Astra SP revisited, with great success

Good morning guys. Yes the Astra SP didn't work out so well for me when I first started DE wetshaving about 6 months ago. But now, the Astra SP works awesome! Just like many other blades I've loaded into my vintage Souplex OC. I'm convinced it's all in the technique, no matter the brand of blade. Bad technique, bad shave. Good technique, good shave. And I've loaded several brands of blade into that razor over the last couple of months. Astra SP, American made Personna, Lord Platinum Class, SuperMax Titanium, Rapira Platinum Lux, Feather, Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette 7 o'clock yellow, all gave great shaves when the technique was right. Astra SP is just another great blade amongst many. And that old Souplex is now my daily shaver.

Congrats and well done. Astra SP's are in my top 5.

I'm glad the Souplex is working out so well for you. Do you take it on the road with you?

Astra SP blades are good but, a little too aggressive for me. I like the Astra stainless blades much better for my medium beard type. As usual YMMV.!

viking4976 said:

the Astra SP didn't work out so well for me when I first started DE wetshaving

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Same here. It was one of the first blades out of my sampler that I shaved with. Didn't like it. Years later, this past OCtober, I loaded Astra SPs into five open comb razors and used them for a month. Got great shaves from all the razors. One of those Astra blades is still in rotation, with 22 shaves on it.

I just put shave #30 on an Astra SP this morning. It was a great shave from a fabulous blade. They are my favorites.

30 wow. I am good with a week. That's skill. Love SP's

Excellent observation! It is worth revisiting blade options once your technique is solid! And I also like Astras!

matwho said:

I'm glad the Souplex is working out so well for you. Do you take it on the road with you?

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Yup, sure do. It's a marvelous razor, truly. Really, it's with this razor that I learned how to shave. Doesn't matter which blade I load it with, it gives a great shave. But you gotta take your time with it and go gently, it does nick easily.

The Astra SP is my favorite blade.

It's amazing how technique improves over time. It's very common to revisit products down the road and have a very positive experience with them.

Yep!

I think we give a little too much credit to discrepancies in blade performance. There's many good ones that work well with good prep & technique, and IMO Astra SP is as good as any - and a real steal at 11 bucks (USD) a hundred!

What's not to like?

I can get them here in LA for $10 for 100. Readily available, top 3 blade for me, 4-5 shaves. Sharp but forgiving

It's tough for me to buy anything else at this time. I do keep some Feathers around for my more mild shavers