4th shave with the same Feather blade today. It's been in an EJde86 for every shave. The blade still seems very sharp today. No tugging but I did get a bit more irritation than on shaves 2 and 3. I will keep it in for at least one more shave and see what happens.
Feather a no go?
- Thread starter britewhiteram
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #42
well I gave the Feather and the Blue-tip a whirl, and it was a decent shave, I used NO pressure and it still made me weep in a few spots, just tiny weepers mind you, I just dont get what all the hype is about... personnas and astras do the same job and don't make me bleed, they aren't bad really, I just don't get how everyone thinks they're so great.... I might buy 100 in the future just to have them on hand, I'll use them, but for the price there are others that do just as well in regards to giving me a BBS shave
5th shave with the Feather went slightly downhill compared to the 4th. A little bit more tugging and a bit more effort required to get smooth.
The downside is that in 5 shaves I have had 2 with nicks and 4 with weepers - worse than my usual average.
I'm not going for a 6th shave, my face needs a break. Back to an Astra SP or Personna for the next shave.
A good indicator of how smoothly my shave went is the ASB I reach for at the end. I went for my 'repairing' balms (REN, Anthony Logistics, NB Cooling) more than my BB or eShave over the last week.
The downside is that in 5 shaves I have had 2 with nicks and 4 with weepers - worse than my usual average.
I'm not going for a 6th shave, my face needs a break. Back to an Astra SP or Personna for the next shave.
A good indicator of how smoothly my shave went is the ASB I reach for at the end. I went for my 'repairing' balms (REN, Anthony Logistics, NB Cooling) more than my BB or eShave over the last week.
I agree with all the positive comments ever made with Feather on it's first shave. But after that first shave, to be honest, I'm scared....especially when in combination with an aggressive razor like the R41.
I love the personna lab blue! I'm scared and haven't tried the feather yet...not sure if I ever will 
- Thread starter
- #48
Yep I just ordered 100 Lab blues, for the price and performance at this point in my DE shaving career its a NO BRAINER!! I definately wont be buying 100 feathers for quite some time, even at the cheapest i've heard for them its still twice the price i just paid for the Labs... just makes sense to me to use what works best for me
In fact I just enjoyed a shave with a Gillette Green Ruskie, no weepers, no irritation, just an all round nice shave... just goes to show that the blade doesn't have to be the SHARPEST to get the job done, it just has to do the job well!
Sorry Feather, its still a NO GO for me
In fact I just enjoyed a shave with a Gillette Green Ruskie, no weepers, no irritation, just an all round nice shave... just goes to show that the blade doesn't have to be the SHARPEST to get the job done, it just has to do the job well!
Sorry Feather, its still a NO GO for me
I was wondering about the Feathers. I have tried them in my EJ89 and my Tech, didn't like them in either. I am going to give them a shot in my Fatboy. But what I was wondering about was how different are the black package feathers than the yellow package feathers? I have the black package feathers.
Is everyone who raves about them talking about the New Hi Stainless (yellow package) or are they talking about the black package feathers?
Is everyone who raves about them talking about the New Hi Stainless (yellow package) or are they talking about the black package feathers?
- Thread starter
- #51
as far as I know there is no difference in blades from grey to yellow package
Okay thanks for the info
I agree. I've shaved a few times myself and use Feathers in my slants and open combs in my rotation. My other blade of choice is the Astra SP. Aggressive blades plus aggressive razors = smooth BBS shaves.
Gus/BOTOC
Well, I thought the same thing until I received a 100 pack of new Shark blades last week. They had all of the subtlety of a sharp wrecking ball on my face. Worse yet, my last batch of Shark blades were among my favorite blades... Go figure, and be happy that you never had to come razor to face with a nasty blade....
Everyone's findings will vary, but I find Feathers in razors like the three-piece Gillette Tech or Feather AS-D1 work beautifully (mild razor and super-sharp blade deliver close and comfy shave). However, in an EJ DE89 or in a Progress, for example, Feathers can easily slice cut me and leave me with numerous weepers. The safest, if not the sharpest, blade I've used is Astra SPP. My favorite razor is the Gillette Tech (3 thus far) with the handles from my DE89s: excellent feel, weight, and length. I won't even place my open comb razor on the same shelf as my Feather blades. Personal Med Prep blades might appeal to you if you find the Feathers a bit much. The Med Preps are super-sharp but must be cut differently than Feathers. I've found Feathers are about $40/100 and Personal Med Prep for about $55/250 plus shipping. The Feather is a bit smoother, again, in a milder razor. I never found a blade that worked well with the EJ DE89--beautifully crafted razor, but I never found the shave comfortable and close. Each of us has our preferences.
I have come to this conclusion too. They give my face smooth feeling, but I get too many nicks and cuts, especially on Day 1. I find the Polsilver and Green Astras to give me the same quality shave, less irritation and no weepers or redness.
Pretty sure I'm done with Feather Blades for a while...I have 90 left, but they will get traded and/or sold in the near future, as they are not worth experimenting on my face with different razors any longer. 1 bad shave leaves me with 2 days recovery.
