Not Going to Mention Names

Ok gents been DE shaving for a little over a month. Used the same blade (well same brand I did in fact change blades didnt use the same one the whole time) after a month I checked out another brand blade and found it to be a better shave for me. Maybe I was just getting better with technique. Who knows. Still have a few of of the first blade left so I might check them out again to see if in fact I am just getting better.

Anyway my question is do you guys always leave the option open to try new blades to see if you can find better or once you find 1 or 2 or 3 that give a good shave and you just stick with them. From reading the boards I know blades can give different results to different people so I wont mention the blades I have been using just wondering how you guys view the search for the one blade to rule them all.

I guess it comes down to if you have your ADs in check. I'll always want to try different blade brands, even though I've already found what works for me. It's part of the fun in all this.

I usually stock up for 3 or so blades and stick with them.

I have only been using a DE for a little over a year. It has taken me about a year to go through a sampler of blades. Now I have started to go back over the blades to see wich stand out. I found out that I really like Super Iridiums and those look like they are discontinued. I found that out when it was too late to stock up. I have also found out that I love the Medical/lab prep personna blades. IMHO they are even better than the Super Iridium so I'm slowly stocking up on those. At the same time I'll continue to try any different blade I can get my hands on.

Greyfox said:

I usually stock up for 3 or so blades and stick with them.

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different blades don't just shave differently on different faces but they also shave differently in different razors,so I have a good stock of my favourites.

I've got 5 different blades in my rotation for my EJ, and I do that in case of discontinuation of any one blade, won't cause a panic like the recent irridium mess.

Always leave the door open.

I found some blades that work great for me years ago but everytime I find something new I will get me a pack. I am a sucker for blades and besides; it is about the cheapest AD to get hooked on!

I still have like 5 different brands of blades from the sample pack I got when I started and than I see posts talking about brands I dont have and I am like hmmmmm....maybe I will just get some of them to check out. And as Talibeard said it is the cheapest AD to experiment with.

talibeard said:

I found some blades that work great for me years ago but everytime I find something new I will get me a pack. I am a sucker for blades and besides; it is about the cheapest AD to get hooked on!

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+1 I know what I like and yet I know there's a lot of blades I'd love to try. It's my only AD and I do have it in check but the will power I put into resisting is just enough.

talibeard said:

I found some blades that work great for me years ago but everytime I find something new I will get me a pack. I am a sucker for blades and besides; it is about the cheapest AD to get hooked on!

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+2. I enjoy variety and blades are by far the least expensive way to change things up. There are only a few that I've found so bad that I refuse to use the ones I have. There are handful that seem smoother than the others, but even these vary from razor to razor. I could use Iridiums or Med Prep Personnas every day and guarantee a great shave, but it wouldn't be quite as much fun that way.

Keep your options open.

Keep trying blades. I have about a dozen varieties on hand and always enjoy trying new blades.

I think I have gone through about 35 different varieties since I started with a DE.

It gets boring using the same razor and blade day in and day out.

Switching things up keeps it interesting.

There are 2 or 3 brands that I use most of the time. But occasionally I'll go back to a blade I didn't cotton to the first time around, to see if I react differently. Last night, for example, just for the halibut, I popped in a Souplex, which I found horribly rough the first time around. It was smoother than I remembered -- not sublime, Med Prep smooth, for sure, but not terrible, either. As the OP says, maybe my technique improved. If there's a blade out there that can overthrow Personna Med Preps and Labs as my favorite, I'd love to know what it is. That would be one extraordinary blade!

Moral: Find what works for you and stick with it -- except when you don't.

Creature of comfort to a point, but always willing to try something new, most of the time ai stick with 4-5 brands as my regulars.

The deals come when you buy 100 or 200 blades . . . so you try some . . . perhaps a sample pack . . .

I've moved on to straight shaving but whoops I picked up some astra blades just lately so I have a few years worth of DE blades too . . . for less than the cost of 2 dozen track 8 razors

er . . . which may be the reason we pick a brand and stick with it . . . we just get a good supply in . . .

Let's see... always keep the door open, but if you find something good, stock up on it when you see a good price.

I have been wetshaving for just about 13 months and in that time, I have tried 72 different blades.

I have a list of favorites and a list of "not in another lifetime," but I am also still trying different razors from time to time and as stated earlier, you can find different razor and blade combinations.

Also, it is good to try something even if you can't get hooked on it, such as something NOS that is no longer available, but just want to say you did. I have tried the Personna 74 and got 31 shaves out of it! I still am curious about the Schick 2002 (twin blade double edge blade) and would love to get my hands on one, but even if it it love st first sight, it can never be more than a one-nighter (err, one blade lifespan).

Sometimes, a rarity like a Segal will become available and I bought one on the BST for $5 and then bought some blades on the bay and got a chance to try the past. This is the fun of this sport.

Keep the door open and I'd say try to keep your blade stock less than a few thousand if you're not absolutely sure you want to marry one blade that works in all your razors...

Joe.