Blade suggestions for abnormally tough beard on extremely sensitive skin.

[ironfingers]

When will you try the Schone? I'm curious how well you will like it.

I've found Silver Star blades a good match with the Fatip OC razors. Those are made in Egypt and very inexpensive, so quite a bargain. I think those are sold in India.

Just bear with me another week and I will try it. Currently I am on course to trying the Astra SS in my Pearl L-55 Closed Comb. The last time they felt very dull on the Closed Comb but that was on the second shave with the blade as I had already did the first shave on the Parker Semi Slant. So wanted to try this combo first and then move on to trying the Schone.

Many blades are available here through the regional Amazon but it mostly includes import duties and the price is at the least 60% more usually. I bought the Nacets on DesertCart and they were about half the price of what was available on Amazon. But that's only part of the problem. I only see 100 packs of the blades which I don't want to buy without knowing if I will like them or not. Some blades are available in sample packs but they're way too expensive. For example a sample of a total 15 blades of different brands costs as much as a 100 pack from just 1 of those brands. That's one of the reasons I am not able to sample them.

For now I would be either trying the Astra Superior Stainless or the Voskhod on the Schone first. That's the plan.

 

[JCarr]

Look at the link in one of my previous posts. The gentleman who wrote the article and did the research used a measuring device that measures sharpness...whatever that is called. So, it's not his opinion on the sharpness, it's a measurement. I would look at that article and check to see what blades have a very sharp second and third use score. Most blades will get sharper after the first use because their coating, whatever the manufacturer uses, begins to wear off, exposing more of the sharpened uncoated metal.

The German Wilkinson Sword blades have a very good second and third shave score. Personna Israeli Reds have a good second and third shave score. Check the chart on the web page. Not sure which, if any of the blades listed, would be available for you to purchase. But it's worth a look.

 

[ironfingers]

Look at the link in one of my previous posts. The gentleman who wrote the article and did the research used a measuring device that measures sharpness...whatever that is called. So, it's not his opinion on the sharpness, it's a measurement. I would look at that article and check to see what blades have a very sharp second and third use score. Most blades will get sharper after the first use because their coating, whatever the manufacturer uses, begins to wear off, exposing more of the sharpened uncoated metal.

The German Wilkinson Sword blades have a very good second and third shave score. Personna Israeli Reds have a good second and third shave score. Check the chart on the web page. Not sure which, if any of the blades listed, would be available for you to purchase. But it's worth a look.

I am sorry I forgot to mention it before but that article is exactly what I am referring to as I am taking this blade exploration journey. If you sort the blades on "Average Sharpness" you'd see that the BIC takes the top spot. That was what made me try the BICs and I loved them. Feathers, I knew before I even read that article and so I tried that even before and initially felt it's a little overboard but started loving them once my technique improved.

The second in the list is the Permasharp Super which is currently not in my list of blades to try. Third is Feather and I already love it. Fourth is Nacet which I already have and will try soon. Fifth is the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum which didn't impress me much. The German Wilkinson Swords are about 5 times the price of the Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks for me and with a very similar sharpness rating in this chart I am not very inclined to trying unless I find a very good offer on them. The chart also rates Astra SS well above the SP and that was why I tried the SS but found it to be not so sharp. Going by this the only blades on the chart that are sharper than the Astra SS that I haven't yet tried are the Nacets (I already have them and will try soon), Permasharp Super, Personna Platinum Israeli Reds and the German Wilkinson Swords.

With the Astra SS not feeling sharp to me I lost interest in trying anything below that on sharpness rating. Still ordered a pack of 20 Crystal Blades which are Israeli. Not having great expectations but just trying because they were available in 20 count.

 

[Atlantic59]

You can try your "less sharp" blades in the semi-slant. Slants seem to make good use of this sort of blade. At least Merkurs do, I've not tried the Parker semi-slant.

