BLADES - what I need to know

[The Easy Life]

Just started wet shaving last week. This morning was my 6th shave. I started with a Derby and decided that yesterday was going to be my last day on that blade. Just didn't seem as sharp after 5 uses. I went to my sampler pack and grabbed a personna. Today's shave seemed to be a bit more irritating to the skin, even worse than my first shave with the derby.

What I need to know is should I not use the Personna tomorrow and go back to a new Derby or should I stick with it to see what happens. You read here not to adjust your routine at first and stick with it including blades. But I find it hard to stick with something that irritates me and not change. If I didn't change after the first blade was done, how would I know if a different blade wouldn't feel better? Maybe I should try another brand from my sampler pack.

Just so you know all other variables have remained the same.

Shower
Make lather with co bigelow
Rub on face with brush
Let sit and work while I get my lather in mug to it's premium consistency
Hot wash cloth on face for 1-2 min
Wipe off first round of facial lather with now warm wash cloth
Wet face with warm water
Lather with cream
Shave 2 passes WTG right for now lathering in between
Rinse warm water
Witch hazel
Cold water
After shave balm

I have been wet shaving for 25 years. The only thing I changed was the razor (from cartridge to DE).

So do I stick with the blade I have or give up on it and switch to different brand?

Thanks

[fine wine]

Stick with it but use less pressure. And by the way, 5 shaves is about all I get from a blade also. If you got a 7O'clock yellow blade in your pack try that next. But try them all, you will find a favorite. .JR

[The Easy Life]

Thanks. I do have a 7 o'clock yellow in the pack and will give it a try. I am very conscious about my pressure while shaving but will even try tomorrow morning saying "no pressure no pressure" to myself the entire shave.

[turtle]

When you start shaving you will find that you change your blade more frequently as you search for a perfect shave every day.

As you get more "years" under your belt you can then find that you will be able to "stretch" the life of a blade a little longer.

[ackvil]

The nice thing about blades is that you can choose any one you want. Most are relatively inexpensive so until your technique is very good, as turtle said above, it is not a good idea to try to get too many shaves out of a blade.

I have been shaving a long time and almost all of the blades (except for two or three brands) get tossed out after as few as two shaves (Feather) or three shaves.

[Go West Young Man]

5 shaves in, EVERYTHING you do is going to feel wrong. Just go with your gut - if a blade seems weird, ditch it and move to another brand for a while.
It's going to take months to figure it all out, don't feel like you need to solve all the problems on your first try.

Most importantly, DO NOT slavishly follow any rule you've read on the internet. Try it one way, then a different way, find out what works. The worst that will happen is your face hurts for a day or so, and pain is a great teacher

[The Easy Life]

Stick with it but use less pressure. And by the way, 5 shaves is about all I get from a blade also. If you got a 7O'clock yellow blade in your pack try that next. But try them all, you will find a favorite. .JR

I popped in a 7 o'clock yellow yesterday. In my opinion this felt the best so far.

[The Easy Life]

Kind of a dumb question but since I'm new to this thing here it goes. Can a blade go in upside down? Or are both sides ground the same way? Is this true for all DE blades?