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sampler pack roulette

I'm still new to the DE; following the advice here on B&B I invested in a sampler pack to find my best "fit" blade. Well, as I've worked through the blades I've been reading and participating here on the boards. This has made working through the sample blades feel like a game of Russian Roulette!

I get the whole YMMV ethos, but reading comments here positively terrified me at times and, I think, prejudiced me against some blades. Red packs, awesome; Astras, great; Crystals (blue pack), not my fave but manageable in a pinch. I must have stared down that five pack of Feathers for a week before I worked up the nerve to load and spin the chamber. Turned out to be a painless, smooth shave, but I was chicken to use it more than once (I will return to them as my technique improves).

Now, we have reached the dreaded Derby. After all I had read I wasn't even going to muck with them. I even reverted to my Trac 2 for a shave to delay - big mistake, won't happen again and I apologized to my Merkur for the indiscretion repeatedly. That harlot razor scratched me up like a wet cat.

But I digress; back to the Derby. Best shave I've had yet. The only weepers or irritation came from me getting too aggressive with the shave in a couple places in my zeal to continue the smooth sailing. Had I followed my normal routine I would have been 94% bbs with zero, sip, nada for irritation. As you can see, I'm pleased.

All this to say to my fellow newbs: a.) don't buy in too fully to the reviews of others. Try for your self and see what flips your switch and, b.) ymmv.
 
Awesome...I haven't ventured into my Feathers either. I don't have any Derby's in the sample pack I bought. I had good shaves with the Merkur blades, and a decent one with a KAI blade, slightly irritating but not too bad. The Lord blade is loaded up for a Monday morning wine induced red-eye shave (no straight razors on Mondays).

The Merkur was definitely better. I want to try some of those Egyptian blades ( Shark, Derby, ASCO) as well.
 
Don't fear the Feather. It should be given respect as should all razor blades. I played the same game with a sampler pack and saved the Feather for last. It shaved so well that I used it for 4 shaves. :001_smile

My first blades were Derbys and I didn't do so well with them. However I am interested to see how well I do with them after getting another month's experience under my belt trying all the different blades I now have.
 
I'm in pretty much the same boat as you (although I've got fewer shaves under my belt).... Still working my way through a sample pack, starting to get some really nice shave (i defer back to the 10 commandments which state i'm just lucky - probably a lot of truth to that), and I've just ordered 200 israeli personna's and 400 derby's. Not much to contribute to the post, just moral support, and a chance to say 'hi'. Having a lot of fun so far, and loving it.
 
Nice that you experimented and are finding what works for you. And you found that a better technic makes a blade seem better also. Bravo!
 
I'm in a very similar boat, I'm still running through the red pack personnas, found the Merkurs not to my liking and the blue israelis to be a bit too mild so went back to red packs. I've been giving the feathers the fuzzy eyeball too, and the derbys have sat untouched, maybe I will try those next before moving on
 
awesome! I too have had good luck with the Derbys. In fact, I like them so much I just bought a 100 pack on amazon for less than $8
 
awesome! I too have had good luck with the Derbys. In fact, I like them so much I just bought a 100 pack on amazon for less than $8
+1. Derbys are a good blade for me. At the price, they're darn near unbeatable. I just bought 300 on Amazon.

I've also had excellent results with Astra Superior Platinums and Super-Max Platinums.
 
I am also working through a sampler pack and found that the first shave with the feather was a little harsh but over time it mellowed out. Next up Derby
 
I agree completely. I thought the Merkurs were good and even considered to just stick with those.
I already had bought the sampler and went for the Astra Super Platinum this morning and it was far better than the Merkurs for me. I was very nervous at first and expected carnage, but it went very well. Now my fixture will be Astras, but I will definitely try the rest of my sampler.

What I have picked up from others' stories about bad results with blades is that if it feels bad for a few strokes, stop.
 
Derbys are the only blade I used for almost six months. They work just fine! You will, however, probably find one every once-in-awhile that won't cut right off the bat. Learn to recognize it and toss it out and put in a new one. I shaved with one that was just downright bad. Got through half a pass and chucked it, the new one was just fine. At a couple cents per blade... it's not worth it!
 
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