Shaving Equipment Hierarchy

Blades, Soaps/Creams, and Brushes don't matter that much in my routine as long as they are first tier in performance for me.  These end up being fairly broad groupings.  Razors are a different animal.  I like Wolfmans, and a couple of H&S Razors.  That's it.  Curious what others think.

I think a blade is the most important part of a shave because a substandard or degraded blade loaded in a razor with topnotch
head geometry can ruin a shave. When mated, razor and blade become one implement.

You're right about a Varlet not being essential for a good shave. As a rule, I do not consider a brush at premium pricing because
all brushes have a finite lifespan. No matter how well made. There are too many inexpensive but fantastic brushes to count,
although a Varlet is more of a status symbol.

After my rethought yesterday, I'll revamp my initial response to this instead:

1. Blade is most important, because if you have a crappy blade, nothing can save the shave.

2. Razor is next. After the blade agrees, a razor is most important. These two things are what give the shave... A great razor and blade can hide a lot of deficiencies in the other items used. Everything else is to help the razor and blade do their job. So I find a blade or two that work and use those exclusively, and I've narrowed my razors down to 3 that I use. Gives the highest probability of consistently great shaves.

3. Soap is next. Who doesn't love a great soap I feel terrible that I'm saying soaps are third. A great soap helps before, during, and after the shave.

4. Brush is next. Frankly, in my experience, almost any brush can get you a good shave. I enjoy some more than others, yes, obviously. But it's the thing I'm least picky about. Some are beautiful, some look like a bombing survivor. Don't care either way. (Not saying I don't drool over some brush porn... I'm just saying, it isn't going to change the outcome of the shave 95% of the time.)

5. Aftershave is last. A shave isn't complete without an aftershave. But, since there aren't really any "bad" aftershaves (they all do the same exact thing, with minimal variation), I think ones choice of aftershave on a given day is mostly trivial (as long as it doesn't have ingredients that disagree... but most are safe.). Really, brushes and aftershaves are probably tied, but I'm not rewriting this again!!

* I'll leave some leeway for the outliers: if I use any one factor that's truly terrible, I suppose it could ruin the entire shave, no matter what else is used. And if there is a truly excellent razor or soap (or blade, maybe), it can hide deficiencies in the other items used. But, I don't think an excellent brush hides deficiencies in other things... that's why brushes are low in my hierarchy.

I think the best razor(s) can allow me to have subpar "other" factors. So, a razor is the most important thing, for me. I can use such a razor with any brush and pretty much any soap and still get a decent shave. But if I use a crap razor, I can't get a good shave no matter what else I use.

That said, I have used one blade (Gillette Platinum with the black ink) for 99.854% of my shaves over the past 10.5 years. Began testing a few other blades, and still satisfactory (although not as good)... So yeah, razor is #1 in my book.
Go figure, my Acquisition Disorder is primarily focused on soaps.
As for aftershaves, it seems as long as they have alcohol and the other ingredients don't bother my face, there isn't really that much difference in performance (scent aside)... It isn't going to make or break the overall result.

Serious question: can you get a decent shave from a fresh BIC disposable singe edge razor if you use all your other favorite things?

Sorry, I missed your point, in my response just above. You are saying "what if you are using a poor blade?" And you're right, and I've been thinking about that... Maybe for me, the blade is actually the most important thing (not razor). If I was to use a blade that didn't agree with me, it would be worse than using a razor that didn't work for me. So I'm going to change my mind. Having a good blade is the most important thing, to me. I just never use blades that don't work for me (for that very reason), so I never have to think about that effect.

Yes^100x

Exactly my thinking on this. For those who have blade way down the list, it is exactly as you say. The shaver has settled in on what works. Try using a crappie blade for your face and razor, and see how that shave goes! ?

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

Serious question: can you get a decent shave from a fresh BIC disposable singe edge razor if you use all your other favorite things?

Sorry, I missed your point, in my response just above. You are saying "what if you are using a poor blade?" And you're right, and I've been thinking about that... Maybe for me, the blade is actually the most important thing (not razor). If I was to use a blade that didn't agree with me, it would be worse than using a razor that didn't work for me. So I'm going to change my mind. Having a good blade is the most important thing, to me. I just never use blades that don't work for me (for that very reason), so I never have to think about that effect.

Yes^100x

Exactly my thinking on this. For those who have blade way down the list, it is exactly as you say. The shaver has settled in on what works. Try using a crappie blade for your face and razor, and see how that shave goes! ?

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

I can agree with this. Blade is #1.

My original intent was to find the category of equipment that had the least impact on one's shave provided, "they are first tier in performance" for each respondent. The question has changed and it has become, "what category has the most impact if it sucks." With that question I agree it is the blade since a bad blade can literally kill you.

My original intent was to find the category of equipment that had the least impact on one's shave provided, "they are first tier in performance" for each respondent.  The question has changed and it has become, "what category has the least impact if it sucks."  With that question I agree it is the blade since a bad blade can literally kill you.

I noticed that change as well. Interesting that regardless, brush always comes in last which I totally agree with. Great thread you started!

I took it as "what's most important to have top tier if everything else sucked".
But for the record, my answer wouldn't change... Aftershave and brush would be least important. Blade and razor would be most important. And soap would mysteriously be in the middle.

For, soap first - it's the first thing to protect the skin from whatever I'm going to do to it. I know "Top Tier" is thrown around a lot here, but for me it's a soap that maintains exceptional slickness and cushion throughout the shave and contains a post-shave moisturizing "package" of ingredients.

Next, blades - something smooth and effortlessly sharp. For me, that's been my Yellow Schick blades that I've been using almost exclusively for the last year.

Everything else is an "accessory". Heck, if I could mount the blade on the end of a twig (Survivor Man-like), I'm sure I could probably get a decent shave And, while it would be tiring, I could probably face lather the soap on my face with my hands.