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AS-D2 switched to Astra SP from Feather blades

G

Grantypoo

Well, I have a grand total of 5 shaves under my belt.

One with a non symmetrical Merkur 34C. Hurt a little, sent it back.

3 with a Feather AS-D2 and the included Feather blade. They were OK, but I always have a few weepers.

For my 4th shave with the AS-D2 I thought I'd try a new blade, and I pulled from my sampler pack a Astra SP. Wow, I really like it. It doesnt feel QUITE as sharp as the Feather first did, although it feels sharper than the Feather was on shave three.

And the best news? Not a single nick or weeper. Blood free shave, gotta love it. And that was with WTG, XTG, ATG... with the Feather the last shave I just did WTG and XTG and still got a little blood.

My face does burn a little more than normal though, I think I was using a little more pressure than normal. But I still like the shave better. I think until my technique improves, I'll stick to these Astra SP for a while. Maybe buy at least a 10 pack.
 
sliwolf

sliwolf

Congrats and it just keeps getting better with practice. Technique is most important I am still working on it but I know it will come in time. I just got in 100 Astra's haven't tried them yet .
 
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CUSE69

CUSE69

Astra and Feathers are my two blades, and yes the difference for me is less pressure with the Feather. When I have extra time and can be more deliberate the Feather is a treat to use. Conversely, if I am lax or rushed the Feather can be a minor disaster requiring various levels of first aid. The Astra gives me a bit more freedom and margin for error while still delivering a great shave. After you have more experience with the Astra you should give the Feather another shot, you may find it to be a worthy backup.
 
D

dakotajfarley

I think that the astras are miles smoother. Feathers are sharp, but feel rough to me. If you have a personna lab blue in that sampler, I would try that next. I think they are closer in sharpness to the feathers than the astras but are just as smooth
Welcome and Goodluck!
 
G

Grantypoo

sliwolf said:
Congrats and it just keeps getting better with practice. Technique is most important I am still working on it but I know it will come in time. I just got in 100 Astra's haven't tried them yet .
Click to expand...
You will like them, I know I sure do.

CUSE69 said:
Astra and Feathers are my two blades, and yes the difference for me is less pressure with the Feather. When I have extra time and can be more deliberate the Feather is a treat to use. Conversely, if I am lax or rushed the Feather can be a minor disaster requiring various levels of first aid. The Astra gives me a bit more freedom and margin for error while still delivering a great shave. After you have more experience with the Astra you should give the Feather another shot, you may find it to be a worthy backup.
Click to expand...
Yep, I plan on going back to the Feathers sometime, but for now I'm going to use the Astras. I've got quite a few other ones to try out so it will keep me busy I'm sure.

PMT said:
Astra is an awesome blade! I Used to use them and love em, just like Sharks a little better
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No sharks in my sampler, but I'd hate to pull something across my face named after a merciless killer :)

dakotajfarley said:
I think that the astras are miles smoother. Feathers are sharp, but feel rough to me. If you have a personna lab blue in that sampler, I would try that next. I think they are closer in sharpness to the feathers than the astras but are just as smooth
Welcome and Goodluck!
Click to expand...
No Personna blades in this pack. I do see that I have another Astra, this one a Superior Stainless. Are they as good as the SP?

$Sampler.jpg
 
Adam B

Adam B

I haven't tried an Astra SP yet, I have a sampler on the way that contains a pack. Based on how many people like them here on the forum, I look forward to shaving with one.

I have been using Feathers for the past dozen shaves or so. I get good results but they'll punish you for bad technique that's for certain. And for me, being 3 weeks into wet shaving, bad technique still rears its head.

I've had a couple embarrassing razor-burn-on-my-neck days from Feathers. Definitely don't use any pressure! :)
 
clintonde

clintonde

I haven't tried Astra yet but I have this weird personality quirk where I dislike the most popular things just because a lot of people like them and I have this idiotic need to be different. I will order some on my next tryablade order, and I'll probably love them. Haha. Figures. Glad you found something you like, OP!
 
Blade4vor

Blade4vor

Grantypoo said:
Well, I have a grand total of 5 shaves under my belt.

One with a non symmetrical Merkur 34C. Hurt a little, sent it back.

3 with a Feather AS-D2 and the included Feather blade. They were OK, but I always have a few weepers.

For my 4th shave with the AS-D2 I thought I'd try a new blade, and I pulled from my sampler pack a Astra SP. Wow, I really like it. It doesnt feel QUITE as sharp as the Feather first did, although it feels sharper than the Feather was on shave three.

And the best news? Not a single nick or weeper. Blood free shave, gotta love it. And that was with WTG, XTG, ATG... with the Feather the last shave I just did WTG and XTG and still got a little blood.

My face does burn a little more than normal though, I think I was using a little more pressure than normal. But I still like the shave better. I think until my technique improves, I'll stick to these Astra SP for a while. Maybe buy at least a 10 pack.
Click to expand...

I've had some great shaves with Astra SP in my 1st month of DE wet shaving. I also liked Personna Red(Israeli Personna).

So far, I ordered 100 Personna Blue Labs due to reviews, right off the start. They were serviceable. I need to try these again after I've put everything together for a while with face prep, lather prep, and technique. I'm still learning and practicing.

Everyone talks about how blades are really "YMMV" and they really are. One person raves about a blade while three others hate it. You just have to try them. I would suggest that you try at least two blades of each brand that you do try, because it is possible to get a dud.

I've enjoyed ordering blades from tryablade.com. It's not the cheapest way to go, but at least you don't end up with blades that you didn't want in the 1st place, like you might with some sampler packs.
 
whosaidpigeon

whosaidpigeon

clintonde said:
I haven't tried Astra yet but I have this weird personality quirk where I dislike the most popular things just because a lot of people like them and I have this idiotic need to be different. I will order some on my next tryablade order, and I'll probably love them. Haha. Figures. Glad you found something you like, OP!
Click to expand...

Haha. I thought it was just me that did that. I do eventually get around to trying the popular products though. And that is when I find out why they were popular to begin with.
 
B

birddogger

Once you get the proper technique, you will be able to get a good shave with any of the popular blades and probably even with the ones that are not so popular. That doesn't mean that you won't have your favorites but it certainly won't be as big of a deal as it is now. Also, IMO, the type of blade you use shouldn't determine the amount of pressure used. For me, I pretty much use zero pressure, regardless of the blade I am using.

Welcome and good luck,
Charlie
 
Daiku

Daiku

Agreed...you can't go wrong with Astras (if you're one of the many guys they work for). I think they occupy the perfect middle ground between sharpness and smoothness, they're fairly forgiving, and they last 5 shaves or so for me. At around ten cents a blade, they are impossible to beat!

The Astra stainless are slightly less forgiving, but I get a slightly closer shave with them. The stainless requires just a touch more carefulness, but with excellent results. I like and use both blades.
 
Bahnzo

Bahnzo

I'm 3 weeks into DE shaving, so I'll give you my limited advice.

Everyone is different. While some folks and websites might make it seem like shaving is a cross between rocket surgery and brain science, it's not really...it's shaving. It's like anything else. Practice makes perfect. And what works for someone else might not work for you.

That being said. What works for a lot of people, does so for a reason. There's a reason Feather and Astra blades (and others) are highly recommended. Same for soaps/creams/brushes. I'm currently trying the "classics" before I do anything else. Proraso soaps and creams right now with Astra and Feather blades are yielding good results. But, I'm still going to go thru my blade assortment (Derby are next) before I choose a long term, but I think soaps/creams are very much arbitrary. They all work pretty well, and what you like is just as good as any $30+ soap you might see. Find what works for you, not only technique-wise, but scent and soap/cream and branch out from there.
 
Babyhead

Babyhead

Grantypoo said:
Any of these 15 blades known complete crap that I dont even need to bother dragging across my face?
Click to expand...
I would say try them all. Also one thing to note, technique is the most important, so you might find a razor you don't like at first to be your "go to" razor at some point down the road. Also, different blade/razor combo will feel different as well. In my R41, I don't like Feathers at all.
 
G

Grantypoo

Bahnzo said:
I'm 3 weeks into DE shaving, so I'll give you my limited advice.

Everyone is different. While some folks and websites might make it seem like shaving is a cross between rocket surgery and brain science, it's not really...it's shaving. It's like anything else. Practice makes perfect. And what works for someone else might not work for you.

That being said. What works for a lot of people, does so for a reason. There's a reason Feather and Astra blades (and others) are highly recommended. Same for soaps/creams/brushes. I'm currently trying the "classics" before I do anything else. Proraso soaps and creams right now with Astra and Feather blades are yielding good results. But, I'm still going to go thru my blade assortment (Derby are next) before I choose a long term, but I think soaps/creams are very much arbitrary. They all work pretty well, and what you like is just as good as any $30+ soap you might see. Find what works for you, not only technique-wise, but scent and soap/cream and branch out from there.
Click to expand...
Good thought/advice.

Babyhead said:
I would say try them all. Also one thing to note, technique is the most important, so you might find a razor you don't like at first to be your "go to" razor at some point down the road. Also, different blade/razor combo will feel different as well. In my R41, I don't like Feathers at all.
Click to expand...
That's actually what I'm "worried" about now. I'll be trying out these blades but am by no means an expert at shaving. So if I do have good results once, I'm inclined to think I just got my angles right and did the technique well, vs the blade being the reason. I'd like to buy 15-30 of the Astra SP, since those seemed good so far, and get good at technique. THEN I'll go through the sampler and see if there is another blade I like.
 
davent

davent

Only been at this a few months and Astra SP was my virgin blade, blood every shave. Went through five other brands of blades, rare was there any blood. Last new brand on hand was Feathers, figuring my technique had improved wanted to try the highly regarded Astra again before breaking out the Feathers, Astra back in, again blood every day. Since then a couple Feathers, a Yellow Seven O'clock and a Polsil SI all great shaves and getting better and i don't get blood. Astra's, my Razorock Mission and me still have a few things to work out!
 
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