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My (YMMV) comparison of different blades

I have recently, finally, reached the nirvana that I have been seeking in the DE shaving journey.

That is, for the first time I am now getting comfortable and consistent shaves daily.

I now want to go through various blades, many tried before, and see how they now work for me in this new regime. Additionally I want to inflict this journey on you the reader - feel free to ignore if it is of no interest or value to you.

i will run each blade for as long as I feel it still works for me (probably 3-4 days) and say what my impressions are, but I will not give ratings for sharpness or smoothness.

My equipment will be. Gillette slim on 5. Derby soap. Alum and witch hazel as required. I am a bit cheap with this hobby.

My process is a three pass shave with a cross grain pass. Followed by an opposite cross grain pass and an against the grain touchup. It took me a long time to discover that with the grain doesn't work for me. At this point even if not perfect I leave the shave. My neck gets two cross grain passes only - it can't handle more.
 
First shave, because it was the one I did tonight. Voskhod.
I have been using Shark Stainless as my base line and will return to that periodically.

The first pass was relatively quiet. I stretch the skin upward on my Cheeks as I shave left to right and with the sharks this creates a lot of noise. Very smooth feel to the blade. After the second pass there was still a fair amount of hair to remove. The moustache area against the grain was Uneventful. After the third pass I was mostly DFS but with some patchy areasg

generally ly similar to the shark blade on the first shave, not quite as close.
 
I forgot to mention (as the shave fades from my memory). Alum block - some all over feel/sting but not particularly intense, worse than for the shark blades but nothing that I was worried about.

I have never been able to figure out at what level alum sting should be aimed at. I get the impression that a perfect shave should have no sting - I've never been able to get to quite that point while still actually looking like I have shaved.
 
Good luck!

Thank you! Hopefully I don't need luck - worst case I get a bad shave and fall back to the blades that I know work. I'm at the point where my shaves really are good and this is just going to be a comparison and log for my own interest.
 
Voskhod shave 2.

A little of my technique. Pass one is cross grain, but screwed about 45 degrees towards with the grain. Pass 2 is cross the grain but in the opposite direction so 45 degrees from against the grain. So when I say I do two cross grain passes, they are not equal or identical. There is generally not much left by the end of pass 2.

First pass relatively uneventful. Audio feedback was louder than yesterday. While re-lathering I felt the bare edge of irritation which surprised me.
Second pass did not go to plan. It felt like I was trying to hack down a forest. The first pass did not reduce as much as expected.
Third pass I kept very light as this shave was not going well.

Lots of sting from the alum block. I used the witch hazel followed by Nivea balm which I don't use often. End result was DFS level (smooth with and across grain) but not quite as close as usual. Some residual sting in the corners of my mouth which I haven't had in something over a month (since I started this process). No nicks, but I haven't gotten any of those in months.

Now, this wasn't absolutely horrible and way better than some shaves I have had since I started - it just wasn't anywhere near as good as my normal shaves.

I will not blame the blade for this yet. I will have some shaves with the old faithful shark blades and make sure my face heals properly and then give it another go. It may be a one off through trying to study exactly what I was feeling in order to write it down.

Alternatively it may be that Voskhod is a one-and-done blade for me.
 
Go ahead and blame the blade, my experience with Voskhod matches yours: no matter the razor, no matter if it is the first, second, third, or fourth use of the blade, Voskhod just doesn't work well for me. There are much better blades for me.
 
Ok. On to the old standby.

Shark stainless shave 1.

Given that my face wasn't fully healed from the last shave.

First pass. These blades are way louder than the voskhod, that may mean blunter or sharper, I have never been certain. First pass good.

second pass also good. Definitely more hair removed than at the same point last shave.

I then went on to the against the grain pass which was probably a mistake. End result was an exceptionally smooth shave but a fair bit of sting from the alum (not quite as bad as yesterday though). Shave borders on bbs on all the flat areas of the face but still had against the grain stubble on the chin, moustache and neck. I have never gotten a true BBS shave and have given up trying.

