What's new

How Much Does A Blade Matter

My experimentation with the same razor and near 30 different blades definitely tells me that the blade matters. The nuances of blade hone angle, different coatings and blade material all in combination give the blade it's own characteristic.
 
BROTHER! SAY IT AIN'T SO! I know you have no love for the GSB, but it may put you into a rubber room in your very own corner of the BOSC!!! Especially your love for ANYTHING Derby! Lol, sorry bro!

I'm with Esox on this The closest shave I've ever gotten was with a Derby Extra in a Fendrihan Mk. II. The second closest was with a Feather in an NDC BET.

Seriously. You and Esox can share that rubber room!o_O!!!

What can I say? A few of us have the requisite skills to get the most out of a Derby Extra......
taunt002.gif
taunt002.gif


Besides, I don't have to worry about scarring my handsome face - old age and decrepitude are doing that for me. It's you youngsters that still have to worry. :001_tt2:
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
You just helped me remember something I thought about yesterday.

How many blades treat my incredibly handsome face poorly because of the coatings?!?!

Seriously, I know there are probably like 2 or three coatings used by all blade makers, but.....what if I just happen to be "allergic" (bad use of the word) to the way manufacturer "ABC" applies a coating, or how long they "bake" it, etc?

Sorry for my sentence structure folks! I went to Publick Skool!

A few of us a year or two ago came to the conclusion that blade coating materials, the order of application and process of application are most likely closely held trade secrets. One that comes quickly to mind is the Bic Chrome Platinum. They presumably use both Chrome and Platinum, along with, as it was explained to me somewhere in these pages, Teflon. Assuming that as accurate, thats at least three coatings on a single blade and I've never seen Teflon referred to in a blades name. That could imply that not all coating materials are listed on the packaging.

An allergy to a blade coating could be a very real thing for some. After my first use of a Bic Chrome Platinum my neck was itchy. A deep burning itch that was very annoying. I had the same itch after using a Shark Super Chrome so I wondered if I might be allergic to Chrome. Fast forward two years and using both again, I had no itching so I put it off to being relatively new to DE shaving and not having a good technique.

Ever had a flaking Teflon pan and felt those chips? They're hard, brittle and sharp. Now imagine shaving with a blade shedding them microscopically. Thats how GSB blades feel for me. Voskhod too. For the first shave they're great. Ultra smooth and they cut well. For shave #2 they get a bit more harsh. On shave #3 they're borderline unusable but, on shave #4 they're wonderfully smooth and pretending to be a Gillette Yellow. I remember reading somewhere on the net about some Russian DE users. They were all talking about Voskhod blades and they all agreed, out of the box, they were harsh and painful to shave with. Their solution to that was to take a fresh blade and slice up a sheet of paper with it to remove that top coating and the harshness from it. After they did that, they all agreed that a single blade becomes very smooth and lasts well beyond 100 shaves.

I dont remember if I have any GSB's left. If I do maybe I'll try that one day when I get bored or skip my meds haha.


What can I say? A few of us have the requisite skills to get the most out of a Derby Extra......
taunt002.gif
taunt002.gif

I hadnt even thought of that! lol

 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
A few of us a year or two ago came to the conclusion that blade coating materials, the order of application and process of application are most likely closely held trade secrets. One that comes quickly to mind is the Bic Chrome Platinum. They presumably use both Chrome and Platinum, along with, as it was explained to me somewhere in these pages, Teflon. Assuming that as accurate, thats at least three coatings on a single blade and I've never seen Teflon referred to in a blades name. That could imply that not all coating materials are listed on the packaging.

An allergy to a blade coating could be a very real thing for some. After my first use of a Bic Chrome Platinum my neck was itchy. A deep burning itch that was very annoying. I had the same itch after using a Shark Super Chrome so I wondered if I might be allergic to Chrome. Fast forward two years and using both again, I had no itching so I put it off to being relatively new to DE shaving and not having a good technique.

Ever had a flaking Teflon pan and felt those chips? They're hard, brittle and sharp. Now imagine shaving with a blade shedding them microscopically. Thats how GSB blades feel for me. Voskhod too. For the first shave they're great. Ultra smooth and they cut well. For shave #2 they get a bit more harsh. On shave #3 they're borderline unusable but, on shave #4 they're wonderfully smooth and pretending to be a Gillette Yellow. I remember reading somewhere on the net about some Russian DE users. They were all talking about Voskhod blades and they all agreed, out of the box, they were harsh and painful to shave with. Their solution to that was to take a fresh blade and slice up a sheet of paper with it to remove that top coating and the harshness from it. After they did that, they all agreed that a single blade becomes very smooth and lasts well beyond 100 shaves.

I dont remember if I have any GSB's left. If I do maybe I'll try that one day when I get bored or skip my meds haha.




I hadnt even thought of that! lol

I think your post comes down to this: all three of us need to be in BOSC for therapy.

I call dibs on the bottom bunk!
 
For me, the blade matters but not as much as some might indicate. That's just my opinion of course. I think it's more a matter of eliminating a few blades that you just don't like (too dull, too sharp) and then the bulk of the majority work very similarly.

