Corey's blade reviews, nostalgia style

[Corey]

Astra SP run, Day 7

Gillette Old Type
Astra SP
HTGAM Chocolate Bourbon
Omega Pro 48
Fine Clean Vetiver

This is going to be a one and done. This blade/razor combination just did not work out for me at all. The blade skipped across my face and cut me up in a few spots that normally go nick free. I did not enjoy this shave at all and will not be trying again.

Some details: the Chocolate Bourbon soap is one of my favorite scented soaps. I found that it wanted a little more water in the scuttle than it would with a face lather. When dialed in, the lather just billowed out of the brush. That's one of the finest lathers I've managed to get out of any HTGAM soap.

Fine Clean Vetiver is quickly becoming a favorite aftershave. I used the sample once before when I was making my way through all of the Fine samples and enjoyed it quite a bit more than most of the others. Today was just a reminder that it dries to a fantastic scent on my skin, smelling far better than it does in the bottle.

Unfortunately, the blade/razor combo just didn't work for me at all. Time to move on to the final razor that the Astra will see: The Merkur Vision. The monster is back.

 

[Corey]

Astra SP run, Day 8:

Merkur Vision (set on "S")
Astra SP
Razorock Fine American Blend
Omega Pro 48
Fine American Blend AS

Everything that the Old Type/Astra wasn't yesterday, the Vision/Astra was today. The shave was incredibly smooth, with no nicks, burns, or any kind of irritation. The "S" setting on the Vision seems to be about smack dab in the middle of the aggressive/mild settings on the adjustment. It's a solid place to start. I tried milder and I tried more aggressive throughout the shave and found some positives and negatives in both. Still, middle was a great way to start the shave off. I think I enjoyed milder just a little more, but there were some spots on my face that just need a more aggressive setting. It's nice having the luxury of changing gears to hit all of those spots. The Astra felt solid today with very little tugging. I've come to accept that there will be a small amount of tugging at the beginning of each blade. It's not a detriment to the shave in any way, but after using Feathers and Gillette Silver Blues, it's enough that I notice it as being different from my normal. Two WTG passes with some fiddling on adjustment has given me the smoothest shave yet in this test. Running my fingers with the grain reveals no stray rough spots, even on areas that are a bit of a pain to shave. ATG of course has a bit of stubble, but I'm fine with that. The Fine American Blend soap and aftershave combo are excellent, leaving a nice cooling feel on my face and a wonderful scent that I truly enjoy. I really need to use my Vision far more than I have been.

 

[Corey]

Astra SP run, Day 9:

Merkur Vision
Astra SP
Tiki Bar Soap Spice Islands
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine L'Orange Noir

If you're looking for an aggressive razor, buy a Vision, crank it wide open, and peel away layers of flesh with ease. I'll put this up against the R41 any day. That said, after my big boy adventure in wide open land down one cheek, I dialed it back a bit to slightly more aggressive than midline. The result is another solid shave. Day two of the Astra in the Vision smoothed out. Perhaps the added aggressive setting added some smoothness to the blade, or perhaps I got a good sample of the Astra in this blade. So, with one pass WTG I was able to get nearly as smooth a shave as yesterday. Very nice, very efficient. One more shave tomorrow with the Astra blades and it's on to my beloved Feathers.

 

[Corey]

Astra SP run, Day 10:

Merkur Vision
Astra SP
Razorock Mudder Focker
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Clean Vetiver

Today was the final shave with the Astra SP blades. It was also one of the smoothest shaves I've had thus far. I started the shave on a milder setting (Mild "i" on the adjustment) and did 1 pass with the grain. On the second pass, I dialed it up to a more aggressive setting (Other "i" on the adjustment) and finished it all up with a cross hatch type pattern. The result is a very smooth, irritation free shave. The only thing felt upon the application of the aftershave was the hit of menthol. The results are excellent and a great way to finish up this blade.

 

[Corey]

Astra SP Wrap-up

The Astra SP was a noticeable step up in shave quality from the Derby Extra. The shaves started out smoother and seemed to hold up better on each successive shave. Like the Derby, the blade performed better in some razors than others. In this case, the Astra in the Old Type was a miserable experience. If the Old Type was the only razor I owned, Astras wouldn't be anywhere near my face. Yet, in the Vision, the shave was great. This final shave felt better and smoother than the previous two, with an excellent irritation free result. If that were my only razor, I'd have 100 more Astras on the way.

