Blades for the beginner

[Toughtoshave]

Can anyone recommend a smooth comfortable blade for a beginner. Thanks

[Chester]

red-pack israeli personnas
-- Chet

[Steadfast]

Astra Superior Platinum

[Nils]

+1 on the Personnas, Souplex and Timor also come to mind.

[Optometrist]

Can anyone recommend a smooth comfortable blade for a beginner. Thanks

The blade you need to start with is the blade that will teach you technique, properly. As I have said on many occasions, the Feather fits the bill admirally. It is sharp, not the most comfortable initially, and you'll probably cut yourself a few times in the process, but never will you learn more quickly. Once mastered, you will use any other blade competently and be able to assess its virtues and drawbacks.
Try it and see. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I did and was so grateful for it.

David

[IridiumMourner]

+1 on the Red Pack Personnas. They worked really well for me when I was first starting out. A lot of seasoned DE shavers really enjoy them as well, so they are certainly not limited to beginners.

[California Cajun]

Can anyone recommend a smooth comfortable blade for a beginner. Thanks

Medical Personnas.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Toughtoshave:
It is very wise and 'sage' advice to get a Razor Blade Sampler to see what blade is a good fit (mild, moderate & aggressive, ect...), for your face and Razor...I happen to like Feathers, Kai's, Treet, Astra's and Gillette 7 O'Clock's just to name a few with my Merkur's 23C & 38C razors.

When you receive your Sampler, my advice is to try 2,3,4 or 5 blades (however which amount per blade brand), before moving on to the next blade.

Also, when I received my Sampler, I started a Thread entitled "In what Order should I test these Sampler Razor Blades?", and the best advice was from member Optometrist a.k.a David who stated;

"I say jump straight in with the feathers. Yes, they are sharp, but you learn very quickly to let the weight of the razor do the work for you. If you can get the feather right, then it's plain sailing with the others. A few nicks and cuts early on are nothing to worry about and stand you in good stead. Start with a lesser blade and it's a continual learning process as you step up the level of sharpness". :yesnod:

Also, member Npsarros stated, "Keep a spreadsheet with every shave [you], have taken, rating each blade as [you], go along". My spread data ratings reads in columns as thus (PM me and I will send you my workable spread sheet example to your e-mail address.);

Razor Blade / Country / Type - Sharpness? (Aggressive [Very Sharp], Moderate Sharpness or Mild Sharpness), - Closeness of Shave? - Smoothness/Roughness of Shave? - Comfort of Shave? - Overall Rating? (awesome, passable or unpleasant), and Compatible with your Razor(s)?

Enclose below is my Thread and member Posted Replies "In what Order should I test these Sampler Razor Blades?", which may be of some interest and help to you.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=180210&highlight=order

"A razor [blade] can't be sharpened on a piece of velvet". Anonymous

Christopherhttp://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh206/SerraTijn/smileys/smiley_shaving.gif

[Obi Wan]

get a sampler pack and remember it's about razor and blade combination

[Pjotr]

Can anyone recommend a smooth comfortable blade for a beginner. Thanks

To date for me it has made no difference which blade I'm using. Having said that, the Feather is the sharpest blade I've tried, but as for the rest, I really can't tell the difference yet. Your technique (or lack of it) will give you far more variables and nicks and scrapes than any blade can provide. I'd stick to one decent blade that's readily available to you (plenty of suggestions above) and start changing when your technique is good enough to be able to tell the difference.

[gash]

Feather.

[gtoface]

personna med preps. done deal

[rm71]

Red IP
Shark SS
Gillette Bleue Extra

[blademen]

Red Pack Personnas

[Wil Dorenbos]

get a sampler pack and remember it's about razor and blade combination

Yes, Red Packs and Dorcos are great to start with.

[nehpets4627]

I agree with starting with a sharp blade, but maybe not a Feather. Something a bit smoother might be due to prevent putting someone off from DE all together. My main reasoning is it's easy for an overly mild blade/razor combo to promote applying pressure, especially when carrying over from cartridges. While it is a technique issue, the tendancy can be somewhat alleviated by a sharper blade. I started with Derby blades and was subconciously applying a lot of pressure because they just weren't cutting and were causing a scraping sensation. Switching to a sharper blade, even as my technique was still developing, made a night-and-day difference.

