First off, Welcome aboard!
Good, solid choices of gear.
On your choices of blades:
1.) None of us here have quite your combination of beard, skin, and pain tolerance. So take any advice on blades with a dump truck full of salt.
2.) On MY face, of the blades you've listed, I've found the smoothest to be Voskhod and Shark SS, followed by 7 O'Clock SS. The sharpest, if you don't get instantly discouraged by the "newbie nicks", have been Feathers, and Lab Blues. A really sharp blade with a mild razor can be great. My overall all-around favorites have been Derby Extras and German Wilkies.
Ding, ding, ding!! We have a winner here! Practice, practice, practice. As a general rule, technique trumps tools. And technique involves more than just the razor/blade. Prep is important. I shave at the end of my shower, and the first thing I do is to soap up my face and neck, and then leave it lathered up while I wash the rest. My skin is well hydrated by the time I get to my shave. Make sure you soak the bristles on the Semogue for a few minutes before the shave as well.
It's amazing how blades magically improve along with your technique. The blade you hate today may become one of your favorites a year from now.
My first thread and day as a member here at B&B although I have been a reader for quite some time.
I am new into shaving with a DE-razor and for the last 4-5 years I have been using only a trimmer on my neck due to irritation from cartridge razors.
I was hoping to get some help with the choice of blades to start out with. Aware of the basics but not sure where to start. Is it always best to use a forgiving blade when you start out in order to practice your technique? Is it possible to categories the different blades by sharpness, smoothness
Bearing in mind other threads I know that a single blade can split this forum into 100 parties so I am not sure what to expect out of 28. Hopefully there can be some sort of consensus at least
These are the 28 different types of blade I have: (omitted for brevity)
As for the rest of the set-up:
Razor: Merkur 34C (too mild for a coarse beard according to some but figured it would be a good start!)
Brush: Semogue 620
Shaving cream: Cella and Proraso
After shave: Nivea Sensitive
Styptic: Osma alum block
Skin/hair: Sensitive skin + Coarse beard
Good, solid choices of gear.
On your choices of blades:
1.) None of us here have quite your combination of beard, skin, and pain tolerance. So take any advice on blades with a dump truck full of salt.
2.) On MY face, of the blades you've listed, I've found the smoothest to be Voskhod and Shark SS, followed by 7 O'Clock SS. The sharpest, if you don't get instantly discouraged by the "newbie nicks", have been Feathers, and Lab Blues. A really sharp blade with a mild razor can be great. My overall all-around favorites have been Derby Extras and German Wilkies.
Pick one and use it consistently. My first few shaves with a Derby were misery, but looking back that really had nothing to do with the blade. I can get a good shave with a Derby now that I've been through the process hundreds of times. I have tried at least half of the blades in your list and I am confident I can get a nice smooth shave with any of them because of PRACTICE! Focus on good technique. I think that is easier to do if you don't change all the variables over and over. So pick one and stick with it for a week or two before moving on! When your technique improves you will be able to feel the difference between blades better, and decide what you like.
That being said. Personally, I would pick Personna Lab Blue or Voskhod as good blades to learn with. I've worked through a full hundred pack of both of these blades and they produce nice smooth shaves for me.
Ding, ding, ding!! We have a winner here! Practice, practice, practice. As a general rule, technique trumps tools. And technique involves more than just the razor/blade. Prep is important. I shave at the end of my shower, and the first thing I do is to soap up my face and neck, and then leave it lathered up while I wash the rest. My skin is well hydrated by the time I get to my shave. Make sure you soak the bristles on the Semogue for a few minutes before the shave as well.
Try the blades for yourself to find the ones you like and work for you. As your technique improves over time, don't hesitate to try the blades again to see if you like the blades even better. Try at least 2 examples of each blade before passing a final judgement.
It's amazing how blades magically improve along with your technique. The blade you hate today may become one of your favorites a year from now.