Blind Blade Test - 63 blades

[Don_Pisto]

What if it turns out to be a blade you've loved in the past?



The Treet Platinum gets my vote.

No, there’s no way that awful blade is one I used to like. It felt unlike any I ever used. My “main rotation” only had four different blades and all of those have been steady performers. I can’t wait to find out what horrible blade it was. If there is one person on the forum that says they get good performance from it, I’ll buy a few to retest just in case I got a defect. That blade sucked. The first to make my eyes water.

I expect a lot of surprises when I tally the results. It will be interesting to see how my four main rotation blades stackup in the results. Already, two of the blades so far have really stood out in a good way.

Thanks for sharing a prediction on the poor performer. I hope I don’t run into another like it going forward.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Shave #6 Results 5/10

Yesterday’s mystery blade can be summed up in one word: mild.

The first pass was very smooth, similar to the previous blade, but it didn’t mow down the tough whiskers very effectively. Still, it was acceptable because it’s just the first pass. It was very comfortable and I just figured the remaining passes will take care of the rest.

Pass 2 was again very smooth and comfortable. Stubble was further reduced but face was still pretty rough.

ATG was very comfortable. There were no issues going ATG in the usual tough spots, and that was a nice surprise for two shave days in a row. Once finished with the three passes, it felt like there was still a fair amount of cleanup needed.

Surprisingly, the Alum block test did give some feedback in multiple spots. I was expecting none. It was minor but still noticeable.

A little more cleanup had to be done, but it went smoothly. The final results was a solid BBS.

Post shave feel was very nice. No irritation and skin was quite soft.

Next day feel, today, continues to be very good.


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 3.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 3.5 pts
Alum Block Test, 4.0 pts
General Impression, 2 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 3.0 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 22.5

All in all, this was a solid blade. It might of required a little extra work than what I’m used to seeing, but it got the job done with a solid BBS and no post shave irritation. This felt like a mild blade. It was very smooth but needed a little extra work to remove all the two day growth.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Shave #7 Results 5/12

Yesterday’s mystery blade excelled at nothing, but did everything good.

First pass was average and rather unremarkable. The blade had a good balance of being both smooth and sharp.

The next two passes proceeded uneventful. No cuts, no obvious irritation. Going ATG required extra care in the tough areas — I couldn’t use a carefree approach like the previous super smooth blades allowed.

There was some moderate stinging with the alum block. Nothing major but a little more than I’m accustomed to. I tried my best to keep my technique the same. It feels like my muscle memory is keeping my technique solid, but still just a little more irritation with this blade. Nothing major though.

Cleanup required a little more work than usual. The neck especially. That seems to be a universal tough spot. Surprisingly though, my right jawline needed extra touch up. I usually don’t need much on that side.

Post shave feel was very good except I had what felt like one whisker strand remaining on my right jawline. I noticed it a couple hours after I finished, then it started to drive me a little nuts. Maybe I have OCD for single-strand rouge whiskers. Really, it was just this one single microscopic whisker that just was determined to hang around.

I went back to carefully try to hack it off later, but three, four attempts, it remained. Laughing at me and flipping me the bird. I couldn’t hack away this one single whisker. Other than that, my face was a solid BBS.

Finally in the evening, I couldn’t take it any longer with this one last rouge whisker hanging around giving me the middle finger. Time for war. I loaded a cheap blade into a spare razor and was able to hack off this one stubborn whisker. Finally. I hope that never happens again.

Next day feel, today, remains very good. Even the small area that got dry hacked several times to remove the rogue whisker.


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 3.5 pts
Results after 3 passes, 4.0 pts
Alum Block Test, 3.5 pts
General Impression, 2 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 3.5 pts
Post Shave Feel, 4.5 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 23.0

Overall a very solid blade. It got the job done without any major irritation. Nothing about the blade seemed to standout or excel with anything. What did standout was it was good at everything.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Shave #8 Results 5/14

Yesterday’s mystery blade was excellent. Very solid. There’s nothing to really complain about.

First pass was very efficient and I had all the flat areas BBS on this first go.

The remaining passes went perfectly. I couldn’t get reckless ATG on upper lip, like on previous super mild blades, but that’s no problem. After three passes my face was 95% BBS. Zero cuts or irritation too.

