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12 Blades You Need To Try

There are thousands of DE blades out there. But there are some that should be "required reading" for anyone serious about wet shaving. I'm willing to bet you will like at least one of the following because they are on most guys Top 5:

Polsilver
Feather
Gillette Silver Blue
Nacet
Astra SP
Voshkod
Wilkinson Sword (Germany or India)
Personna (Israeli) Red
Personna Lab
Lord Platinum
Rapira Platinum Lux
King C. Gillette


Newbies, you can thank me later! ;)
 
Blades are definitely the most YMMV part of wet shaving, but you're right when you say everyone will like at least 1 blade from your list. I've tried all of them except Polsilver and King C Gillette, and of those 10 blades, 5 are top tier for me.

Israeli Reds are expensive but for me they perform identical to German Personna Platinum Chrome.
 
Blades are definitely the most YMMV part of wet shaving, but you're right when you say everyone will like at least 1 blade from your list. I've tried all of them except Polsilver and King C Gillette, and of those 10 blades, 5 are top tier for me.

Israeli Reds are expensive but for me they perform identical to German Personna Platinum Chrome.
Thanks. I wish I had this list when I started 8 months ago. Although I don’t like all of them (YMMV as you say), I think they would make a superb Sampler Pack for anyone just starting out. Anyone who can’t find anything they like in this list should probably look for another hobby! 😂

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YMMV, never used the King C. Gillette on your list but for the rest only 4 qualify as ok in my book (Feather, both Personna's and Lord, 5 when you mean the Chinese Nacets but something tells me you don't ;)) and non reached my top 10.

But you are right, many of those blades are mentioned often and any list is a good way to get started!
 
YMMV, never used the King C. Gillette on your list but for the rest only 4 qualify as ok in my book (Feather, both Personna's and Lord, 5 when you mean the Chinese Nacets but something tells me you don't ;)) and non reached my top 10.

But you are right, many of those blades are mentioned often and any list is a good way to get started!
Wow! Would love to see your Top 10!
King C. Gillette is wonderful.
You should give it a try! 😉
 
YMMV, never used the King C. Gillette on your list but for the rest only 4 qualify as ok in my book (Feather, both Personna's and Lord, 5 when you mean the Chinese Nacets but something tells me you don't ;)) and non reached my top 10.

But you are right, many of those blades are mentioned often and any list is a good way to get started!
What would be your top 10 and why?
 
Polsilver
Feather
Gillette Silver Blue
Nacet
Astra SP
Voshkod
Wilkinson Sword (Germany or India)
Personna (Israeli) Red
Personna Lab
Lord Platinum
Rapira Platinum Lux
King C. Gillette

Agree this would make a terrific sample pack for someone who was newer to DE shaving and, after establishing the basics with a constant blade, was ready to branch out.

The only ommission that I would argue for is Kai. :)
 
What would be your top 10 and why?

Would love to see your Top 10!
I do not really have a top 10, more like a top 5, and some random blades that I like in specific razors, and it is probably an obscure list.

My general top 5 contains two carbon steel blades, Lord Captain red (probably NOS) and Treet TRBC (black beauty), and three stainless blades; all three Lord Super Stainless varieties (Super, Extra and Classic). I am currently trying out various other carbon steel blades by Treet and expect some of them to end up here as well.

Furthermore I like Souplex (medyna/Germany), the Indian black 7 O'Clocks, and two vintage stainless blades; Schick Platinum Plus (the Netherlands) and Triton R3 (Feintechnik in DDR/GDR era).

But half the time I don't shave with any of those as I like to experiment with vintage carbon steel blades like Apollo, Max Herder and so on. Not always a great shave but really fun to do. It helps keeping shaving a bit of an adventure!
 
Personna (Israeli) Red in the 5-pack red box and 10 pack UK, and Astra SP were my favorite blades for years (pre-covid), when I shaved every other day. Effective, but forgiving. I still have hundreds of those blades. Since Covid, being retired, unvaccinated, and rarely leaving the house, I'm now shaving shaving every 5-7 days. My old favorites just weren't up the task, so I switched to Gillette Platinum (aka Swedes) from Bullgoose. Still forgiving, but more effective for longer growth.
 
I haven't tried the last 3 blades, but most of the other blades are solid choices and I do agree about them. I would add the following 3 blades to fill the gap - BIC Chrome Platinum, Perma-Sharp and Bolzano (from Germany) even though the last one is now made in Egypt and from what others claim, the quality isn't the same.
 
