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Your top five sharpest blades?

Yup, gonna get a light flaming 'cause this subject has been beaten to death, but nothing like it showed up on the first two pages of my keyword search, so I'm gonna dig up the horse and flog it again ;)

What in your opinion, are the five sharpest blades you have tried and how do you feel about the results you get from them (in descending order from sharpest)?

Mine so far are:

1) Feather, smoothest "ultra-sharp" blade by a wide margin, it only hurts me if I screw up and shave like I'm back in Mach 3 land, closer than any other and I can get ZIS+DFS in two passes if I do my part!

2) 7 O'Clock yellow, these burn me even if I am being cautious, but feel like they are in the same sharpness range with the Feather, I have come back to them several times with the same result... not a favorite even though they *do* shave close! (I have yet to try any other 7 O'Clock blades)

3) Personna "Lab Blue", not quite as sharp as the Feather, but well above average, they are almost as close, but give me slightly more irritation, still a really decent blade.

4) Bic Chrome Platinum, these tear me up like no other, they feel very sharp and prove it by wounding me repeatedly. I strongly dislike these blades, they may be the reason many Greek men show stubble...they are afraid to shave with the evil Bics!

5) Treet Durasharp, these feel like a cross between the Labs and Feathers to me, slightly more irritation potential when compared to Feather but a very close shave, I think they may be sharper than other blades in this list, but they don't *feel* so sharp like the others do.....these may throw a wrench in my stubble theory though, as most of my Pakistani friends show considerable stubble ;)

My choice in order of preference to shave with: Feather, Treet DS tied for second with Astra SP, Personna Lab, after that any blade that doesn't damage me.


Interested to see what your mileage is like!
 
1. Treet carbon steel
2. Gem Blue Star carbon steel
3. CVS brand carbon steel
4. Personna 74 injector
5. Made in England Wilkinson Sword
 
Not necessarily in this order, but...

* Personna Med Prep
* Iridium Super
* 7 O'clock black
* Feather

Can't really add a fifth, because I think these four are a step ahead of anything else
 
I'm trying to get a level deeper with this question.... I feel like "sharp" definitely doesn't have to equal "good" or "favorite"...two of the blades that I think are sharpest are also blades I *hate* and will eventually PIF or discard rather than braving them again.

Are there others out there who feel that some of the *sharpest* blades are also less effective or downright awful in their shaving routine?
 
I've only tried a few but had much better luck with Astra SP than anything else, with Shark SS as a backup but still not as good.
 
  1. Feather
  2. Gillette 7 O'clock SharpEdge 'Yellows'
  3. Gillette 7 O'clock Super Stainless 'Greens'
  4. Treet Dura Sharp 'Yellows'
  5. Gillette SuperThin Platinum
 
You are spot-on with your Durasharp description. But for me, Feather being the exception, the blades' sharpness varies too much from razor to razor to make even a subjective appraisal yet.
 
For Blades that are currently in production:

Feather - CLEARLY 1st Place
Perma-sharp Super
Gillette 7 O'clock Black
Gillette 7 O'clock Blue

After those nothing really stands out. I WOULD NOT include the Lab/Med or Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow which are so frequently sited as exceptionally sharp blades.

If I could include NOS blades in the ranking it would be:

Feather
Gillette Blue Extra
Gillette Silver Blue
Perma-sharp Super
Gillette 7 O'Clock Black

Nor would I include the Super Iridium. I find the Super Iridium VERY forgiving and comfortable but NOT sharp like the others.
 
For Blades that are currently in production:

Feather - CLEARLY 1st Place
Perma-sharp Super
Gillette 7 O'clock Black
Gillette 7 O'clock Blue

After those nothing really stands out. I WOULD NOT include the Lab/Med or Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow which are so frequently sited as exceptionally sharp blades.

If I could include NOS blades in the ranking it would be:

Feather
Gillette Blue Extra
Gillette Silver Blue
Perma-sharp Super
Gillette 7 O'Clock Black

Nor would I include the Super Iridium. I find the Super Iridium VERY forgiving and comfortable but NOT sharp like the others.

Note that, at least for the moment, the Gillette Silver Blue is readily available at a reasonable price (from Razorbladesandmore). I find it comparable in sharpness to the Feather and considerably smoother. I've never used a Super Iridium, but in my experience the Silver Blue is the best balance of sharpness and smoothness currently available.

I find the 7 o'clock yellows quite sharp, but they're harsher than the GSBs, so I use them in milder razors. By contrast, the 7 o'clock super platinums (Russian Blues or Indian Blacks) are sharp but smooth enough to use in any razor.
 
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hmm.... I had hoped to stir up some good conversation on the merits (or failings) of "sharp" blades, but lists of five blades seems to have been all that was forthcoming (although a few made comments, thanks to you).

:(
 
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