The time with the Astra is done. It was a capable blade, and a very welcoming step up from the Derby. I can see how it is a logical next step in my blade choice. While it was better than the Derby, I don't think I'll be buying anymore. There was still some slight, yet noticeable tugging in many of the shaves. I have a bunch of blades already that I know are better performers. Still, I know there are people who love this blade, and it's easy to see why. It's very capable.

Up next: Feathers

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 1:

Parker 22R
Feather
Razorock Nervous Wreck
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Fresh Vetiver

It would be an interesting post if I came on here and wrote about how, after going through the Derby and Astra run, I find the Feathers to not be as wonderful as I remember them being. It has been a little bit since I've used them, having been on a Gillette Silver Blue kick before starting all of this. It'd be even more interesting if I hated them now, having adapted to the balance of the Astra SP.

Nope.

Today's shave was the best so far. The Feathers are sharp and smooth, and actually pair up quite nicely in the 22R. The blade just slices through hair with no tugging or hesitation. This was what I was hoping for and really looking forward to after shaving with the Derby and Astras. It is immediately apparent why I switched to Feathers from the previous two and never really looked back (until this test). The shaves are what I'm looking for. They are smooth, efficient, and irritation free. I remember getting my hands on a pack of Feather blades and holding on to them for a while because of the believe that just looking at them would turn my face into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp. I love these blades, even now. What this little test has shown is that I still love them and that my stock of them is ridiculously low and in need of replenishing. Even though I've got a ton of blades, these need to be there.

So, we're off to a great start with the Feathers. I'm now really looking forward to the Tech/Feather combo due up by the weekend.

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 2:

Parker 22R
Feather
Razorock Zi' Peppino
Parker Synthetic
Pinaud Clubman

Like yesterday, this was an excellent and smooth shave. I only did one pass, shaving mostly with the grain. My face feels very smooth, and it's definitely DFS with little effort. The ease of shave let me notice other things:

• The dark chrome-ish color on the Parker 22R is a really nice one that I wish more razors would come in.
• Zi' Peppino is a solid smelling soap. I don't know what green tobacco is supposed to smell like, but I like it if it smells like this.
• The cheap Parker Synthetic is quickly becoming my favorite brush. Now that it's broken in, it lathers like crazy and is nice and soft.
• I still have a large blade sampler with lots of good blades I've been looking to try that I have put off until this is over.

There's really nothing that is significantly different from yesterday's shave. Everything is smooth. There are no cuts. The aftershave had no burn to it. This is how shaving should always be.

One more shave with the Parker 22R/Feather combo, then on to Tech/Feather. I'm not going to lie, I expect fantastic shaves and I'll be let down if it's anything less than amazing.

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 3:

Parker 22R
Feather
HTGAM The Beach
Parker Synthetic
Fine American Blend AS

Another fine shave today with the ever so slightest bit of irritation right around the Adam's Apple where I may have tried too many strokes to get a stubborn patch of hair. The Feather in this razor has performed admirably. If it wasn't for me being stubborn on a small patch that really wasn't much of an issue, I would have had three irritation free shaves. This blade is still ready to go for another shave, but we're playing 3 and out here. Even on the third shave, the Feather feels sharper and smoother than the Astra on its first shave. It's very apparent to me why I stopped using Astras once my bulk order of Feathers came in. The quality of shave is just superior.

Tomorrow: Feather and Tech. This is going to be a treat.

 

[Corey]

Feather run, day 4:

Gillette Ball-End Tech
Feather
C.O. Bigelow cream
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Clean Vetiver AS

The next three days could easily read as follows: "Shave was perfect. Why do I even own other blades and razors?"

