Today I learned what blade I *don't* like
- Thread starter malargent
- Start date
I've been using a DE for years, and my face has very particular tastes (confirmed through repeated experiments):
Derby? Nope. Doesn't cut well for me. Neither did Merkur or Personna.
Astra? Yes. Very nice, very comfortable.
Feather? Can be very good as long as I don't make more than two passes, and I'm watching pressures carefully. A bit steep in price.
Derby? Nope. Doesn't cut well for me. Neither did Merkur or Personna.
Astra? Yes. Very nice, very comfortable.
Feather? Can be very good as long as I don't make more than two passes, and I'm watching pressures carefully. A bit steep in price.
I agree with you on this, the greatest razor with a terrible blade, kind of pointless.
Blade and Razor combinations are interesting for sure. I know a feather in my VDH TTO works wonders, however the same blade in my PAA Symmetry OC razor is a bit "too sharp" and causes irritation for me and lots of razor burn. The Gillette 7 O'clock blade didn't seem to cut at all in my OC, however again with my TTO, it was better. I Found the Astra SS works wonders in my OC and also my Maggard V3 closed comb head.
I think the better your technique gets, the less of a difference there is between blades. There is still a difference though.
I have tried at least a dozen different brands of blades and have come to the conclusion that any blade labeled as stainless or super stainless is not good for me. Everyone of them tore me up really bad with irritation. I stick with blades that are coated. I've been DE shaving for about a year and a half and have revisited the super stainless type blades, and still can't make them work in any of my three razors. Just keep trying blades till you find the sharpness and smoothness that works for you.
- From my experience with blade sample packs, I found Derby, Lord and Shark to be incompatible with my face. I feel that I would have to have five or six-pass shaves with them in order to get BBS results.
- Merkur and Feather are both excellent, however, they have a quite steep price tag. They both last five to six three-pass shaves with BBS results beyond all doubt.
- Personna and Wilkinson are both smooth and sufficiently sharp but nothing to write home about. I use them for body hair removal in my Wilkinson Classic but hardly ever for cutting my facial hair. They last for quite a while and are not overly expensive.
- Astra Superior Platinum has been my top favourite and blade of choice for ages. The sharpness is outstanding and so is the smoothness. The price is ridiculously low for such a great performer. One blade is good for four or five three-pass shaves with guaranteed BBS results.
- I still wish to try Lada, Polsilver, Rapira and Voskhod blades.
I have all those blades in stock. If you are interested, I may send you a few of them...
