Blade sample

[Miyagisan]

Hello,

Everywhere I read, all said the same thing, Sample Pack, Sample Pack, Sample Pack and I totally agree. I can't seem to know how to create my own sample pack as I have coarse hair with sensitive skin. The only reputable store I know its Razor Blade Club they're located in Germany. Any tips on how to go about it?

 

[Mesquite]

I’ve also heard some people recommend picking one blade and using it consistently for awhile, so you aren’t constantly trying to adjust your technique to new blades. I guess as long as you have 5 of each blade, you have enough time with it to decide if it’s something that might work well for you.

I have relatively coarse hair and sensitive skin, and so far (still limited experience) my favorites are:

Wizamet Super Iridium
Wilkinson Sword

Tatara blades were also good, but I need to go back and try them again now that my technique is a bit better to give a proper evaluation.

I still haven’t tried a lot of the blades that are frequently mentioned on the forum, but I can definitely say that even a small improvement in technique will make a big difference when using the same blade.

So yeah, my advice would be to make your own sample pack of 5+ blades each type, rather than getting one with only 1 or 2 blades of each type.

 

[Miyagisan]

I’ve also heard some people recommend picking one blade and using it consistently for awhile, so you aren’t constantly trying to adjust your technique to new blades. I guess as long as you have 5 of each blade, you have enough time with it to decide if it’s something that might work well for you.

I have relatively coarse hair and sensitive skin, and so far (still limited experience) my favorites are:

Wizamet Super Iridium
Wilkinson Sword

Tatara blades were also good, but I need to go back and try them again now that my technique is a bit better to give a proper evaluation.

I still haven’t tried a lot of the blades that are frequently mentioned on the forum, but I can definitely say that even a small improvement in technique will make a big difference when using the same blade.

So yeah, my advice would be to make your own sample pack of 5+ blades each type, rather than getting one with only 1 or 2 blades of each type.

I haven't used these blades yet

The ones I've tried

Gillette 7'Oclock {black}
Gillette 7'Oclock {yellow}
Bic platinum
Treet
Rockwell

 

[helicopter]

Don't buy a sample pack assembled by a retailer. Buy some individual tucks of blades you want to try.

The Blade Bonanza list is a good place to start:

B&B's Blade Bonanza - 2025 - Top-Tier Blades Edition

I believe the idea originated here by @BigAlVista (but I might be wrong). The general idea is to do another B&B's Blade Bonanza with well-known blades. Before you pull the pitchforks and fire, a discussion occurred in the original thread based on what we all discussed. DATA ->...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[musicman1951]

How coarse and how sensitive? And there's the rub, we don't have a scale for such things. The only way to know if a blade will work for you is to try them - hence the sample suggestions.

If you're drawing a blank you can look at some of the lists of blades from sharpest to not so sharp (and probably stay near the sharp end), or look at a few "3 favorite blades" and such. Some will appear on many lists, and those are good ones to start with, but get anything and see what works. You should probably have Wizamet, Astra and Feather in your pile - but save the Feather for last.

 

[Miyagisan]

How coarse and how sensitive? And there's the rub, we don't have a scale for such things. The only way to know if a blade will work for you is to try them - hence the sample suggestions.

If you're drawing a blank you can look at some of the lists of blades from sharpest to not so sharp (and probably stay near the sharp end), or look at a few "3 favorite blades" and such. Some will appear on many lists, and those are good ones to start with, but get anything and see what works. You should probably have Wizamet, Astra and Feather in your pile - but save the Feather for last.

Wizamet, Astra and Feather

I don't have none of these

 

[carluchi]

Bump ..

I highly suggest a sample pack of many different brands. The large river retailor has many packs to choose from.

One suggestion is that once you get the pack - KEEP GOOD NOTES. Can't stress this enough.

Things such as comfort, closeness of the shave, weepers and how many shaves you get out of a blade. Make sure you try at least 2 or 3 blades of each type before you move on to another. This will eliminate a bad blade and or confirm your notes.

To me, this is part of the fun. You get to try many different blades and then find the one what works best for you.

For example, I tried a lot of blades that worked great but I only got 2 or 3 shaves out of a blade before I started to get irritation or ones that shaved great but weren't as close as I like.

It's cool when you find the one that works best for your beard and skin - it will be obvious. You then order 100's of those blades and not have to do this again for a while.

 

[mrbloagus]

I found a big sampler pack to be very worthwhile when I started. 5 blades of each was more than enough to know what worked and what didn't. In fact let me info-dump my log from 12 years ago right here. YMMV but I have relatively sparse, coarse, straight hair. Hard to gauge relative sensitivity but I'd say I'm about average for that.

Tier 1
Astra Superior Platinum	Close, smooth, and efficient.
Personna Lab Blue	Smoother and more efficient than Astra SP. (not in subsequent uses)
Gillette Silver Blue	Bottom of tier 1. Just good enough to make the cut, but not as effortlessly effective as the top two.
Tier 2
Gillette 7 o'clock Super Platinum	Top of tier 2. Not quite efficient enough for tier 1.
Personna Red	Sharp and smooth. Minimal nicks.
Gillette 7 o'clock SharpEdge	Sharp and efficient, but slightly pully compared to the Personna Red.
Tier 3
Voskhod	Like Rapira but slightly better (maybe not)
Shark Super Chrome	Good on high growth but has trouble cleaning final passes.
Rapira	Slightly inefficient on low growth, but consistently good results with care.
Polsilver Super Iridium	Slightly pully; requires very shallow angle. Good on OC.
Gilette Nacet	Reasonably effective brand new, but a little too mild for ATG.
Dorco New Platinum ST300	Requires light touch and attention to blade angle. A bit dull and bouncy on ATG; leaves nicks.
Tier 4
Lord Platinum Class	Dull and not aggressive. Just bounces over but doesn't pull.
Derby	Very mild. Not the closest, but few nicks.
Super-Max Stainless	Dull and pully. Leaves stubble, but doesn't cut too badly.
Wilkinson Sword	Smooth and moderately efficient/aggressive. DFS, but nicks easily.
Sharp Hi Chromium Durablade	Dull, but aggressive and heavy
Shark Super Stainless	Very mild and inefficient. Not the closest, but few nicks.
Kai	Inefficient, dull, pully, and rough. Unforgiving with blade angle, and hard to load into ATT R2.
Tier 5
BiC Chrome Platinum	Dull and inefficient, lots of cuts
Merkur	Mild, dull, pully, and inefficient.

 

[Whisky]

Maggard Razor will let you build your own sample pack. I know they’ll do samplers with 10 and 7 packs of blades. They may also have an option for 5 packs.