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Astra compared to feather

I have been using feather blades for the past year or so. I can get two great shaves with them and one decent one before it's time to toss them. I have tried Derbies, Personnas, Crystals, Swedes, and the walgreens brand but I can never get a good shave unless I use a feather. Then I read about astras and that they are almost as good as a feather. I ordered 5 of them on ebay just to try them out, and saw that they sell for 11 dollars per hundred online. Are they as good as feathers or good enough to use instead of a feather?
 
I have been using feather blades for the past year or so. I can get two great shaves with them and one decent one before it's time to toss them. I have tried Derbies, Personnas, Crystals, Swedes, and the walgreens brand but I can never get a good shave unless I use a feather. Then I read about astras and that they are almost as good as a feather. I ordered 5 of them on ebay just to try them out, and saw that they sell for 11 dollars per hundred online. Are they as good as feathers or good enough to use instead of a feather?

I use them both ... the Almighty Feather in my Sledgehammer Slant, and the Astra-SP in my HD.

Astra is the sharpest blade I've found beside the Feather ... it does a great job in any of the half-dozen razors I've tried it with.

On a casual scale of sharpness from 1 to 5, here is how I would rate them:
5-Feather
4-Astra SP
3-Crystal / IP / Personna Red / generic drugstore blades.
2-Derby
1-Merkur <--- crappy shave, not worth considering.

(Anybody care to make additions / changes / comments about my blade-rating system?)

BTW, that $11/hundred for Astra sounds good, I'll be needing more soon. How much is shipping?
 
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Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
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Astra is the sharpest blade I've found beside the Feather ... it does a great job in any of the half-dozen razors I've tried it with.

+1

I decided to take Astra because they were cheaper than Feather. Feather is one of a kind but it becomes dull after 2-3 shaves for me. Astra is good for at least 5 shaves. The sharpness is similar so I am sticking with Astra. However, a new Feather is sharper, IMO. So, I always have a secret stash of Feather somewhere in case I need them for a special occasion.
 
I have been using feather blades for the past year or so. I can get two great shaves with them and one decent one before it's time to toss them. I have tried Derbies, Personnas, Crystals, Swedes, and the walgreens brand but I can never get a good shave unless I use a feather. Then I read about astras and that they are almost as good as a feather. I ordered 5 of them on ebay just to try them out, and saw that they sell for 11 dollars per hundred online. Are they as good as feathers or good enough to use instead of a feather?

Matt can you please post the link to that site that has the Astra's?
 
I like the Astras as well. My preference is feather, swede, astra. Derbys irritate the hell out me and have all been given away now.
 
I like the Astra Keramik a lot more than the Astra Superior. I think they are sharper. They are also harder to get..... (at least in my experience).
 
I have always liked the Astra's (although I am probably biased by my Russian heritage) and they are my "stock standard" blade. The Feathers are great blades. IMHO the Feathers are little sharper than Astra's, but I get a greater number of shaves out of an Astra compared to a Feather. I feel that the Astra's hold their edge longer.

Superior Platinum
 
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Just out of curiosity: are you (contributors to this thread) referring to the superior or keramik ?
In case you have tried both, what are your experiences on the difference?

Thanks.
 
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On a casual scale of sharpness from 1 to 5, here is how I would rate them:
5-Feather
4-Astra SP
3-Crystal / IP / Personna Red / generic drugstore blades.
2-Derby
1-Merkur <--- crappy shave, not worth considering.

(Anybody care to make additions / changes / comments about my blade-rating system?)

Where would you place the Swedish Gillettes? I think the general consensus is that they are sharper than the mid-range blades (which would correspond to 3 on the scale). Would it be fair to place them at 3.5?

Another question is, how does the sharpness of Astra SP compare to that of Feather and Swedish Gillettes, that is, should the distance between Feathers and Astras on the above scale be larger than the distance between Astras and Swedish Gillettes?

Alex
 
I'm another Astra SP fan. They're my #2 blade just behind Feather. They give me three nice shaves and they are very sharp. The best thing is that I can get 100 delivered for under $20.
 
With all these positive reviews (I did not like the superiors very much at first), I will try them again.
Same with the KAI blades by the way.

I am still planning to make a sharpness index, but first will retry the blades above.

Another sharp one in my book is the Lord Chrome. It has been said that these are the same as the other Lord blades, but my experience it was different.
 
I really liked the Astras in my fatboy and red tip. The Wilkinsons in my slim were nearly as good. The Derby and Red IP were meh to bad in the slim and red tip. Just put a Crystal in my '49 SS and got a much better shave than the IP in the slim I used this AM.
 
I like the Astras as well. My preference is feather, swede, astra. Derbys irritate the hell out me and have all been given away now.

Hey, are you me? Seriously, I could have typed that!

My experience with the Astras is the Superiors, I've never tried the Keramic though I'd like to do so.

My only point of difference is that I can get more comfortable shaves out of a Feather than the what most people are reporting; at minimum the shave doesn't start to really decline until #5 or so.
 
I really liked the Astras in my fatboy and red tip. The Wilkinsons in my slim were nearly as good. The Derby and Red IP were meh to bad in the slim and red tip. Just put a Crystal in my '49 SS and got a much better shave than the IP in the slim I used this AM.

I have been thinking I'd like to try the Astras in a more aggressive razor ... which I don't have yet.

PS Great game Saturday night. :wink:
 
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