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Alternative to Feather DE?

It has been several years since I've used anything other than a Feather DE blade in my ATT original R plate razor. I could use only those blades in that razor forever and be happy. The last time I bought a sample pack, there were some Astra, Gillette 7 O'Clock, and others I can't remember. The blades were all fine, but for initial sharpness and the second shave, the Feather was better enough that I settled on them.

Now, I feel like trying new blades in my DE razor, even though I am just beginning a new journey with a SE Slant from ATT. What DE blades would you, fine gentleman suggest? I will probably pick 3 to 5 different blades to try. My usual practice with a new blade is to use 3 to 5 blades in a row of a particular brand (6 to 10 shaves) to see what I think and then move to the next brand. Once I've tried every brand, I shave with the worst of the bunch until my supply is finished and move to the next better blade. By the end, I hope to have one or two blades in addition to my trusty Feathers to have on hand. I also ordered an ATT SSRH head for a more aggressive shave, and I am curious how different blades work with more blade gap.

Which of the many blades should I consider for my test run?
 
That's basically a Feather.

But yeah, I'd recommend KAI as well if Feathers are your primary love.

Other blades in the same vein:
Wizamet Super Iridium
Polsilver
Lab Blues
Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks
and my personal favorite,
Astra Superior Platinum, though I'm not sure you would find those sharp enough.

Edit: You'd probably like everything on my list from the Lab Blues upwards.
 
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That's basically a Feather.

But yeah, I'd recommend KAI as well if Feathers are your primary love.

Other blades in the same vein:
Wizamet Super Iridium
Polsilver
Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks
Lab Blues
and my personal favorite,
Astra Superior Platinum, though I'm not sure you would find those sharp enough.
Thanks! I remember liking the Astra, but I have a coarse beard, and they didn't seem particularly outstanding. I'll check out Kai, as I haven't used them before.
 
Thanks! I remember liking the Astra, but I have a coarse beard, and they didn't seem particularly outstanding. I'll check out Kai, as I haven't used them before.
KAI blades are fairly hard to find, and quite expensive. As sharp as Feathers, and longer lasting.

You'd probably also get on well with the other top 3 blades in my list.

If you found the Astra's just okay, you would probably also find the 7 O'Clock Blacks just okay as well. I find them pretty similar to the Astra's, and less sharp than the other blades listed.
 
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KAI blades are fairly hard to find, and quite expensive. As sharp as Feathers, and longer lasting.

You'd probably also get on well with the other top 3 blades in my list.

If you found the Astra's just okay, you would probably also find the 7 O'Clock Blacks just okay as well. I find them pretty similar to the Astra's, and less sharp than the other blades listed.
I picked up single packs of Astra, Kai, Gillette 7 O'Clock, and Wizmet at reasonable prices at the Razor Company. All of the Personna blades I could find were in bulk, and I don't want 100 of those blades without giving them a test drive. I couldn't find any Polsilver in my quick internet search.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
I picked up single packs of Astra, Kai, Gillette 7 O'Clock, and Wizmet at reasonable prices at the Razor Company. All of the Personna blades I could find were in bulk, and I don't want 100 of those blades without giving them a test drive. I couldn't find any Polsilver in my quick internet search.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Let us know how you get on with them. You'll probably wake up tomorrow to find 50 other recommendations. :)

Edit: I think the Polsilver Super Iridiums were discontinued. The Wizamet Iridium Supers are basically the same blade, so not that big of a deal.
 

lasta

Blade Biter
Apart from Feather, the only ones I found close are Perma Sharp, Nacet, Bic, and old (post 1990) Gillette Super Stainless.

Perma Sharp and Nacet are on my top 5 (of ~60).

GSB and Wizamet are there too and only a bit behind in perceived sharpness. Not tuggy by any means though. In fact, GSB is my No 1 in general.
 
Apart from Feather, the only ones I found close are Perma Sharp, Nacet, Bic, and old (post 1990) Gillette Super Stainless.

Perma Sharp and Nacet are on my top 5 (of ~60).

GSB and Wizamet are there too and only a bit behind in perceived sharpness. Not tuggy by any means though. In fact, GSB is my No 1 in general.
I forgot about Perma Sharps and Nacet. I'd rate those pretty high too.

Bic seems to be a love it or hate it blade. Lots of people say it's super sharp, but there's quite a few dissenting opinions, including mine. I ought to revisit them. It's been probably 10 years since I tried them.

GSB blades are sharp, but they lack in the smoothness department for me enough that I wouldn't recommend them on my list.

