Side-by-Side Test of 10 "Top Rated" Blades

Good thread.

Of your finalists, for me, I would rank as appropriate.

Astra SP smooth/sharp enough
GSB smooth/sharp
Personna meds sharper/less smooth

Derbys not my cup of tea. Perhaps smooth but much less sharp compared to others in my liking.

Haven't tried feather ninja blades but there reputation precedes them.

SEMI-FINAL #1: Derby vs. Gillette Blue

This was a "razor thin" finish.

Face feel: Derby feels like "rounded steel" if that makes sense. GB feels "slightly scratchy", but not in a bad way. There were a couple nicks from the GB and a small one from the Derby.

Shave closeness: Immediately after the shave these felt very similar as in too close to tell. I concluded then that if this were a tennis match it would be either a tie or "advantage Derby", but not a clear Derby victory. About 1 hour post-shave there is an ever-so slight additional amount of stubble on the GB side.

Results: When I go back and read the quarter-final of GB vs. Personna Blue, there was a bit of nicking with the GB noted then also. Add the slight scratchiness of the GB, and very slightly more remaining stubble in the central cheek despite how many passes? Derby wins by a nose and will move on to the Finals.

This contest used Caties Bubbles La Piment de Vie in a warmed scuttle. This is becoming one of my favorite soaps. When I first used it I lathered it right out of the tin and it felt if anything like Caties Shaving Grease, it was so viscous. But I've learned how to water it down a bit, which the scuttle allows perfectly. And the scent is killer. As always, blades were tested in a Merkur 34-C.

Cool thread! Subscribed.

SEMI-FINAL #2: Feather vs. Personna Med Prep

Again, a "razor close" finish, but two hours out and a bit of reflection I have a clear but close winner...

Pass 1: This is always deceptive because my beard only really gets fully taken down against the grain (3rd pass and touch-up). Close, maybe slight edge to Feather.

Pass 2 (across grain): Both did well, but both leaving some growth here and there to be finished in 3rd pass. And very slight nick for each, above upper lip.

Face feel: Both acceptable. Feather definitely feels like a "sharp clean blade", vs. PMP which if anything is a bit silkier. Also this test was done with RazoRock XXX soap which doesn't lay down as much "lube" as Caties Bubbles. (see previous Semi-Final #1).

Pass 3 and touch up: Against grain. Again quite comparable, both needing a 4th "touch up" pass, especially in central cheeks where my beard seems to be the most persistent; or maybe I'm not accessing it correctly? Regardless I'm only going to give a razor a couple touch up passes... how many does it need?

Neck and some more face touch-up: Both respectable, but appreciable more nicks on the Feather side. Maybe I was getting a bit cavalier in stroking and re-stroking the same areas? But did not have similar nicking with the PMP.

RESULTS: Two hours out the PMP side is slightly closer, slightly less stubble especially in central cheek depressions. Just a bit too much residual stubble on the Feather side considering the amount of touch-up, plus the extra nicking with Feather. Also noted are the nicks experienced from Feather in Quarter Final #2 contest... Winner here, close but clear is Personna Med Prep. It will move on to the Finals to face Derby and Astra.

This shave conducted with Merkur 34-C and Razo-Rock XXX soap in warmed scuttle.

FINALS are SET:

Astra
Derby
Personna Med Prep

I will conduct the finals in a 3-phase round-robin format, each blade against the other two. Based on results to this point I'm not expecting alot of closeness difference and will be focusing perhaps more on comfort and nicking. But we'll see.

Nice! Looking forward to the finals!

Derby is a blade that I've not revisited since I was properly a newbie. I might have to give 'em another shot.

FINALS #1: Astra Super Platinum vs. Derby Extra.

1st pass with grain was nearly identical in closeness. Derby has this rounded or smooth feel vs. Astra more like the "efficient slight scratchiness" of a razor blade if that makes sense. Astra was a cleaner feeling cut than feather which felt at times so scratchy there might be burrs on the blade.

Both blades did 2nd 3rd and touch up passes very well. One very tiny nick on upper lip from Derby snd one on neck from Astra. 8 hours out both shaves remain excellent.

