Blade Sample Update

I've been using my new EJ DE89 for about 1 month now. Right after I bought the razor, I ordered a DIY blade sampler from WCS. I figured I'd post this thread to give some of my blade thoughts from a n00b perspective, and get some feedback.

I don't have a ton of gear, so my set-up is pretty simple and doesn't vary much from day-to-day.

Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89LBL
Soap/Cream: VDH Soap (from VDH starter kit) or CO Bigelow (tube cream)
Lather: Both bowl lathered, except for the last couple of days I've been trying face lathering (not sure if that's for me).
Brush: VDH boar brush, but switched to the Pink B&B Essential boar brush after it arrived this week.
Styptic Pencil: As needed
Blades: Derby, Astra SP, 7 O'clock Yellow, 7 O'clock Black, Feather

Derby: These are the blades that came with the razor, and were the first DE blades I've ever used. My most recent cart prior to using these blades was the Deluxe (4 blade) from Dollar Shave Club, so that was really my only reference point for comparison on these. I thought the Derby's shaved nice and smooth. I'm sure I had pretty poor technique at first (probably still do), but these blades were very forgiving, and I ended up with very few little weepers, and no irritation on the normally very sensitive right side of my neck. [As an aside, I think my 'sensitive' neck may actually be a beard-mapping issue, as it grows pretty wierd on that side, but that's a story for another post]

When using the Derby's, I noted a sensation that I thought was the blade cutting the hair, and I didn't think anything else of it. That sensation doesn't exist in some of the other blades though, so in retrospect there was probably a little tugging going on with that blade. All-in-all, I enjoyed the Derby's and I think I'll try them again with the two I have left after sampling the others to see if I still feel the same.

I'm a little long-winded here, so I'll continue this in the next post.

cmyoung19 said:

Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89LBL
Soap/Cream: VDH Soap (from VDH starter kit) or CO Bigelow (tube cream)
Lather: Both bowl lathered, except for the last couple of days I've been trying face lathering (not sure if that's for me).
Brush: VDH boar brush, but switched to the Pink B&B Essential boar brush after it arrived this week.
Styptic Pencil: As needed
Blades: Derby, Astra SP, 7 O'clock Yellow, 7 O'clock Black, Feather

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Astra SP: These blades are noticibly sharper than the Derby's. On the first shave with the Astra's, I immediately noticed that the tugging sensation that I got with the Derby's was gone. Also similar to the Derby's I got no neck irritation from the Astras. After a 3 pass shave (2x N-S, XTG), my face consistently felt very smooth until late in the day - probably longer than with any of the multi-blade carts I've used. Spoiler - I think of the blades I've sampled so far, I like the Astra's best.

Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow: I really don't know what to make of these. While they were definitely sharper than the Derby's (probably on par with the Astra's, I'd guess), they didn't feel nearly as smooth to me. I didn't get a ton of nicks/weepers with these, but it was still probably more than all the other blades combined. Also, 2-3 passes of these (same as the Astras) really irritated my neck. I'll probably try these once more to see if I had a dud or just a bad few shaves, but I definitely won't be buying these again. I'll save the rest for a future PIF or blade exchange maybe.

Feather: I approached the Feathers with caution, after reading much of the advice on B&B. I've only shaved with them once so far (first shave today), and I just did two N-S passes. To be honest during the first pass I kept checking the angle of my razor, and everything else I could think to double-check, becuase I really didn't think I was making contact with the blade - there was no audible feedback, and little if any tugging or cutting sensation. I even rechecked the razor to make sure I hadn't installed the baseplate upside-down (wouldn't be the first time ).

I felt my face after the first pass though, and boy was it smooth. I lathered back up for one more pass, and I really liked the results. As I'm writing this in the afternoon, my face is still nice and smooth. I think with two N-S passes on the Feather, I got closer than any of the others. I had just a wee bit of neck irritation with these blades. I'll try these a few more times to see if the results continue. I love the smooth results, but it feels like I'm 'missing something' with these blades since I get no feedback whatsover during the shave. The jury's out, but good results so far.

Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks: I've not tried these yet. They're next on my list (some time next week probably).

thanks for the review. before I started DE I was buying dorco cartridge razors,and I liked them so when I graduated I bought dorco DE blades. THEN I started reading! So I made a feather blade purchase, THEN found out not a good choice for a novice. Now I am reading anything I see on blades, before I make another purchase.Honestly I think the dorco's are doing well by me, but I want to try some more blades out. So in your opinion, should I just skip the derby's and try the astras?

I don't think I would skip the Derby. It's a fine blade and you may really like it. I did like the Astras better, but it was not by a huge margin.

Honestly, while I don't think I'll ever 'stock up' on Derbys, I do think it would be good to keep a few around. It could be an excellent choice to use on a day where your face is feeling roughed up, but you don't have an option to skip shaving for whatever reason.

Great review.

Derbys worked the same for me, kind of. I felt the slight tugging but went on like nothing because cartridges were so horrible to my face, it was still a huge improvement. I found that Astra SP were great to use while I learned, but as my technique improved I leaned towards Feather, but now I'm really liking the smoothness of Personna labs. They've quickly become my to go blade. They let me do a full 4 shave pass; WTG, XTG, GTX and ATG for a BBS or real close to one. Very little to no irritation.

If you want to add the Personna Labs to your blade sampling, you can probably find them at Sally Beauty Supply if there's one near you.

Thanks. I think there is a Sally Beauty Supply nearby. I'll have to give the Personna's a shot.

cmyoung19 said:

Thanks. I think there is a Sally Beauty Supply nearby. I'll have to give the Personna's a shot.

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If Labs are the same as Meds (ongoing discussion around here), you're going to be in for a good shave if your results are like mine!

I used the Feather today for the second time, and the shave was not as good. Still no irritation, but the shave was not nearly as close. I don't know if there was an issue with my technique, or if it's possible that the blade deteriorated that much in one day.

I'm going to try that blade again tomorrow and really focus on my blade angle for the first pass. If the results aren't better I'll swap the blade out for subsequent passes. That would be quite a letdown for a blade that expensive to deliver such a nice shave only one time before it breaks down.

I made a game-time decision not to use the Feather again today. I'll come back to the Feathers, but there are others I want to try. I did stop by Sally Beauty Supply and pick up 2 5-packs of the Personnas in the blue package (I'm assuming these are the 'labs'). I also still have the 7 O'Clock blacks that I had not tried yet, and I decided it was their turn today.

Before I talk about the blade though, I have another variable in my shave setup today. I stopped by a local store called Heimerdinger Cutlery that I read on here had some shaving supplies. They don't have a huge selection of stuff (1 section of a glass display case), but they do carry a little bit of TOBS. After sampling the smell of a few of the items, I bought a small tube of TOBS Jermyn St cream, and a puck of Col Conk bay rum soap.

I used the Jermyn St cream today. To say I had trouble lathering it would be an understatement. I used the same amount of product and water the I typically use with the Bigelow cream, which usually explodes with lather for me. When I worked the TOBS up to a good texture, the lather felt pretty sticky. I added just a touch more water, and when I started working it, the lather practically disappeared. I tried a couple more iterations, but never could get it quite right. I ended up shaving with a slightly sticky lather today. On that basis, I'll take today's blade results with a grain of salt. As for the TOBS, I absolutely love the smell of the Jermyn St, so I'll keep working with that until I can lather it right - maybe I'll try to face lather it.

So on to the blacks. These blades provided a nice bit of feedback. I could hear and feel them cutting, but there was no pulling. There was a fair bit of stickiness, but I fully attribute that to the lather, not the blade. I've got a nice close shave, and when I splashed on the Clubman afterwards I barely got so much as a tingle from the alcohol. Lather notwithstanding, a pretty good shave overall with the 7 O'Clock blacks.

Cacique said:

Derbys worked the same for me, kind of. I felt the slight tugging but went on like nothing because cartridges were so horrible to my face, it was still a huge improvement.

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I also felt the tugging using a Derby blade in my first week of DE shaving. I figured I had to apply more pressure in order to help the blade do the work. Several cuts later, I realized an important lesson about what not to do.