It's funny how subjective blades are. They feel different on every face. The only two blades I've ever seen everybody agree on is Feather and KAI being sharper than everything else.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
My preferred DE blades (in no particular order - depends on the razor):

Feather
Perma-Sharp
Personna Israeli Platinum Red
Kai
Personna Med Prep
Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum
German Bolzano (Fatip and Razorine razors)

Getting ready to evaluate the Israeli made Eddison blades.

For the ATT X1 Slant, I use Schick Proline P blades. A wonderful match.
 

lasta

Blade Biter
It's funny how subjective blades are. They feel different on every face. The only two blades I've ever seen everybody agree on is Feather and KAI being sharper than everything else.
You are mostly right!

I live in China, and recently found a reliable source on Feathers for $22/100. Even if I can only get 4 shaves/blade, those are likely 4 great shaves. $22/year is peanuts in the long run. In fact, cheaper than what I pay for GSB's!

KAI though...not for me. They feel aggressive, but don't cut as effortlessly as Feathers. I would even go as far as to they they are not as sharp as Perma Sharp, Nacet, and GSB...
 
This has YMMV written all over it. I get excellent shaves from a Feather and in addition to the earlier suggestions (although Items Sharp and Nacet are lower on my list, don’t like them necessarily, especially not on my neck) I would like to add the Dorco Titan and Gillette 365 as contenders - especially the 365 is a sharp blade, but with longer longevity than a Feather. And I must say that the Eddison (Personna Israel) has amazed me too with stellar shaves and longevity.

Guido
 
You are mostly right!

I live in China, and recently found a reliable source on Feathers for $22/100. Even if I can only get 4 shaves/blade, those are likely 4 great shaves. $22/year is peanuts in the long run. In fact, cheaper than what I pay for GSB's!

KAI though...not for me. They feel aggressive, but don't cut as effortlessly as Feathers. I would even go as far as to they they are not as sharp as Perma Sharp, Nacet, and GSB...
It's probably the titanium coating that you don't care for. All the other blades you listed that you do like are platinum coated.

Coatings make a huge difference in how a blade feels. Unless you're Derby. Derby usually goes all or nothing. Either only adding no coating, one coating, or throwing the whole kitchen sink at the thing. For example, many of their blades have a Chromium, Ceramic, Platinum, Tungsten and Polymer (PTFE) coating on each blade.

I might as well elaborate, since I've typed it up elsewhere. Sorry OP, this is going to be a wall of text. Everybody else can skip to the bottom for the TLDR.

Much of the following information comes from an article written by Herbert Shuldiner for Popular Science magazine in February 1970, pgs. 60-61, called "Science Gives You a New Edge on Shaving;" catchy title, isn't it?

Stainless blades come in a near infinite variety, and from every corner of the earth. They almost all have some form of PTFE coating, and the blade edges may also be coated in chromium, platinum, ceramic, titanium or tungsten, or combinations of any of those five coatings. The coatings are applied through physical vapor deposition (PVD), and are very thin, measured in angstroms. The coating, or combination of coatings, is about 300 angstroms thick (one angstrom is a little bigger than a millionth of an inch). PVD coating on razor blades is a bit different than the rest of the industry, as they use a low temperature process, which avoids the teardrop effect on the cutting edge, improving the edge quality. Platinum is the most popular coating, despite the added expense (and yes, they use real platinum). It adds durability and smoothness to the blade. Chromium is a little shinier, and a little smoother than platinum, and is usually the base layer for any additional layers, The chrome reproduces the stainless-steel edge, and even fills in some of the voids created by the original grinding. This adds considerable strength to the edge. it's also far more resistant to corrosion than the base layer of stainless steel. It is also far cleaner than the base metal, so it provides a superior surface for PTFE coatings. Ceramic functions similarly to chromium coatings. Tungsten adds strength and longevity, as does titanium. The Teflon coating is completely gone from the blade edge by the end of your first pass (confirmed by observing the blade edge under an electron microscope), so don't get overly wound up in PTFE blade coating hype.

Does the coating make a perceptible difference to the shave? Yes. A measurable, quantifiable difference? Most wet shavers will get about 20% more shaves from a chrome or platinum-chromium coated blade, but at the end of the day, it's mostly there to keep the blade in perfect condition until first use, and to keep the blade edge from deteriorating as long as possible after first use, and that is the job these coatings excel at. Gillette, among others, did lots of study groups in the 70's, and determined that people generally suck at being able to detect minute differences in sharpness, but they can tell a difference in smoothness. That was really the turning point for blade coatings as Gillette focused on smoothness over sharpness.

