that I would love this scent so much, I have been hearing it loved so much on here I just had to get some. My initial thought when I opened it up and took a whiff was that I made a bgi mistake - however with wet hands, a good splash I was hooked.

[Greyfox]

Treet Durasharp Blades...very inexpensive and provides a BBS shave.

[Sledgehammer39]

The Edwin Jagger DE89L, I thought it was going to be your typical three piece razor, but I was wrong it's awesome.

Omega Boar Brush it turned out to be my main brush.

Proraso soap.. It got so much praise that I thought it was gonna be all hype.. Boy was I wrong.

[hatch_hermit]

Tabac shaving soap
T&H Lavender cream

[AECUSN]

exceeded my expectations?

Wilkinson Sword blades from Walmart. I was certain that these blade would be terrible, and they surprised the hell out of me. Definitely not the best, but I would definitely say that they exceeded my expectation.

+1, they surprised me just as much. I feel they are much better than the average blade though!

[maxman]

Monsavon soap.
I'm trying to find some more.
Not so easy on this side of the Atlantic.

[andrew98]

Hardware:
Edwin Jagger DE89L Razor - Better than any Merkur razor I've ever tried
Custom Shavemac Finest Brush - I reach for this over my D01, but I honestly don't know why

Software:
Provence Sante Green Tea Shave Soap and Aftershave - Great performance and fragrance
Palmolive Shave Stick
Trumper's Skin Food - Works great and the Sandalwood fragrance is really nice

-Andy

[mftoms59]

AOS Lavender Cream- Small amount= Big Lather & nice scent
444 ASB- a little goes a long way
La Toja Sensitive SC- Great Scent, Rich Lathers

[OkieStubble]

Definitely, Cella Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima.

[Zarba]

Everyone's tastes are different and here in the wonderful world of wet shaving we are fortunate to have products that fit everyone. Some products have a real wide appeal and get a lot of praise on the forums and while many have lived up to expectations, there have been a few disappointments. For me, Tabac was the biggest. Derby blades goes in that bucket too.

However, there have been products that exceeded my expectations. So I pose the question: What products have exceeded your expectations?

My list:

Feather Blades... why did I wait over a year to try these babies? Goodbye neck irritation, hello smoothness.
Mitchell's Wool Fat... bleat... bleat... bleat...need I say more?
Cade a/s balm... it's entirely under-hyped in my opinion. Pricey though so maybe that's why.
Van der Hagen soap. Very good, slick lather, great results, stupid cheap.

Bonus for the Van der Spice recipe.

[Wil Dorenbos]

GEMs, Palmolive stick, Aqua Velva.

+1 on the Gems

[Hex]

Floid Pre Shave Gel.

I had been using Proraso, AOS oil, and another oil that I forget.

I had a hard time seeing any improvement with the AOS and Proraso but forged ahead anyway.

Then I read a comment by Marco re the Floid and I will never be without it.

It is easy to apply, and I use it liberally. It is not overly oily, if at all and doesn't seem to gum up my razor.

My 1st use, and what sold me on it was when I used it without having showered 1st.

Without exception, my best shaves are after I shower, and I tried the Floid on a day when I didn't shower. The comfort of the shave was easily the equal of a shower day.

Try it, you'll like it.