Anything but a Polsilver...

[MostaccioMan]

I'm giving up on Polsilvers!

Going by the myriad reviews on B&B, praising these legendary blades, that sounds akin to blasphemy, but I'm not shaving with a Polsilver again.

To give some background: I have a sensitive face, prone to acne when I'm not getting a clean shave every 48 hrs. This happens very often with Polsilvers and when I'm not treating a Feather with respect. I use a Bombay Shaving Company razor, a Qshave Futur clone and a Red Tip. South India is very hot and humid, so blades never last more than 2 shaves.

I've had 30 shaves with Polsilvers, and amazingly, it's been with 20 blades! It feels a criminal waste to discard blades after 1 shave, but my face really suffers when I'm re-using these blades. At first, I thought maybe I'd gotten ripped off by the Bulgarian guy on eBay, but my brother started using the same blades from my stash, and he's been singing its praises ever since. YMMV, sheesh!

Pols seem to compromise sharpness for smoothness. Even when my face bleeds like hell after a shave, I only feel irritation at the spot where it bleeds, the rest of my face feels great. I've never, ever had a weeper-free shave when I'm going for round 2 with the same blade, and I get weepers half the time even with fresh Polsilvers when I'm going for a BBS.

This is never a problem with my other blades: Astras, GSBs and even Blacks. When I'm careful, I can even get a completely irritation-free shave with Feathers. But it would seem Pols are not for me.

I'm basically looking for suggestions for any blade other than a Polsilver which gives shaves as smooth. GSBs seem to do the job to some extent, but all that wax puts me off. I love my Astras, but I'm still young enough to try out all the blades in the world!

 

[G.W.]

Try a 7 o'clock yellow blade. Those and Polsilvers are my favorites.

 

[Invicta]

GSBs seem to do the job to some extent, but all that wax puts me off

If GSBs' work use them and forget the wax. You could try Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge which perform like the Astra SP.
I think the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum or Supermax Platinum are available in your region.

 

[Tokyospike]

I'm with Invicta on this. I love Polsilvers, but those seem like good substitutes to try.

 

[MostaccioMan]

If GSBs' work use them and forget the wax. You could try Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge which perform like the Astra SP.
I think the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum or Supermax Platinum are available in your region.

I ran through almost all the Supermax and Gillette blades available in India before I tried my first 'foreign' blade. While I did like the Platinum Max, it was still not as smooth as an Astra or a GSB. It seems like the SuperMax Blue Diamond Titanium gets a lot of love here, but these blades are surprisingly hard to get in India!

I think I'll have a go with the Nacet. Although it'd be great if those Russians manage to make GSBs without adorning even the cutting edge with wax! The other blades from PPI dont seem to have this problem.

 

[danlaw]

I find the gsb while good has stiction. Having also very sensitive skin, find feathers great but too aggressive at moment for substandard technique and polsilvers to be perfect. Sometimes one lands on a perfect solution first stab; perhaps astra is your optimum blade?

 

[Slats6NYR]

I'm giving up on Polsilvers!

Going by the myriad reviews on B&B, praising these legendary blades, that sounds akin to blasphemy, but I'm not shaving with a Polsilver again.

To give some background: I have a sensitive face, prone to acne when I'm not getting a clean shave every 48 hrs. This happens very often with Polsilvers and when I'm not treating a Feather with respect. I use a Bombay Shaving Company razor, a Qshave Futur clone and a Red Tip. South India is very hot and humid, so blades never last more than 2 shaves.

I've had 30 shaves with Polsilvers, and amazingly, it's been with 20 blades! It feels a criminal waste to discard blades after 1 shave, but my face really suffers when I'm re-using these blades. At first, I thought maybe I'd gotten ripped off by the Bulgarian guy on eBay, but my brother started using the same blades from my stash, and he's been singing its praises ever since. YMMV, sheesh!

Pols seem to compromise sharpness for smoothness. Even when my face bleeds like hell after a shave, I only feel irritation at the spot where it bleeds, the rest of my face feels great. I've never, ever had a weeper-free shave when I'm going for round 2 with the same blade, and I get weepers half the time even with fresh Polsilvers when I'm going for a BBS.

This is never a problem with my other blades: Astras, GSBs and even Blacks. When I'm careful, I can even get a completely irritation-free shave with Feathers. But it would seem Pols are not for me.

I'm basically looking for suggestions for any blade other than a Polsilver which gives shaves as smooth. GSBs seem to do the job to some extent, but all that wax puts me off. I love my Astras, but I'm still young enough to try out all the blades in the world!

Try Zorrik Super Platinum. Just tried it in my Futur Clone the other day & got the smoothest shave ever.

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

 

[MostaccioMan]

I find the gsb while good has stiction. Having also very sensitive skin, find feathers great but too aggressive at moment for substandard technique and polsilvers to be perfect. Sometimes one lands on a perfect solution first stab; perhaps astra is your optimum blade?

They probably are. I have a 1000 of them, to last me till kingdom come! But then again, I want to have a backup just for the sake of variety.

 

[Quink]

As some of the gentlemen above have suggested, try a 7 O'clock SharpEdge (yellow). I can also recommend the Gillette Nacet Stainless. Not quite as smooth as the Yellow but just by a hair

The Supermax Platinums are really nice and so are the Supermax Diamond Titanium. Two excellent blades for the money. I've had good success with the SuperMax in general.

I hope you find a good blade!!!