The YMMV in shaving is due to so many factors in each individual. The skin type, hair type, skill level, razor used, soap used, etc. All that needs to be said about Feather blades is that they are the sharpest blade on the market. That much is pretty well a fact. That is is neither good nor bad, it just is. For me the Feather will punish me if I use it in anything more aggressive than a Tech/Super Speed or Progress on 1.5. I find that a less sharp blade with more blade exposure treats my skin better. In fact, I am leaning now towards a Dorco ST300, a very cheap blade, in Progress set to 3+. That combo gives me close shave with zero irritation. Dorco blade is not super sharp, but it is very well finished and smooth. I will get at least 3 great shaves from it. I would put Dorco ST300 blade in the same category of sharpness as Derby, Shark, Merkur, Walmart Wilkie. However, it is one of the smoothest in that category. The only blade anywhere near as sharp as Feather is Super Max SP, 7 O'clock blue, perhaps. Those blades require me to dial down my Progress to lower settings or use them in mild razors. That combination produces less close shave or gives more irritation than mild blade in aggressive razor. I am only now beginning to realize this after about 10 months of DE shaving. My blade stash consists mostly of fine sharp blades and I am discovering that they are not quite right for me. This is okay, since it's all part of the learning process, but I think on the forums people can get into the whole "Feather is the BEST" or "Derby is the WORST" kind of argument when each individual is really unique and just because the blade is sharp does not mean it will treat your face well. The biggest revelation in DE shaving for me was buying a Merkur Progress. It has allowed me to play with the aggressiveness of my shave and this revealed quite a bit about what makes a good shave for me. Even with a mild blade like Dorco or Merkur I can not go above 3 on the Progress without causing irritation. That was very important to learn and I could not learn that with a multitude of blades in my beginner razors: Tech, Super Speed and EJ DE89 Barley Chrome. All fine razors, but the preset blade gap would require a certain blade for my particular case. Knowing what I know now, I would not bother with the super mild vintage Gillettes and DE89 is almost right for a less sharp blade for me, but still on a mild side. This is why Progress is so brilliant. It has stepless adjustments unlike Gillette adjustables and can be tweaked to be just right during the shave. I think at this point I will be divesting from super-sharp blades like Feather and getting more mild blades instead. This just works better and provides higher quality shaves for me in the Merkur Progress. YMMV is a very important thing to remember. It means you can not expect the same results on your face as I or anyone else gets with combination X, but you can glean certain patterns for yourself like sharp blade plus aggressive razor = irritation, sharp blade + mild razor = no irritation, but not so close a shave, etc. You would need some sort of adjustable razor to really understand the finer points of this, though. I recommend Progress or other razor with stepless adjustments. It really ties the whole thing together. If you are just starting out, of course the adjustments only get in the way of honing the routine of the shave, but after the routine is second nature, I think it's a good idea to figure out what combination of blade and razor provides that shave you want to write poetry about.
Here are some of my observations on the blades I tried so far:
Super sharp: Feather
Sharp: Super Max Super platinum, Super Max Titanium, Super Max Sunrise, Personna lab/med, Astra SP, Astra SS,
Mild: Derby, Dorco ST300, Shark, Merkur, Walmart Wilkinson Sword, Gillette Goal
Unusable: 7am (Bangladeshi blade, not to be confused with Gillette 7 O'clock!), Chroma
Based on that you can either set your adjustable accordingly or use these in razors that are appropriately mild or aggressive.
Best of luck and have fun figuring it all out!
Here are some of my observations on the blades I tried so far:
Super sharp: Feather
Sharp: Super Max Super platinum, Super Max Titanium, Super Max Sunrise, Personna lab/med, Astra SP, Astra SS,
Mild: Derby, Dorco ST300, Shark, Merkur, Walmart Wilkinson Sword, Gillette Goal
Unusable: 7am (Bangladeshi blade, not to be confused with Gillette 7 O'clock!), Chroma
Based on that you can either set your adjustable accordingly or use these in razors that are appropriately mild or aggressive.
Best of luck and have fun figuring it all out!
I agree with vferdman. There are many variables when shaving and most of the time it is the blade that takes the punishment. I use primarily Feather blades, followed by Astra SP and Gillette SharpEdge. I too get sometimes lousy shaves and, in my experience, the culprit is always a poor lather. Feather blades are the sharpest blades for me and "That is is neither good nor bad, it just is"
I like sharp edges (razor blades or knives) and feel much safer using them.
I like sharp edges (razor blades or knives) and feel much safer using them.
Last edited:
Well i have given the feather a few good tries... and i have come to the conclusion that although it is sharp, it is far from giving a nice smooth shave... it feels like its scraping my skin off my face.... i gave it a good 4 shave run and it just didn't 'CUT IT'
A nice adjustable might be in order for them blades.
A nice adjustable might be in order for them blades.
I tried in my fatboy it was SWEET
Similar threads