These reviews wouldn't be anywhere near as fun if that's how it was. So let's break down some of the details. The Tech is a very mild razor. With a ball-end handle, it's also very light and compact. On these merits alone, it would make an excellent travel razor that creates a very predictable and manageable shave and is easy to pack away. And it's exactly why I have a Tech as a travel razor. The Feather blade is quite sharp. I know some people find it harsh and dislike it, but I'm not one of those people. For almost three years they were my only blade of choice. I used them in everything I had, and if the blade and razor didn't agree, the razor was sold or PIF'd. There have been quite a few nice razors that I've gotten rid of specifically because of their lackluster shaves with a Feather blade (Gillette Super Speed being prominent in my head).

Something about the mildness of the razor and the sharpness of the Feather combine to produce an amazing and consistent shave. It's almost too good. I can easily get very sloppy with a Tech/Feather combo because the results will still be excellent. Too much pressure? Doesn't seem to matter. Cruddy soap/cream? No worries. **** poor technique? Clean shave. It's magic. I has to be. There's no other good reason why a bad technique can still create an irritation free shave with DFS results. I even do ATG passes, which is uber-rare for me.

So, shave one of the Feather and Tech is what I had hoped it would be. Everything is right in the world and my shave den seems oddly redundant.

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 5:

Gillette Ball-End Tech
Feather
Tiki Bar Soap Salty Air
Parker Synthetic Brush
Clubman Pinaud AS

There's a saying in my career field that you may be familiar with: The enemy of good is better.

That sums up today's shave perfectly. After two shaves with the grain, I usually stop. That is more than adequate and leaves my face feeling smooth and presentable all day. Today, with extra lather in my scuttle, I decided to do an against the grain shave, which I haven't done in a while. My face is extremely smooth now, but my neck is quite irritated. My prep could have been a little better and I could have taken my time, and, to be honest, I could have skipped the ATG pass and still had great presentation. A liberal dosing of Pinaud Clubman has silenced the irritation, and will hopefully hold it off while the skin recovers.

Still, in spite of the irritation, this is the absolute smoothest that my face has been in a very long time. I keep wanting random people to touch my face just so they can take part in this magic. I may not do an ATG pass any time soon, but it's a damn good feeling, minus the irritation. Next time, better prep.

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 6:

Gillette Tech
Feather
Tiki Bar Soap Grand Cru
Parker Synthetic Brush
Tiki Aftershave

Today was the final shave with the Tech/Feather combo, and it will be missed. It is such a smooth shave. I did a single pass with the grain and got a smooth finish. The Grand Cru scent from Tiki Bar Soap, the first use, was excellent. The smell is nice and sweet and really appealing. It was nice and slick, like the other Tiki products I've used, and worked great with the Feather. The aftershave was very soothing too. Really, this was an all around excellent shave.

Tomorrow: Old type and Feather

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 7

Gillette Old Type
Feater
Razorock Mudder Focker
Parker Synthetic Brush
Tiki Aftershave

This will actually be fairly quick. Today was a surprising shave, but not in the way expected. I hated this shave. In fact, I've come to find that I'm not too fond of the Gillette Old Type anymore. Something about it just doesn't agree with my face. I thought it was the blades earlier, but three brands in a row seems to indicate that maybe the blades are only a small part of the problem. So that's it for the Old Type. Another one and done for this razor. I don't think I want to scrape my face for another two days for any particular reason. So, that's it for the Old Type in this shaving trial.

Tomorrow: Merkur Vision/Feather

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 8

Merkur Vision
Feather
Tiki Bar Soap Salty Air
Parker Synthetic Brush
Pinaud Clubman

Today's shave was excellent. With the Vision dialed in at the more aggressive "I" setting, the blade just mowed through hair as if none ever existed. The shave was remarkably smooth, quick, and easy. I had the Tiki soap dialed in just right, and had plenty of slickness and cushion. I could have easily stayed with a one pass shave, but I had more lather left and decided on a second pass to smooth out any possible rough spots. My face is very smooth. While it may not be quite as smooth as the ATG pass with the Tech, it's also not irritated.

I'm having an extremely hard time figuring out why I stopped using my Vision. Somewhere along the way I got it in my head that my Futur was a better shaving razor. Maybe the size bothered me at the time, or maybe I just fell in with the crowd that doesn't like this thing. I've been very wrong. This beast is much better. The weight of it really adds some muscle to whatever blade is in it, mowing down hair with incredible ease. I don't even find it remotely cumbersome anymore. It shaves beautifully.