Let me detour for a moment. If the razor blade manufacturers really wanted to create a long lasting blade, they could, and have. In the 1970's, Personna produced the fabled 74's, the new (DE and injector) razor blade made from tungsten steel and coated with titanium. The name came from the atomic number for Tungsten, 74. They discontinued it after only a few years of production, as it broke the 'razor and blade' business model. These blades lasted up to 10 times longer than a regular stainless blade. If one pack of blades will last someone half a year, they won't sell as many blades to that person. It's a pity, as they were exceptionally fine razor blades.

Back on the subject at hand, what is far more important than the coatings is how that razor blade is sharpened and heat treated. The starting thickness of a modern DE razor blade is 0.004 inches. Grinding, honing, and stropping produce an edge that is 20 millionths of an inch thick.

The TLDR (too long didn't read) version.

PTFE adds smoothness.
Chrome adds smoothness.
Platinum adds smoothness.
Ceramic adds smoothness and hardness.
Tungsten adds strength to the blade edge.
Titanium adds strength to the blade edge.

Edit: Just because a manufacturer advertises that they use one coating, like chrome or platinum, doesn't mean there aren't other coatings on the blade that they just don't mention.
 
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My preferred DE blades (in no particular order - depends on the razor):

Feather
Perma-Sharp
Personna Israeli Platinum Red
Kai
Personna Med Prep
Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum
German Bolzano (Fatip and Razorine razors)

Getting ready to evaluate the Israeli made Eddison blades.

For the ATT X1 Slant, I use Schick Proline P blades. A wonderful match.
My first shave with my ATT X 1 was with a Feather Pro, but I also have Shick Proline blades en route.
 
This morning I added Nacet, Bolzano, Parma-Sharp, Dorco Titan, Gillette 365, and Gillette Super Blue to the pile! I still haven't found a source for smaller quantities of Personna, and since I haven't tried one in years and have added a SE razor to the mix, which will be getting plenty of use, I am not interested in bulk quantities at this time. Please let me know if anyone knows of a retailer selling single packs of Personna Lab Blues.

All the blades I ordered were from "The Razor Company." Their selection, pricing, and ability to order single packs of five or ten blades are excellent. I was a big fan of West Coast Shaving a decade ago, but their selection has deteriorated, and their pricing seems steep. Since I am searching for specific blade brands, nearly all the sample packs have too much fluff that isn't on my list. What retailers do you, fine gentleman, like for blades? I've used Amazon for bulk orders of Feather blades, but it is a poor choice for single packs.

Thank you for all of the suggestions!
 

lasta

Blade Biter
This morning I added Nacet, Bolzano, Parma-Sharp, Dorco Titan, Gillette 365, and Gillette Super Blue to the pile! I still haven't found a source for smaller quantities of Personna, and since I haven't tried one in years and have added a SE razor to the mix, which will be getting plenty of use, I am not interested in bulk quantities at this time. Please let me know if anyone knows of a retailer selling single packs of Personna Lab Blues.

All the blades I ordered were from "The Razor Company." Their selection, pricing, and ability to order single packs of five or ten blades are excellent. I was a big fan of West Coast Shaving a decade ago, but their selection has deteriorated, and their pricing seems steep. Since I am searching for specific blade brands, nearly all the sample packs have too much fluff that isn't on my list. What retailers do you, fine gentleman, like for blades? I've used Amazon for bulk orders of Feather blades, but it is a poor choice for single packs.

Thank you for all of the suggestions!
 
This morning I added Nacet, Bolzano, Parma-Sharp, Dorco Titan, Gillette 365, and Gillette Super Blue to the pile! I still haven't found a source for smaller quantities of Personna, and since I haven't tried one in years and have added a SE razor to the mix, which will be getting plenty of use, I am not interested in bulk quantities at this time. Please let me know if anyone knows of a retailer selling single packs of Personna Lab Blues.

All the blades I ordered were from "The Razor Company." Their selection, pricing, and ability to order single packs of five or ten blades are excellent. I was a big fan of West Coast Shaving a decade ago, but their selection has deteriorated, and their pricing seems steep. Since I am searching for specific blade brands, nearly all the sample packs have too much fluff that isn't on my list. What retailers do you, fine gentleman, like for blades? I've used Amazon for bulk orders of Feather blades, but it is a poor choice for single packs.

Thank you for all of the suggestions!
Did you mean to write Gillette Super Blue? I find them to be fantastic blades when stropped, but vintage carbon blades have their own little quirks that most people don't want to deal with.

Gillette Silver Blue would make a bit more sense.
 
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