Astras = blood

[smoov and deadly]

First off, I want to thank 'Domino' for being so kind as to PIF me a 5 pack of Astras! :001_smile

Second I would like to curse him for PIF'ing me a 5 pack of Astras :wink:

I was initially excited to try this blade because it gets a lot of good reviews on this forum. By now I'm sure you can tell where I'm headed with this thread.

3 Days of beard growth, fully healed face. Nancy Boy signature SC. Futur.

First wtg pass was pretty awesome, very little tugging, pretty much mowed right through my landscape and gave me the closest first pass I think I have ever acheived.

Second pass xtg ear to nose. Little more tender, could tell that the first pass was more aggressive than usual, kept the pressure very very light and still managed to get a little nick on my cheek which never happens. I should have known to call it quits at that point, quite a pre-cursor of things to come.

Third pass ATG. cheeks were mostly ok but my face as a whole was feeling quite raw, particularly on the neck and chin. Thats when my skin finally gave up the ghost and as a result probably no less than 10 little bloody weepers around my chin, neck, upper lip and sides of my mouth.

None of them were major cuts and my post shave routine of hot and cold towels and Thayers cucumber took most of the bite and blood off my face. Surprisingly, my face looked great afterwards and showed no signs of cuts, however I could feel the shave 8-10 hours later.

By far one of the more uncomfortable shaves I have had and the final product was better than it should have been. Hopefully shave 2 and 3 with this blade will be a bit more gentle. If not, as soon as I am able to trade, these and my feathers will be on the block. Possibly the derbys too.

I tend to think the combo of the futur and really sharp blades are a bit much for my face. :confused:

[Wishoot]

Wow. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with Astras. I must say, these are one of my favorite blades right behind Feathers.

Well.... DE shaving is a journey (without an end it seems). You'll find the winning combination soon.

[jrcrow79]

I swore by Astras..they ARE sharp, but go easy on em n in time your face will adjust

[galopede]

Oddly enough, I tried my first Astra in my Futur today and thought it was excellent. Four passes on 3.5 as usual.

Just goes to show eh?

Gareth

[Lenny]

Easily the best blade for me, and by a long, long way. Just gotta find what works for you :smile:.

[erudolph]

Not sure what to think about this original post, and similar ones. Blades vary in sharpness, yes, and in smoothness, and in other characteristics I suppose. And the blade-razor combinations are numerous. But why would a given blade be so destructive to one shaver's skin while other shavers do fine with it?

[smoov and deadly]

Oddly enough, I tried my first Astra in my Futur today and thought it was excellent. Four passes on 3.5 as usual.

Just goes to show eh?

Gareth
God Dang! 4 passes on 3.5?? I keep my futur on 2 and dont fiddle with it much. You should change your name to 'leatherface' :)

I'm tending to find that my face must be a contrarian! The blades that everyone seems to love ie: feathers, derbys, astras etc, just dont work so much. My favorite blade so far is the white box IP's. Cuts through whiskers like but-tah! *my best bricktop impersonation*

I'm going to continue to try these blades and make sure I'm not snap judging them. I would still like to try the red packs and gillette 7 o'clock yellows. Are any of these comparable to the feathers, derbys and astras?

[domino]

I'm sorry to hear your first shave didn't go well. I use the Atra Futur Combination as well. ALso, with a Gillete SLim adjustable set on # 5. With the Futur, I have not even reached one and a half yet. I suggest using a new blade, bring it down a notch or two to get a feel for the new blade. By the way, IP's were one of the worst blades for me. Another case YMMV.

"Oddly enough, I tried my first Astra in my Futur today and thought it was excellent. Four passes on 3.5 as usual."

3 1/2? What the h*ll are you shaving? :w00t: SOunds more like carving to me.

[rbaloha]

Astras are sharp but unable to get more than 3 shaves per blade in a slant. The initial shave is always outstanding but the remaining are decent.

I also cut myself on my cheek pretty good recently with an Astra. The gillette yellows are slightly higher priced and better performer.

[Stubblefield]

Love the Astra Platinum. It yields consistently close shaves. First time I shaved with it I felt like I had a new face. :biggrin:

[smoov and deadly]

Love the Astra Platinum. It yields consistently close shaves. First time I shaved with it I felt like I had a new face. :biggrin:
Well, when your skin regrows and attaches, you DID get a new face! LOL.

[VR6ofpain]

I got a 5-pack I still have not opened. I'll let you know if it is also a bloodbath.

[galopede]

What's all the fuss about the Futur on 3.5?

I certainly don't have a "leather face"!:biggrin: I've worked most of my life in an office and have a very soft flabby face! My father was a leather face I admit but he was a telephone linesman and spent most of is life hanging off a pole! He taught me how to shave many years ago with a Shick injector and it was always against the grain. Perhaps my skin just got used to it over the years

I often up the Futur to 5 to get those niggling patches. I also use a Feather Artist Club ATG!

Mind you, I bought a decent Fat Boy a while ago and that rips my face to shreds even on a low setting. Might sell it on soon.

I seldom get any nicks or irritation and often wonder what the rest of you do to get these terrible shaves!:confused:

Gareth

[talibeard]

I have been using Keramiks and Platinums both with good results but they are a bit harsh; no nicks or weepers, just a little rough on my face.
Mostly on the first shave though, I think they are best on the 2nd and 3rd shave (never tried a 4th with them).
They are pretty sharp but I prefer more comfortable blades so I use up my stock in between nicer blades.

[TheBigL]

I hadn't used the Astras in some time, but after the last couple shaves, I couldn't believe what I was missing. I had started changing up blades and razors to see what worked best.

I recently restocked on the platinums and some NOS blue label Astras. The blues are made in Czechoslovakia, so that puts them pre-1992.