One thing that really stood out with this blade is that it did very well on my neck. I think it might have been the smoothest I’ve ever gotten with a blade. For the first time, without crazy chasing, I had areas of BBS on my neck. I was beginning to believe that would never be possible but now I know it is.

Alum block test had practically no irritation. It was almost a perfect score, but there was just a hint of sting in a couple spots.

For cleanup, I think I could have completely skipped. I just retouched the jawline slightly. I didn’t want to do any more for risk of irritatio.

Post shave feel was fantastic. I think the soap, that I have been using for this experiment, is helping a lot. Face very smooth and also the neck. A very comfortable, close, shave. My wife was happy too. Happy wife = good life.

Today face and neck feel great.


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 4.5 pts
Results after 3 passes, 4.5 pts
Alum Block Test, 4.5 pts
General Impression, 3 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 4.5 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5.0 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 28.0

Overall a fantastic blade. It have a noticeably more smooth and lasting BBS, if that makes sense. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a 100 of these and use daily. I’m dying to see what this blade was, but I won’t know until the end.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Shave #9 Results 5/16

Nine down, 54 to go. Yesterday’s mystery blade performed quite well. Not super exceptional but perfectly fine nonetheless.

First pass went well. I always brace myself for a rough start but that’s only happened once so far.

The rest of the two passes went well. ATG was no problem. The blade seemed to have a good balance between sharp and smooth.

Surprisingly there were a couple small areas that had minor sting with the alum block. It’s difficult to say it’s from the blade or me. It’s always possible I could have used too much pressure, or stated another way: it’s possible some blades might need more or less pressure than what I’m used to. I always let the weight of the razor dictate the pressure. My razor is kind of hefty, a 39C, so that could be why maybe some blades are giving some sting. Still, it’s all real minor.

Touch up was just needed on my usual tough spots.

Post shave feel very good. Solid BBS. Neck not as smooth as the previous blade though. Face feels good.

General impressions were that this is a solid, but unspectacular blade. I wouldn’t mind using again.


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 4.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 4.0 pts
Alum Block Test, 3.5 pts
General Impression, 2 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 4.0 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5.0 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 24.5

It’s still early in the testing but it seems I might get along with most blades. It’s hard to find any hate, other than that one outlier, but at the end of this I expect to find a few exceptional blades that work for me. So, this is worth it, this crazy experiment. When done, I can look forward to using an exceptional blade each time. And maybe, my current rotation, will be greatly improved and that’s pretty exciting because I liked the blades I was using in rotation prior to this experiment.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Shave #10 Results 5/18

Well, it’s already ten blades into this big experiment and it seems that I might get along with a lot of different blades. Only one, so far, is one I would dare not use again. Maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones that can get a great shave out of most blades. We’ll see. There is still a lot of blades to go.

yesterday’s blade was solid. I can’t really complain about anything. It was comfortable to use and good balance of sharp and smooth.

rather than write a play by play review of every single step on this one, I’ll just say it performed well. I got a BBS on my face, without too much effort, and post shave felt great. Next day feel is very good. onto the final score:


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 4.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 4.0 pts
Alum Block Test, 4.0 pts
General Impression, 2 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 4.0 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5.0 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 25

A very solid score. The max score possible is 30 but I could live with this blade if it was the only one available.

It might seem strange to say, but I hope I start getting some crummy blades so I can narrow down to a clear cut favorite.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Time for some catch up entries.

Shave #11 Results 5/20

This blade seemed average, at best. It was’t very efficient and seemed struggle with my 2 day growth. My tough spots were extra tough. I had to do more cleanup than normal and still didn’t get a BBS. The shave was a failure. I didn’t particularly enjoy it and the results weren’t that great

Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 3.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 3.5 pts
Alum Block Test, 4.0 pts
General Impression, 1 pt
Amount of cleanup needed, 3.0 pts
Post Shave Feel, 3.5 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 20.5

*************************************************************************************

Shave #12 Results 5/22

This blade was solid with good balance of sharpness and smoothness. Nothing was spectacular but the results were good. I got a BBS on my face and it just felt very good all day into the next day.


