Embarking on an 81 blade test.

Very inspiring! So many blades I've been curious to try out. It makes shaving fun to find a new favorite blade.

Interesting you've found you often prefer stainless over platinum blades. Wonder why this is?
I was always under the impression that coated blades were better, but is it just marketing?

The Supermax blue diamond blades were they platinum or titanium coated... seems theres two blue diamond types out there being reviewed.
Supermax must have the most confusingly diverse line up of blades of any manufacturer.

From the highlighted blades on the list at the moment, seems like your top 5 are:
Gillette 7OC Super Stainless (green), BIC Astor, Gillette 365 Stainless 7, Tomy, Q Ball

Coated blades work better for some. The stainless appear to work better for me. The supermax line is extensive and can be confusing. The blue diamond I tested was titanium coated. I want to pick up a couple hundred but haven't given in to paying the shipping costs from overseas and haven't found a US vendor.

Bolzano: a middle of the road blade for me. Not the most comfortable. I did get 3 DFS shaves out of it with only 2 passes. The third shave the blade was fuller and more tugging and touch up occurred. I could use this blade but it wouldn't be one of my preferred.

Next up: Gillette Platinum

Gillette Platinum: A quality blade. I got 4 DFS shaves out of this blade. The last shave did need extra touch up on my chin and corners of my mouth. The first 3 were just easy 2 pass shaves with no touch up.

Next up: Big Ben Super Stainless

Big Ben Super Stainless: A middle of the road blade that is consistent with my experience with most Lord blades. The first shave was great, an easy 2 pass DFS. The 2nd was still relatively easy to achieve DFS with 2 passes and mild touch up but the comfort level dropped. Shave 3 touch more touch up and the blade felt rough the entire shave.

Next up: Gillette Rubie.

Gillette Rubie: a high quality shave. I got 4 DFS shaves out of this blade. It is sharp and mostly comfortable. I find other blades more comfortable but could easily use this daily if needed. On shave 4 it started to require more touch up.

Next up: Treet Classic

Treet Classic: An enjoyable blade. Sharp and smooth. 3 2 pass DFS shave with very minimal touch up. Was starting to feel a little dull and getting a touch of rust after shave three. Going to have to add some of these to the stash.

Next up: Bic Chrome Platinum

Bic Chrome Platinum: a blade that has earned a spot in the rotation. A good mix of smooth and sharp. 4 two pass DFS. Very minimal touch up in the trouble spots. I was sick for a few days and didn't shave and threw a 3 day beard at it for shave 4 and it handled it with just a little tug and pull.

Next up: Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (Black)

Gillette 7 O'Clock super platinum. This was a good but not great blade for me. I got 3 two pass DFS shaves without needing much touch up but the blade never felt as smooth as my more preferred blades. A solid performer just not the best for me.

Next up: Dorco ST-301

Dorco ST-301: A very mediocre blade for me. Serviceable DFS shaves with a little touch up. Never felt comfortable and took extra effort on the thicker parts of my beard. The blade made it through 3 shaves.

Next up: Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless

burg1198 said:

Dorco ST-301: A very mediocre blade for me. Serviceable DFS shaves with a little touch up. Never felt comfortable and took extra effort on the thicker parts of my beard. The blade made it through 3 shaves.

Next up: Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless

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+1. For me Dorco has nothing but poor/average performance. Doubt that I will try their products in future. Unfortunate!

Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless: I am going to have to put this blade to a side by side comparison to the Russian version which is one of my favorite blades. I got 5 smooth comfortable 2 pass DFS shaves and the sixth shave was still only two passes to DFS but felt a little less smooth.

Next up: Crown

BIC's seem to get both really positive reviews and some really negative... must be a blade consistency thing?
Agree about the Dorco's. For me they represent the lowest 'useable' grade of blade above a 'dull butter knife'.
Although I'm curious if the new Dorco 'Prime' version might be any better.

My last blade was also the green Indian 7OC Permasharp and totally agree that it seems just as good as the Russian St. Petersburg green 7OC. That would be a good blind comparison to do sometime...

Keep the blade tests coming!

Crown Stainless: 2 shaves is all I could stand with this blade. I expected a little better since it is made by lord but it felt dull and tugged from the start. The first shave took significant touch up on my chin and jaw line to reach DFS. The second shave was worse and there were a couple spots where the discomfort was too much to reach DFS so I gave up on it.

Next up: Treet New Steel.

Treet New Steel: this blade felt great and provided an effortless 2 pass DFS on the first shave. Unfortunately it appeared to degrade quickly. The second shave took more effort and was considerably less comfortable. I made it through a 3rd shave without achieving my goal of DFS. It was uncomfortable and after my standard two passes on my neck it left a considerable amount of touch up needed. With my neck being sensitive I skipped it.

Next up. Supermax Super Platinum

Supermax Super Platinum. A smooth comfortable blade for 2 shaves. I effortlessly reached DFS with 2 passes. Shave two felt a little rougher in the tough spots. Shave 3 was also a 2 pass DFS but required touch up on the chin. It also felt a lot less smooth. Overall a solid usable blade.

Next up: Racer Super Stainless

Racer Super Stainless: this blade was a bit harsh. The first shave consisted of nothing but tugging and pulling but managed to turn out serviceable. Somehow I worked up the guts to try a second. Surprisingly the shave was better than the first. Still not very comfortable but I managed DFS in about 2.5 passes. I should have quit there as shave three while not as bad as the first was still worse than number two.

Next up: Supermax Platinum.

Supermax Platinum: a average blade in my opinion. It was usable and I got 3 DFS shaves out of it. Each shave required a little touch up and none were much worse or better than the other. It wasn't super smooth feeling but didn't tug or pull.

Next up: Kai

Kai: First impression when I removed it from the wrapper was that the blade felt thinner than most DE blades. The first shave was 2 pass DFS but was rough and left several weepers. The second and third shaves the blade was fantastic smooth and sharp 2 pass no touch up DFS. 4th shave the blade felt fine but missed areas requiring touch up.

Next up: Laser super platinum

What is your top ten as of now?