Blade Sample Pack - Blade Review by a newb 6

Ok Guys

As a reminder

Been at this since March, and working through a sampler pack, I use all 5 blades of the same kind before trying a new kind. here are the results so far:

First Blade: Derby

The cheap and cheerfull turkish blades have had there run of bad press about blade consistency. I can agree with this, I used a pack of 5 (15 shaves worth) and can say some great shavers and some dreadfull ones, last blade was used for 2 shaves then binned.

Second Blade: Astra's

Durability: 3 shaves maximum for me (Heavy Growth)
Smoothness: 1st shave amazing, 2nd shave good, 3rd only just acceptable
Sharpness: Shave 1 and 2 great 3 passes wtg, xtg and atg 3rd only wtg

Overall a good blade for shaves 1 and 2, 3 not so good.

3rd Blade Iridiums

These are a strange blade, sharper and more durable than the Astra's however they dont feel as smooth somehow. Bizzare thing is that although it feels not as smooth as the Astra I didnt have any irritation or nicks at all with them. For me best blade so far, Sharpest most durable blade so far fo me, 3 really good shaves per blade with acceptable for the 4th shave and probably could have went further.

So far my favourite blade

4th Blade - Personna Reds

Looking at the review I did of the Iridiums I need to say that I cannot really find any difference between the iridiums and the Personna Reds, in fact thats a lie, the personnas are probably a bit more duarable and would last a shave or 2 longer. Apart from that if we did the pepsi challenge with blades, in a blind shave challenge I wouldnt be able to pick single them out. So far iridium and personna reds would be my go to blades.

5th Blade - Feathers.

The ninja sharp assassin as its well known, I cannot get on with this blade at all, its sharp thats undoubted, but for me it gave me things that none of them did apart from the Derby when my technique was no good. I am talking of irritation, nicks and cuts not anything I have had in a long while. I would say that the Astra's, Personna reds and Iridiums are all just as sharp but for me deliver superior results. For me feathers did not provide a comfortable shave nor an enjoyable one. I only used 2 out of the Feathers that I had.

6th Blade - Super Platinums (Crystals)

Reading this forum and other sites, these blades seem to be made in the same factory as the personna reds that are made in israel, although the question remains are they actually the same blade under a different name?
I cannot distinguish between these and the israel made red pack personnas, see the review of the 2 paragraphs above. A great blade and this as well as the Personna reds are my go to blades!!!

Last up in the sampler Gillette 7 o clock supersharps!!!

Glad to see you're taking your time with it! It took me almost a year to find my perfect blade. Being methodical and keeping track of everything is a big help!

I'm impressed with the dedication to work through a sample pack like that. Thanks for the report!

Good review. I would consider giving the first couple of blades that you tried (in your case, Derby and Astra) a second round now that you are more experienced and undoubtedly have improved your technique. The first blade that I used was the Merkur. My initial impression was negative. The first blade that I really liked was a Derby. I had been shaving for at least a couple of months with Merkurs and Feathers and found the Derby blades to be smoother and more forgiving. About a year and a sample pack or two worth of other blades later, I pulled out the Merkur blade that remained from when I started DE shaving. I found the blade to be an entirely different animal. This time around, the shaves it gave me were smooth and irritation free. I still prefer the Derby and have found that I like the Iridium Supers even better, but I realize that the problems I had with the Merkurs were largely due to my inexperience and still evolving technique. It made me appreciate the 45 day/ 50 post requirements for reviews that have been imposed by the stewards here. I would be interested in knowing if you like the Derby and Astra blades better now that you have several months of wet-shaving experience.

I thought I had tough stubble, but you guys that can barely get three shaves out of one blade must have whiskers of steel.

Ooo this is really interesting to read as I'm doing the same thing at the moment!

Only I started out with the 7 O'clocks (a pack of greens then a pack of yellows).

Right now I'm on feathers and I think I'll have a hard time working through the whole pack as those boys are sharp!!!

Thanks for the update. I just received my sample pack from WCS and was interested in how to start testing out different blades.

I've been using ASR Personnas (Grocery store type) and then just switched over to Wilkenson originals this morning. It was a night and day difference. Can't wait to see what other brands bring me.

I, too, am doing the same thing. I started with a pack of Derby blades. They gave me quite a bit of irritation on my neck along with tugging and pulling in certain areas. But I stuck it out through the whole pack. Interestingly enough, I had similar problems with Shark blades.

Now I'm working on the Personna Red pack. This blade I really, really like and so does my neck. I don't have any tugging or pulling either.

Next will be Merkur followed by Astra. I tried a Merkur blade once before but it was only one blade. I didn't care for it. But I am willing to give it another try. I'm saving the Feather blades for last.

I wish you good luck on the journey.