This mirrors the general level of the shaves I have been getting with shark blades (with significantly less irritation).

Late night home tomorrow night so I will do a quickly two pass shave to let my face heal more. (I have put it in writing - I will not be tempted by a third pass no matter how well the first two go).
 
Go ahead and blame the blade, my experience with Voskhod matches yours: no matter the razor, no matter if it is the first, second, third, or fourth use of the blade, Voskhod just doesn't work well for me. There are much better blades for me.

I have used them a few times before my technique was really down and never had a good shave with them.
 
I have used them a few times before my technique was really down and never had a good shave with them.

I get great shaves with multiple blades including Astra SP and SS, Feather, GSB, Nacet, 7'oclocks(yellow and green), Wilkinson's etc.. but never great shaves with Voskhods.
 
The jury is out on Voskhod's I have had better shaves with swords, astras and 7 o'clocks. My son didn't like them after the first shave.
 
Shark stainless shave 2

Relatively effortless 2 pass shave. Still got some irritation on the cheeks where they have not yet fully recovered. CCS bordering on DFS on the cheeks. My Dfs by the definition can vary a fair bit. This one you can feel significant stubble against the grain. Yesterday it was only a touch.

my face and black hair mean that to look at I'm pretty close to unshaven now. Why I generally try for a bit closer.
 
Decided, as my face was still healing a little, to give myself the best chance possible and discard the blade. Therefore:

Shark stainless shave one.

slightly more hair to get through tonight given the less hair removed last night.

Blade felt noticibly sharper than last night, and definitely sharper than the voskhod.

First two passes went well, result was closer than after two passes yesterday.

Third pass was ok but I could tell my skin wasn't back into top notch condition yet. Got a very good dfs approaching bbs (as good as I have ever gotten) on everything above the jaw line. Quite a bit of sting from the alum but less than the previous couple of days. No lingering sensitivity now except for a small area at the bottom of the right cheek. None in the corner of the mouth problem areas (and they are smooth).

I will see how this blade goes, I have done three shaves with a shark several times but I don't know if one or two may be a better option.
 
Here are my findings.

I have been doing this for about 10 months. I shave every day.
My favorite razors are:

Pre-war tech
Long tooth NEW
Meuhle R-41
Slim Adjustable

(Just got a red tip which I think is going to be one of my favorites-first shave today with it and used Astra SS.

All the blades have been used in all the razors listed above. All shaves with 3 passes: WTG, XTG, ATG.

Shark Stainless: Good sharpness fairly good smoothness usually lasts 3 shaves

Astra SP: Very Sharp, not as smooth as Shark but lasts 4-5 shaves.

Astra SS: Not as sharp as the Astra SP, smoother than the SP, 3-4 shaves.

Feather: Very Sharp(sharpest blade I've used), not smooth(have to be very careful and deliberate), lasts 3 shaves

Pol-Silver: Very Sharp, smooth, lasts 6-7 shaves.

Rapira Swedish Supersteel: Sharpness less than Shark S, smooth, lasts 3 shaves

Lord's SS: Not as sharp as Shark S, smooth, lasts about 3 shaves. I did use one for 10 2-pass shaves and got DFS for all those days.

Lord Platinum: As sharp or sharper than Shark S, very smooth, lasts 4 shaves. A special note, one day, I used this blade on its third use in a R-41 and got the best shave I've ever gotten without any irritation.

German Wilkinson Sword: As sharp as Pol-Silver(not as sharp as Feather). As smooth as Lord Platinum. Lasts a long time (I put it away after about 10 shaves).

Ladas(Yellow wrapper). Just a bit sharper than Shark, very smooth, lasts 3 shaves.

Voskhod: Not sharp, very smooth. Shaving with this blade I feel like someone trying to cut down a tree with a dull axe. No matter what I do I cannot get BBS with this blade.

