Week 4 blade tryout.

**VULPES** · 08-28-2011, 08:15 AM

Hi All,

I have tried a couple of different blades recently, some Wilkinson Swords we had in the house and the Merkur that came with the Futur. I was hoping that the Wilkinson Swords might be an improvement over the Tesco blades that I had been using but there was no discernable difference. If anything I would say that they were not as good and left me having to make some tidy up passes.

I was about to change back to a Tesco today and remembered I had the Merkur blade. What a difference, not aggressive but I could really hear the hair coming off, all in all a very clean, comfortable shave.

So, the question is should I categorise the Merkur as being more aggressive or is it a better shave due to being made from platinum? What would be good to try next?

**djh** · 08-28-2011, 08:59 AM

The whole blade/razor/person thing is a matrix. If you are new to DE shaving, trying as many different blades as possible is the standard advice because people have very different opinions as to which provide good shaving and which don't. Please don't discard any blades yet as your opinion may change as your experience level increases.
Merkur blades are generally not well thought of here- expensive and not great shavers. If you can find some sort of sample pack, it would be a good way to test a number of different options.

**Eric V** · 08-28-2011, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by djh

The whole blade/razor/person thing is a matrix. If you are new to DE shaving, trying as many different blades as possible is the standard advice because people have very different opinions as to which provide good shaving and which don't. Please don't discard any blades yet as your opinion may change as your experience level increases.
Merkur blades are generally not well thought of here- expensive and not great shavers. If you can find some sort of sample pack, it would be a good way to test a number of different options.

+1... A blade sampler for anyone who has not tried one will put learning razor handling skills in the fast lane!

**moonshine44** · 08-28-2011, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by Eric V

+1... A blade sampler for anyone who has not tried one will put learning razor handling skills in the fast lane!

+1!

**ackvil** · 08-29-2011, 04:39 AM

Another vote for the blade sampler. I have found there are a few blades that are loved by many on B&B that don't suit my skin and beard at all (e.g Gillette Blacks). On the other hand, there are blades that I like that others don't like (e.g., Derby). When you try a blade sampler pack you widen your horizons. I also recommend going through the same blade sampler pack after you gain a lot more experience and perfect your technique. I found that some of the blades I didn't like on the first go through suddenly "improved." Needless to say, my technique improved and as a result the blade worked better.