I like Silver Blue blades (as do many) but I could shave well with most of them. I just don't care for Derby at the duller end or Feather's at the too sharp end.
 
A few of us a year or two ago came to the conclusion that blade coating materials, the order of application and process of application are most likely closely held trade secrets. One that comes quickly to mind is the Bic Chrome Platinum. They presumably use both Chrome and Platinum, along with, as it was explained to me somewhere in these pages, Teflon. Assuming that as accurate, thats at least three coatings on a single blade and I've never seen Teflon referred to in a blades name. That could imply that not all coating materials are listed on the packaging.

An allergy to a blade coating could be a very real thing for some. After my first use of a Bic Chrome Platinum my neck was itchy. A deep burning itch that was very annoying. I had the same itch after using a Shark Super Chrome so I wondered if I might be allergic to Chrome. Fast forward two years and using both again, I had no itching so I put it off to being relatively new to DE shaving and not having a good technique.

Ever had a flaking Teflon pan and felt those chips? They're hard, brittle and sharp. Now imagine shaving with a blade shedding them microscopically. Thats how GSB blades feel for me. Voskhod too. For the first shave they're great. Ultra smooth and they cut well. For shave #2 they get a bit more harsh. On shave #3 they're borderline unusable but, on shave #4 they're wonderfully smooth and pretending to be a Gillette Yellow. I remember reading somewhere on the net about some Russian DE users. They were all talking about Voskhod blades and they all agreed, out of the box, they were harsh and painful to shave with. Their solution to that was to take a fresh blade and slice up a sheet of paper with it to remove that top coating and the harshness from it. After they did that, they all agreed that a single blade becomes very smooth and lasts well beyond 100 shaves.

I dont remember if I have any GSB's left. If I do maybe I'll try that one day when I get bored or skip my meds haha.




I hadnt even thought of that! lol

You mentioned the BIC. It is one of my favorite blades, especially the second shave on. The first shave always seems a bit rough, but after that it’s like shaving with a Feather. I always assumed it was the Teflon coating responsible for the rough shave, and once you used it, something wore the coating away. If I didn’t already have 300 Feather blades, I would buy 300 BIC blades.
 
Blades > Razors

I cork all my blades once before the first shave, so that evens the playing field a little. When trying a new blade, I always try it twice with my R41 to give it a fair chance and I can safely say that there are some blades which elevate the shave to a different level.

Technique might be more important for some, but not me. I love a long, sweeping XTG at the third pass under my neck from ear-to-ear which is not great technique, but I just like the feeling. The only blade with which I can safely do this and get a BBS is a GSB. I can try the same with a Polsilver, but still have stubble left. I've never actually worked up the guts to try it with a Nacet or a Feather, but I do love the Nacet for its reliability in any razor.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
You mentioned the BIC. It is one of my favorite blades, especially the second shave on. The first shave always seems a bit rough, but after that it’s like shaving with a Feather. I always assumed it was the Teflon coating responsible for the rough shave, and once you used it, something wore the coating away. If I didn’t already have 300 Feather blades, I would buy 300 BIC blades.

I like the Bic too. For me its an ultra smooth blade like Gillette Yellow yet cuts better than a Gillette Yellow. Like Feather, I find them too much blade in my razors with gap. In my Grande though yeah, its a good blade.

I prefer GEM SE's these days but I think I have enough DE blades to outlive me. ~80 Feather, ~240 Derby Extra, 140 Polsilver, 99 Perma-Sharp Super, ~40 each Gillette Yellow and Black and ~200 misc. blades.
 
I like the Bic too. For me its an ultra smooth blade like Gillette Yellow yet cuts better than a Gillette Yellow. Like Feather, I find them too much blade in my razors with gap. In my Grande though yeah, its a good blade.

I prefer GEM SE's these days but I think I have enough DE blades to outlive me. ~80 Feather, ~240 Derby Extra, 140 Polsilver, 99 Perma-Sharp Super, ~40 each Gillette Yellow and Black and ~200 misc. blades.
Same here. I figure if I only got 20 shaves from each Feather blade, my supply will last me until I’m 84. I expect I’ll get much more than 20 shaves. I binned my last Feather just because and it still had shaves left.
 
A few of us a year or two ago came to the conclusion that blade coating materials, the order of application and process of application are most likely closely held trade secrets. One that comes quickly to mind is the Bic Chrome Platinum. They presumably use both Chrome and Platinum, along with, as it was explained to me somewhere in these pages, Teflon. Assuming that as accurate, thats at least three coatings on a single blade and I've never seen Teflon referred to in a blades name. That could imply that not all coating materials are listed on the packaging.

An allergy to a blade coating could be a very real thing for some. After my first use of a Bic Chrome Platinum my neck was itchy. A deep burning itch that was very annoying. I had the same itch after using a Shark Super Chrome so I wondered if I might be allergic to Chrome. Fast forward two years and using both again, I had no itching so I put it off to being relatively new to DE shaving and not having a good technique.