 

[chente12]

Another vote for nacet. As for the Blue Diamond Titanium they're a great value if you buy in bulk. Otherwise they might come out the same price as the nacet. It's not that they're not worth it because performance-wise they don't seem inferior to the nacet or pretty much any other blade I've tried tbh. It's more of the principle that you shouldn't be getting charged more to get them in India (the country of manufacture) than they are sold for in England (a country that imports them). You also shouldn't have to buy them from a foreign country when the country you live in (I'm assuming you live there based on the replies above) produces them. That's just my $0.02.

BTW I'm also of the mentality that if the GSB works for you, ignore the wax dots. I'd much rather have a comfortable shave and deal with the residue once a week, than have poor shaves because I'm trying to avoid the wax. But it's a personal thing and if you hate them that much, well you're entitled to feel that way.

 

[Ron R]

Another vote for nacet.

That is one excellent blade, I believe its un-coated so this may help you with skin issues, Polsilver are great and do get sharper around 3&4th shave after some of the coating has worn off IMO.

 

[SpeedyPC]

I have tried these blades below is what I have in my den during my rotation.

Double Edge:-
Astra Superior Platinum
Gillette Nacet
Gillette Platinum
Gillette Rubie Platinum Plus
Gillette Silver Blue
Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow SharpEdge
Kai Stainless Steel
Lord Platinum
Personna Platinum (Israeli Red)
Perma-Sharp Super
Polsilver Super Iridium
Rapira Platinum Lux
Rapira Voskhod
Super Max Blue Diamond Platinum Coated
Super Max Blue Diamond Titanium Coated
Super Max Platinum
Super Max Super Platinum
Treet Platinum
Wizamet Polsilver Stainless (brown)
Wizamet Super Iridium
German Wilkinson Sword

Single Edge:-
Feather Artist Club Professional
Feather Artist Club Professional Super
Kai Captain Titan Mild (Pink)
Schick Proline P-30

 

[MostaccioMan]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I finally bit the bullet and ordered my first sampler of 5 blades each from the following brands:

Astra superior stainless
Gillette nacet stainless
Gillette 7 o clock super stainless (Greens)
Gillette 7 o clock sharpedge (Yellows)
Gillette rubie platinum plus
Gillette platinum
Perma sharp super stainless
Rapira platinum lux
Shark super stainless
Voskhod teflon
Wilkinson sword
SuperMax Blue Diamond Titanium

I've never tried any of these blades before. Astra SPs are what made me settle on DE shaving, lets see if something knocks it off it's pedestal!

 

[MostaccioMan]

It's more of the principle that you shouldn't be getting charged more to get them in India (the country of manufacture) than they are sold for in England (a country that imports them). You also shouldn't have to buy them from a foreign country when the country you live in (I'm assuming you live there based on the replies above) produces them.

You'd be surprised how hard it is for an Indian to get DE shaving supplies manufactured in India! I remember hunting for any website which showed a local retailer selling a Parker razor, and I've still never found one. We still have to pay premium prices for blades and razors manufactured within the country.

Goes on to show the firm hold disposables and Gillette carts have on the shaving market here. And considering there's a shaving population of half a billion over here, that's scary! DE shavers are an older generation that's going extinct here, and that's a sad thought...

 

[Invicta]

You'd be surprised how hard it is for an Indian to get DE shaving supplies manufactured in India! I remember hunting for any website which showed a local retailer selling a Parker razor, and I've still never found one. We still have to pay premium prices for blades and razors manufactured within the country.

It is strange but true; maybe something related to charging taxes on goods. They are happy to export for foreign exchange coming into the country. Imports seem to be heavily taxed.
I didn't think cartridges were a big sell in India. I thought the double edge had a big following.

 

[MostaccioMan]

It is strange but true; maybe something related to charging taxes on goods. They are happy to export for foreign exchange coming into the country. Imports seem to be heavily taxed.
I didn't think cartridges were a big sell in India. I thought the double edge had a big following.

Millennials form a disproportionately large chunk of our population and cartridges are all the rage for us. Our parents' generation pretty much uses disposables all the time, and DE has been relegated to grand old men. Shavettes are more popular among the older bunch too.
An even larger portion of millennials are using trimmers more often than shaving. Just google 'Indian Cricket Team' to get an idea of how many of us actually like to have a clean-shaven face every day.

 

[musicman1951]

Wow, I use PolSilver SI daily (I change them out after 4 days, but could go longer) and go three months between weepers.

But as always, YMMV. Med Preps would be my second choice.

 

[cyberdog]

I've found that no given blade is a perfect match in every razor. In my Rockwell, a Feather is fantastic, regardless of the plate, great shave. Chock the Feather into my Schone or New SC, and I might as well be shaving with a belt sander. - Yet a Nacet or GSB work fantastic in the Schone and New SC. Same with the couple packs of KAI blades I have, work well in some razors, but not my favorite in my Slim.

The PolSilver SI is no exception, mounted in my QShave/Ming-Shi, great shave, toss it into my Slim or Fat-Boy, and something just doesn't feel right. (It also goes 7-10 shaves in the QShave/Ming-Shi, yet 2-3 shaves and it's done in the others). Shaving is very much a YMMV, and even then, it might depend on the match of blade and razor.

 

[Graybeard57]

I stick with blades that work for me. I insist on enjoying my shaves, and have quickly rid myself of any gear that proves unsatisfactory.

 

[Ron R]

I stick with blades that work for me. I insist on enjoying my shaves, and have quickly rid myself of any gear that proves unsatisfactory.

That sounds like a good formula to me!