Your #1 Value For Money Shave Item

Thanks to whoever reactivated this old thread a few days ago.. I had forgotten all about it!

So, as promised, here are the very unscientific results of my "VFM Shaving Survey". When I say "unscientific", I mean it! Some people just gave one product as requested, whilst others gave several; so I have included ALL mentions to make the results a little more complete. Also, I have had to amalgamate a few answers in certain instances such as "Omega brushes", where some people have just said "Omega boar" whilst others have quoted specific model numbers. All in all, 98 unique products were mentioned and the total number of "votes" cast was 176. I've put the number of votes in brackets after each product:

Razors
1st: Fatip Piccolo (9)
2nd: Gillette Tech (6)
=3rd: Merkur Slant (various) (4)
=3rd: Lord (various) (4)
=3rd: Muhle R41 (4)

Brushes
1st: Omega (various) (9)
2nd: RazoRock Plissoft (6)
=3rd: Semogue (various) (3)
=3rd: Vulfix 404 (3)

Soaps/Creams
1st: Palmolive stick (14)
=2nd: Arko stick (6)
=2nd: Tabac stick (6)
4th: Lea stick (4)

Blades
=1st: Voskhod (3)
=1st: Astra (various) (3)
3rd: Russian (unspecified) (2)

Aftershave Lotion
=1st: Fine Platinum (2)
=1st: Aqua Velva (2)
=1st: Distilled Witch Hazel (2)

Aftershave Balm/Moisturiser
1st: Nivea Sensitive Aftershave Balm (6)

So, there we have it. Not too many surprises in the results, with a few products clear winners in their respective categories (although a bigger data grab would be required to get clarity in all categories). Thanks to all for your responses; I have purchased a few items from the thread already and I have plans to get a few more along the way.. :)
 
Mitchells Wool Fat. If you can lather it, it's awesome with the best post-shave feel in the business.
Whatever blades are your favourite as they are all dirt cheap when compared to the multi-blade crap. Personally I don't get on with all the Moscow blades i've tried but plenty of blokes love them. Blades are very subjective, probably more so than anything else.
Happy shaving.
 
Jel999 said:
They are the cheapest place to buy Polsilvers in the UK I think & also the only place to get Gillette Rubies, also I think. If you haven't tried either of these blades, I implore you to try them.
Click to expand...
+1 on the Rubies. And the supplier.

Interestingly, I have the vast majority of the "winning" VFM products. Which goes to show how hard it is to pry my wallet open (Scottish heritage and all that). Quite by coincidence, I shaved yesterday with Picolo Fatip, Palmolive Stick, and Vokshod blade. A really cracking shave for a few pence a day
 
As a footnote, I think I just found my own personal VFM item; it got a couple of honourable mentions, but not enough to make it into the Top 3.

The humble La Toja shave stick. Got one brought back by a family member from Spain a couple of months ago and it's been sitting in my drawer ever since, waiting for the opportunity to be used a travel stick. With no trips on the immediate horizon, I cracked it open this evening to give it a blast.

Wow.. what a product!! Instantaneous, voluminous lather providing ample slickness and protection, fresh scent and the amazing post-shave feel can only be described as having clouds on my cheeks :)

I'm the proud owner of a dozen budget soaps/creams and a few mid-range soaps, and this La Toja stick gave me the best results of them all by far. I don't know what the street price is Spain is for it, but you can pick up an imported stick in the UK for £2-£2.50. Even at 4-5 times more expensive than the Palmolive equivalent, I thoroughly recommend it, as it blows our favourite little green stick out of the water on every level!
 
Some great information in this thread so far, and I don't really have much more to contribute as my best value for items are also the Palmolive shave stick and an Omega boar brush.

Outside what has already been mentioned I bought a selection of different blades from Razor Blades Club and I thought it was great to be able to buy blades without purchasing the entire tuck. Even though the unit costs per blade are higher I think it works really well to try a myriad of different blades for the curious minded like myself. (Other providers like Try a Blade are also available!)
 
After testing it, I'd say that currently my number one value for money is the Qshave (Ming Shi) Futur clone, so that I bought a second one. At £5 to £6 on Ali shipping included, you can get a very good adjustable razor (milder than the original).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom