Blind test #5 - Feather vs Personna Med Prep

Shave #1

Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Feather blade and a Personna Med Prep, which are generally considered amongst the sharpest blades available. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.

Black = right side of face
White = left side of face

Brush = Frank Shaving Finest
Soap = Col Conk Amber
AS = DR Harris Marlborough

Pass 1, WTG: You know the feel you get from really sharp blades, as if they're being sucked to the skin and just peeling the hairs off? That's how both of these blades felt. I had a slight hint that White was a tiny bit smoother, but I really couldn't be sure.

Pass 2, XTG: Both felt pretty much the same, but I did notice they sounded different - can't really describe it, and its really of no importance, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

Pass 3, ATG: An ATG pass is a good measure of blade sharpness, as it's the pass with the most resistance - and both blades managed it effortlessly. This time I thought Black might have been a bit smoother, but again it was fleeting and I really can't be sure.

Closeness: Close inspection revealed the same area each side, just under my chin, could have used a little touch-up (which is what I usually do when I'm not testing blades), but the other areas that usually need more work, at each end of my mouth/top lip, were fine. All in all, a very close result from both blades.

Comfort: Felt great, with no discomfort at all, either before or after a cold water splash.

AS: Splash of Marlborough, and no sting - just the really nice warming followed by cooling that I get from Harris AS.

Having used both Feathers and Med Preps before, I was half expecting the Feather to be a bit harsh on its first use and to be able to tell a difference. But it didn't happen, and both worked just great. (I have found that with individual Feather blades, one can feel a bit rough on the first shave and then be really smooth on the second, but the next one can be perfect straight out of the pack).

Previous tests can be found at...

Blind test #1 - Feather vs 7 O'clock Yellow
Blind test #2 - Astra SP vs Derby
Blind test #3 - Shark SS vs Dorco ST301
Blind test #4 - Personna "Red" vs Astra SP

Excellent post! Will follow this one closely as these blades are probably the hottest ones on the market right now ...thanks Alan!

I too will follow this test closely. These are now the only two blades I use. I recently did a blind longevity test on these two blades, mostly to see if the conventional wisdom around here about Feathers dying after 2 or 3 shaves was the case for me (I generally swap out any blade after 3 shaves so really didn't have a strong opinion). Since I have a lighter beard than most, I also had my son follow the same regimen. He's got a thick coarse beard that seems designed to kill blades. I'll post our findings after this test is done, but will say beard really matters and is the major variable in determining blade life. This seems intuitively obvious but became undeniable during our test.

Looking forward to following this test. I used Feathers a lot and they are in my top 3. I'm currently experimenting with Meds and they have been GREAT. Todays shave with a Med was exceptionally close and my Vijon OS AS Splash (which has wicked high alcohol content) produced almost NO sting.

These blades have approximately the same price point. The Feathers are available in qtys of 100 at $27 from a B&B vendor and the Meds seems to be available in that same price range from medical supply sources.

Face&Head said:

I too will follow this test closely. These are now the only two blades I use. I recently did a blind longevity test on these two blades, mostly to see if the conventional wisdom around here about Feathers dying after 2 or 3 shaves was the case for me (I generally swap out any blade after 3 shaves so really didn't have a strong opinion). Since I have a lighter beard than most, I also had my son follow the same regimen. He's got a thick coarse beard that seems designed to kill blades. I'll post our findings after this test is done, but will say beard really matters and is the major variable in determining blade life. This seems intuitively obvious but became undeniable during our test.

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Looking forward to hearing the result (and yes, I agree it would be better to wait for the end of this test - don't want to go giving me any ideas that might influence my observations ).

As well as longevity, I suspect those with heavy growth might be able to detect differences in sharpness better. My whiskers are not tough at all, so I might be less discerning on the sharpness front - but it's the only beard I have.

After this important Blindfold test, I'd LOVE to see a Personna Med vs Lab. I won't be surprised if the Med and Feather test shows strong performance for both both. It would then be interesting to see if the Lab (at about 1/2 the cost) is virtually indistinguisable to the Med.

Currently, my successful use of the Med is bringing me to rethink my strong endorsement of the Perma-sharp Super (@ about $.20 per blade). If the Lab version (@ about $.13 per blade) is "the same" as the Med, then the Lab would be a "value blade" truly competing solidly with the premium blades.

I've got Perma-sharps, Derby's, Feathers, Meds to trade for a small quantity of Labs if anyone is interested. I'd even trade a few Iridium Supers (1 SI for every 2 Labs).

cfender said:

After this important Blindfold test, I'd LOVE to see a Personna Med vs Lab. I won't be surprised if the Med and Feather test shows strong performance for both both. It would then be interesting to see if the Lab (at about 1/2 the cost) is virtually indistinguisable to the Med.

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http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/210487-Med-Preps-vs-Labs

After this important Blindfold test, I'd LOVE to see a Personna Med vs Lab

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Yes, I'd like to try that, but I don't know of a source of Lab blades here in the UK - if I can get any, I'll schedule a test.

wow, another great blind test!!!

Oscroft said:

Yes, I'd like to try that, but I don't know of a source of Lab blades here in the UK - if I can get any, I'll schedule a test.

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I have a few Meds and I'm trading for some Labs. Please PM me your mailing address and I'll send some for you to test. I'll be peforming a less scientific test as I don't have (2) razors of the same type. I'll have my wife load each blade and I'll run it for a few days before switching to the other.

Hi, I'm finding these tests interesting however have you considered having someone else change the blades for you? Potentially you should be swapping handles and also putting new or old blades into the mix that way you don't suddenly feel that "Black" is better because it was yesterday and increase the objectiveness, also if you don't know the age of the blades you may not be thinking this is a day 4 blade as it may be a new one and better give you the impressions of a new vs old blade, the person controlling the blades could even put in a 2 day and a 4 day blade of the same make, making another interesting comparison.

Just an idea - I like what you have done so far

I am by no means trying to rain on anyone's parade. I think that the blind test is the true way to evaluate since when I am using a new blade, I find myself rooting for it.

BUT... do you think it may be better to do the test with one blade on the entire face? If you are right handed and cross over to the left side of your face, the blade angle could change a little. Sometimes, I find that my left side is just a bit off from my right side due to this. This happened to me just yesterday. After a 3 pass shave,I noticed that the left side was not as close as the right side. This has to be due to the angle.

If you do the blind test with the entire face, everything is constant. Eval may take longer but it may be more true. Just a thought.

fields said:

Hi, I'm finding these tests interesting however have you considered having someone else change the blades for you? Potentially you should be swapping handles and also putting new or old blades into the mix that way you don't suddenly feel that "Black" is better because it was yesterday and increase the objectiveness, also if you don't know the age of the blades you may not be thinking this is a day 4 blade as it may be a new one and better give you the impressions of a new vs old blade, the person controlling the blades could even put in a 2 day and a 4 day blade of the same make, making another interesting comparison.

Just an idea - I like what you have done so far

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Interesting thoughts, thanks.

The idea of swapping blades between razors is certainly a valid alternative, but it would be organizationally too complicated for me - I don't have anyone regularly available to keep track of it for me and to log which blade is in which razor for each test. I could possibly do it myself (it's easy enough to shuffle and swap handles with my eyes closed), but that would mean revealing the blade after each shave before rearranging them for the next one. That would be ok, but I think people like the "secrecy" and the final reveal - I know I do.

As for comparing blades of different ages, I honestly don't think that would tell us anything useful (and I don't have a stash of each blade of different ages anyway).

The Soph Gent said:

BUT... do you think it may be better to do the test with one blade on the entire face? If you are right handed and cross over to the left side of your face, the blade angle could change a little. Sometimes, I find that my left side is just a bit off from my right side due to this. This happened to me just yesterday. After a 3 pass shave,I noticed that the left side was not as close as the right side. This has to be due to the angle.

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The problem there is that I can't do two shaves of my entire face at the same time in order to compare - and I can't accurately compare two shaves done two days apart (which is how long I need to wait to get enough stubble again).

The issue about shaving each side with different angles etc is valid, and that's why I swap sides for each shave during the test - if I alternate the sides, it should even up overall.

Shave #2

Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Feather blade and a Personna Med Prep, which are generally considered amongst the sharpest blades available. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which - and I'm alternating face sides.

Black = left side of face
White = right side of face

Brush = Vulfix 404 Grosvenor mixed
Soap = MWF
AS = Witch hazel

Pass 1, WTG: Both blades were supremely sharp again, with Black feeling a little smoother on this pass.

Pass 2, XTG: No real difference in feel on the XTG pass, with both slicing off the whiskers effortlessly and smoothly.

Pass 3, ATG: White felt a bit smoother on the ATG pass, but both cut really well. I got a small weeper from black, on my upper lip, which was stopped by my cold water splash.

Closeness: Beautifully close on both sides, better than Shave #1, and the two were indistinguishable.

Comfort: Again, both sides felt just great - I didn't even feel the small weeper I got.

AS: I wasn't really in the mood for any fragrance today, so I just went for a light splash of witch hazel for its astringent properties, and my face feels great afterwards - but the shave was so good, it felt great before the splash anyway

I'm very interested to see the progression of shave quality as the number of shave on each blade goes up. So far I think this confirms that both blades get better after the 1st shave - which holds true to my experiences with both blades.

Update on Shave #2:

Approximately 24 hours on, and I have minimal regrowth on both sides - certainly less than I would usually expect. Each of those blades gave me an extremely close shave yesterday.

Shave #3

Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Feather blade and a Personna Med Prep, which are generally considered amongst the sharpest blades available. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which - and I'm alternating face sides with each shave.

Black = right side of face
White = left side of face

Brush = Simpson Duke 2 best
Soap = Ach Brito Lavanda cream
AS = Ach Brito Lavanda EdC

Pass 1, WTG, Pass 2, XTG, Pass 3, ATG: Reporting all three together this time, because I could discern no difference - just really sharp and smooth for each pass.

Closeness: Terrific - real BBS from both blades.

Comfort: Shave? What shave? All I can feel is a smooth and clean face.

AS: I used Lavanda as a splash, and the alcohol glow felt good - and it's a great fragrance.

These two blades are effectively just starting their second full-face shave, so they're really just reaching their best, and it shows. People with tougher whiskers than mine might possibly notice a difference at this stage, but I can't - for me, I expect what's going to separate them is their longevity.

This is like watching a beard grow....


I can't believe I have a mental clock that tells me that it's time for YOU to shave....

Compelling stuff, Oscroft.