Best Selling/recommended razor blades (2024-Q1 edition)

[Luc]

I will be using a custom-made Safety Razor Sampler Pack. I asked for advice here and received some very good responses where I was able to purchase too many a few blades. The experiment will last a little while as I intend to test 5 razors with each blade. I will log my results in Wiki as I go. I am still tweaking the razors at the moment.

I was thinking about all those blades yesterday and decided to approach the "which blade" question from a different angle. I looked at 24 different online shops and sorted the blades using best sellers or top 10. It's not perfect but it's giving me an idea of the top blades to try. I won't be listing the top 5 or 10 but a bit more. I won't be listing all the blades as some are only there once. To share the data, I did the cutoff at 5 mentions (Funny enough, it goes from 4 to 6). Here they are.

Blade	Total
Feather	24
Astra SP (Green)	23
Personna Platinum	16
Merkur	12
Astra SS (Blue)	11
Derby Extra SS (Green)	11
Wilkinson Sword (Germany)	11
Voskhod	9
Gillette Platinum	8
Nacet Stainless	8
Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge	7
Gillette Silver Blue	7
Kai	7
RK Stainless	7
Shark Super Chrome	7
Derby Premium	6
Gillette Perma-Sharp	6

Interestingly, I'm missing a few blades from the top 10. I do have the #1 most popular Feather blade. I wasn't going to test it but, by the look of it, I have to test it now...

I only posted my short investigation to help someone pick a blade (if help is required ).

EDIT: I checked the online shave shops that are discussed here. Not all of them are US-based. I've consulted the US, Canada, UK, and even shops in Australia to compile the data. I also checked our supported vendors' shops (when blades were available).

 

[geneaut]

I'm astonished to see the Merkur blades listed as a best seller, but maybe they are more used in certain places than they seem to be here in the US.

 

[Luc]

I'm astonished to see the Merkur blades listed as a best seller, but maybe they are more used in certain places than they seem to be here in the US.

That also surprised me as I found the Merkur Blades to be very average. They are not bad, but not great either. For the price, I believe there's a better blade. YMMV, but that's me...

 

[geneaut]

That also surprised me as I found the Merkur Blades to be very average. They are not bad, but not great either. For the price, I believe there's a better blade. YMMV, but that's me...

That's sort of the take I've had on them. They come with Merkur razors, but many people seem to move on from them after using the tuck that came with their purchase. That said, obviously someone is purchasing and using them so what do I know LOL ?

Thanks for compiling this list, BTW. It's interesting to look at.

 

[DesertIguana]

I'm astonished to see the Merkur blades listed as a best seller, but maybe they are more used in certain places than they seem to be here in the US.

Well to me best seller just means many people buy a product, and many products call best seller are not great they just sell well.

Golfers, and other who play sports, NOT THE Professional Athletes are alway looking for some GRAIL Product to elevate their game.

Truth is in the real world the only way to get better at any sport Golf, Billiards, Slowpitch Softball, PickleBall is practice, and work at improving.

Recent in the billiards world what I call big buck Chalk has appeared, and is selling well. The Old reliable Master, Triangle, and Silver Cub brand that you could purchase for $20.00 for 144 Pieces, are being replaced by Chalk from Finland & Japan that cost $20.00 for a single piece. Crazy, and the truth is the NEW CHALKS IMHO are OK, but they have been hype up, and curious people are buy the pricy Chalk.

 

[SmoothOperator]

Perma-Sharp at the end of the list. My world view is shaking.

For me one of the best blades so far! Thanks for the research and presenting the list.

 

[geneaut]

In another wetshaving online site I frequent they 'scrub' the SOTD posts and compile lists similar to this. I'm not sure I'm willing to put the time into that it would take, but it might be fun to see if I did.

 

[AndyPanda]

Yikes on that list of best sellers. Many at the top are blades I dislike and find to be exceedingly dull less sharp than the less popular blades.
Top of the list (for me) after Feather would be Nacet, Perma-Sharp, Personna, Gillette Platinum. Merkur would be dead last - right after trying to shave with a tuna can lid.

 

[Phoenixkh]

In another wetshaving online site I frequent they 'scrub' the SOTD posts and compile lists similar to this. I'm not sure I'm willing to put the time into that it would take, but it might be fun to see if I did.

I didn’t run the stats, but that’s exactly how I chose which DE blades to try. I got a couple recommendations early on. As time went on, I made a mental note of the blades that were posted in the threads I read, over and over. It sure simplified things for me.

 

[Albert V]

Perma-Sharp at the end of the list. My world view is shaking.

For me one of the best blades so far! Thanks for the research and presenting the list.

I did my part to elevation Perma-Sharp blade sales as I ordered 300 from a Amazon seller the end of last year (2023) after learning the Russian factory for P&G/Gillette blades closed and some of the blades, like Astra SP, are now made in India.

Currently Maggards no longer carries Perma-Sharp DE blades - likely because many, like myself stocked up. So out of stock, no longer available, or price hikes in some places, would lower current Perma-Sharp sales rankings at this time in 2024

 

[BigJ]

Interesting list!

You have many/most of the ‘usual suspects.’

However, the order is a bit peculiar. For example, I find Kais are far superior to Feathers. GSB and Nacet also rank as ‘top-tier.’ In contrast, Merkurs would rank near the bottom. YMMV for sure!!

 

[Ted A]

I sometimes think some of these lists may be in a self-perpetuating spiral. A person without a lot of experience asks what are the best selling. They get an answer and buy that because if it’s a best seller it must be good. And their purchase adds on to add to its status as a best seller. And so on and so on.

 

[tejolot3]

"Best selling" does not equal "Best". It doesn't even mean "Most liked". All it means is that a lot of people bought them. What did they think of them after that? who knows! Why did they buy them in the first place? who knows!

My this sort of metric, McDonald's is the best place in America to get a hamburger, and the next-best is either Wendy's or Burger King in a close tie. And McDonald's is four times better than either of those two.

 

[htownmmm]

It doesn't surprise me that certain blades get mentioned on many sites and others don't. Many of the best selling blades are there for a reason-except for Merkur (can't figure that one out).

On your list, I am missing only 3 from my blade stash- Merkur, Astra SS, and RK Stainless. I've been a member of this site since 2006, so that may explain it.

marty

 

[NorthernSoul]

You did not flick my BIC! No USA made Personnas? No praise for Lord? What is the world coming to!?

 

[Salty_Shaver]

Well to me best seller just means many people buy a product, and many products call best seller are not great they just sell well.

Golfers, and other who play sports, NOT THE Professional Athletes are alway looking for some GRAIL Product to elevate their game.

Truth is in the real world the only way to get better at any sport Golf, Billiards, Slowpitch Softball, PickleBall is practice, and work at improving.

Recent in the billiards world what I call big buck Chalk has appeared, and is selling well. The Old reliable Master, Triangle, and Silver Cub brand that you could purchase for $20.00 for 144 Pieces, are being replaced by Chalk from Finland & Japan that cost $20.00 for a single piece. Crazy, and the truth is the NEW CHALKS IMHO are OK, but they have been hype up, and curious people are buy the pricy Chalk.

Much the same as razors and blades a whole lot of hype and very pricey. Yet a less expensive razor does the same in the hands of a person who knows how to use it with proper technique.