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Blade For Coarse Hair?

I broke my ulna, so I'm off of straight razors until it heals. But I still have to shave.

I'm looking for recommendations for a DE blade, probably getting used in a Gillette Tech, SuperSpeed, or Mühle R89; all mild razors. I know that blade performance will vary from person to person, but I'm trying to get some opinions.

I have wiry, coarse hair even after prepping it. It's not dense, just coarse. I tried shimming the Tech, but I still have to apply more pressure than I'm comfortable with.

The blades I have plenty of and on-hand are Gillette Platinum, Lord Platinum, Derby Extra, Astra SP, Derby USTA, and Shark (not sure which version). I'm currently browsing a few sites that offer sample packs since I'll be back to straight razors eventually.

So, what works best in a mild razor for coarse hair? Let's say a 2-day growth.

Thanks for helping :)
 
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With a coarse beard, you have two ways to go. One is to use a fairly aggressive razor with a mid-range blade. Even in an aggressive razor: Shark SuperChrome, Derby Extra, and Astra SP are not likely to be sharp enough. However, Gillette Platinum, Lord Platinum, Gillette Silver Blue, and others might be sharp enough.

With fairly mild razors such as you own, you probably need to use a super-sharp blade. I have a coarse beard. My favorite blades for milder razors are: BIC Chrome Platinum, Gillette Nacet, Gillette PermaSharp Super, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (black), Personna Platinum (Israeli Reds now made in Germany) and Wilkinson Sword Classics. Less popular blades that work well for me are Dorco Prime Platinum (STP301), Super Max Blue Diamond, Durablade Sharp Titanium, and Lord Platinum- The Diamond Edge. These blades are all sharp enough to deal with two-day beard growth, even if your beard is coarse.

You could also try Feather blades, but if your skin is easily irritated, you might want to skip them. They are super sharp out of the wrapper, but the edge deteriorates quickly. I can only get two good shave from Feather blades before they are too rough for my face. Many others have a similar opinion of the blades. If you do not mind paying for a fresh blade for every shave (or two), Feather blades are great for tough beards. Just make sure you treat them with the same respect you do a straight razor.

If you do not mind my asking, what I your procedure for honing and stropping a straight razor? If you are able to shave off an 8K Norton, then your beard might not be as coarse as you think. I like honing on very high grit hones like a Suehiro Gokumyo 20K and then further polishing the edge with ultra fine abrasives on pasted strops: 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 micron. Doing so produces an edge suitable for my coarse beard and sensitive skin.
 
With a coarse beard, you have two ways to go. One is to use a fairly aggressive razor with a mid-range blade. Even in an aggressive razor: Shark SuperChrome, Derby Extra, and Astra SP are not likely to be sharp enough. However, Gillette Platinum, Lord Platinum, Gillette Silver Blue, and others might be sharp enough.

With fairly mild razors such as you own, you probably need to use a super-sharp blade. I have a coarse beard. My favorite blades for milder razors are: BIC Chrome Platinum, Gillette Nacet, Gillette PermaSharp Super, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (black), Personna Platinum (Israeli Reds now made in Germany) and Wilkinson Sword Classics. Less popular blades that work well for me are Dorco Prime Platinum (STP301), Super Max Blue Diamond, Durablade Sharp Titanium, and Lord Platinum- The Diamond Edge. These blades are all sharp enough to deal with two-day beard growth, even if your beard is coarse.

You could also try Feather blades, but if your skin is easily irritated, you might want to skip them. They are super sharp out of the wrapper, but the edge deteriorates quickly. I can only get two good shave from Feather blades before they are too rough for my face. Many others have a similar opinion of the blades. If you do not mind paying for a fresh blade for every shave (or two), Feather blades are great for tough beards. Just make sure you treat them with the same respect you do a straight razor.

If you do not mind my asking, what I your procedure for honing and stropping a straight razor? If you are able to shave off an 8K Norton, then your beard might not be as coarse as you think. I like honing on very high grit hones like a Suehiro Gokumyo 20K and then further polishing the edge with ultra fine abrasives on pasted strops: 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 micron. Doing so produces an edge suitable for my coarse beard and sensitive skin.
I only go down to .5 micron on my straights, as any finer will wreck the edge quickly because of how coarse my facial hair is.
 
My beard is coarse though not so much as you describe. And while I'm happy enough with anything, I've landed on GSBs and Nacets without an exhaustive tour of other products.

The narrow performance window of Feathers annoys me, first couple strokes can feel awkward and a third shave has typically felt enough like stretching the blade until its absolute last that I quit trying.
 
Sounds like Gillette Silver Blues may be my best bet.
I wasn't going to wade in, but I agree. I prefer the sharpness of Platinums, but eventually backed off to SBs because my cheeks aren't handling the abrasion well. SBs are the sharpest thing(first 3 shaves) that I discovered my skin can handle without too much care. I bin them when they sharpen up, I guess I could put them in a milder razor and get a couple more shaves.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Hey Ziggy! How's the Ulna doing? I'd forgotten all about it! Any nerve damage? Or tell me to shut up, I'm kinda dense.
 
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