Ever had a flaking Teflon pan and felt those chips? They're hard, brittle and sharp. Now imagine shaving with a blade shedding them microscopically. Thats how GSB blades feel for me. Voskhod too. For the first shave they're great. Ultra smooth and they cut well. For shave #2 they get a bit more harsh. On shave #3 they're borderline unusable but, on shave #4 they're wonderfully smooth and pretending to be a Gillette Yellow. I remember reading somewhere on the net about some Russian DE users. They were all talking about Voskhod blades and they all agreed, out of the box, they were harsh and painful to shave with. Their solution to that was to take a fresh blade and slice up a sheet of paper with it to remove that top coating and the harshness from it. After they did that, they all agreed that a single blade becomes very smooth and lasts well beyond 100 shaves.

I dont remember if I have any GSB's left. If I do maybe I'll try that one day when I get bored or skip my meds haha.




I hadnt even thought of that! lol

Sheesh! Mac Davis! Talk about feeling old, I wasn't a kid anymore when that came out.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
Same here. I figure if I only got 20 shaves from each Feather blade, my supply will last me until I’m 84. I expect I’ll get much more than 20 shaves. I binned my last Feather just because and it still had shaves left.

The most shaves I've counted on a single blade has been 20 on a Polsilver. I did every shave buffing directly ATG first pass with my Grande. On shave 20 it was still giving me a great shave. I used a Perma-Sharp Super for 18 and then lost count but I think it went 24 and had more in it. Gillette Yellow started to tug at shave 7 but I pushed it to 9. In my GEM's I've gotten 12 shaves but I had a single ingrown hair on shave 12 so I toss them now at 10.

Blade longevity doesnt really concern me. That Polsilver at 20 shaves though, for what I paid for my 200, was down to $0.01CAD and I used it for 5 weeks.

Shaving every other day, call it 183 shaves per year. I have at least 140 Polsilver blades left. Even using one blade a month I have an 11 1/2 year supply of Polsilver blades alone, not to mention 190 Derby Extra and 190 Feathers and this one blade is already past the one month mark and I'm still shaving first pass ATG. I had thought the sharpness might fall off and I'd need to start a more traditional shave first pass WTG/XTG, but not yet.

I started this blade Nov. 28.

I'm now on the 5th week and it shows no signs of slowing down and in fact, has improved. Its still very nearly as sharp as it was fresh and a whole bunch smoother.

The 200 blades cost me CAD$43.16 total. Thats $0.216 per blade. At 20 shaves this blade has cost me $0.010. A full 5 weeks shaves for a penny. People say this type of shaving doesnt save money. Think again.


Sheesh! Mac Davis! Talk about feeling old, I wasn't a kid anymore when that came out.

Yeah, 40 years ago! Its hard to believe its been that long. It brings back a lot of memories.
 
The most shaves I've counted on a single blade has been 20 on a Polsilver. I did every shave buffing directly ATG first pass with my Grande. On shave 20 it was still giving me a great shave. I used a Perma-Sharp Super for 18 and then lost count but I think it went 24 and had more in it. Gillette Yellow started to tug at shave 7 but I pushed it to 9. In my GEM's I've gotten 12 shaves but I had a single ingrown hair on shave 12 so I toss them now at 10.

Blade longevity doesnt really concern me. That Polsilver at 20 shaves though, for what I paid for my 200, was down to $0.01CAD and I used it for 5 weeks.






Yeah, 40 years ago! Its hard to believe its been that long. It brings back a lot of memories.
40 years? Yeah lots of memories. I'm fortunate in that all of my best friends then are still my best friends now.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
40 years? Yeah lots of memories. I'm fortunate in that all of my best friends then are still my best friends now.

Yep. That song came out in 1980. It seems like a lifetime ago, I guess because it was haha. I was only 14 and was just starting to learn to use my fathers Gillette Flare Tip Rocket.
 
You mentioned the BIC. It is one of my favorite blades, especially the second shave on. The first shave always seems a bit rough, but after that it’s like shaving with a Feather. I always assumed it was the Teflon coating responsible for the rough shave, and once you used it, something wore the coating away. If I didn’t already have 300 Feather blades, I would buy 300 BIC blades.
You are right. Period.
Trade them in the BST section. Life is too long to bother with blades you don't love. I will replace my bulk of 200 Feathers with BIC's as soon as my sabbatical ends .
Feather is just a mediocre blade in direct comparision with BIC Platinum Chrome #nowIneedahardhat!
 
Last edited:
You are right. Period.
Trade them in the BST section. Life is too long to bother with blades you don't love. I will replace my bulk of 200 Feathers with BIC's as soon as my sabbatical ends .
Feather is the just a mediocre blade in direct comparision with BIC Platinum Chrome #nowIneedahardhat!
I would have bought 300 BIC blades but I couldn’t find a source I trusted. Amazon had them, but a lot of remarks about how bad they word made me think that they might be counterfeit.
 
I would have bought 300 BIC blades but I couldn’t find a source I trusted. Amazon had them, but a lot of remarks about how bad they word made me think that they might be counterfeit.
Maggardrazors sales them.
Their retail price might not be as cheap as the vendors onAmazon but at least Maggard is an absolutely reliable vendor (imho).
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom