Most overrated things in shaving universe

Alright gents,

we all know that there are some very nice products for the money (or less money) with nice to superb performances, and there are some other products perform bad/well/awesome but not worth all that talk/arguments/money/etc.

So write what you think

1. Most overrated cream
2. Most overrated soap
3. Most overrated brush
4. Most overrated SE
5. Most overrated DE
5. Most overrated Straight
6. Most overrated hone
7. Most overrated subject about shaving(mathematical lapping of the hones, not soaking razors to prevent micro warping on the edge, etc)
ETC

you dont have to write for all of the criteria. Would be awesome if you've explained why do you think that a product/subject is overrated. The older and more experienced you are, the more precious your comments are. A newbie's comment about cella after using only few creams would be quite misleading. So please write about products you have fairly good experience.

Let the fight begin

Some Statics so far:


Blades
feather 7
derby 1
super iridiums 1

Brushes
super expensive brushes 3
rooney 2
badger brushes 2
persian jar2 1
super dense brushes 1
plisson 1
simpson super badgers 1
plisson High Mountain White 1
semogue 1305 1
simpson 1

Soaps
cella 8
mwf 8
tabac 4
super expensive soaps 3
tallow based soaps 3
williams 2
trumpers 2
Truefitt & Hill 1
Gold Dachs 1
martin de candre 1

Creams
cremo cream 4
proraso 4
super expensive creams 3
trumpers coconut 3
acqua di parma 2
trumpers 2
truefitt & hill 1
creams(in general) 1
castle forbes 1
old spice 1
bigelow 1


Razors
gillette fatboy 9
adjustable razors 1
custom straight razors 1
dovo 1
edwin jagger de89 1
gem damaskeene 1
filarmonica straights 1
gillette 40s superspeed 1
vintage razors 1
merkur 37c 1
merkur 39c 1
feather ss 1
gem clogproof 1
gem 1912 1
gem micromatic open comb 1
gillette red tip 1
usmc clauss 1
open comb razors 1

Aftershaves
aftershave products(in general) 2
super expensive AS and colognes 1
The Gentlemen's Refinery 1
pinaud 1
alum 1

Other
too detailed preshave routines 12
scuttles 8
preshave oils 4
bowl lathering 3
hot water 3
method shaving 2
razor rotations 1
too expensive brushes 1
NOS or vintage blades 1
blade angle analyses 1
cartridge razors 1
expensive hones 1
expensive strops 1
redundant shaving techniques 1
paraben free products 1
chromium oxide 1
"No Pressure" mantra 1
superlather 1

water is overrated.

Fatboy

Our love affair with everything "big". I own one and it shaves fine, but no better than or quite as good as my DE89L and the FB pricing outside of B&B is ridiculous. It's a rather short run but there seems no shortage. In the end though the market speaks.

retiredguns said:

Fatboy

Our love affair with everything "big". I own one and it shaves fine, but no better than or quite as good as my DE89L and the FB pricing outside of B&B is ridiculous. It's a rather short run but there seems no shortage. In the end though the market speaks.

Click to expand...

+1 million.

Nice shave, nice quality, nice design but what the f. with those prices.

58-step pre-shave routines.

This is easy....CARTRIDGE RAZORS.

All of them.

But the newer they are the worse they are.

Second most overrated item - Plisson brushes.

Canned goo, says it all really

I have to agree the Fatboy is massively overrated. There are so many other razors out there that provide fantastic shaves. Its hilarious how people pay so much for them.
I have three and the last one I got I paid 4.00 for it at an antique store. I have shaved with a fatboy once and its nothing to write home about.

Saving money...

Tabac.

When i first joined B&B (same time i took up wet shaving)I went looking for soaps/creams/razors/brushes like a mad man with money to burn...
Tabac was everywhere on here, with nothing but positive things said about this 'wonder' soap.
So me being me, I ordered Tabac shave soap, shower gel, deodorant roll on, deodorant spray, and aftershave...

Disaster.

The lather it produces, to me, is nothing special whatsoever, and if
anything, really irritates my skin. The smell is also a bit 'old man' for my liking.
When I'm a VERY bad boy, and do something particularly evil, I whip out my Tabac 'goodies' to punish myself. And my does it work.

So there, said it, I HATE TABAC. There's a special place in hell set aside for that over hyped soap I tell thee.

CremoCreme for me. There seems to be a lot of people who love this product. I gave it a good chance, but really don't enjoy my shaves with it

Simpsons Super Badger. It is only slightly softer than the Best, has less backbone, flops around, blooms too large to use, and costs a lot more.

