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I've always believed that, for the most part, good wetshaving tools stand on their own. That a good shaving cream is a good shaving cream, no matter what razor or brush you use it with. And so on and so and forth.

But things like razors, creams and brushes may be more dependent on each other than I thought. Today I tried Cremo Cream's brushless shaving cream with my Injector razor (still loaded with a shortened Feather Pro Guard disposable straight razor blade). And even though I've gotten sensational shaves with these two products used in other setups, they didn't much care for each other when used together.

I've praised Cremo Cream before -- suffice it to say, it's one of the slickest and most effective shaving creams, brush or no brush, I've tested. Amazing stuff, and extremely mild on the skin. If it didn't smell like a pitcher of pina coladas, it'd be all I ever used.

I figured the combination of Cremo Cream and this new Injector razor/Feather blade rig that's been blowing my mind for the past few days would be a giant killer. The most lubricating shaving cream on the planet with the closest-shaving safety razor in existence just had to be something special.

And yet it wasn't. This razor/blade which shaved so incredibly well with Taylor's rose and Trumper's violet creams the past few days just didn't shave or feel nearly as good against my face with the Cremo Cream. I had to go over the same areas a few times to really get all the stubble, and afterward the shave just wasn't as breathtakingly close and comfortable as it was with the Taylor and Trumper creams.

Closest I can tell, the Feather-fed Injector likes a nice, thick bed of lather to ski on -- the English creams, the Taylor especially, seemed to buffer and cushion the blade more, and all it took was one steady swipe to leave a virgin swath of perfectly smooth skin in its wake. With the Cremo Cream, the Injector felt like it was skimming the surface more. The shave wasn't as close as it has been the past few days, and I'm feeling more stubble at this time in the late evening than I've come to expect from the Feather/Injector duo.

It's all very odd, because when I shave with a DE razor like my trusty Merkur HD, the Cremo shaves gloriously -- as well or better than the Taylor and Trumper creams, especially when I use the Cremo with my badger brush. I don't get that skimming-over-the-surface sensation at all with my DE. But I do with the Injector. Why a slicker cream should prove less effective with an Injector than it does with a DE escapes me, but it does seem to explain the muted reaction a fellow wetshaver had after using Cremo with his Injector -- now that I've tried it with my Injector, I understand why he was less enthusiastic about this unique shaving cream than I was after I'd been using it so successfully with my Merkur DE.

Maybe different creams and soaps favor certain kinds of shaving tools over others. I've noticed that most of the He-Men on straightrazorplace who shave with straights tend to prefer hard shaving soaps versus creams. I've tried shaving soaps from Art of Shaving, Creed, Taylor, Trumper, Classic Shaving, and QED, but as someone who primarily uses safety razors, I get much better shaves with creams. I find that hard shaving soaps all tend to make a thinner lather that's less "cushiony" and protective than a cream's. But what works less well for me and my DE seems to be the cat's pajamas for the He-Men and their straight razors.

Synergy plays a bigger part in this wetshaving trip than I thought. I'll continue to use Cremo Cream with my DE razor, because it shaves like a demon with the right kind of razor. But when I'm using my Injector, at least when it's loaded with a modified Feather Pro Guard blade, I'll stick with my favorite English creams -- they clearly yin the Injector's yang to a T.