What blade to start with

After much deliberation, I have made my initial purchases.…. now just waiting them to arrive.
From Connaught (UK)
1 x Edwin Jagger Chrome Knurled Safety Razor
1 x OMEGA 10066 Pure Bristle Shaving Brush
1 x Popular Blade Sample Pack - 60 blades
1 x Proraso Aftershave Lotion

Also bought 100 Astra Sp's with Arko from Amazon. (couldn't resist for the price)

So the question is, for a newbie, which blade should I start with... the sample pack has the following:
Astra Superior Platinum (5)
Derby Extra (5)
Feather New Hi-Stainless Platinum (10)
Gillette 7-o'clock Sharp Edge (RUS) (5)
Gillette Silver Blue Stainless (RUS) (5)
Red Personna (10)
Polsilver Super Iridium Extra Stainless (5)
Super Max Super platinum (5)
Treet Platinum Super Platinum (5)
Wilkinson Sword Double Edge (5)

Welcome to B&B! You will probably get as many recommendations as you have options. Personally, I would start with the Astras. No matter what blade you choose to start with, I would suggest getting a few more packs of that blade and using them exclusively for the next few months. Put the rest of the blades away until you get your technique somewhat polished. THEN you can start experimenting with different blades. There are way too many variables to deal with in honing your technique as it is, without complicating things by not knowing if the source of the problem is your your blade or something else. JMO.

Start with the Derby, then Astra SP, then Personna Red, then Gillette Silver Blue. Use each for at least two shaves. Assuming the Astra SP seemed comfortable enough in comparison with the other 3, use them exclusively for 30 consecutive shaves. then go back to the sampler pack again.

Sir, the right answer is that there is no ideal blade to start with. The right thing to do is to test each blade for at least two/three shaves in each and any of your razors before moving on in your journey. After that, you'll be able to evaluate by yourself which blade(s) work best for you. My warmest welcome to B&B, the #1 wet shaving community in the world.

Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard. I started with Wilkinsons, then moved to Feathers. Both are fine blades, but unless your razor is very mild, I would recommend leaving the Feathers until last. If nothing else, you'll be better able to appreciate them in comparison to other blades.

Do this. Sound advice. Good luck.

gwsmallwood said:

Start with the Derby, then Astra SP, then Personna Red, then Gillette Silver Blue. Use each for at least two shaves. Assuming the Astra SP seemed comfortable enough in comparison with the other 3, use them exclusively for 30 consecutive shaves. then go back to the sampler pack again.

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I just had my first DE shave yesterday and used the red personna blade with excellent results. Blades seem to be very much a YMMV thing so I would just use whichever you want. I would staw away from the feathers until your technique is down tho! Face prep will have a lot to do with how your shave turns out also. Goodluck and welcome to the forum!

xxvaleria said:

...unless your razor is very mild, I would recommend leaving the Feathers until last.

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+1
I like Feathers, but I don't use them when trying something new (razor, soap/cream). Get your technique down and come back to 'em. That's my $0.02.

Don't listen to any of the Horse Apples these guys are trying to feed you!


There is only one right answer, alphabetical order of course!

Marco said:

Sir, the right answer is that there is no ideal blade to start with. The right thing to do is to test each blade for at least two/three shaves in each and any of your razors before moving on in your journey. After that, you'll be able to evaluate by yourself which blade(s) work best for you. My warmest welcome to B&B, the #1 wet shaving community in the world.

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+1. And welcome to B&B.

gwsmallwood said:

Start with the Derby, then Astra SP, then Personna Red, then Gillette Silver Blue. Use each for at least two shaves. Assuming the Astra SP seemed comfortable enough in comparison with the other 3, use them exclusively for 30 consecutive shaves. then go back to the sampler pack again.

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+2 The Astra, Derby and Personna Red are my top three blades right now. All are solid choices in my book.

Going to be controversial here... Start with the feather or the Wilkinson Sword DE.
And stay with them for at least 2 weeks.
know this sounds insane, like handing a F1 car to an 18 year old who has yet to see the ink dry on their driver's license.... But hear me out.
I had the Wilkinson blades that came with my shavette.
My first shave? Looked like I tried to French Kiss a petrol driven weed whacker.
Kept the blades though... And shaved again.
Between those two key shaves I tried a number of blades, some good, some okay... Others awful.
I then went back to the original blades... Result?

A better shave, with a blade I originally loathed.
The next thing going into the shavette? Feathers of course!

I'd say start with the Astra SP. They are a good quality, consistant blade. They aren't the best, they aren't the worst. They are what many others around here would consider their go-to blade. It's trustworthy and will give you a good shave. From there, you can use the Astra as a scale on which to gauge all the other blades.

Hello and welcome. You can pretty much start up with any of them. You might wanna leave Feathers for later, as you might get bad impression about them. My first stuffs look so much like yours, from Connaught Shaving too. I personally started with Wilkinson, then Derby and Gillette Silver Blue from that pack. Had some very bad experience with Astor Bic blades. I actually ended up throwing those blades to the garbage. They are kinda different one of another, as Derby ones being very mild, Gillette, mild but sharp, and Wilkinson ones sharp, but not so mild. I personally keep Gillette Platinum and Silver Blue ones as blades that i know they will provide me a good shave. So, if i get some bad blade or have a bad shave, i use one of those next time.

Experimenting with more blades helped me and not sicking to one brand for too long, actually helped me for the beginning. I found the ones that i know will get me good shaves, as Gillette Platinum. I tried to stick to Wilkinson for more shaves in the beginning, but the results were bad. As soon as i switched to Gillette, problems disappeared. I imagine how would it be if my first blades would have been Astor Bic ones, that we're literally ripping the hair and my face, and i would have followed advice to stick to them. I would have probably returned to Mach 3.

Just experiment. Try with whatever you want, use a blade for 3 shaves, then move at other one.

Astra SP's are one of the best. There are a lot of people on this board who likes them and I'm one of them. Forget the Derby they're by far the worse blades ever made.

crleftwich said:

I'd say start with the Astra SP. They are a good quality, consistant blade. They aren't the best, they aren't the worst. They are what many others around here would consider their go-to blade. It's trustworthy and will give you a good shave. From there, you can use the Astra as a scale on which to gauge all the other blades.

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+1 to exactly this. Astra's are a very decent blade for a very decent price. Its the first blade I throw into any new razor.

Welcome to B&B.

I agree that there is no "preferred" starting list. My first DE shave was with an Astra and couldn't get a close and comfortable shave, but now I can get excellent shaves with an Astra!

gwsmallwood said:

Start with the Derby, then Astra SP, then Personna Red, then Gillette Silver Blue. Use each for at least two shaves. Assuming the Astra SP seemed comfortable enough in comparison with the other 3, use them exclusively for 30 consecutive shaves. then go back to the sampler pack again.

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I agree also. Try a few brands to learn your technique and rule out any that seem to just not be right. Then stick with the best-so-far for awhile. This way you can build your technique with a blade that seems to work well for you.

You are asking a lot of people this question. Experience and opinion will vary. My experience is that there is not such a profound difference between decently made DE blades, all of which come from century-old manufacturing acumen, from ISO 9002/14002 facilities. Astra SP, Derby, Merkur, Shark ... they have all seemed the same to me. I had a thread up once asking about such indifference. It was recommended I try an aggressive razor and a Feather. I did. Good aggressive combo but when it came to closeness it still took many passes and many touch-ups in the trouble spots. Maybe it did a better job on the wiry moustache hairs, but only marginally so. None of that was enough to make me chuck all the other brands.

I second the alphabetical order. Contrary to what you'll hear from many, I do not believe in "best" or "worst" blades.

Everyone is different, and blade preferences are highly personal.