The Harris Report

The following report is made at the request of Mharris127. That's Matthew Harris. He mailed me seven different types of DE blades to test.

About myself: I get good mileage from the blades- that is, I get quite a few shaves from each blade.

My technique: Wash my face with soap. Heat one and 1/3 quarts of water on the stove. Apply the warm cloth to the face for 36 seconds each time. Then apply Proraso green to the face with a boar brush. The lather needn't be thick.

First blade tested: A stainless steel Rapira. The shave went well. There was no pulling. I did not get cut. My face felt fine. I ended the shave with some AV green after shave. The Rapira gave a very good shave.

I'll test another of the blades that Matt sent me soon.

Thank you for your review on B&B and I look forward to the others. I happen to be attempting a shave with the Rapira in a few minutes, please see this thread for my reviews: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...PIF-Looking-for-testers?p=3290329#post3290329. I will report back probably by the end of the day today 22 July 2011. Jooky is also reviewing in that thread.

Billski, you may post your other reviews in this thread if you like. It is cheaper for the owner of B&B to have multiple posts in a single thread rather than multiple threads (bandwidth charges and data server space). As a moderator/administrator on another forum unrelated to shaving (with the admin/owner maintaining his own server in his office rather than using an outside company's server) it is shocking how much a small forum costs, a large one like this one with terabytes of data must cost in the millions of dollars a year!

Second blade tested: Treet Dura Sharp. It has silver edge super stainless blade.

Matt Harris has a lot more to say about these blades than I do. To me it's more like pass-fail. Either it's a good blade or not good.

It was smooth. Not like the first or second shave with a Gillette seven o'clock in the black package. Others also said that the first and second shave were a little rough. I had a DFS with these Treet blades. Matt said that these blades were aggressive, but I don't say that.

Billski, it seems like blades work different for different people. The razor may also have something to do with it (although I picked one of the milder razors for my testing). I am glad you had a good shave, many people speak highly of the Treets. They just don't work that great for me. I have noticed that some blades are rough on the first pass, smooth out for part of the shave and then at the end it gets dull. Since my beard eats blades for breakfast it seems, I would expect that someone with more normal facial growth would notice that using some blades the first shave would be rough, the second and third smooth and the fourth dull instead of having that cycle all in one shave. I have the same problem whether I have one day's growth or three except the blade dulls somewhat faster with three days growth.

Enjoy the blades, Billski. I hope this assists you in finding the best blade for you, whether we get the same results or not.

Good reviews.

Third Blade Tested: The Astra Platinum

I forgot to mention that I use a TTO from Gillette. It's a K3 flair.

I shaved early in the morning on Sunday because I couldn't sleep.

The blade was brand new. The shave was sharp and smooth. There were no weepers. Most of these modern day blades are really good, not like the blades of yesteryear.

Sounds like the blades are working very well for you. Many people like the Astra blades, they just weren't the greatest for my beard type. I hope the others do the job well for you as well and you can decide on your permanent blade(s) with the sampler pack I sent.

Great reviews. Keep them coming. I also found the Treet Durasharps to be very forgiving and durable.

Fourth blade tested: Zorrik

It was not as good as an Astra platinum.

It felt a little rough, so I rinsed my face again with cool water. The shave felt fine though. I will use the rest of the Zorrik to not waste it.

Billski said:

Fourth blade tested: Zorrik

It was not as good as an Astra platinum.

It felt a little rough, so I rinsed my face again with cool water. The shave felt fine though. I will use the rest of the Zorrik to not waste it.

Click to expand...

I need to get my analysis of the Zorrik blade up as well. I will say here it was terrible, by far the worst blade I have ever used. My third pass was weepers galore due to a very dull blade. I knew better after the second pass but was too lazy to change the blade for my third pass.

Fifth blade tested: the Astra stainless

It was a smooth shave. There was no pulling. I didn't use enough shaving cream, but I finished the shave anyhow. There was one red spot, but no bleeding. It was a pleasant shave in spite of the red spot. And I felt sharp afterwards just as Gillette says.

The Astra stainless is a real good blade.

How would you compare the Astra Super Stainless to the Astra Superior Platinum?

How would you compare the Astra Super Stainless to the Astra Superior Platinum?

***My beard says that it is too close to call. A person with a heavier beard would be a better judge. Or the the best judge of all is : ' Squire' from www.shavemyface.com. He is the best judge of DE blades of all. ***

I would say the Astra Superior is a slightly better blade but both are certainly in the same league.

Second shave with: the Perma Sharp: It went fine. No weepers. DFS.

: Rapira: It went fine. No problem.

: Astra Stainless: It went really well. It seemed about the same as an Astra Platinum.

: Zorrick: It wasn't as pleasant. It seemed as if the blade caused little red blemishes. I used cold water to
soothe my face. But there were no blemishes. I looked in the mirror and saw nothing. Never the less I don't
care to use a Zorrick and don't recommend it.

Racer DE , 1st shave: It went well. No problem.
2d shave: A good shave.

Derby DE, 1st shave: It was a good shave.
2d shave: There was pulling. It wasn't a pleasant shave. I didn't care for the blade.

This concludes my testing of the seven blades from Harris.

My conclusion is: All the blades shaved well except the Zorrick and the Derby blade. This little test is from a person who gets
good mileage with his DE blades.

Bill

I thought that my test of these seven blades was one of the most boring reads in all of the B and B forums.

Sorry about that.