I also don't understand the love affair with Rooneys. I've owned a 1/2 in Best and a 1/1 in Super. Too big, too dense, and the hair really isn't that nice.

Greg1911 said:

This is easy....CARTRIDGE RAZORS. . . .

Click to expand...

In the "world outside", you're no doubt correct. In our own little world here, they're probably underrated, if anything.

My own choice, aftershaves and after shave products in general. If you enjoy using them, fine, but I think folks get kidded into thinking they are necessary. One way I know I got a good shave is that I don't need any aftershave treatment to feel good afterward.

It's tempting to mention specific brands of soaps, razors, blades, etc., but people really do experience these differently. I may prefer my shave with a $1.16 puck of brand X to what I get with a $17.00 puck of brand Y, but I won't say that brand Y is overrated; it's just not to my taste.

Dpflaum said:

Simpsons Super Badger. It is only slightly softer than the Best, has less backbone, flops around, blooms too large to use, and costs a lot more.

I also don't understand the love affair with Rooneys. I've owned a 1/2 in Best and a 1/1 in Super. Too big, too dense, and the hair really isn't that nice.

Click to expand...

Good shout. I forgot about my Rooney silvertip. Horrible brush. VERY prickly.

Mitchells Wool Fat and Fat Boy Razors, both over hyped. Both perform their job adequately but do not deserve the legendary status they have acquired.

I'm going to vote for the Fatboy as well. I've had 3 pass through my hands thus far. All shaved well. I like the shape better than the slim, and I like the heft in my hand, but it doesn't shave better than the slim, and it doesn't shave better than any of the 5 razors in my current lineup, none of them adjustable. It's a nice razor, but not worth the hype, and certainly not worth the premium prices it commands on ebay when equally nice or nicer razors routinely sell for $10-20.

I spent a significant amount of money on my cased #15. I think it's worth it, not only because I love the way it shaves, and because it's Rhodium plated, but as a collectable it is significantly scarcer than the Fatboy. I honestly don't understand WHY Fatboys command such premium prices. Fashion I suppose.

Brian-M said:

58-step pre-shave routines.

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YES!! Just take a shower and wash your face.

Also................

AD's. They are silly, spiritually unfulfilling, and a waste of money.

RBAD- Having 1000's of blades- No one should have more than a few hundred blades. The only exception is if you absolutely love a discontinued blade, like a Swede or P74.

Razor Rotations are silly too. Do you really think John Wayne had a rotation?

Cheap soaps. Why waste your one God given shave with cheap stuff? If you don't have AD's, then even a $30 puck of soap is affordable. (valid exception if you LOVE a cheap soap, like I do with Euro Palmolive)


Rant over!

1. Feather Blades. If I wanted to give a blood sacrifice to the Gods every time I shaved, these would be my weapon of choice. They just don't work for me.

2. Brushes that have three digit price tags. Really? Is that $900.00 Simpson really twice to three times as good as that Shavemac or Vulfix? Or for that matter an Omega Boar? Really? Not to knock Simpson or any other brand but I really think that some of the prices for a utilitarian object like a shaving brush are a bit out of hand. But if you have the money, I say go for it!

3. The gotta have soap or creme of the week that costs over $5.00. OK, I am assuming that most people here understand the basics of saponification and realize that that $200.00 puck of shaving soap in the custom sterling silver container with the Waterford crystal handled brush is just soap, right?

4. The obsession with NOS or vintage blades. I personally think that this is a product of the mindset that led us all to wet shaving in the first place. P&G and Energizer have convinced most of the public that the best way to get a shave is with a 5 bladed cartridge and some canned gel. Not true. This led many of us to seek out vintage razors and start using them again. Hey! If vintage razors are good, vintage blades must be good too! Right? Not necessarily, it depends on the condition of the blade, storage conditions and the material of which the blade is made. NOS is not necessarily better.

5. The blanket cartridges suck line. Cartridges do not suck. For the majority of public, cartridges work just fine. Heck, I gave up shaving with a Schick Injector and moved over to an Atra in the 80's and used a mug and a brush with an Atra and then a Mach 3 for years and got perfectly acceptable shaves. It is just that DEs and SEs give a shave that is equal to or better than a cartridge for ultimately less money and less impact on the environment.

Feathers blades

Simpson Persian Jar 2. Over priced and lacks back bone and correct loft for brush. Most Plisson brushes. Wont mention blades because each person is different but I will say the Swede's are very over rated. Going to get mugged for this but Martin De Candre. I have a jar and it does not live up to the hype at least at that price. Yes its good stuff but many more comparable products for alot cheaper and that smell better.