Sharpest DE blades not a Feather?
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I love this thread and reading everyone's opinions. In many ways, it's the best part of B&B -- reading y'alls fervently held opinions. I haven't done a razor blade test in a *long time (*by B&B standards). Is this post just YMMV in new packaging? And yes, I read and love all these thoughts! It's why we are all here in the end — learning, sharing, enjoying. But thank you @nav, I've never tried the Bic in a blackbird/Ti-bird and am curious. I just have to dig some Bics out 'ye olde plastice sandwiche wrappere' of random blades.
Please try the combo and let us know how it goes.
The Bic CP is so awesome. It's the only blade i use and have stocked enough for my entire lifetime!
It’s all in the mind. I used to avoid Feathers but after trying it out, it became my top blade of choice.
I like BiC CP and have like 500 of these in my stash. It’s one of my top 5 blades.
But life without colours is boring so I use other blades too.
I would have liked to enjoy the variety but i literally don't like any other blades, they just don't give the efficiency i require.
The one other blade that works well for me is the pre-2021 wizamet. I have a small stash and use them occasionally.
These are also my 2 favorite de blades.
You and I Ron will always agree on kais being great bkades. They also do have excellent longevity, as I've stated in other posts, I can get up to 2 weeks of daily shaves out of 1. Feathers are just a tad to harsh for me! I'd take Bic CP/KAI over them any day!
Lately I've come to think of sharpness in terms of three categories.
No resistance. The razor can glide over 2-3 days worth of stubble with no feeling except for the cap or safety bar moving across my face on the soap.
Resistance. This is of course a matter of degrees. You know, especially on the first pass, that hair is being removed. Most blades are like this. It doesn't take an extraordinary amount of stoicism to get through it.
Tugging. The blade isn't sharp enough. And there's no reason to put yourself through this. Looking at you, Voskhod.
No resistance. The razor can glide over 2-3 days worth of stubble with no feeling except for the cap or safety bar moving across my face on the soap.
Resistance. This is of course a matter of degrees. You know, especially on the first pass, that hair is being removed. Most blades are like this. It doesn't take an extraordinary amount of stoicism to get through it.
Tugging. The blade isn't sharp enough. And there's no reason to put yourself through this. Looking at you, Voskhod.
I have a few boxes, I always use the same seller - some boxes the blades were blank. The last box, the laser etching is there and faint. But the blank ones are definitely blank, not really light etching.
Box is the same on both sets.
Feathers are my go to blade with all of my razors, keeping in mind that my most “aggressive” razor is the Henson +++. I think Feathers in a milder razor is a great combo. I have really coarse, wire brush like facial hair. Feathers actually feel smoother to me than a lot of other blades. I suspect it might be because of how easily it can slice through tough stubble without resistance, and allowing the razor to glide smoothly. I’ve pretty much relegated all my other blades for body shaving. That doesn’t mean it’s the best blade for everyone, this is one of the most YMMV things.
Personna “Med Preps” (Renamed AccuThrive) have been My go-to blade in every razor…Except Tatara Nodachi which is on the aggressive side.
According to the Tatara website the Nodachi and Muramasa (on setting 5) have the almost the same blade gap. What factors would contribute to less aggression between the two razors even though the same blade (Med Prep) is being used?
How are “Lab Blues” compared to “Med Preps”?
Any recommendations for good blade combinations with the Tatara Nodachi razor?
I have great results with the current release Wizamets in both my OC and SB Nodachis. I am sure that my Rapira PLs would also serve the Nodachis well.
I found the German Schick blades (which are sharper than the Wizzies) did the trick, but I did not love the shaves. I tend to like either a mild razor with an aggressive blade (e.g. Feather in a Henson + or ++) or an aggressive razor with a smooth blade (like the Nodachi with a Wizamet).
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Lab Blue and med prep are made to the same specification for differenttarget markets. The best one to get, because it is cheapest, is the Personna Comfort Coated distributed by Edgewell's Fromm salon business in a box of 100. They should be <$17/100.
For me Nacets. Not as sharp as feathers but smoother. Permasharp and esp green Astras are tuggy/duller for me. I have a course heavier beard. They work great in milder razors for me. Gillette platinums are my go to blade and a half step duller than nacets but a little more forgiving. No tugging.
At the moment I have on hand Astra, Personna “Israeli Reds” & “Med Preps”, Kai, and Feather Blades
I like the KAI blades because of that aggressiveness. Besides the great shave; they sound awesome!
The Feather has been my favorite sharp blade for years. It was time to order more blades and I decided to go with blades in cardboard packaging. Feathers, unfortunately, are housed in plastic. I’m limiting my intake of plastic, nowadays.
So I got some suggestions on a thread I started and ended up with the KAIs (not new to me), Personna Blues, and Suneko blades, from China. I also replenished my stock of green Astras. Those blades just “work” for me.
Feathers are great but I don’t have a heavy beard. The KAI and Personna blades are wonderful and the Sunekos are an excellent find that I’d never heard of before.
Perma Sharps, Feathers give me a sore face, i find them too harsh, thats whats so great about D.E. shaving , theres a blade for all face/beard types.
I have been experimenting myself with some nice quality blades chosen by arbitrary criteria from the zillion and a half options out there.
So far, Feathers are quite likely the sharpest, but not the smoothest blade in the drawer. (Hey, I may resemble that!!
).
I think Kai was close. A good shave slightly less sharp bit a little smoother.
Timor, Mühle, Personna med prep, and BIC Astor all performed well for me. Timor may be the best, although my “n” is low and more testing required. I thought it was just a little less sharp but much smoother.
I need to run a few more of each blade of the dome to be sure, and these have all been tried in a Proof Whiskey pivot head razor that I am beginning to think is actually quite forgiving of the blade choice, as long as it is sharp. For example, the Kai did me wrong in an Ikon X3 slant, but performed quite well in the proof razor.
Soon, I will have a new PAA Ascension DOC copper to try them in, to take out the cheat of a pivot. My old Ascension Select DOC was my favorite before the Proof, but I broke it. 118 g and a Feather blade!
So far, Feathers are quite likely the sharpest, but not the smoothest blade in the drawer. (Hey, I may resemble that!!
).I think Kai was close. A good shave slightly less sharp bit a little smoother.
Timor, Mühle, Personna med prep, and BIC Astor all performed well for me. Timor may be the best, although my “n” is low and more testing required. I thought it was just a little less sharp but much smoother.
I need to run a few more of each blade of the dome to be sure, and these have all been tried in a Proof Whiskey pivot head razor that I am beginning to think is actually quite forgiving of the blade choice, as long as it is sharp. For example, the Kai did me wrong in an Ikon X3 slant, but performed quite well in the proof razor.
Soon, I will have a new PAA Ascension DOC copper to try them in, to take out the cheat of a pivot. My old Ascension Select DOC was my favorite before the Proof, but I broke it. 118 g and a Feather blade!
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