Two more shaves left in this test. They are looking to be the best of the bunch.

 

[Corey]

Feather run, Day 9:

Merkur Vision
Feather
HTGAM The Beach
Parker Synthetic
Tiki AS

As hoped, today's shave was excellent. With the Merkur dialed in a shade into the aggressive side, I got a very smooth one pass shave, with the grain. I did a second lather afterwards to just let the soap sit on my face and enjoy the scent of The Beach. It's a great smelling soap that may require me to purchase the matching aftershave. Not that the Tiki Aftershave doesn't cut it. It's a wonderfully dynamic scent that seems to match up nicely to The Beach, allowing for the scent of the soap to come through and to add a slight bit of depth to it that still smells earthy and beachy. I like it.

One more shave...

 

[Corey]

Feather run, day 10:

Merkur Vision
Feather
Petal Pushers Fancies Oakmoss and Sage
Parker Synthetic
Fine Fresh Vetiver

I took a different route than yesterday's shave and dialed in a milder shave on the Merkur. It was butter smooth, but took an extra pass to get all of the hairs. Three passes with the grain yielded great results without any irritation. On the third shave, the feathers are still sharper than either the Derbys or Astras.

 

[Corey]

The wrap up:

It's been interesting to retry the "milestones" of my beginnings in wetshaving. I can see and appreciate the progressions in equipment and understand why some things took and some things didn't. There's some variation between now and when I began. The soap and cream selection that I use now is vastly superior to what I used before. When I started, I had TOBS Sandalwood, Col Conk Almond, and a variety of poorly performing soaps that would smell great but be impossible to lather. The Parker synthetic brush and Omega 48 boar brush both lather far better than the Tweezerman I had. When adding improved equipment to a couple of years of technique, my shaves now are infinitely better than then.

Let's get to the blade wrap up:

Derby:
These were the first blades I bought 100 of, probably because they were dirt cheap and I was on a budget, and probably because the idea of purchasing 100 of something that I would previously buy 4 or 8 of (and a substantially higher price) seemed like magic. They were an alright blade, but my appreciation of them in the past is far greater than now. I managed to get a decent shave here and there during this test, but my general feeling of the Derby blade is that it tugs and pulls. From that original hundred purchased back in 2009, I still seem to have a ton left. I've definitely PIFd away more than 50 of them, but each time I purchased a new razor, a new pack of Derbys seemed to be included. I will not be buying more. They just aren't smooth or enjoyable to use. Their performance in the different razors seemed to vary the most. Four different razors yielded four completely different shave experiences. I have a feeling that if I committed to running Derbys through my razor collection, I'd find one or two razors that produced far better results, but it just isn't worth it to me. Fighting with the blade in the vague hopes of finding razor that it complements is not something I want to do, especially since I've got a ton of better blades already that are more consistent. It's been nice to give them a fair go again, but I understand far better why I pushed them to the side many years ago.

Astra:

When compared to the Derbys, the Astras were noticeably better. They were probably the most consistent shave experience in the four razors than either the Derby or the Feather. They are noticeably sharper than the Derby and gave smoother results, but still fell short when compared to the Feathers. As my second 100 blade purchase, they make sense. The blades were purchased not much longer after getting 100 Derbys. Around that time I had a sample pack that, quite honestly, didn't help as much as I had hoped. It was Derby, Astra, Dorco 300, Dorco 301, and some kind of random Personna blade. Of them, the Astra was the best and helped contribute to the purchase of 100 of them. I stuck with them for a little longer than the Derbys, and my collection of them seems to show that they are actually going down in number, rather than multiplying like they Derbys. After this blade test, I'm down to two tucks and a few loose blades. But, like the Derbys, I'm not going to be replacing them. They work far better than the Derbys did, and I have no doubt that putting them through a few other razors in my collections will produce some nice shaves. They just aren't as good as other blades I have. They definitely served their purpose and were a good upgrade from the Derbys, but they just don't cut it when compared to the rest of my collection.