 

[JCarr]

I just loaded up a Derby Premium in my EJ Chatsworth. Out of the wrapper, it isn't very sharp on that sharpness scale, but it gets gradually sharper with repeated use...at least for two or three more uses. Going to keep it in for at least three more shaves and see how it does. The first shave was ok...not great...not bad...but it was ok. I really want to like this newer Derby blade.

 

[ironfingers]

You can try your "less sharp" blades in the semi-slant. Slants seem to make good use of this sort of blade. At least Merkurs do, I've not tried the Parker semi-slant.

That's what I have done so far. I mean the only blade I have tried in the Parker Semi Slant is the Astra SS. Have ran through 9 of them so far for a total of 25 shaves, of which at least 21 where on the Parker Semi Slant. Close shaves, not necessarily the most comfortable, but still not very bad either. I usually do 3 shaves with each of the blades but tossed 2 of them after just 2 shaves as they didn't feel very good in the second shave itself. They seem to have not much difficulty in cutting through my whiskers when loaded in the Parker Semi Slant but they struggled significantly on both the Closed and Open Comb Pearl L55.

 

[ironfingers]

Sorry if i covering something thats already been mentioned but i haven't read the entire thread(its long!).

I believe i have a tough beard, though i've nothing to compare it to (except sand paper). I found the Thai Gillette super thins when i was in Sri Lanka a few years back and they worked great for me.

Gillette Super Thin (Made in Thailand) - Reviews

www.badgerandblade.com

Also the Malaysian Super Nacets are another go to blade. You might be able to access either of these?? I pair them with a Tech and get excellent results. Have you tried any of the Tech clones that pop up all over Asia?

Also aren't the Super Max blades made by Vidyut in India? They had some sharp options like the Super Platinum Tiger or something. Believe they out of production though.

I find feathers sharp but a little rough and don't use them regularly. Nacets are much better in my opinion.

I would like to get an idea of the aggressiveness of the Gillette Tech razor. Have you used the EJ DE89? How does it compare with that on the scale of aggression? My current go to razor is the Pearl L55 Closed Comb and it's head is a replica of the EJ DE89. I find it to be perfect for my sharp blades like the Feather and the BIC but anything even a notch less sharp struggles in it. On the other hand the much milder Gillette 7 O'Clock Stirling Silver razor didn't give me a close enough shave even with a Feather blade. When I checked images of the Gillette Tech Razor it seemed to me like the Gillette 7 O'Clock Stirling Silver Razor's head design was inspired by the Gillette Tech. If it's on the same scale of aggression then I don't think it will work for me.

Since you've used the Gillette Tech razor I thought you could throw some light on it's aggression and feel.

 

[ironfingers]

Shaved today with the Pearl L55 Closed Comb and a fresh new Astra Superior Stainless blade. The previous time I tried the same combo was on the second use of the blade and it clearly didn't feel sharp enough. This time it was a different experience. This time whenever the blade showed signs of struggle with my whiskers I used a shallower angle and it worked better.

The cream was Body Shop Macca Root which is one of the best I have. Not a big fan of it for other reasons but it's a great performer. Lathers well and gives me great shaves. But still I am not too sold on it like many others and I really don't know why. Love the smell, performance, lathering ability too but I don't really know why I am not in love with the product itself.

As I took the first stroke WTG on the left cheek, right away I could see that this is a good deal less sharper than the Feather and the BIC. A notch less sharper than the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Black too. Wherever it struggled I used a shallower angle to get through. The neck area was better compared to the cheeks but the chin area was where the maximum struggle was. Had to take very very short strokes to avoid tugging and pulling.

The second pass XTG was fine in the cheek area but this time in the neck area there was some pulling and the blade showed signs of struggle. Still the blade felt very smooth and I felt like I could shave all day long with the blade and it won't hurt me. The 3rd pass against the grain showed some more pronounced struggle in the cheek area. The blade did take far more passes to give me a clean shave in comparison with the Feather or the BIC. However despite being less sharper than the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinums it still provided me a far better and closer shave.

The end result was a close shave. When I applied the Brut Original Aftershave there was almost zero burn. I clearly don't remember when was the last time I had that zero burn. The same blade when I use with the Parker Semi Slant has the potential to give me some significant burn even with fewer strokes, if I got over ambitious.

I love this blade. It's somewhere in the middle in case of sharpness and is fairly cheap. I am unable to avoid the comparison with my favorite Feathers and BICs. Need to learn how to forget these 2 blades when I try out a new one. I would love to have the advise of all the more experienced and seasoned wet shavers out here. I even thought about hiding the Feathers and the BICs from my sight and try and use the other blades continuously for some time to evaluate them better. But every now and then I keep reaching out to the BICs and the Feathers. Whenever I shave with these 2 blades I would ask myself "why are you even bothering yourself with the other blades anymore?". I have about 215 Feather blades with me right now. And every time I shave with one of the Feather blades I would think "Maybe I should order more of them and stash up. What if they increase in price suddenly? What if there's a shortage of supply suddenly? What if it's no longer available in my country?". So far I have been able to curb it but I might suddenly order more of them.

Sorry for deviating from the topic. The Astra SS is great. If you're planning to try them then I would advise you to go ahead. They're awesome. I was able to do multiple strokes even on my very very sensitive skin and had no burn immediately or later. Obviously YMMV but they're definitely worth a shot.

 

[Atlantic59]

I think the Astra SS is a mid-sharp blade, you probably want to stay at that level or above. If you have not tried Perma-Sharp Super and/or Gillette Silver Blue, those would be somewhere in between Astra SS and your sharpest blades. The mighty Nacet, of course, is in that same range. YMMV, etc.

 

[ironfingers]

I think the Astra SS is a mid-sharp blade, you probably want to stay at that level or above. If you have not tried Perma-Sharp Super and/or Gillette Silver Blue, those would be somewhere in between Astra SS and your sharpest blades. The mighty Nacet, of course, is in that same range. YMMV, etc.

View attachment 1113367View attachment 1113368
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Gillette Nacet, I already bought and gonna try soon. I am about 80% certain that I will love it. The GSB is one blade that I keep adding and removing from my cart all the time. The Refined Shave puts it below Astra SS in average sharpness. Many say it's super smooth but there are quite a lot of people who say that they don't find it to be sharp enough. All I see is packs of 50 or 100 blades. I am constantly watching to find any samples that contain it. Like I said most samples of size around 15 are almost as expensive or even more pricey than 100 counts for one particular blade too. Will definitely try them some time.

The Permasharp Super are a different story. The same site Refined Shave puts them above Feathers in average sharpness which actually caught my attention (BICs are first, these are second, Feather third and Nacet 4th, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Black at 5th but they have the same average sharpness as the Nacets over 3 shaves). But what kind of upset me about the Permasharp Super is that they're not consistent. Fresh out of their wrap they are about average sharpness but after 1 shave their sharpness reading was even sharper than a fresh feather. This is similar to those of the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum and the German Wilkinson Swords. Considering that they Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum didn't work well for me and their lack of consistency cause me a lot of issues I was not too keen on the Permasharp Super and the German Wilkinson Swords. The Permasharp Super are about 25% more than the Feathers and the German Wilkinson Swords are about 50% more than the Feathers.

Will let you know when I try the Gillette Nacets and also keep you informed if I purchase Gillette Silver Blues.

 

[Atlantic59]

I would consider Refined Shave to be a source of useful information, but not Absolute Truth with a capital T. Inconsistency in measured values may be simply an artifact of the measurement process, or an anomaly.

Many users report the Perma-Sharp Super to be a very smooth blade, and that is worth something. Perhaps once a blade is "sharp enough" to do the job, there is not much benefit or noticeable difference in additional sharpness beyond that point. It seems smoothness is something that is also quite important to you.

I'm afraid there's no substitute for first-hand experience with your own face and equipment.

 

[ironfingers]

I would consider Refined Shave to be a source of useful information, but not Absolute Truth with a capital T. Inconsistency in measured values may be simply an artifact of the measurement process, or an anomaly.

Many users report the Perma-Sharp Super to be a very smooth blade, and that is worth something. Perhaps once a blade is "sharp enough" to do the job, there is not much benefit or noticeable difference in additional sharpness beyond that point. It seems smoothness is something that is also quite important to you.

I'm afraid there's no substitute for first-hand experience with your own face and equipment.

Yeah, I am not taking all that I read in Refined Shave as absolute truth. I am just using it as a reference and doing some research myself. If you remember I had once asked about the Personna Platinum Israeli Reds here. It was because there wasn't enough information about it like there is for some of the other blades. And moreover Personna blades drove me crazy. Their naming and their different offerings are still not clear to me. There seem to be 2 different Reds, one of which is actually blue but still called red, 2 different blues, and 2 different types of Crystal Blades at least one of which is called Israeli Personnas. So I put it for later.

Also with just 6 months of experience I am sure I am all over the place and spoiled for choice. Until I tried the Feather I was thinking that my excessively tough beard was a curse I had to live with and nothing was ever going to help. Even the barbers at Truefitt & Hill India, a branch of the world's oldest barber shop, struggled with my tough beard I was almost completely convinced that it's something I have to live with. They used at least 4 hot towels, pre-shave, sensitive shaving cream and even refused to shave me against the grain saying my skin was too sensitive for that.

When I first tried the Feather, the same Feather that I had all along dreaded due to it's extreme sharpness, I was completely blown. When it cleared out my chin area off all the beard like a hot knife through butter I couldn't even believe it. Coming straight out of the Cartridge Razor Universe this was like magic. Then when I tried the BIC it was very close in sharpness but easier to shave with. With the Feathers I use a tried and tested cream. The Boar Brush does me some good by beating up my beard real good and helping a bit. And the Feather does what's expected. The BIC works with everything, even canned foam (which I tried just to see how good the BICs are). I believe that the Gillette Nacets too will join these 2 in this elite club.

I am not sure if I am inclined to smoothness. I do appreciate it but I think I would incline more on the side of sharpness than smoothness. But I am not sure especially with just about 6 months of experience at this point. Because, honestly, while I am clear on what sharpness is, I don't have such clarity on smoothness yet. Many people said that Feathers are sharp but they're a bit rough and not smooth. I love the Feathers and I don't understand what the others mean as roughness. But the Feathers do have a unique face feel that I am not able to describe. On the other hand many people raved about the sharpness and smoothness of the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Blacks. But I feel exactly the opposite about them. They feel harsh, scrape my face pretty badly and are not super sharp either. Classic case of a varied mileage I guess.

 

[Atlantic59]

...And moreover Personna blades drove me crazy. Their naming and their different offerings are still not clear to me. There seem to be 2 different Reds, one of which is actually blue but still called red, 2 different blues, and 2 different types of Crystal Blades at least one of which is called Israeli Personnas. So I put it for later...

...They feel harsh, scrape my face pretty badly and are not super sharp either. Classic case of a varied mileage I guess.

I think it is difficult to measure smoothness, but it is mostly known by the absence of this harsh, scraping feeling. You described it earlier, the whiskers just came off, but it seemed as though maybe the whiskers weren't being cut. The YMMV thing sounds like a cop-out, but it is really the case for blades, anyway. It's a good thing you like to experiment.

 

[ironfingers]

I think the Astra SS is a mid-sharp blade, you probably want to stay at that level or above. If you have not tried Perma-Sharp Super and/or Gillette Silver Blue, those would be somewhere in between Astra SS and your sharpest blades. The mighty Nacet, of course, is in that same range. YMMV, etc.

View attachment 1113367View attachment 1113368
View attachment 1113369

What's your take on the Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge Yellows? Where in the spectrum do they lie. I hear many say that they're pretty sharp. And what about Polsilver Super Iridium?

 

[Atlantic59]

Most of the Gillette branded blades coming from Saint Petersburg are good to great, including the Gillette 7 O'clock Yellows (sorry I forgot to mention them, trying not to overwhelm). I like them quite a lot, especially in the Fatip OC. I would say the Yellow ones are somewhere between the Astra SS and the Nacet.

The Polsilver Super Iridium has been a favorite blade of many; they seem to hit the sweet spot of sharp + smooth + longevity. There has been a lot of hype around Polsilver and a lot drama about blades being discontinued which has been going on for years now. That has raised their cost to an insane level.

The Wizamet Super Iridium appears to be the same blade as the Polsilver, just in different packaging. These seem to be distributed in only a few markets like North African countries. You can buy them grey-market on Ebay from a few vendors. A typical decent price for us would be 250 blades for $45, including shipping from Morocco.

 

[ironfingers]

Most of the Gillette branded blades coming from Saint Petersburg are good to great, including the Gillette 7 O'clock Yellows (sorry I forgot to mention them, trying not to overwhelm). I like them quite a lot, especially in the Fatip OC. I would say the Yellow ones are somewhere between the Astra SS and the Nacet.

The Polsilver Super Iridium has been a favorite blade of many; they seem to hit the sweet spot of sharp + smooth + longevity. There has been a lot of hype around Polsilver and a lot drama about blades being discontinued which has been going on for years now. That has raised their cost to an insane level.

The Wizamet Super Iridium appears to be the same blade as the Polsilver, just in different packaging. These seem to be distributed in only a few markets like North African countries. You can buy them grey-market on Ebay from a few vendors. A typical decent price for us would be 250 blades for $45, including shipping from Morocco.

I can't seem to find Polsilvers on any online seller. I see the Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharpedge Yellows in desertcart.in decently priced (about 70% of what it's on amazon.in) but due to the lockdowns the deliveries from this site are hit. I ordered a couple of boar and horse hair shaving brushes from them way back in the beginning of March and they're yet to be delivered. Will wait for them to be delivered first before making any purchase with them again.

By the way the Crystals arrived some time before. Looks like there are indeed only one type of Crystal Blades. When I removed the red and black outside packaging it was the same blade I had seen elsewhere in white plastic box of 10 with a blue card at the front.

 

[Atlantic59]

I can't seem to find Polsilvers on any online seller. I see the Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharpedge Yellows in desertcart.in decently priced (about 70% of what it's on amazon.in) but due to the lockdowns the deliveries from this site are hit. I ordered a couple of boar and horse hair shaving brushes from them way back in the beginning of March and they're yet to be delivered. Will wait for them to be delivered first before making any purchase with them again.

By the way the Crystals arrived some time before. Looks like there are indeed only one type of Crystal Blades. When I removed the red and black outside packaging it was the same blade I had seen elsewhere in white plastic box of 10 with a blue card at the front.

I don't think anybody really knows the whole story on the Polsilver blades. It seems they were originally made to be sold in Eastern European countries like Bulgaria, for instance. So, it would not surprise me if they were hard to find there in India.

I think you will like the 7 O'clock Yellows but you should probably try the Nacets first.

 

[ironfingers]

I don't think anybody really knows the whole story on the Polsilver blades. It seems they were originally made to be sold in Eastern European countries like Bulgaria, for instance. So, it would not surprise me if they were hard to find there in India.

I think you will like the 7 O'clock Yellows but you should probably try the Nacets first.

Sure. Will post here when I try them.

 

[ironfingers]

Today was the second shave with the same Astra Superior Stainless Blade on my Pearl L55 Closed Comb. The first shave was one of the most comfortable shaves I have ever had. This one was not so.

The tugging and pulling were extreme. Really prominent. On the first WTG pass, especially in the cheek area on both sides, it was very very bad. Neck and mustache areas too experienced some pulling but the worst was the chin area. Took very very short strokes to counter it but still no help. So rushed through it and applied the lather again for the second pass XTG.