This test with st james clary sage and cedar soap in warm scuttle and merkur 34c razor. I'm liking the texture of sj soap more now that i can whip it in a scuttle. Its just too concentrated to work well brushing it directly out of the jar imho. Still not crazy about the scent though so migh try another scent in the sj line. On the face its on the thick side like caties bubbles but not quite as "oily" feeling as cb. Looking forward to testing these soaps side by side.

Both derby and astra remain in the finals to face personna med prep.

Interesting comparison but very different results from my personal experiences. Blade comparisons are fun to read, but are too subjective to offer much guidance on blade choice.

FINALS #2: Astra Super Platinum vs. Personna Med Prep

Use the Astra on the same side of my face as in FINALS 1 vs. Derby. Bottom lines on this one:

Closeness just very similar
1st pass was a tie or advantage Astra, 2nd pass was a tie or advantage PMP, final pass and touch up brought them to within reasonable equivalence.

Feel and nicks:
Both had feel of sharp but non-tugging metal. +/- 5 nicks on face with PMP, very superficial that dried up with a splash of water. 1-2 nicks with Astra. Will slightly adjust technique with PMP vs. Derby (the "final" final test) as I did get a bit cavalier with it and that could have accounted for the nicks as much as the blade itself.

4 and 8 hours out the shaves were reasonably identical, so both remain in the finals.

This test was with the Merkur 34-c and Cella Crema da Barba soap in a warmed scuttle...

Looking to wrap up this blade test by the weekend then start on side-by-side soap testing.

FINALS #3: Derby Extra vs. Personna Med Prep.

After 1st pass: MOL a tie, or perhaps advantage PMP. As often mentioned, the first pass with the grain hasn't meant much as to the ultimate result in these tests.

After 2nd pass: Did PMP first, and it really did well. Not sure Derby can top this... but it absolutely did, performing as well or better, so again a tie or maybe advantage DE.

Important key: The PMP felt like very clean "razor sharp" metal. Whereas the Derby seemed to have a soft or "rounded" cutting edge. How could it compete with the obvious "razorness" of the PMP?

After 3rd pass and touch ups: Closeness was slight but obvious edge to Derby. This was confirmed by touch after 2 and 4 hours post-shave. But perhaps most importantly the PMP side of my face felt just slightly inflamed or irritated, whereas no similar feel to the Derby side... the PMP had justt simply removed more tissue! Very few nicks on this one, say 1 with Derby 2 or 3 with PMP. Again, very slight edge to Derby.

SO: At this point in the finals my ranking would be: tied for 1st: Derby and Astra. Close 2nd: Personna Med Prep.

NOW, to start testing shaving soaps side-by-side, and I will use the Derby and Astra for those tests. The thread for the Soap Competition is here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ated-quot-Shaving-Soaps?p=8301005#post8301005

Cool and interesting thread.
However, why the changing razor/soap setup? As it's a blade shoot out, everything else should be non variable.

Great read though!

You should also try Polsilver Super Iridium a Gillette's 7 O'clock, both the black and blue package. All three are well liked on this forum.

The fact that you are getting nicks every single shave makes me thing technique isn't quite perfected. After the beginner learning curve I wouldn't have expected many nicks with these top blades. Another blade test could be helpful again in a few months once your technique has improved to the point that cuts and nicks are out of the equation.

Thanks for sharing results though

Derby is doing far better than I would have predicted against some top competition! Great thread!

devinirwin3 said:

The fact that you are getting nicks every single shave makes me thing technique isn't quite perfected. After the beginner learning curve I wouldn't have expected many nicks with these top blades. Another blade test could be helpful again in a few months once your technique has improved to the point that cuts and nicks are out of the equation.

Thanks for sharing results though

Click to expand...

I agree with this, I'm maybe 6 months in and definitely not perfected my technique and while I have gotten bad shaves, nicks are very rare. I would like to see the same tests a year from now with better technique.

on an additional note, as my technique has improved, blade choice has become less important, (though still important).

Not bad, I enjoyed reading the write up.

Thanks for writing up this blade comparison. I was surprised by the outcome and enjoyed reading it.

Wow. Old thread revisited. Always fun!