Shaving Equipment Hierarchy

Rudy can get the knots from Shavemac.  He is about to place a large order in a few weeks.

Not implying that I need one, but was referring to future where Bernd might actually have to close down permanently. 
Hopefully, this won't be the case as his knots are superb.

Rudy can get the knots from Shavemac.  He is about to place a large order in a few weeks.

Not implying that I need one, but was referring to future where Bernd might actually have to close down permanently. 
Hopefully, this won't be the case as his knots are superb.

Rudy Vey  or rudyvey  any thoughts or talks with Bernd on if Shavemac may consider closing?

Now, having said that, the brush really is important to me.  I face lather and like a really good scrub.  Only boar brushes do that for me but it is probably more of a luxury element than a necessity.

Not to derail the thread, but have you ever tried a Shavemac D01 2-Band knot in Bulb. Set at the correct loft and density, they have the strongest backbone of any brush that I've tried, including boars and they don't splay as much as boars. Fantastic scrub. Unfortunately, Shavemac no longer offers custom brushes, but if you could ever pick one up, I'd highly recommend it.

Thanks for the recomendation Celestino. I have never had a Shavemac brush. However, I have had two badgers (still have one Omega Black hair) and they either do not have enough backbone for me, or if they do (like my current Omega) the tips never get as soft as, say, a Semogue boar bristle. So, I like the scrub of a boar, and the soft tips of say a silver and some boars do that once broken in. I keep the Omega badger basically because it is such a beautiful brush, but my Semogue boar bristle is usually my favorite. Sometimes I use a very cheap Omega 10066 boar brush if I am feeling the need for a good scrub, or I have a three day growth just because it is so stiff. Tips will never be as soft as the Semogue but it does give a good scrub.

One more thing: I don't think I could ever justify dropping $150.00 + on a brush.

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?

Now, having said that, the brush really is important to me.  I face lather and like a really good scrub.  Only boar brushes do that for me but it is probably more of a luxury element than a necessity.

Not to derail the thread, but have you ever tried a Shavemac D01 2-Band knot in Bulb. Set at the correct loft and density, they have the strongest backbone of any brush that I've tried, including boars and they don't splay as much as boars. Fantastic scrub. Unfortunately, Shavemac no longer offers custom brushes, but if you could ever pick one up, I'd highly recommend it.

Thanks for the recomendation Celestino.  I have never had a Shavemac brush.  However,  I have had two badgers (still have one Omega Black hair) and they either do not have enough backbone for me, or if they do (like my current Omega) the tips never get as soft as, say, a Semogue boar bristle.  So, I like the scrub of a boar, and the soft tips of say a silver and some boars do that once broken in.  I keep the Omega badger basically because it is such a beautiful brush, but my Semogue boar bristle is usually my favorite.  Sometimes I use a very cheap Omega 10066 boar brush if I am feeling the need for a good scrub, or I have a three day growth just because it is so stiff.  Tips will never be as soft as the Semogue but it does give a good scrub. 

One more thing: I don't think I could ever justify dropping $150.00 + on a brush.

Completely understand regarding the money. Just keep using your boar brushes. They work just fine. I enjoy mine as well.

Not to derail the thread, but have you ever tried a Shavemac D01 2-Band knot in Bulb. Set at the correct loft and density, they have the strongest backbone of any brush that I've tried, including boars and they don't splay as much as boars. Fantastic scrub. Unfortunately, Shavemac no longer offers custom brushes, but if you could ever pick one up, I'd highly recommend it.

Thanks for the recomendation Celestino.  I have never had a Shavemac brush.  However,  I have had two badgers (still have one Omega Black hair) and they either do not have enough backbone for me, or if they do (like my current Omega) the tips never get as soft as, say, a Semogue boar bristle.  So, I like the scrub of a boar, and the soft tips of say a silver and some boars do that once broken in.  I keep the Omega badger basically because it is such a beautiful brush, but my Semogue boar bristle is usually my favorite.  Sometimes I use a very cheap Omega 10066 boar brush if I am feeling the need for a good scrub, or I have a three day growth just because it is so stiff.  Tips will never be as soft as the Semogue but it does give a good scrub. 

One more thing: I don't think I could ever justify dropping $150.00 + on a brush.

Completely understand regarding the money. Just keep using your boar brushes. They work just fine. I enjoy mine as well.

I have a Shavemac D01 2 band bulb. I forget the specs I had it made to but I call it my pot scrubber. That brush has backbone! I haven’t found a boar brush yet that can come anywhere near it. Boars feel fairly stiff when they’re dry but once soaked they soften up a lot.

Back to shaving equipment hierarchy, I find it really hard to unequivocally state that any one component is tops. It’s been so long since I’ve shaved with truly crappy shaving equipment. All of the razors, blades, brushes, soaps and post shave products that I own are pretty darn good and it’s easy to take it for granted. But if I go back 10 or 15 years not everything I tried was great. Partly it was the state of the market and partly it was my own technique or more accurately, lack thereof.  What I’m trying to say is, it’s easy to say the brush isn’t as important as the razor when you have only excellent brushes but if for whatever reason you lost all your brushes and were unable to replace them you may find yourself really missing the brush aspect of your shave. Same with any other component. I guess this post is a long convoluted way of saying that I can’t make that Sophie’s Choice!

This past Saturday The Varlet briefly opened for submitting Custom Orders. While I would like to acquire one, not enough to pull the trigger. I have plenty of first tier brushes, and one more that is slightly better will not make much of a difference to me since brushes are last on my list.

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?

I can definitely get a great shave with a Gillette Sensor Excel cartridge with pretty much anything else used during the shave. Like butter. Not sure about a Bic disposable, I honestly don't know if I have ever used one.

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.