How long did it take you to find your blade of choice?

Gents, I have been wet shaving with a DE for about 4 months now. I'm still not quite through the sample pack that I bought and I have nearly tried all the brands. As I try new brands, I will sometimes find one that out performs my last baseline and use it as my new baseline. There are times that I come back to that baseline and it doesn't perform as well as my log indicates. I'm having a hard time pinning any one brand that is my blade. I'm running pretty low on my favorites.

A couple of questions for the fine members of B&B:

1. Disregarding my tangent of a story, how long did it take you to find the blade that you now go to most shaves? How many brands do you keep in your arsenal?

2. As a recommendation for me, should I buy another sampler pack of just the brands that I like to nail down my favorite? Where is a good place to buy such a pack.

Started with the WCS everything sampler, I landed on DORCO ST-301s first and quickly after starting. A month or two later I decided I also love Gillette Yellow packs, and another month or so later I tried the fabled Feather and also loved them. I keep a healthy stock of all 3 of these brands, and have tried most of the rest in my sampler without finding anything that comes close (for me) to these titans.

As to whether you should get another sampler or not, I'd say you'll know when you find ones you like. For me, it was love at first sight on my favoriate brands and I almost autoamtically ordered more of them. If you have any you find acceptable, maybe order a few of those to keep you stocked while you keep searching for that 'perfect' blade.

I bought the sampler pack, then proceeded to use each blade for one full cycle, meaning that I used one blade for as long as it continued to give me a good shave, then went to the next brand. I did this until I used one of every brand. Then I repeated the process, just to confirm my first experience. This helped me narrow it down to 2 or 3. Then I used only those select ones alternating.

FYI, I don't have one favorite, I have three. But I definitely have several "don't ever get that brand again".

You can save yourself the hassle and just go straight to Red Pack Israealis and Iridium Supers. Feathers are nice (and sharp), but the other two are just smoother and more enjoyable to me.

TedGamble said:

But I definitely have several "don't ever get that brand again".

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So true, so true. I suspect I'm in the minority on this, but I had terrible experiences with Personnas, Derbys, ST-300s, and Astras. The ST-301s, however, were surprisingly good for me (along with the Gillette Yellows and Feathers, but they don't compare to the price point of ST-301s.) The Irridium Supers are very similar to the Gillette Yellows in my opinion, good blade.

BTW, my current favorite blades are a Wostenholm extra hollow and a Boker extra hollow. Oh wait, this is the wrong thread for that.

I didn't find my current favorite blade until someone here recommended a new blade which I tried and I liked it best. Be willing to try new blades and you may be suprised. There are so many fish in the sea!

When trying different blades do you use a blade for a few shaves then try another or do you stick with a blade for a few weeks? Do different soaps/creams work better with certain blades for you?

mkevenson said:

I didn't find my current favorite blade until someone here recommended a new blade which I tried and I liked it best. Be willing to try new blades and you may be suprised. There are so many fish in the sea!

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Agreed. I keep falling in and out of love with blades. There are some that I would never ever ever repeat.

Went through a sampler pack, one blade then onto another.. then started the second round... Landed on Isreali's the second time around and immediately ordered 100... Love them to death... except when I'm using my Gem 1912, schick injector...oh and any of my str8's

Worked through a large sampler pack and used it for 3 years... then I bought some Derby, Kai, Feather, and Shark blades a few months ago.

Feather blades are my favorite blade now, followed by Kai blades. I also feel that the Shark and Derby blades are better than most of the blades I tried from the sampler pack, while I feel that Feather and Kai blades are better than every blade I tried from the sampler pack.

About 6 months, as I went through various blades and understood the grain patterns of my face.

I've also recently settled on the Merkur 38C as my favorite razor. I bought it 3 years ago and only started purchasing new razors a few months ago... with any blade I've used, it's my favorite razor head. There are blades that I can get an OK shave with from the 38C, but no such luck in the SuperSpeed.

Following that, my Gillette Red tip is still very good. I like the Gillette Lady and the other Gillette Super Speeds, but I find the blade exposure a tad mild.

I have a Gillette 7O'Clock Super Platinum (stainless steel head, plastic handle from India) that I find to simply be way too mild. I've gathered that this is similar to a Tech head--if so, techs aren't for me.

So now, I evaluate every blade in my 38C.

Edit: I also use Kiss My Face shave cream every time, because I know what to expect from that.

I have been using Wilkinsons for no telling how many years. A few months back the store I was buying them from discontinued them. Since then I tried Feathers, (butchered my face with them in a slant), Derbys, Astras, Stars, & Mrekurs. Wasn't really happy with any of them. I called West Coast shaving for some other stuff, I asked the lady on the phone what blades most people buy and brag on, she recomended the Persona Reds, she said that is what she uses and does not get nicks or irritation. I ordered a few packs and love them. These are the closest I have found yet to the Wilkinsons. These are the ones I will buy from now on, plus they are only $10.00 @ 100

TedGamble said:

BTW, my current favorite blades are a Wostenholm extra hollow and a Boker extra hollow. Oh wait, this is the wrong thread for that.

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Kinda getting there myself more or less not with standing I wore the seat from out of my pants.

I discovered around month 5 that the Gillette 7 O'clock SharpEdge (Yellow) was as sharp as a Feather but much more smooth.

5 months.

Took me about 6 months to narrow it down to 3 blades.

TedGamble said:

You can save yourself the hassle and just go straight to Red Pack Israealis and Iridium Supers. Feathers are nice (and sharp), but the other two are just smoother and more enjoyable to me.

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I agree on the Iridiums. The feathers are as sharp but less smooth. Of course I have to improve my technique since I'm only a couple of months in.

It took about a year to find the right blade.

rainman said:

It took about a year to find the right blade.

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You Sir, must be very thorough!

IronMike said:

When trying different blades do you use a blade for a few shaves then try another or do you stick with a blade for a few weeks? Do different soaps/creams work better with certain blades for you?

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I will stick with a blade for as long as it shaves well. When testing, I will usually go 3 shaves per blade then switch out.

I tend to think that blade performance is independent of soap/cream performance. Otherwise things would be very complicated when doing testing.