Feathers are a little tricky at first, their longevity seems to increase with technique. Could be a placebo, but I find a little palm stropping (I do it with the blade still on the razor) helps a bit too.

That's disappointing about the lather, maybe a TOBS user could chime in with some tips. How would you describe the smell of the Jermyn St?

Also I'm pretty sure you have the right blades, sounds like the ones I got.

Cacique said:

How would you describe the smell of the Jermyn St?

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Thats a tricky one, I'm not very good at describing smells. The cream is very mild, and the scent itself is not at all overpowering. I would say it is a masculine scent, with very little, if any, floral notes. It has a very slight, almost musky kind of smell. I'm not doing it justice here, but it is a very pleasant scent.

I would suggest picking up a pack of the green "super stainless" 7 o clocks. In my experience they're smoother than the yellows and better than the made in India blacks that replaced the Russian made dark blues.

Sounds like a nice scent. TOBS is on my list of soaps I'd like to try, but they have so many scents it's hard for me to pick! That, and I got other soaps ahead on the list.

Great shave today! I think I like the 7 O'Clock blacks. I face lathered with Col Conk bay rum soap and the B&B essential brush. Got 3 very nice passes with the blacks (N-S, 2x XTG), and now super smooth. Only one little nick on the lip, but I fully blame the guy in the mirror for that one

Tried the Personna Blue "Labs" today. I really like the feedback these provide as they cut - I can tell that they are working but there is definitely no tugging. I just did two N-S passes today, as my face still looked just a tad beat up after yesterday's three passes. To me, it doesn't feel quite as close as the Gillette Blacks or the Feathers, but still very smooth. I think if I had added an XTG pass today it would be even closer. Overall I like these blades, I think. I need to now go back and try the Astras again, because I think these feel very similar to them for me. Actually, I need to go back and try them all again to either confirm my initial impressions, or maybe learn something new about them now that my technique has (hopefully) improved.

After working through all the blades in my sample once, I'd say the ones I'd lean towards rebuying would be Astra SP, Personna and Gillette Blacks. Derbys and Feathers are borderline for me - I did like them, but not sure I would repurchase. Gillette Yellow - Pass.

As a side note, the more my boar brushes are starting to get broken in, the more I'm starting to enjoy face lathering. I used VDH soap today, and loaded the brush a bit longer than I had previously been doing. By the time I went to my face, a nice lather was already starting to form, and it worked easily into a nice thick, slick lather on my face. I only went for two passes today, but I think my lather could easily have supported three (or even four) without reloading.

Nice review of the blades, I enjoyed reading it. I find it so hard to evaluate the blades when me technique is so rough. I've gone through a few Derbys, Astra, and now Dorcos. I can't really tell the difference because everything depends on my lather (which was too dry until last week) and my blade angle/pressure. I'll keep an eye on your thread though.

This wa a very good review and I am in the same state of "newness" to the world of DE shaving as you are...I have a EJ DE89 razor and a vintage gillette Slim...I really like the Astra blades and have just started using a Gillette Silver Blue which makes me check and see if there is indeed a razor inserted in the razor - I have heard some concerns regarding longevity of this blade, so we'll see!

My experience with the Feathers has been one where I feel like the blade IS ultra sharp, but with no forgiving quality and some irritation...additionally, I felt like the blade's sharpness dropped off a cliff after 2 shaves...

Cmyoung19, glad you liked the Personnas. They're still giving me a great, smooth shave. I think 1 blade for me last close to a week of every day shaves.

JerseyBoy, same thing happened to me with the Feathers. When I revisited them, I hand-stropped the blade lightly while in the razor before shaves. The first one I tried when I revisited them lasted me close to a week of every day shaves. They're still just as sharp and the only thing making them feel a bit more forgiving is the improvement on my technique. Get a bit sloppy and you get cut.

For you "newbies", I would strongly advise standardizing on a blade until you have developed a consistent technique. The way some of you are going about it, you're introducing too many variables. For many, the Personna Lab or Med Prep would be a good choice. Also, choose one soap or cream you like and stay with it while you work on your prep and lathering techniques. You are more likely to get good results that way than hopping around.

I know it's fun, but defer the product evaluation until you know what you are doing.