Hi everyone, I want to see what kind of blades people recommend. Its easy enough to google whats popular, but i want to throw in my history and see if perhaps i can get a more catered response.
My shave history looks like this:
I've got a pretty dense beard no matter the length. Arab genes. I can shave in the morning and have a drill sergeant ask me y i didnt shave by 4pm. That day i learned of the 4 oclock shadow.
The blades i use to use were used razors- a gamut of em- gillette, mach, schick, whatever was laying around. I wasnt really taught anything. i just grabbed what i could.
As you could imagine, my first ~5 years of shaving were very unpleasant. Id usually let my beard grow for weeks before dreading the shave. Fast forward to today and this is what ive learned.
Razors eventually dull. This was a new concept to me since i started with dull razors. I also learned all cart razors struggle against a longer beard but in the end it saves the agony of shaving several times.
After much struggling i decided to try a straight edge razor. Yea... I quickly realized that a safety razor is what i was after. i found one at walmart, and compared to the one i got my dad on ebay (for like $1,) this $10 handle was amazing.
I didnt think much of the blades. I just bought what i could find for a good price- i started with derby extras. i actually still have like 20 blades left, ive been shaving about twice a month since my face was very irritable from years of shredding. you could imagine how long ive been using derby.
Now that i am almost all out of derby, i have been taking a second look at what blades i should resupply with. I love how safety razors can shred through a full grown beard whereas carts cant even make a scratch. Ive been learning more about technique through self teaching and through what hurts less in the end, never really bothered to look up anything besides a soap lather for those times id be in a pinch.
I always throw away a double sided or 2 half blades after every shave, at least from my derbys. i feel my whiskers/beard really put the blade to work and for my own sake ive been playing it safe.
I can say that my face is far less irritable now with my fresh blades and evolving technique.
However i need some suggestions on my next blade refill.
My priorities (in order) are:
Cheap
less irritation
power
Ive come to know cheap as 1 double derby blade per shave and am very uncomfortable with the idea of using the same blade for 2 shaves. I actually use to use 2 double sided derby extras per shave at one point before i got better at technique.
My research and priorities have taken me to Derby premium. But derby seems to have a terrible rep. I plan to buy em off ebay, i dont know if fakes or clones are an issue here.
I have been reading some really good things about GSB, but they are almost double the cost of the derby premiums. it seems like both should in theory hold up to 2 shaves but in reality its likely i might toss em after every shave. Ill try 2 shaves and see how it goes...
My question to you guys, for a person looking for comfort and effectiveness at the cheapest price point, is the GSB worth it over the derby? $8 vs $15 for 100ct is a very difficult choice for me here. I will likely be shaving once a week or two. no sense buying a sample when i could get the 100ct at the cost of 100 derbys and a sample of gsbs. or what about astras vs derby premium ($10 vs $8)?
the best razor i ever used in my life was a cart womens shick i was given for free in college. blew the derby outa the water for comfort. not something i can afford though, and idk how itd hold up to a 2 week+ beard. I am male.
My default strat is to go with whats cheapest and hope its better enough than the derby extras were that i wouldn't look back on my choice again. With the price point of about $8 for 100, that opens up possibilities like astras and maybe others i havent heard about yet.
tl:dr
need best razor/thick hair for cheapest price on irritable beard. Derby prem vs astra sup? or something within $7-$12 per 100ct?
My shave history looks like this:
I've got a pretty dense beard no matter the length. Arab genes. I can shave in the morning and have a drill sergeant ask me y i didnt shave by 4pm. That day i learned of the 4 oclock shadow.
The blades i use to use were used razors- a gamut of em- gillette, mach, schick, whatever was laying around. I wasnt really taught anything. i just grabbed what i could.
As you could imagine, my first ~5 years of shaving were very unpleasant. Id usually let my beard grow for weeks before dreading the shave. Fast forward to today and this is what ive learned.
Razors eventually dull. This was a new concept to me since i started with dull razors. I also learned all cart razors struggle against a longer beard but in the end it saves the agony of shaving several times.
After much struggling i decided to try a straight edge razor. Yea... I quickly realized that a safety razor is what i was after. i found one at walmart, and compared to the one i got my dad on ebay (for like $1,) this $10 handle was amazing.
I didnt think much of the blades. I just bought what i could find for a good price- i started with derby extras. i actually still have like 20 blades left, ive been shaving about twice a month since my face was very irritable from years of shredding. you could imagine how long ive been using derby.
Now that i am almost all out of derby, i have been taking a second look at what blades i should resupply with. I love how safety razors can shred through a full grown beard whereas carts cant even make a scratch. Ive been learning more about technique through self teaching and through what hurts less in the end, never really bothered to look up anything besides a soap lather for those times id be in a pinch.
I always throw away a double sided or 2 half blades after every shave, at least from my derbys. i feel my whiskers/beard really put the blade to work and for my own sake ive been playing it safe.
I can say that my face is far less irritable now with my fresh blades and evolving technique.
However i need some suggestions on my next blade refill.
My priorities (in order) are:
Cheap
less irritation
power
Ive come to know cheap as 1 double derby blade per shave and am very uncomfortable with the idea of using the same blade for 2 shaves. I actually use to use 2 double sided derby extras per shave at one point before i got better at technique.
My research and priorities have taken me to Derby premium. But derby seems to have a terrible rep. I plan to buy em off ebay, i dont know if fakes or clones are an issue here.
I have been reading some really good things about GSB, but they are almost double the cost of the derby premiums. it seems like both should in theory hold up to 2 shaves but in reality its likely i might toss em after every shave. Ill try 2 shaves and see how it goes...
My question to you guys, for a person looking for comfort and effectiveness at the cheapest price point, is the GSB worth it over the derby? $8 vs $15 for 100ct is a very difficult choice for me here. I will likely be shaving once a week or two. no sense buying a sample when i could get the 100ct at the cost of 100 derbys and a sample of gsbs. or what about astras vs derby premium ($10 vs $8)?
the best razor i ever used in my life was a cart womens shick i was given for free in college. blew the derby outa the water for comfort. not something i can afford though, and idk how itd hold up to a 2 week+ beard. I am male.
My default strat is to go with whats cheapest and hope its better enough than the derby extras were that i wouldn't look back on my choice again. With the price point of about $8 for 100, that opens up possibilities like astras and maybe others i havent heard about yet.
tl:dr
need best razor/thick hair for cheapest price on irritable beard. Derby prem vs astra sup? or something within $7-$12 per 100ct?