I do not really have a top 10, more like a top 5, and some random blades that I like in specific razors, and it is probably an obscure list.

My general top 5 contains two carbon steel blades, Lord Captain red (probably NOS) and Treet TRBC (black beauty), and three stainless blades; all three Lord Super Stainless varieties (Super, Extra and Classic). I am currently trying out various other carbon steel blades by Treet and expect some of them to end up here as well.

Furthermore I like Souplex (medyna/Germany), the Indian black 7 O'Clocks, and two vintage stainless blades; Schick Platinum Plus (the Netherlands) and Triton R3 (Feintechnik in DDR/GDR era).

But half the time I don't shave with any of those as I like to experiment with vintage carbon steel blades like Apollo, Max Herder and so on. Not always a great shave but really fun to do. It helps keeping shaving a bit of an adventure!
Thank you for the interesting answer 👌
 
There are thousands of DE blades out there. But there are some that should be "required reading" for anyone serious about wet shaving. I'm willing to bet you will like at least one of the following because they are on most guys Top 5:

Polsilver
Feather
Gillette Silver Blue
Nacet
Astra SP
Voshkod
Wilkinson Sword (Germany or India)
Personna (Israeli) Red
Personna Lab
Lord Platinum
Rapira Platinum Lux
King C. Gillette


Newbies, you can thank me later! ;)
Nice list. I’ve used eight of them. A long run with Voskhods. I single use Feathers now.
 
I haven't tried the last 3 blades, but most of the other blades are solid choices and I do agree about them. I would add the following 3 blades to fill the gap - BIC Chrome Platinum, Perma-Sharp and Bolzano (from Germany) even though the last one is now made in Egypt and from what others claim, the quality isn't the same.
I agree. I just tried Balzano for the first time in my Wolf 🐺 and it was amazing! Plus, lots of guys mention Bic and Perma-Sharp as well! Actually, I just placed an order for the latter. Perhaps we should make this “15 Blades You Need To Try”!😂
Thanks!
 
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I agree. I just tried Balzano for the first time in my Wolf 🐺 and it was amazing! Plus, lots of guys mention Bic and Perma-Sharp as well! Actually, I just placed an order for the latter. Perhaps we should make this “15 Blades You Need To Try”!😂
Thanks!
12 blades you need to try turns into 15 blades you need to try pretty soon turns into 50 blades you need to try 😂 You'll never know if you like it unless you try!
 
Huh?

I like the Nacet blades I've tried, but I have no idea where they originated from, and I wasn't aware there is more than one origin. Can you please explain? What should I look for when buying?
When I started out I shaved with really nice Nacets made in the Czech republic but P&G went with their European production to PPI in Russia. Just like with their blades made in Poland, Sweden, France etcetera. A lot of people like those Russian blades but for me something changed; all the former European P&G/Gillette blades that I liked started to irritate my skin in a bad way, don't know why. The ones you used are very likely from Russia.

P&G/Gillette did the same thing in Asia and concentrated production in India and China (Flying Eagle). The Nacets from China are intended for I think the Malaysian market and pretty hard to get here. They are not really good, nor bad, but they don't irritate my skin like the Russian blades so for me they are a 'better' choice though they lack the sharpness of the made-in-Russia ones a bit.
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
When I started out I shaved with really nice Nacets made in the Czech republic but P&G went with their European production to PPI in Russia. Just like with their blades made in Poland, Sweden, France etcetera. A lot of people like those Russian blades but for me something changed; all the former European P&G/Gillette blades that I liked started to irritate my skin in a bad way, don't know why. The ones you used are very likely from Russia.

P&G/Gillette did the same thing in Asia and concentrated production in India and China (Flying Eagle). The Nacets from China are intended for I think the Malaysian market and pretty hard to get here. They are not really good, nor bad, but they don't irritate my skin like the Russian blades so for me they are a 'better' choice though they lack the sharpness of the made-in-Russia ones a bit.
Thanks for the info.
 
In August began a journey to find a non-Gillette replacement for Astra SP. I have 100 left so that leaves two years minimum to find one or two that should fill the bill. Impressions so far. Unfortunately there seems to be very little correlation to a writers thoughts of a blade compared to what a reader will discover trying the blade. It reminds me of looking at shapes in clouds and trying to explain what you see to another person that simply cannot find what you're talking about. It's just the way it is with blades. Truly a YMMV item.

Nice list @Kennyg2019, I'll add some of them to my trials.
 
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