I'm on the third shave and still going strong. No sign of dullness and still smooth.

[gaseousclay]

First off, I want to thank 'Domino' for being so kind as to PIF me a 5 pack of Astras! :001_smile

Second I would like to curse him for PIF'ing me a 5 pack of Astras :wink:

I was initially excited to try this blade because it gets a lot of good reviews on this forum. By now I'm sure you can tell where I'm headed with this thread.

3 Days of beard growth, fully healed face. Nancy Boy signature SC. Futur.

First wtg pass was pretty awesome, very little tugging, pretty much mowed right through my landscape and gave me the closest first pass I think I have ever acheived.

Second pass xtg ear to nose. Little more tender, could tell that the first pass was more aggressive than usual, kept the pressure very very light and still managed to get a little nick on my cheek which never happens. I should have known to call it quits at that point, quite a pre-cursor of things to come.

Third pass ATG. cheeks were mostly ok but my face as a whole was feeling quite raw, particularly on the neck and chin. Thats when my skin finally gave up the ghost and as a result probably no less than 10 little bloody weepers around my chin, neck, upper lip and sides of my mouth.

None of them were major cuts and my post shave routine of hot and cold towels and Thayers cucumber took most of the bite and blood off my face. Surprisingly, my face looked great afterwards and showed no signs of cuts, however I could feel the shave 8-10 hours later.

By far one of the more uncomfortable shaves I have had and the final product was better than it should have been. Hopefully shave 2 and 3 with this blade will be a bit more gentle. If not, as soon as I am able to trade, these and my feathers will be on the block. Possibly the derbys too.

I tend to think the combo of the futur and really sharp blades are a bit much for my face. :confused:

the same thing practically happened to me except I got most of my weepers around the neck and chin area. I bought a 5 pk of Astras based on good reviews from fellow wetshavers but it was by far the most unpleasant shave i've ever had with a DE razor. I quickly switched back to the red pack personnas and actually fear using the gillette 7 o'clocks I ordered along with my astras.

[smoov and deadly]

Quick update.

I completed the second shave on the Astra blade and it was significantly better. The only thing I changed was the cream. I used proraso this time and I only had a couple of weepers this time. Having said that, this was one of the best shaves I have had in awhile. 3 passes plus touch ups. Face felt and looked excellent with no irritation or razor burn. I shaved at night as usual and the next morning my wife even commented on how nice and healthy my face looked. I'm sure it was a combo of the cream and slightly duller blade but my face never felt dryed out or raw on the last pass which was pretty surprising.

At this point I'm am starting to feel a bit different about this blade and am hoping shave 3 gets even better :rolleyes:

[Bushranger]

But why would a given blade be so destructive to one shaver's skin while other shavers do fine with it?

Good question and one I have pondered. I had the same experience with Astra blades. Derby and Feather the other types and much preferred. I doubt I will not use Astra blades again. :cool:

[Luc]

Wow. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with Astras. I must say, these are one of my favorite blades right behind Feathers.

Well.... DE shaving is a journey (without an end it seems). You'll find the winning combination soon.

+1

Feathers and Astra are the best for me!

[TheBigL]

Quick update.

I completed the second shave on the Astra blade and it was significantly better. The only thing I changed was the cream. I used proraso this time and I only had a couple of weepers this time. Having said that, this was one of the best shaves I have had in awhile. 3 passes plus touch ups. Face felt and looked excellent with no irritation or razor burn. I shaved at night as usual and the next morning my wife even commented on how nice and healthy my face looked. I'm sure it was a combo of the cream and slightly duller blade but my face never felt dryed out or raw on the last pass which was pretty surprising.

At this point I'm am starting to feel a bit different about this blade and am hoping shave 3 gets even better :rolleyes:


I'm glad you gave it another go. I feel that most of the time a bad review comes from one bad experience. When I was a child, there was a restaurant my family went to once and my dad did not like his food. I did not return until I moved out on my own, simply because my dad would never go there again.

[Not4you]

I just finished shave 3 with my Astras. After shave one I thought things were decent until I left the bathroom and saw my wife - she nearly screamed! I head back to the mirror and don't see a few weepers, but just one - the entire lower part of my face!!! I thought things were going well so I got greedy and went for BBS with lots of touch-ups. Not good. I have an uncomfortable face for a few days.

Shave two was better and shave three was almost great, but now I'm due to replace this blade. How badly do I want to go through shaves 1-2 again just to experience #3??

This was my first blade change (brand) since I started DE shaving a few months ago. I may go back to my initial blade to heal and then try something else from my sample pack.

[SmoovD]

I bought some Astras from WCS because of all the hoopla on the boards. The first blade out of the pack was horrid. I barely got one shave out of it. The second however provided three really good shaves. I will continue on hoping that the rest of the blades are fine with just bad luck accounting for the initial bunk blade.

[DunEdinRanger]

God Dang! 4 passes on 3.5?? I keep my futur on 2 and dont fiddle with it much. You should change your name to 'leatherface' :)


I did three passes and a light touch up this morning with the Futur and Bic blades. The razor was set at 6.

[gaseousclay]

I bought some Astras from WCS because of all the hoopla on the boards. The first blade out of the pack was horrid. I barely got one shave out of it. The second however provided three really good shaves. I will continue on hoping that the rest of the blades are fine with just bad luck accounting for the initial bunk blade.

that was the case with me. the first blade shredded my face so i've been apprehensive about going back to them. maybe the next one will be better for me

[rbaloha]

Second shave with my last Astra. The shave was average. Slight razor burn and rawness.

This blade just does not work with the slant and my face. Today ordered Iridiums which were discontinued by are being sold by a well known vendor. Although I never tried this blade expect great results based on reviews.

The price being offered for Astra are phenomenal. For newbies suggest sampling before making a bulk order.