There was still tugging and pulling in the cheek area but it wasn't as bad as the first pass. That's probably because most of the hair was already gone. But the neck area was bad this time with the pulling. Still managed to complete the shave. And then re-lathered for the 3rd pass ATG.

The ATG pass was surprisingly not as bad as the 2 passes before it. This was a bit of a surprise for me as usually this pass is where a blade's struggle shows up the most. There was still some tugging but not as bad as the first pass. In this pass the chin and the mustache area had the worst tugging and pulling.

Still with the blade being innocuous I was able to shave over some areas repeatedly to get a close shave. No blood shed. And yet again zero burn when applying the aftershave except for the mustache area where there was minimal burn, very minimal.

I think the Astra Superior Stainless is another 1 shave blade for me, like the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Blacks. The former's second shave pulls too much while the latter feels way too rough on the second shave. Disposed this Astra SS after it's second shave today. On the Parker Semi Slant it mostly lasts 3 shaves but at least on 2 occassions they lasted only 2 shaves, of the 7 Astra SS blades I have tried on it so far.

Price wise this blade is twice as expensive as the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Blacks for me. So the latter is better value for money but I still prefer the former for the better shave it offers. Have another 90 Astra SS blades, each of which I would use for at least one shave if I were to use them on the Closed Comb only (possibly even the open comb too). If on the slant bar it is likely to last at least 1 and utmost 2 shaves more.

There's one more thing I wanted to tell you guys. This might sound crazy but I have experienced it on multiple occasions. I find it hard to dismiss as an error in my judgement. The Astra SS blades don't have any writings on them but seem to be engraved with laser or whatever on only one side. That's not crazy by itself but what I have noticed with many of the 10 Astra SS blade I have used so far is that I get a better shave (lesser tugging and pulling) if the side that is engraved is facing up. I know it sounds crazy but trust me. But whenever I have had problems so far when I use the written side is facing down, it was mostly on the second shave. Today too it was so. So halfway through the shave I stopped and changed it to face up. Not sure if it made a big difference but I did notice some lesser tugging and pulling. With the parker Semi Slant I consciously alternate with the side facing up and down in all of the 3 shaves like facing up for the first, down for the second and then up again for the third. The second sometimes felt like it was comparatively bad. Couldn't dismiss it as psychological as I am saying this with hindsight of experiences from later too. In fact I arrived at this conclusion only today. Any thoughts? Have any of you faced similar issues?

 

[Fat Larry]

I would like to get an idea of the aggressiveness of the Gillette Tech razor. Have you used the EJ DE89? How does it compare with that on the scale of aggression? My current go to razor is the Pearl L55 Closed Comb and it's head is a replica of the EJ DE89. I find it to be perfect for my sharp blades like the Feather and the BIC but anything even a notch less sharp struggles in it. On the other hand the much milder Gillette 7 O'Clock Stirling Silver razor didn't give me a close enough shave even with a Feather blade. When I checked images of the Gillette Tech Razor it seemed to me like the Gillette 7 O'Clock Stirling Silver Razor's head design was inspired by the Gillette Tech. If it's on the same scale of aggression then I don't think it will work for me.

Since you've used the Gillette Tech razor I thought you could throw some light on it's aggression and feel.

I haven't tried a DE89 but i have used a Yaqi head that looked like a knock off. It was more aggressive than a tech and i didn't get on with it. There's a table of blade gap measurement floating around somewhere for vintage Gillettes, maybe look that up. I know its not the whole story as far as aggressiveness goes but it'd be a good place to start and hard data is better than anecdotes.

Techs are just easy mode for me. They find their angle very easily, almost intuitively in my experience, and the moderate gap and exposure means i don't have to concentrate to hard with them as they almost never bite.

I've no experience with the 7 O'clock Razor but it does look like a tech copy. I'm sure someone on the net has compared the two.