Feathers:

I bought 100 of these after trying a sample that was PIFd to me to try by another member. After a couple of good shaves through my growing collection of razors, I bought 100 more. Those 200 blades (plus a few additions here and there) got me through from the end of 2009 to the beginning of this year. I've had many different razors and sampled a few different creams and soaps, but nearly every shave was with a Feather blade. It wasn't until this year, when finally noticing that I was running out of blades that I went with something else (Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette Black, Voskhod, SuperMax Platinum, Treet Classics, and soon to be PolSilver SI). Still, after going through this test again, I believe I'll be getting another 100 Feathers to keep on hand. They just work. The real surprise though, was them not working in the Old Type (more on that in a few). Still, of all of the shaves, having the Feathers not work in one out of the four razors is acceptable, because the shaves from the other three were exceptional.

The Razors:

Parker 22R

I PIF'd the original razor years ago. I had a collection growing and the Parker wasn't making the cut. It seemed appropriate to PIF it away to be somebody else's first razor. Adding years of experience has given me a completely different view on this razor. When it showed up on the doorstep a second time, I had it in my mind that this was far more aggressive than it turned out to be. It's also far more enjoyable this time around. It was the most consistent with all of the blades, producing similar, repeatable results across the board. It would be a good razor to set up as a control for trying different blades.

Gillette Tech

I thought this would turn out being my favorite razor of the test. I have an extreme fondness for Gillette Techs that I can't explain. I have multiples of them in different forms. When I see one pop up on B/S/T or on eBay, I have to resist the urge to add another one to my collection. Everybody should have at least one Tech. They should be mailed to new shavers instead of the Sensor/Mach 3/Fusions of more recent times. They're just great razors with a certain aura to them. Having said all of that, I wouldn't shave with this thing using anything besides a really sharp blade, like a Feather. With the Derby, the Tech wasn't all that great. With an Astra, it was mundane. But, throwing a Feather in this razor transforms it into a sublime experience. I haven't run any of my new stock blades because I'm not really sure they could live up to the Feather/Tech combo. I would keep Feathers for the sole purpose of using them in a Tech.

Gillette Old Type

This was the real shock to me. It turns out that I don't really like this razor, which is odd because I clearly remember enjoying it. The shaves that I received from it were close to awful. I'm not sure what went wrong. Whatever it was, I would not shave with it again using any of the blades in this test. If that was all I had, I'd sell it away and be done with it. I could never get this thing really dialed in. My general take away from this test is that I'd be better off shaving my face with course sandpaper. I honestly thought this would be similar to the Tech, only slightly more aggressive. Fooled me.

Merkur Vision

If it wasn't for the Old Type being so awful, this would have been the real surprise. I bought this quite a few years ago through the B/S/T and eventually bought a Futur. For some reason, the Futur clicked with me far more than the Vision, so my shaves with it became far less frequent. Before this test, I think the last shave actually came from another member when it was sent away for them to try in the old razor exchange we had. I had gotten it in my head that it was not nearly as good as the Futur. I think I fell in with the crowd that thought that this thing was too big, too clunky, too awkward to use and just took that to heart. Not that the Futur is a bad razor by any means. It stayed in my rotation of frequently used razors for many years. It's a fantastic razor. What I've come to find out thanks to this experiment is that the Vision is, by far, a superior razor in nearly every way. I now love the size and weight. It's a huge monster with a ton of weight. That weight made even the mediocre Derby perform nicely. It fits in my hand quite nicely and gave some of the best shaves I had in this test. I do wish the adjustment setting was better. It's kind of a crap design that doesn't seem very precise. The setting markers seem more of a suggestion of the ballpark that you might be in, rather than a true, concrete way of identifying the differences. I ended up using them to get in a general area of what I was looking for and then eyeing the blade gap to get closer to what I was looking for. It's kind of impractical, but the results made the fuss more tolerable. I will be using this razor far more often than in the past. It's been a true standout in this test.

So, that's it. It's been fun taking a trip down memory lane. In addition to the testing, I didn't buy any razors in this time. It didn't seem necessary. I had my razors planned out on a schedule along with the blades. Maybe this is the way to abate any RAD. I did manage to pick up far more soaps than I've ever had at any point in time though. I've also got a blade sampler from tryablade.com that's been taunting me the entire time. I've got quite a few great blades to try out in that mix that I've set aside during this trial. It's good to have variety.

Hope you've enjoyed this. I sure have.