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Gilette Silver Blues burned me up.

Question for the blade gurus out there. I shave everyday with a Feather AS-D2 and have tried various blades without incident. Well, until trying GSBs. They absolutely torn my neck to shreds. My favorite blades so far are Voskhods and Polsilver SI. Feathers tend to make my neck just a tad pink (very slight irritation probably due to the sharpness) and I think I might be the only person on the planet that thinks Personna med preps are not that smooth. I say this to give you an idea out what my skin tolerates best.

Ill say, the GSBs made shaving effortless. They are smooth as silk but I can't figure out why they tore me up like they did. Nothing about my shave was changed using them and I get consistent BBS with Voskhods and Polsilvers. GSBs would easily be my go to blade if I could prevent the burn but it just don't seem worth it. Honestly, the 'feel' sharper to me than Feathers.

Is is this all in my head or are GSBs pretty aggressive and wickedly sharp? I wish I could make them work. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
They require NO pressure. I must say though, I every now and then I get a ton of nicks, cuts, and irritation for no reason regardless of what blade I'm using. I attribute this to lapses in technique.
 
I find they are a bit rough for the first shave or two and then smooth out. I also think they are more comfortable in a milder razor.

I have tried about 45 different blades and this is in my top 5.
 
Stick with the GSBs, at least once in a while. They may be bringing out a subtle flaw in your technique. If there's no improvement with time, then they're not for you. Good luck!
 
Gillette Silver Blue is an amazing blade. Some people even say that the Gillette Platinum blade in the dark blue box is that blade, but more refined. I have as of yet to try the latter out to find out for certain, especially since I'll be taking part in the February events that start in just a few days. I'll be trying out the Gillette Silver Blue again after it's concluded, then keep the same razor and switch to the Gillette Platinum for comparison.
 
The GSB is so smooth, it's easy to forget how sharp it is. My guess is that you're using too much pressure because of your habits with other blades. Try it again while going more lightly or at a different angle. I sometimes get nicks with a GSB because it cuts so close I get tempted to try for perfect BBS in areas where I have the most difficulty. Then I push a bit, and then oops!! But once you get the hang of it, the majority of other blades seem clumsy and brutish in comparison.
 
Gillette Silver Blue is an amazing blade. Some people even say that the Gillette Platinum blade in the dark blue box is that blade, but more refined. I have as of yet to try the latter out to find out for certain, especially since I'll be taking part in the February events that start in just a few days. I'll be trying out the Gillette Silver Blue again after it's concluded, then keep the same razor and switch to the Gillette Platinum for comparison.
In some razors, it seems so, but even then GSB are a bit smoother, sharper, and lasts longer. In my old Rotbart, GSB is one of the best blades I ever used, and GDP is the worst. I think this is because blade angle is bigger (35-40), and it shows roughness of GDP.
axsledobe, give GSB another chance, it's a great blade.
 
Interesting. I tried one in my Gillette slim yesterday and it seemed like it was kind of dull. There was some pulling and it was extremely loud. Much louder than any blade I have used so far. I will have to see if it smooths out or try a fresh blade.
 
I agree with this. GSB's are my favorite and perform well for me in a wide variety of razors.

Stick with the GSBs, at least once in a while. They may be bringing out a subtle flaw in your technique. If there's no improvement with time, then they're not for you. Good luck!
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
It's about my favorite blade, so far. The only reason I don't shave with one more often is because I'm afraid to get into a rut while trying different blades. I've found it incredibly smooth, like you, but I got no irritation at all.

Definitely give it another try!
 
Well, I read this thread with some trepidation as I was about to use my newly arrived Fat Boy with the Silver Blues...simply put, best shave ever to date. The Silver Blues had a wonderful balance of aggressiveness and still a smooth shave all around. I'm speechless!
 
I'm currently using Personna Labs as my daily blade but used a GSB while at the farmhouse this past week. I shaved exactly the same with both, matter of decades old habit, and found no difference other than a slightly closer shave with the GSB. At home I use a Standard Razor and at the farmhouse I use a flair tip SS, both relatively equal in aggressiveness.
 
In some razors, it seems so, but even then GSB are a bit smoother, sharper, and lasts longer. In my old Rotbart, GSB is one of the best blades I ever used, and GDP is the worst. I think this is because blade angle is bigger (35-40), and it shows roughness of GDP.
axsledobe, give GSB another chance, it's a great blade.

I'll have to remember this when I try it out. Thank you for your insights and personal experience!
 
Stick with the GSBs, at least once in a while. They may be bringing out a subtle flaw in your technique.
Exactly what I was going to say. I've gone through my whole sampler list multiple times now over the last couple years and had many good shaves out of blades that I had previously disliked. Work on that technique!
 
@axeldobe
After experimenting with quite a few razors, I settled a Feather AS-D2 as my daily driver, too. My face seems to prefer a mild razor with a sharp blade. While GSBs didn't tear my face up, they did irritate my face more than my 3 preferred blades - Polsilver SI, Perma-Sharp Super and Gillette Platinum. You're also not alone in thinking that Personna Med Preps aren't as smooth as pretty much everybody else seems to think (I actually thought that I was the only person on the planet that thought that until I read your post). On the other hand, I had a similar reaction to Voskhods.

All of which seems to prove that YMMV (for me, more with blades than any other "variable"). My advice? Use whatever works best for you. If the Polsilvers and Vokshods work best, keep using them and enjoy the AS-D2!
 
My razor is a Micro Touch One, and of the blades I have tried I like the GSB's the best. But it wasn't always that way. I was the recipient of a PIF several blades from space_cadet including Gillette Platinum, Silver Blue, Stainless, Rapira, Vokshod among others. I used the 3 Gillette blades back to back to back and I would have ranked them Stainless, Silver Blue, Platinum. Then I tried some of the others, bought a couple of 5 packs of GSB's and realized how good they were.

I am pretty much an every day shaver (mostly out of habit), so at least 6 days a week - mostly 7. Most of the time I can easily get 2 weeks out of a blade. (we will see if I can go longer than that beginning tomorrow) At least once, I got a blade that after about 5 days was dead. I think I just got a dud and it happens. The GSB has become my favorite blade. I have some unused Dorco's (which came with the razor), and CVS blades that says Made in Israel on the package. Personna's I think.

I do think there is something to the technique suggestion that someone made. May be why the GSB wasn't my favorite the first time around.
 
So after having 3 shaves wit ha GSB it seems to cut well but is always tuggy for me, even on the first shave. The first 2 shaves were very close with little irritation but the 3rd shave was far from close and fairly tuggy. Going to try a fresh blade next shave and see if it improves.

If it didn't tug so much it would be a near top contender for me in my gillette slim.
 
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