Blade Recommendations

[dmatcuk]

Hi Everyone,
A few weeks back I received my great grandfather's 1916 Gillette single ring razor from my mom. I have some experience with DE shaving, but have since moved on to straights. I really had no interest in going back to DE until I received this razor. Anyway, all I have left are some Derby blades. While I had good experiences with them, I feel as though this razor deserves something better. I plan to clean it up and polish it in the next week or so. I would only be using it occasionally. I am not worried about blades being too aggressive and I am open to anything. I figured I would ask you gentlemen what suggestions you might have for me to try out. Thanks!

 

[dfoulk]

Feather
Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow
Polsilver Super Iridium
Astra SP

There are plenty of others but these always give me very good results

 

[dmatcuk]

Yep, there are so many blades out there. I figured I would see what people seem to like the most. I don't plan on buying many, because I will still mostly be using my straights on a day to day basis. I just thought it would be fun to use this razor from time to time.

 

[ackvil]

My recommendations:

Personna Labs
Gillette Silver Blues

 

[Cal]

Hi Everyone,
A few weeks back I received my great grandfather's 1916 Gillette single ring razor from my mom. I have some experience with DE shaving, but have since moved on to straights. I really had no interest in going back to DE until I received this razor. Anyway, all I have left are some Derby blades. While I had good experiences with them, I feel as though this razor deserves something better. I plan to clean it up and polish it in the next week or so. I would only be using it occasionally. I am not worried about blades being too aggressive and I am open to anything. I figured I would ask you gentlemen what suggestions you might have for me to try out. Thanks!

If you've had good experiences with the Derbies in the past, and you still have some, why not stick to them? What would your Great Grandfather have done?

I'd bet that your Great Grandfather simply used whatever blade was available (I'd guess a choice of one or maybe two blade types was all he had). Just sayin'.

 

[cw62803]

My vote is Gillette Silver Blue. They've never disappointed me no matter what razor I use them in.

 

[dmatcuk]

He used gillette blades it looks like. There were a couple old ones in there. They aren't in a condition to be used though. The derby blades were fine, but I didn't get a great shave from them.

 

[Lightcs1776]

My recommendation is to get a variety pack of blades. Blades are probably the most YMMV item in shaving.

Sent via mobile - Chris

 

[DCRIII]

My recommendation is to get a variety pack of blades. Blades are probably the most YMMV item in shaving.

Sent via mobile - Chris

+1

 

[troy]

Congrats on getting your Great Grandfather's razor.
My Single Ring likes Astra SP or GSB, but so do most of my razors.

 

[JohnPD]

My recommendation is to get a variety pack of blades. Blades are probably the most YMMV item in shaving.

Sent via mobile - Chris

+1 grab a sample pack from WCS or Amazon

 

[dmatcuk]

I thought about a sample pack, but I honestly don't think that I would ever use them all. There is a pharmacy nearby where I work that carries some decent wet shaving supplies. I might stop by there and see what they have available. I was looking at 10 packs of blades online and it costs more to ship them than the product price itself.

 

[WarriorMonk]

You won't go wrong with a sample pack. It allowed me to find out what I liked without any commitment. Trust me, a sample pack is a good idea.

 

[dmatcuk]

Well I am not looking to switch to DE. I may be shaving like once a month with it. So a sample pack will last me forever.

 

[WarriorMonk]

Well I am not looking to switch to DE. I may be shaving like once a month with it. So a sample pack will last me forever.

I see what you mean. I apologize, I thought you were looking to make the switch.

 

[dmatcuk]

No need to apologize. I did the DE thing for awhile and then switched to straights. I just can't see getting the same satisfaction from a DE that I do with a straight. With the family heirloom connection though, I think I would use this from time to time. I don't get the same quality of shave from a Derby as I do with my straight razors though, so I would like to try something different. I want to get a great shave regardless of what razor I am using.

I see what you mean. I apologize, I thought you were looking to make the switch.

 

[musicman1951]

I thought about a sample pack, but I honestly don't think that I would ever use them all. There is a pharmacy nearby where I work that carries some decent wet shaving supplies. I might stop by there and see what they have available. I was looking at 10 packs of blades online and it costs more to ship them than the product price itself.

You can make your own with just a few blades. The next time you order shaving supplies you can throw in a few 5 blade packs. Lots of good suggestions above. Or maybe purchase a few blades from Try a Blade (or something very similar - I'll so be corrected if that's not it). Get 2 of each just in case you get a bad blade. You probably only need to try 3 or 4.

 

[BSAGuy]

Congrats on the cool, 100 year old heirloom. Use it with pride. I was going to suggest GSB's as well.

My vote is Gillette Silver Blue. They've never disappointed me no matter what razor I use them in.

 

[Jeff10236]

I'm pretty new but there are two I've found so far that are sharp, smooth, and seem to play well with others (whatever razor I put them in, they seem to like).

Personna Red. Sharp yet smooth. They are also easy to find, if a store brand 10 pack dispenser says "Made in Israel" they are Personna Red. You can find them at nearly any pharmacy or grocery store (often around $5 for a 10 pack, though Wegmans has them somewhere between $2.50-3.00).

Astra Superior Platinum

Honorable mention: Shark Super Chome

 

[adamchur]

You could do a lot worse than check out some of the Russian sellers on eBay
There are some very reasonably priced selections of Russian blades available which typically tnclude various combinations of Rapira Chrome/Super Stainless, Rapira Swedish, Rapira Platinum, Voskhod, Ladas, Sharp Star, Gillette Rubie and Sputnik
If you buy other items like shaving cream, cologne, etc they often give very generous combined shipping discounts