Embarking on an 81 blade test.

Astor Stainless: I stopped after 7 shaves with this blade. It still felt good but it was taking a little more effort to reach DFS. The first 6 shaves were 2 pass with just a little touch up in my chin which I need with every blade I have tried. The first shave was probably the worst with this blade. It left me with a couple weepers but it smoothed out nicely. I actually bought 200 of these based off this one blade. I will have to put it to a longevity test sometime.

Next up: Trig

Really enjoying your posts. Much more organized that my approach to picking best blade for a razor (and WAY MORE BLADES)!

Trig: a slightly above average blade for me. I got three fairly effortless DFS shaves. The blade was comfortable for the most part with only a little tug on shave 3. Not much touch up required.

Next up: Lord super stainless. (Green and white wrapper)

Just curious if you are doing any hand stropping or whatever with these blades as you go through the pile between each shave. Some of blade tests I've done from a sample pack I got showed very different results the second time around when I just briefly hand stropped the blade in my razor before each session, two or three slides across the palm of my hand against the cutting direction.

No stropping just out of the wrapper and into the razor until the test is done. No flipping or anything else. Shave, rinse, rack, repeat.

Ah..ok.

Thanks Dave. I'm just finishing up a Voskhod, what a lovely blade. Up next in my pile is a Bolzano. Do you have one? If not I could send one your way.

I do have a Bolzano. Not sure where in the pile it is currently. I shuffled the blades and have just been working through the pile in a random order. May have to pull that one so we can compare thoughts sooner.

I am trying to be organized about this.

Lord Super Stainless (green and white wrapper). I like this blade better than when I tried it a couple years ago. Still it isn't good enough to make the rotation but a serviceable blade. Required extra touch up on the chin and jaw line with each of the 3 shaves to reach DFS. Shave two it started tugging and by the end of three it was annoying. Aftershave gave a little extra burn after each shave.

Taking a few days off from the test as I am hitting the woods in the new camper. Back next week.

Topaz Stainless: this blade was uncomfortable and tugged from stroke 1. I managed to make it through 2 shaves but couldn't make myself do a third. The first shave almost made DFS and was uncomfortable but not horrible. The second shave required touch up with a different razor to be presentable for work and was borderline painful. Not one I would like to repeat.

Next up: Treet Coated Carbon Steel

Treet Coated Carbon Steel. I had to suspend the test of this blade due to having an obviously bad blade. The two sides were clearly wry different. One didn't feel bad and the other was extremely dull. I will get another blade or two to retest at a later time.

Next up. Silver Star Super Stainless

Silver Star Super Stainless. This was a fairly dull blade in my opinion. It didn't really tug but felt rough in the thicker areas of my beard. It did not shave clean and consistent and required quite a bit of touch up. I used it twice and if it hadn't been the weekend I would have had to use another brand to clean up after it to reach my personal standards for work. Both shaves were about the same.

Next up: Sharp Durablade.

Sharp Durablade: Shave 1 wasn't bad. A little pull on the thick spots and required some considerable touch up. Shave 2 & 3 were worse. More tugging and a lot of touch up required.

Next up: Ladas Super Stainless.

Ladas Super Stainless: I was impressed with this blade and if I felt like if I gave it more time in the mornings I easily could have had another two shaves out of it. As it is I only did three. I retired it due to starting to require a little touch up it was still very comfortable to shave with. The first two shaves were very similar. I got two pass DFS without any need for touch up and I hardly knew the blade was there. On the third shave it was still comfortable as I said but I could tell it had lost a little edge and could start to feel it on my jawline and chin.

Finally at the halfway point.

Supermax Platinum Plus: a solid performing blade. Relatively smooth and comfortable through the first two shaves and while not unpleasant on the third more touch up was required. It isn't one of my favorites but I could use it as a daily shaver if better options weren't available.

Next up: Personna Med Prep

Personna Med Prep: a solid blade that gave me 3 good DFS 2 pass shaves with virtually no touch up. I took it for a 4th shave and it was good but required a little more touch up to reach DFS. A blade I could easily use daily.

Treet Silver: this blade didn't work for me at all. I managed to salvage a SAS out of the one shave I did with it. It was painful on each stroke and left me with some irritation. I can't bring myself to try a second shave with it.

Next up: Topaz Platinum

Topaz Platinum: This blade was a pleasant surprise given my experience with the stainless version from Topaz. The platinum was sharp and pretty smooth. It did require a little touch up under the chin but overall I got 3 DFS shaves with 2 passes in each. The third shave I could start to feel a little tugging.

Next up: Shark Super Chrome

This is a huge test! I've been revisiting a few blades since I get a few new razors.
Very nice review.
Thanks!

burg1198 said:

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I am trying to be organized about this.

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Definitely serious. Many thanks for your thoroughness and for keeping up these posts!