Gillette Nacet: Very Sharp(below Feather, equivalent to Pol-Silver), Very smooth. Lasts 7-8 days for me.

Gillette Silver-Blue: Not as sharp as Nacet, Very smooth. Lasts 7-8 days for me.

I purposely didn't order bulk blades for the first 9 months of DE shaving because I didn't want the hassle of trying to sell off or mail the blades that I didn't like.
In September, I ordered 200 Pol-silvers, 100 GSB, and 300 Nacets.
My beard is rough(multiple barbers in India have commented on how tough my beard is and I tell them not to do ATG when I go to India because the barber shavette tears up my face ATG.

Also I used Shark as a comparison for sharpness as I think it is sharp enough and Feather as it is the sharpest blade I used.
 
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Here are my findings.

I have been doing this for about 10 months. I shave every day.
My favorite razors are:

Pre-war tech
Long tooth NEW
Meuhle R-41
Slim Adjustable

(Just got a red tip which I think is going to be one of my favorites-first shave today with it and used Astra SS.

All the blades have been used in all the razors listed above. All shaves with 3 passes: WTG, XTG, ATG.

Shark Stainless: Good sharpness fairly good smoothness usually lasts 3 shaves

Astra SP: Very Sharp, not as smooth as Shark but lasts 4-5 shaves.

Astra SS: Not as sharp as the Astra SP, smoother than the SP, 3-4 shaves.

Feather: Very Sharp(sharpest blade I've used), not smooth(have to be very careful and deliberate), lasts 3 shaves

Pol-Silver: Very Sharp, smooth, lasts 6-7 shaves.

Rapira Swedish Supersteel: Sharpness less than Shark S, smooth, lasts 3 shaves

Lord's SS: Not as sharp as Shark S, smooth, lasts about 3 shaves. I did use one for 10 2-pass shaves and got DFS for all those days.

Lord Platinum: As sharp or sharper than Shark S, very smooth, lasts 4 shaves. A special note, one day, I used this blade on its third use in a R-41 and got the best shave I've ever gotten without any irritation.

German Wilkinson Sword: As sharp as Pol-Silver(not as sharp as Feather). As smooth as Lord Platinum. Lasts a long time (I put it away after about 10 shaves).

Ladas(Yellow wrapper). Just a bit sharper than Shark, very smooth, lasts 3 shaves.

Voskhod: Not sharp, very smooth. Shaving with this blade I feel like someone trying to cut down a tree with a dull axe. No matter what I do I cannot get BBS with this blade.

Gillette Nacet: Very Sharp(below Feather, equivalent to Pol-Silver), Very smooth. Lasts 7-8 days for me.

Gillette Silver-Blue: Not as sharp as Nacet, Very smooth. Lasts 7-8 days for me.

I purposely didn't order bulk blades for the first 9 months of DE shaving because I didn't want the hassle of trying to sell off or mail the blades that I didn't like.
In September, I ordered 200 Pol-silvers, 100 GSB, and 300 Nacets.
My beard is rough(multiple barbers in India have commented on how tough my beard is and I tell them not to do ATG when I go to India because the barber shavette tears up my face ATG.

Also I used Shark as a comparison for sharpness as I think it is sharp enough and Feather as it is the sharpest blade I used.

You have quite a similar range of blades to what I have available. I don't have all The Lord blades and have a couple more rapira blades to try. Don't have the German Wilkins, polsilvers or feathers either (but keep hearing good things about them). Once I get back properly on track I will have to try some that you consider good as I seem to have parallel experience with those I have tried.
 
Still have not had top notch shave. Last one shark stainless shave two - had good results but with a fair bit of irritation.

Hate that I started is thread because my shaves had been so good for almost a month instantly to be hit with disaster. It may be because the weather has changed a fair bit? Plus one bad shave to stuff my face up.

I am going to shave one blade per shave on sharks for a while. With less passes as seems appropriate. I think that should help. Will do a new shark blade tonight.
 
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