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 4.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 4.0 pts
Alum Block Test, 4.0 pts
General Impression, 2.5 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 4.0 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5.0 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 25.5

*************************************************************************************

Shave #13 Results 5/24

This blade was ok but I got cut a couple times. One could have been by me but my neck got scraped in a couple spots and I was being careful. This happened going ATG. The upper lip ATG was especially scary. I got a bit of more than usual sting with the alum block. It was ok, except for the cuts and extra irritation. Probably not a good fit for me. There are better blades.

Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 4.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 3.5 pts
Alum Block Test, 4.0 pts
General Impression, 2 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 3.5 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5.0 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 24

*************************************************************************************

Shave #14 Results 5/26

This was a very interesting blade. It felt very average using it. It didn’t feel real sharp nor smooth. What stood out was I had to do very little touch up and the final results was a super close shave. The score doesn’t look that impressive, but if there was a bonus for getting extra close, this would get those bonus points. This blade felt average yet delivered very good results.


Final Score Summary:

Effectiveness of 1st pass, 3.0 pts
Results after 3 passes, 4.0 pts
Alum Block Test, 3.5 pts
General Impression, 2 pts
Amount of cleanup needed, 4.5 pts
Post Shave Feel, 5.0 pts
Next day feel, 2 pts

TOTAL SCORE: 23.5

 

[P1C0]

I was just thinking about a blind test, if there existed one, and I found this thread, but has it been discontinued..?

 

[Don_Pisto]

Sorry I haven‘t kept this up to date. I am just about to finish the first round of testing all and I’ll post a summary of the remaining results in the next few days.

This has been an interesting experience. I found that I get along with most of the blades and that there are some that shred my neck but otherwise do ok. There were also several blades that were near perfect, many adequate, and just a handful that didn’t work.

after I post the summary of remaining blade tests, I’ll then post which is which when I un mask the blades.

I’ll be repeating the whole thing again but for the second run I’ll probably use a different scoring criteria.

I’ll find surprises when I unmask the blades.

 

[P1C0]

Sorry I haven‘t kept this up to date. I am just about to finish the first round of testing all and I’ll post a summary of the remaining results in the next few days.

This has been an interesting experience. I found that I get along with most of the blades and that there are some that shred my neck but otherwise do ok. There were also several blades that were near perfect, many adequate, and just a handful that didn’t work.

after I post the summary of remaining blade tests, I’ll then post which is which when I un mask the blades.

I’ll be repeating the whole thing again but for the second run I’ll probably use a different scoring criteria.

I’ll find surprises when I unmask the blades.

Thanks so much!

 

[Olajidebt]

Where are the results, I NEED RESULTS!!!
Man I check this thread each week at least once since the past months, still no answers, it's a super interesting one, I don't know how more people haven't nagged you(like me) about results

 

[Atos]

Sorry I haven‘t kept this up to date. I am just about to finish the first round of testing all and I’ll post a summary of the remaining results in the next few days.

This has been an interesting experience. I found that I get along with most of the blades and that there are some that shred my neck but otherwise do ok. There were also several blades that were near perfect, many adequate, and just a handful that didn’t work.

after I post the summary of remaining blade tests, I’ll then post which is which when I un mask the blades.

I’ll be repeating the whole thing again but for the second run I’ll probably use a different scoring criteria.

I’ll find surprises when I unmask the blades.

I'm curious why do you want to use a different set of criteria and what should they be?

Btw, this is a great endeavour!

 

[Don_Pisto]

Where are the results, I NEED RESULTS!!!
Man I check this thread each week at least once since the past months, still no answers, it's a super interesting one, I don't know how more people haven't nagged you(like me) about results

Sorry for the very late update. Some covid stuff kind of derailed life for a while then I made an international move back to the US. Still unpacking. soon as I find my journal, I’ll update what I have. I’ll also be repeating this with same set of blades, but new ones.

 

[Don_Pisto]

Hello, another update.

we finally finished unpacking and getting settled in our new home and my wife seems to have misplaced her notepad she was using to keep track of the number of blade used keeping this a double-blind experiment. So kind of stuck till we find that so I can decode the list and come up with the first set of rankings. I’m sure we’ll find it, but that’s the delay getting the results figured out.

I do have the second batch of blades to use for part 2 of this little test but want to get the results from the first before going to part 2.

 

[Olajidebt]

I have not given up on you Don_Pisto, still waiting for those results, will wait 1-2 more years if I have to!!!