My pick would be something on the sharper side of mild but still smooth, like a Gillette 7 o'Clock SharpEdge (Yellow), Astra Superior Stainless (Blue), or a Crystal/IP might fit the bill as well.

[brad.clarkston]

My pick would be something on the sharper side of mild but still smooth, like a Gillette 7 o'Clock SharpEdge (Yellow), Astra Superior Stainless (Blue), or a Crystal/IP might fit the bill as well.

+1

I started last month with the Wilkinson Sword and while I got a good shave out of it I had a ton of razor burn (mostly from technique) so I switched to the 7O'Clock yellows which turned out to be a full step up from the Wilkinson I still had allot of burn and only two shaves out of each blade. I'm now on the 7O'Clock black with nearly no burn which is helping me learn better technique since I can now shave more than twice a week :closedeye

I've got 20 of the Personna Medical Prep's that will be rotated in after the 20 7O'Clock black's are finished but that will take some time as I'm getting 3 good shaves out of each blade.

~

My newbie advice would be get 10 7O'Clock blacks, 10 Personna Medical Prep's, and 10 Israel Red Pack Personna’s and stick with one brand all the way through each group of ten along with one cream (Proraso) for consistency and better technique.

- Brad

[goby]

Can anyone recommend a smooth comfortable blade for a beginner. Thanks

Send me your address and I'll send you a few Dorcos, Red IPs, and Derbys.

[man00ver]

I'll second the recommendations for Red IPs, Medical Personnas, Gillette 7 O'Clock blacks, and Dorco ST-301s, since the OP has asked for a "smooth, comfortable" blade. I'll offer a different perspective on the following advice as well.


The blade you need to start with is the blade that will teach you technique, properly. As I have said on many occasions, the Feather fits the bill admirally. It is sharp, not the most comfortable initially, and you'll probably cut yourself a few times in the process, but never will you learn more quickly. Once mastered, you will use any other blade competently and be able to assess its virtues and drawbacks.
Try it and see. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I did and was so grateful for it.

David


Also, when I received my Sampler, I started a Thread entitled "In what Order should I test these Sampler Razor Blades?", and the best advice was from member Optometrist a.k.a David who stated;

"I say jump straight in with the feathers. Yes, they are sharp, but you learn very quickly to let the weight of the razor do the work for you. If you can get the feather right, then it's plain sailing with the others. A few nicks and cuts early on are nothing to worry about and stand you in good stead. Start with a lesser blade and it's a continual learning process as you step up the level of sharpness". :yesnod:

You don't normally teach someone how to drive a stick-shift by putting him in a Ferrari. I understand that some people are thrill-seekers and may want to sky-dive right in to the sharpest and least-forgiving blade, but typically those people don't specify "smooth and comfortable" in their request for recommendations.

[jtbgator]

Also, member Npsarros stated, "Keep a spreadsheet with every shave [you], have taken, rating each blade as [you], go along". My spread data ratings reads in columns as thus (PM me and I will send you my workable spread sheet example to your e-mail address.);

Razor Blade / Country / Type - Sharpness? (Aggressive [Very Sharp], Moderate Sharpness or Mild Sharpness), - Closeness of Shave? - Smoothness/Roughness of Shave? - Comfort of Shave? - Overall Rating? (awesome, passable or unpleasant), and Compatible with your Razor(s)?

Enclose below is my Thread and member Posted Replies "In what Order should I test these Sampler Razor Blades?", which may be of some interest and help to you.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=180210&highlight=order

"A razor [blade] can't be sharpened on a piece of velvet". Anonymous

Christopherhttp://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh206/SerraTijn/smileys/smiley_shaving.gif

Count... I'd be interested in seeing your spreadsheet, if it's not too much trouble. PM sent with my email address. :thumbup1: I actually just purchased this sampler today, so I too need some advice on which to start with, etc.

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/DE-Blade-Sampler-Pack-Everything_p_292.html

[The Seeker]

Astra Superior Platinum

+1

Sharp, but not scary sharp. Plus, they're nice and smooth. Some recommend Derby as a beginner's blade but I feel they're not quite up to par, therefore they may give the budding wet shaver a bad impression.