agressive razor blades

[Sharp&Shiny]

The most aggressive blade I tried was the Voskhod blades. Those things ripped and pulled my beard out rather than cut it.

For super sharp and smooth I say Feather and Bic Chrome Platinum.

 

[les24preludes]

For super sharp and smooth, frankly the best there is are the Personna GEM PTFE blades. A new one in a 1912 with a heavier handle is a sublime experience.

 

[dmshaver]

I suggest a Kai, Feather, or my favorite, Nacet.

 

[dfoulk]

I can agree with some users above that have said that blades are not aggressive. I grade blades on sharpness and longevity. A sharper blade will feel more aggressive as it can punish you more easily for your poor technique. With proper technique that sharper blade will be as smooth as butter and it will reduce the amount of touch up that you have to do.

In terms of longevity some blade can hold an edge longer than others. I've tried plenty of blade that were top notch for the first shave then fell off a cliff in terms of performance. Your technique also is a factor in blade longevity as smooth clean cuts are less inclined to dull a blade than scraping it on your skin.

For sharper blades Feather blades are the very best I've found. If your technique is bad they will punish you for trying but with good technique there's nothing better. I'm using these almost exclusively. Other well thought of blades are PolSilver, Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow, Astra SP, and Gillette Silver Blue. There are plenty more but these work well for me in terms of sharpness and duration.

 

[Rafa1205]

Feather

 

[Procver]

True, need to rephrase Those Dorco Primes are not aggressive, the are really sharp (I can't say how smooth with my current experience). It was just me being aggressive with my face lol

 

[hydro-magic]

hmmm, i thought some blades were more sharper than others, is this not the case?

I find definite differences in sharpness between different blades. Apparently somebody disagrees but there are a lot of variables (like whisker thickness or density) that might make sharpness less apparent to him. Some people can shave with Sharks, Derbys, or GEM SE blades. One of those hits my chin whiskers and it gets stopped cold. I can yank on the razor to pull it through them but I'll have to go over and over that area to get a decent shave. That leads to tons of irritation and a weird soreness from yanking on the whiskers. But if I use, say a 7 o'Clock Yellow, it cuts right through those chin whiskers. So yeah, I think some blades are sharper than others.

 

[psfred]

Unless defectively manufactured, ALL razor blades sold for shaving are very, very, very sharp. The differences between blades are coatings, actual bevel angle and bevel grind, and material. They are all very highly honed to start with.

They are also very closely machined for width -- however, I suspect this factor is the one that causes the most trouble for people. A very small variation in width from the industry standard will result in a blade with more (or less) exposure, and in some razors result in either very "aggressive" feel or almost complete lack of cutting ability.

For instance, I suspect my batch of Polsliver's is on the narrow end of the tolerance -- I cannot get those blades to give me a close shave unless I open my adjustables up to 7 or 8 and use a shallow angle. In a Tech they leave stubble no matter what I do. Kai blades on the other hand are reputed to be slightly wider than standard and that would have the reverse effect -- all razors would feel more "aggressive" with one.

Different bevel grind angles will require different razor angle to get the blade to the correct angle for shaving. I seem to do this automatically while shaving, but someone who holds the razor at a more constant angle will find some blades "cut better" than others simply because the ones that do match the angle that person holds the razor. Adjust the angle of the handle to match the bevel grind and I'd bet those "dull" blades will suddenly become "sharp".....

Coatings make the blade feel "sharper" because they reduce the drag of the hair on the blade as it is cut. Note that this effect only applies for the diameter of the hair and has absolutely nothing to do with how sharp the actual cutting edge is. I greatly prefer platinum coated blades for this reason, it (and chrome or tungsten) last much longer than PTFE coatings. Diamond-like carbon is also very hard and low friction and long lasting.

I guess the point of this long ramble is that you must experiment with razor, shaving angle, and blades to find what works for you. A trip down the "one blade in February" challenge can teach you a lot about this, as otherwise it's easy to depend on the PTFE to give you "smooth" shaves. When it wears off in a few shaves, the drag of the hair on the bare bevel will make the blade feel "dull" when it's not, and if you persist in using a blade with the coating worn off, you will find that you can compensate quite a bit with technique. Figure that out, and you will get longer blade life and more comfortable shaves, with the emphasis on more comfortable!

 

[sig303]

My personal top three very sharp blades are Nacets, Perma Sharps, Feathers (listed in descending order of smoothness). The closest I've ever seen to an objective attempt at ranking blades is here:
Razor Blade Sharpness Summary with Comparison Chart » refined shave
His methodology isn't perfect - any number of factors can affect the perceived smoothness of a blade (razor, prep, phases of the moon) - but the sharpness measurements seem fair enough from blade to blade; for whatever it's worth, I've used most (~85%) of the blades he has tested and with only a couple of exceptions, I find his analysis to be largely consistent with my experience.

... I should also probably qualify my first statement by adding that I find Nacets way smoother than either the Perma Sharps or Feathers, but YMMV as they say.

 

[hydro-magic]

Unless defectively manufactured, ALL razor blades sold for shaving are very, very, very sharp.

... it's easy to depend on the PTFE to give you "smooth" shaves. When it wears off in a few shaves, the drag of the hair on the bare bevel will make the blade feel "dull" when it's not, and if you persist in using a blade with the coating worn off, you will find that you can compensate quite a bit with technique.

My face likes very, very, very, very, very sharp apparently. What you were saying about angle is really true for me. I have to use a very shallow angle on my chin to get any blade to cut. Some just won't do it. Even trying things like sliding strokes, a blade that I perceive as less sharp will still leave a ton of whiskers behind.

I've tried using blades as long as I can to refine my technique and I've found an important part of this for me is prep. If I prep well and my whiskers are good and soft (which takes a pretty extreme amount of prep for me), I've gone 20 shaves or maybe a little more with Personna Lab (PTFE coated) blades. My problem doesn't seem to be that the blade starts to feel dull. It's that the blade starts to feel rough and gives me irritation. Eventually I got a loupe, checked my blades and found microchipping which I assume is the cause of the irritation. I've sort of settled into a routine that includes about 3-5 minutes of letting the lather sit in my beard to soften it before shaving and I can usually get 5-7 shaves from a blade before it starts to irritate. If I extend the prep time I can make a blade last longer but I feel like I sort of hit the point of diminishing returns.

 

[Bogeyman]

Unless defectively manufactured, ALL razor blades sold for shaving are very, very, very sharp. The differences between blades are coatings, actual bevel angle and bevel grind, and material. They are all very highly honed to start with...

Coatings make the blade feel "sharper" because they reduce the drag of the hair on the blade as it is cut. Note that this effect only applies for the diameter of the hair and has absolutely nothing to do with how sharp the actual cutting edge is. I greatly prefer platinum coated blades for this reason, it (and chrome or tungsten) last much longer than PTFE coatings. Diamond-like carbon is also very hard and low friction and long lasting...

Bingo. Hardened edges hold up longer & better as well as form a better substrate for sputtering from what I can decipher in the Gillette patents.

As regards sharpness, if you deliberately cut your finger with a new Polsilver and then with a low end Lord blade you wouldn't feel any difference. Your face is no different.

 

[macduff67]

Interesting. Red Personnas seem only moderately sharp to me. I was afraid of Feathers for a while, but discovered that they cut through the funny, angled hair on my neck like butter (with little irritation). You do have to respect them.

Astra was harsh in the Red Tip that I had for a while. I seem to like very sharp blades in mild razors.

 

[mrlandpirate]

Feather, Astra
I've tried a lot and these work best.........for me

 

[hydro-magic]

As regards sharpness, if you deliberately cut your finger with a new Polsilver and then with a low end Lord blade you wouldn't feel any difference. Your face is no different.

I'm not going to test your theory by cutting my finger but I'm skeptical that it's true. I can tell you my whiskers absolutely can tell the difference between a Polsilver and a Shark (low end Lord blade).

 

[Southernman53]

The first shave with a Feather is the sharpest but they dull down after that. Some blades such as a German Wilkinson start out about average but on the second shave will be almost as sharp as a Feather on the first shave. I'm currently using a Polsilver in a Tech and have found it to be one of the smoothest shaving blades I've tried in the Tech. I've used a feather but didn't think I got a better or closer shave.

 

[psfred]

You can give yourself a very nasty cut with a razor blade that won't give you even a marginal shave, all you have to do is move the edge sideways in contact with the skin.

As Gillette found in the 1950's perceived sharpness and actual sharpness are not the same. PTFE coatings greatly reduce the pulling sensation as the blade cuts hairs making for a more comfortable shave. The edge is the same, but the hair shaft drags on the uncoated blade more.

Note that the angle at which the blade is cutting the hair has a significant impact too -- the closer to truly perpendicular to the hair shaft the edge is the smaller the cross-section of hair is, and that means less area dragging on the blade. Since hair grows out at all sorts of angles, you must determine what razor and directional movement cut the hair closest to perpendicular, and that varies quite a bit even on one face. For that reason, I don't bother to shave with the grain. Most of my beard grows out nearly parallel to my skin, and all WTG does for me is put sharp points on the hairs in most spots. All ATG, all the time is what works for me.

 

[razorhead63]

Feathers, Permasharps, Gillette Yellows. Nacets too. All quite sharp.
Astra Stainless also do a good job.

 

[spolct]

Slightly off topic but I can't hear or read the word 'aggressive' without thinking about a segment a local sports radio show did on the topic. It's quite funny to hear the various iterations of the word in the sports broadcasting world. I think my favorite is aggressisness. BaD Radio – Passive Agressniff

Back to the topic, I tend to think of blades in terms of sharpness or smoothness. My favorites are the green box 7 o'clock Gillettes. I tried a Feather the other day and it was quite sharp.

 

[THall]

Kai has always been my favorite. Nice and sharp and the best for my vintage Gillettes, namely my pre-war Tech and Super Speed.

As my technique has improved over the years, I find myself using Lab Blues a lot more. They are also sharp and have terrific longevity.

 

[Leverspro]

When I started a got a sample pack and stared a spread sheet so I could note the differences between blades, as well as soaps and razors. I didn't keep it up, as the point wasn't to keep a diary, but rather use it as a learning tool for a season.

i currently use gillette platinums for my daily shaving. i wanted to try some razor blades that were a bit more agressive than these ones, is there a chart with razor blades and there agressivness? also any suggestions on blades that might be slightly more agressive than what i am using know would be greatly apreciated