Best Single Edge Blades?

[danstar250]

The GEM by ASR blades I use in my Micromatic don't seem that great. They make a loud scraping noise even though they offer an irritation free shave. I haven't used others. I've seen PAL blades at Family Dollar....anyone use these? They're cheap!! Where and what are the best SE blades????

[c2rex]

I find the "noise" a kind of novelty in using the single edge razors, and part of their charm.

I've used the PAL. For me they've been ok for about 2 shaves. Personally I'd like to try a few others to make a comparison, but the single edges are scarce around me.

[mozart]

A lot of gents simply take DE blades and cut them in half with scissors. That way, you could try all kinds of blades, such as Feathers. Would that work for you?

Best - MM

[Suzuki]

A lot of gents simply take DE blades and cut them in half with scissors. That way, you could try all kinds of blades, such as Feathers. Would that work for you?

Best - MM

A DE blade cut in half will NOT work in a GEM.

Ted Pella sells very good PTFE coated blades - but you have to buyu 200!

[Ltltony]

A DE blade cut in half will NOT work in a GEM.

Ted Pella sells very good PTFE coated blades - but you have to buyu 200!

Agreeing in this one as well.

[danstar250]

Thanks to all---I'll give the PAL blades a shot. I agree---the scraping noise is a bit of a novelty.

[Aevum]

from what i can understand (never had a gem, never seen a SE blade up close)
its basicly a DE blade with a different hole pattern and a metal holder on the dull edge of the blade, correct me if im worng, becuase the fallowing idea is based on this concept,

wouldnt it be possible to make a plastic/rubber/cork clip to replace that metal holder on a normal DE blade to convert it to a SE, after 2-3 shaves, to change it from one side to the other, and you can use the other edge,

i think there is a retailer in the UK for bluestar blades, but its blacklisted from B&B due to spamming and badmouthing the forum, so i would suggest you repalce your gem with an injector before i tell you to buy from them,

[BroJohn]

Aevum --

The single edged blades that people are referencing here are a completely different design of blade. They are totally different than the DE blade. So snapping a DE blade in half will not work --at all.


Thanks to all---I'll give the PAL blades a shot. I agree---the scraping noise is a bit of a novelty.

Danstar --

I've used the commonly available SE blades, including the PAL blades available at the Dollar Stores. The PAL blades were the worst of the bunch. They *are* cheap, but I only get two shaves from them --and the second shave is uncomfortable.

Your best bet is the Treet or the GEM blades, commonly available at CVS. They are much better. Better still are the Pella PTFE coated stainless steel blades.

My recommendation: Avoid the PALs; use something else. Really.

Brought to you as a public service by your old pal, BroJohn.

-- John Gehman

[cvixx]

Isn't the idea of breaking a DE blade in half for use in an injector? Would make more sense because of the blade width and thickness.

[Grizzled Veteran]

Be advised that Blue Star GEM blades and Personna GEM come in identical black dispensers and both are made by the American Safety Razor Company in Virginia. But the blades are NOT identical.

The Personna blades say "stainless" on them, as does the card holding the dispenser. The Blue Star blades do not say stainless and that becomes very evident a day or two after you shave and they're badly rusted.

If you don't want to deal with rust, choose Personna.

[cactusbrush]

Breaking DE blades in half won't work in an injector either. There have been earlier posts where guys trimmed one of the Feather straight blades, usually the Pro or Super Pro, to reduce the length so it would fit into an injector. It's a little tricky as well to get it into the razor or to reload in an injector blade dispenser. The trimmed blades do work incredibly well, but the cost and time involved are prohibitive.

[Perfect_shave]

Wish Schick single edged blades were widely avaialble. I found a vendor on Ebay that apparently sells US made schick blade but he wanted $70 shipping to Australia... yeah right.

[daveyp]

+1 on the Ted Pella coated blades. Also on the unfortunate fact that you have to buy 200 :frown:

Dave

[Perfect_shave]

I always found it a shame that the single-edged blade market was never as plentiful as the DE market as there are some great SE razors out there. I've also been told that a cut-down Feather AC blade WILL NOT fit in a ADJUSTABLE Schick Injector, but i could be wrong. Just don't wanna see anyone ruin such a nice razor.

[lordhamster]

I just tried out my first shave with my Gem G-bar and the cheapo CVS brand SE blades i bought for it.

Didn't work out too well for me. Perhaps it was my blade angle (had the flat part lying flush on my face) but I could not get much cutting to happen on WTG and XTG passes. ATG, it wasn't to bad, but still it would not glide very well. I had to finish up the shave using a 3x used feather blade in my Merkur 23.

I'd love to try another blade, but I don't want to spend a mint on 200 blades from Ted Pella only to find out that its the G-bar that doesn't agree with me rather than the blade.

[AlanP]

Se blades are nothing like de blades. se blades are l ike what you would use to scrape something off a window or such, obvoisly not exactly, i'm just trying to use that to compare them to.


I split an order of pella se's with a member here, rodd. I've also got some of the BlueStar gem's from walmart, i'm going to give them a test run this week, and when my pellas get here, i'm going to check them.


So guess the point of this was find someone to split an order with.

[lordhamster]

Anyone interested in sending me a couple of Ted Pellas in exchange for a few bucks to cover their cost + postage?

[Gafer]

Anyone interested in sending me a couple of Ted Pellas in exchange for a few bucks to cover their cost + postage?

I'd be interested in that too!

[thevelvet]

Ted Pella blades are the only way to go for SE.

[Grizzled Veteran]

Deep in the bowels of the Badger & Blade archives I came across this site for blades:

http://www.emsdiasum.com/microscopy/products/preparation/blades.aspx?mm=8

I've not tried it, but at least you can order 100 instead of 200. I would be very interested in seeing a review of these blades. Are they, perhaps, Ted Pella blades? Anybody know anything about this site?

[Gafer]

Deep in the bowels of the Badger & Blade archives I came across this site for blades:

http://www.emsdiasum.com/microscopy/products/preparation/blades.aspx?mm=8

I've not tried it, but at least you can order 100 instead of 200. I would be very interested in seeing a review of these blades. Are they, perhaps, Ted Pella blades? Anybody know anything about this site?

Dude, you found Feather's and IP's in bulk too!

[MooingLizard]

I've heard it mentioned before, so I'm sure someone else will chime in about them. Including shipping, the prices seem to generally be a bit more than Ted Pella.

The Feathers they sell are carbon steel, not stainless. The IPs are $14/100. For 15 cents more you can get 100 IPs shipped from West Coast Shaving.

[royalcrown]

I have been useing Feather SE's (carbon steel) for the last month and love them. I have not been able to track down the Stainless but according to there Website they do exist.

[MooingLizard]

Good to hear. Do you have problems with rusting with the carbon steel blades?

[royalcrown]

Not yet. I just give it a good shake and makes sure the edge is visibly dry before putting my razor up.

[caloy24]

I bought a few packs of the Feather carbon steel blades when I was stationed in Japan in the late 80s (USS Midway) and I didn't like them. I thought that they dragged and pulled too much. I did buy Feather Stainless blades then and liked them.

I bought a Feather 3-piece razor there and found that the combination of Feather Stainless blades and the Feather razor was quite agressive; more so than a Feather blade in a Gillette Tech razor.