Which is more important, razor/blade, or lather/preparation?

[bernards66]

Louis, I agree. I shaved for many years with my Gillette DE and canned Barbasol ( or similiar ) and still could. I get a decent and non-irritating shave with this combination although it is not as close as using a brush and high quality cream/soap to produce a lather nor is it nearly as aesthetically pleasing. Whereas using a multiblade cartridge will give me razor bumps etc. regardless of what else I use or do. Even with DE blades, if the blade isn't up to snuff ( by my personal standards...YMMV ) the shave is still a no-go. So, although the various brushes and shave prep products are much more interesting to me than blades, on a practical level a good blade/razor is the bottom line for me if I want a satisfying shave.
Regards,
Gordon

[BullGoose]

It's a system. Would you choose which leg to have broken 2 weeks before a marathon?

I'm with you Chris.

[LouisIII]

Louis, I agree. I shaved for many years with my Gillette DE and canned Barbasol ( or similiar ) and still could. I get a decent and non-irritating shave with this combination although it is not as close as using a brush and high quality cream/soap to produce a lather nor is it nearly as aesthetically pleasing. Whereas using a multiblade cartridge will give me razor bumps etc. regardless of what else I use or do. Even with DE blades, if the blade isn't up to snuff ( by my personal standards...YMMV ) the shave is still a no-go. So, although the various brushes and shave prep products are much more interesting to me than blades, on a practical level a good blade/razor is the bottom line for me if I want a satisfying shave.
Regards,
Gordon

For me it's the blade, followed by the razor and everything else.

I'm at the point can work around everything else, but the wrong blade makes for an interesting shave.

These posts all sort of sum up what I'm getting at, but allow me to elaborate a bit...

A good lather, carefully made with my favourite soap, works better than canned cream. But in terms of function thats as far as I'd go - its just better. Splashing my face well with warm water and using a canned lather would produce almost as good results. It wouldn't be a particularly pleasurable experience, but it'd work almost as well. That's my opinion on fancy soaps and creams, I think - they're all pretty much very good, and splitting them is about how much they add to the experience sensually. Whereas as I'd call good traditional lather 'better' than canned cream, I'd call the difference between my favourite blade/razor combo and some of the modern systems 'night and day' different.

If a newbie wanted simply to get as good a shave as possible, I'd advise him along the lines of getting the face very wet before any lather goes on it, and on the purchase side looking to try as many DE blades as he can possibly find and a few popular razors as well. If he uses a cutthroat razor this would probably be prohibitively expensive, alas.

[GA Russell]

I'd like to add another point in defense of my choosing the lather.

The thread title mentions preparation. I didn't know how to prepare my beard until I joined SMF.

I believe that a major reason so many North American men consider shaving to be a chore is that they don't prepare their beards properly. Maybe they just wet it a little with some warm water, and then apply the canned shaving cream.

I don't think a good blade overcomes that.

[mikey]

The blade, definitely the blade. The finest lather in the world won't compensate for a cr@ppy blade.

I can get a good shave with a Feather blade and Edge gel (my current setup, actually). However, I can't say the same for a Derby blade and Trumper cream.

Thanks,
Mike