Anyone use Sharp Durablades?

[turkish]

I got the 7 AM's today and used one in a Gillette Red Tip with RazoRock Don Marco soap Excellent shave. Near BBS. 7 AM's don't get a lot of love here either but I heard they were better than the Sharp's. I think they're pretty close. I did a 3 pass shave. Zero irritation, very smooth.

 

[Joe Larsen]

Glad to hear they worked out for you. Would you say the 7am's are a bit better or about the same as the Sharps? For me they were just ever so slightly better.

 

[Joe Larsen]

To clarify by better I'm curious about sharpness and smoothness. I felt the 7am's were about the same on smoothness with a bit more sharpness.

 

[turkish]

To clarify by better I'm curious about sharpness and smoothness. I felt the 7am's were about the same on smoothness with a bit more sharpness.

You are correct. I find that the Sharp's provide a smooth shave and the 7 AM's perform slightly better , definitely a little sharper while still being smooth. Overall, they're pretty close.

 

[mikelz777]

If this is the blade being discussed, it was one of the worst blades I've ever used. I can make almost any blade work for me but I think this is the only blade I've ever changed out in the middle of a shave. I thought maybe it was just a bum blade so I gave it a 2nd and a 3rd try. (3 blades total) They were just as bad. Fortunately I was able to trade them away.

 

[Two Rivers Man]

Isn't it odd how one blade can be so perfect for some but awful for others? I love them, personally. I recently picked up some Gillette Platinums that I look forward to trying.

 

[fast shaver]

Yep... YMMV with any blade. Once you find some that work, I would stick with em.

 

[Grundi]

I've been using a Sharp Durablade Hi Chromium in a Gillette Rocket (Parat) for the past 2 shaves and both were very nice, close (DFS) shaves. I haven't tried one in a modern DE, but maybe the blade favors a vintage razor.

 

[fast shaver]

Nope! Its a a good blade for just about any razor you can come up with.

 

[Grundi]

Nope! Its a a good blade for just about any razor you can come up with.

Agreed, it's a good blade; unfortunately, not a great blade for me. 3rd shave this morning with it and the blade gave out toward the end of my shave. I was able to coax it through the rest of my shave but it was a rough finish!!

 

[fast shaver]

You must have a tough beard. I get X7 shaves per blade & from the 7th shave I could tell that more shaves were possible from this blade. I have a medium beard type & I usually stop at X7 shaves with any blade.

 

[Grundi]

You must have a tough beard. I get X7 shaves per blade & from the 7th shave I could tell that more shaves were possible from this blade. I have a medium beard type & I usually stop at X7 shaves with any blade.

Thick and tough beard coupled with somewhat sensitive neck area (where my beard grows in a swirl pattern). I'm a full-face shaver (including mustache area) so the blades do take a beating. (When I was cartridge shaving, one swipe cheek to base of neck was all it took to clog the razor - it was so bad - and never ATG).

 

[Demolition]

Reviving this thread because I used a Sharp Durablade Hi Chromium for the first time, today.

I started with an RR Old Type and was having a reasonable WTG pass, but it suddenly felt dull partway through. The razor was actually skipping over my skin. I debated whether to stop, but switched the blade to a GC .84-P to see if a more aggressive razor made a difference.

The skipping went away and I finished my WTG pass. The ATG pass was noticeably rougher and it began skipping again. I didn't quite finish the ATG pass as I began to feel some irritation on my neck. I stopped there.

Kind of odd that the feel of the blade would change twice during a single shave. I have a tough beard like @Grundi described, but it shouldn't have dulled out a blade before completing one pass.

Despite the name, this blade didn't feel "Sharp" from the start. I'm wondering if it might get better on the second shave as many blades do. I'm not counting on it, but I'll probably give it try.

 

[Dalejr]

I've used the Sharp Hi Chromium which didn't get past a few strokes but have been blown away by how good their Titanium blades are.

 

[Grundi]

Reviving this thread because I used a Sharp Durablade Hi Chromium for the first time, today.

I started with an RR Old Type and was having a reasonable WTG pass, but it suddenly felt dull partway through. The razor was actually skipping over my skin. I debated whether to stop, but switched the blade to a GC .84-P to see if a more aggressive razor made a difference.

The skipping went away and I finished my WTG pass. The ATG pass was noticeably rougher and it began skipping again. I didn't quite finish the ATG pass as I began to feel some irritation on my neck. I stopped there.

Kind of odd that the feel of the blade would change twice during a single shave. I have a tough beard like @Grundi described, but it shouldn't have dulled out a blade before completing one pass.

Despite the name, this blade didn't feel "Sharp" from the start. I'm wondering if it might get better on the second shave as many blades do. I'm not counting on it, but I'll probably give it try.

Hmmm...this blade might be a good candidate for corking.

 

[Demolition]

Hmmm...this blade might be a good candidate for corking.

That's a great idea!

Once I summon up the courage to use this blade again, I'll try corking it.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I got a box in a sampler pack and used one blade one time. It was awful. I will retry later when my technique is better to give them a second chance. If they fail again, the rest go in the trash. I think that the Feather blade is going to be my blade of choice.

 

[Demolition]

Well, I used it again today. In a nutshell, it was a complete nightmare.

As you'll recall, on the first shave, I switched to the GC .84-P partway through the first pass because the Old Type started skipping.

Therefore, I started my second shave with the GC .84-P. Big mistake! I started on the right side of my face and now I have cuts all over. Two, in particular, on the tip of my chin and on my lower neck would not stop, despite constant dabbing with a styptic pencil. I finally had to put some precious bits of TP ( ) on them and apply pressure.

But, being the kind of person who won't admit defeat (or maybe I'm just dumb), I decided to try corking the blade as @Grundi suggested. Each side got two sweeps through the cork. Then, I put it back in the GC .84-P.

Half a stroke told me all I needed to know as I got a weeper at the top of my left cheek. But, being a glutton for punishment, I switched to a Merkur 34C; surely such a mild razor can't cause any damage, right? Of course, it can!

The left side of my face felt like it was on fire! I stopped completely, only half-shaven. I can only conclude that I received a bum blade. I believe that even the lowest-quality blade wouldn't be this rough, so there must be a manufacturing defect. This goes way beyond "YMMV", especially since several people have had good results with it.

So, that's it! Ten hours later, my cheeks and neck are still on fire, despite coating them liberally with Gold Bond lotion. I kept forgetting about the cut on my neck and every time I rubbed it, I got a smear of blood. I had to put a band-aid on it.

Yup, this may qualify as my worst shave ever. I'm having trouble thinking of any other time that it was this painful. I'm sure glad that the weekend is here, so I can give my face a rest!

Well, there you go... "Sharp" has officially gone on my $#!+ list.

 

[Toddster64]

I like the Durablades as they work well in a number of my razors. Sounds like there have been some QC issues with them; to this point, I'm working off the same batch I purchased in 2012 or so, but they're a "7" in my book overall.