Best sampler?

Chiro75 · Feb 27, 2011

I have been a wet shaver my whole shaving life, but switched from Mach 4's to vintage Gillette safety razors in the last few months. The transition has been great! My neck is really sensitive, so I can't go against the grain on most of it, but even doing a two-pass shave yields a MUCH more comfortable shave. I was getting lots of razor burn with Mach 4's, and the safety razors have been a miracle compared to that monstrosity.

Anyway, I've just been using the razors I bought at Wal-Green's, so I'd like to try a sampler of several brands so I can find what works best for me. Any recommendations for a good, affordable sampler and where to get it?

Thanks in advance!

Alegre · Feb 27, 2011

You can`t go wrong with westcoastshaving.com, and they have a number of sample packs.

I never bought a sample pack myself, but just tried a very wide range of blades, ordering some from overseas and picking up some new old stock classics here and there. As it turns out, my favorite current production blade, the Indian Gillette Wilkinson, is one I`ve never seen in a sample pack... I can say the same for some other favs of mine such as the Perma-Sharp Super and the Treet Durasharp carbon steels. That of course doesn`t mean these blades are never in sample packs, just that I`ve never noticed it. I do though also love the Lord Platinum and I`ve often seen them in samplers.

zamanakhan · Feb 27, 2011

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/DE-Blade-Sampler-Pack-Choice_p_20.html

Get the choice, everything you need and if u really want add a gillete yellow pack (tbh i dont even know how these are as i got the choice pack as well, but i've ordred these seperately cause they are highly talked about) to that and u've tried pretty much every blade that is worth trying to find ur ONE blade. For me it was Astra's and Feather.

you can go for the strandard or the extended if u really want. But imo the everything is overkill.
U want a Cheap blade and a super sharp blade together in ur set.

Chiro75 · Feb 28, 2011

Thanks, I'll check it out!

marine123 · Mar 3, 2011

Hi everyone,
I'm now to this type of shaving. I'm tired of the red bumps all over my neck and the abrasive nature of multi-blade tug and tear!!!! I just ordered a Merkur 34C HD, some AOS Sandalwood Soap with preshave oil and aftershave, a badger hair brush and a sample pack of blades from WCS. If you more experienced shavers would help me in the order I should try these, I would really appreciate the expert help:
Merkur Super, Crystal, Personna (Red Box Platinum), Feather New Hi Stainless, Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharpedge, BIC Chrome Platinum, Astra Superior Platinum, Derby Super Stainless, and Dorco New Platinum.

I have found this site enlightening and can't wait to get to shaving.

Russ

LA Shaver · Mar 3, 2011

Amazon has some very good sampler packs in various price ranges.
I am still working through my 130 blade sampler pack. :001_smile

man00ver · Mar 3, 2011

Welcome aboard, Russ. I also use a 34C. I think you'll find the Red Personna to be the smoothest and most forgiving blade in your list, but Dorco (ST-301) also has these characteristics for many users. You'll probably also get good results with Crystal and Merkur blades. BIC and Derby get lots of mixed opinions (I didn't like Derby, but they're cheap and many love them). Feather, Gillette yellow, and the Astra SP will be the sharpest of your lot (in descending order)...but they can be rough on the first outing for some (like me).

I recently had fantastic results with an Astra SP that I stropped on the edge of my palm before the first shave. It really smoothed it out, and I got a super-close shave using a very light touch.

The light touch is critical when you're getting started with DE. All newcomers apply too much pressure. Focus on the blade angle (about 30 deg against the face surface), lock your wrist, and let the razor weight do the cutting on a slow, gliding stroke.

Check out mantic59's videos on youtube for lots of invaluable instruction. See you around!

zamanakhan · Mar 4, 2011

man00ver said:
Welcome aboard, Russ. I also use a 34C. I think you'll find the Red Personna to be the smoothest and most forgiving blade in your list, but Dorco (ST-301) also has these characteristics for many users. You'll probably also get good results with Crystal and Merkur blades. BIC and Derby get lots of mixed opinions (I didn't like Derby, but they're cheap and many love them). Feather, Gillette yellow, and the Astra SP will be the sharpest of your lot (in descending order)...but they can be rough on the first outing for some (like me).

I recently had fantastic results with an Astra SP that I stropped on the edge of my palm before the first shave. It really smoothed it out, and I got a super-close shave using a very light touch.

The light touch is critical when you're getting started with DE. All newcomers apply too much pressure. Focus on the blade angle (about 30 deg against the face surface), lock your wrist, and let the razor weight do the cutting on a slow, gliding stroke.

Check out mantic59's videos on youtube for lots of invaluable instruction. See you around!

I think the light pressure bit confuses newbs, my very first shave was awesome with an ej86(86? the one with the black handle) and astra blade. I used about the same pressure i woud with a cart. Nothing ridiculous but there certainly was pressure there. I didnt exactly let the "weight of the razor do ALL the work."

nehpets4627 · Mar 4, 2011

Both West Coast Shaving and Razor Blades and More ship USPS First Class based on weight. This, along with their reasonable single-pack prices on most blades, meand you can use either to put together a custom sampler of the blades you're most interested in and skip those you may not be interested in.

man00ver · Mar 4, 2011

zamanakhan said:
I think the light pressure bit confuses newbs, my very first shave was awesome with an ej86(86? the one with the black handle) and astra blade. I used about the same pressure i woud with a cart. Nothing ridiculous but there certainly was pressure there. I didnt exactly let the "weight of the razor do ALL the work."

Russ, as you can see from this comment, everyone is different. My advice about using a light touch was directed at your worries about neck bumps and abrasion in your previous shaving methods. DE blades typically require more attention to angle and pressure than do carts, so you might want to start nice and easy to avoid a bothersome result. If you don't get a satisfactory shave, you can always take an incrementally firmer hand, especially with the milder blades. Conversely, go even lighter if you get a little burn...or work more on your face prep and lather...or both. In any case, achieving the proper angle is the biggest change when moving from carts, since they are designed to provide a fixed angle at all times.

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Best sampler?

Chiro75

Alegre

zamanakhan

Chiro75

marine123

LA Shaver

man00ver

zamanakhan

nehpets4627

man00ver

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