What do you guys think of this list of soaps ranked by performance (slickness, cushion, postshave, etc.)? It's from a guy on youtube named Ruds. He really seems to know what he's talking about so I respect his opinion. I understand the whole your YMMV thing, but you have to agree that some soaps are just creamier and slicker than others.
Shaving soaps ranked by performance
- Thread starter raiden
- Start date
basically I'm seeing that there is barely any difference between soaps
I’m in general agreement with his rankings, but it’s really splitting hairs. The only serious differences between Rudd and me are that for me, Eufros is clearly a better performer than Catie’s Bubbles and Saponificio Varesino should be much higher on the list.
If he didn't know which one he's using, tested every soap for minimum of 20 consecutive shaves, using same gear every time, with a more developed scoring system, then it would be somewhat of an objective performance test. This way it's just another guy shaving and writing a diary.
Could it be he’s never tried it? That should be impossible!
Tabac, DR Harris, Cella, MdC, among other classics are missing.
- Thread starter
- #8
I think that Stirling & Fine Accountr. should be higher as well as the Abbate Y La Mantia.
The Ruds rankings are clearly and highly subjective, but, if he applies consistency to his process, then it could give it some directional validity (ie, most of the top soaps within a similar range). Because there is no empirical, objective measurements for many of his categories, it really boils down to the old YMMV as to which brands/artisans will be at the top of our lists.
While not perfect, I give him a lot of credit for his efforts. I tend to agree with a decent amount of his rankings.
While not perfect, I give him a lot of credit for his efforts. I tend to agree with a decent amount of his rankings.
I have 30-35 soaps and I find that it's like splitting hairs. Is Crisco slicker than peanut oil?
I agree and appreciate his efforts. !
I enjoy Ruds reviews and have found most of his rankings generally align with a lot of the opinion on this forum. I haven't looked at every review but he does seem to favor reviewing artisan soaps over the old mainline ones. The one area where I will discount his rankings is in the importance of post shave feel. I put more weight on his description of the actual shave performance. My idea about post shave feel is while it's great to have, a good balm will take care of the post shave. If you read his reviews, most soaps give him a good shave. Where they differ is the post shave and that seems to generate the real differences in his numerical rankings.
He does get great lather though.
He does get great lather though.
Soap insanity IMHO
+1
With just one number, it's just a list of artisan shave soap makers. Doesn't tell me much of anything I want to know.
- Thread starter
- #17
It does give you a general idea of what the best soaps are. BM, DG, AE, GD are at the top end. Everybody else is lower down.
If that is what you get from his list, you are missing out.
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Not really -- where are the classics? For me, it's pretty much useless.
shavefan
I’m not a fan
There was another thread a while back, but is this the same guy who couldn't lather Martin De Candre?
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