wow... just wow
Blind test #7 - Med Prep vs Iridium Super
- Thread starter Oscroft
- Start date
Gotta get me some of them blades... Both of them!
This is always the first post I check when logging on - thanks. I've often had 7 good shaves from a Med Prep, but the time I went to 8 was not a happy memory. Good luck with your continued quest.
- Thread starter
- #44
Shave #13
Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Personna Med Prep blade and an Iridium Super. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.
Black = right side of face
White = left side of face
Brush = Simpson Duke 2 Best
Soap = Proraso white tub
AS = Old Spice Champion
Pass 1, WTG: At this stage in the test, I thought I'd take my time to scrutinize things very closely. WTG pass was smooth again, but the blades are not cutting as sharply as they did - not surprisingly! A close inspection after the pass showed there was some skipping happening, with a few patchy areas - on both sides of my face.
Pass 2, XTG: This felt like a good pass, but with resistance starting to get a bit more noticeable, and again a close inspection showed a bit of patchy skipping and it wasn't as close as I'd usually expect a second pass to be. But it still felt smooth.
Pass 3, ATG: Again, a bit more resistance than previous, but still surprisingly smooth - I'm still able to shave comfortably ATG on my top lip, which is usually the danger zone for me when a blade is getting a bit old. At the end of this pass, I needed a bit of buffing under my chin, so I did a bit of that with both blades - and that little bit extra took it to a really good shave again.
Closeness: After a little bit of buffing under the chin on both sides, another DFS was achieved.
Comfort: Amazingly for blades this old (getting into the equivalent of 7 shaves each now), the shave was very comfortable again.
AS: Nice glow from the Old Spice Champion - equal on both sides. (If you don't know about Old Spice Champion, it's apparently a limited edition UK-only AS - there's some information here).
As an aside for those interested in Simpson brushes, when I first got my Duke 2 I struggled a bit with its density, and found it a bit of a lather hog with flow-through that really wasn't great. But this is a brush that develops beautifully as it gets some use, and it's now superb - it really is surprising how much good lather such a small knot can build, hold, and release.
I wonder how much further these blades are going to go?
Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Personna Med Prep blade and an Iridium Super. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.
Black = right side of face
White = left side of face
Brush = Simpson Duke 2 Best
Soap = Proraso white tub
AS = Old Spice Champion
Pass 1, WTG: At this stage in the test, I thought I'd take my time to scrutinize things very closely. WTG pass was smooth again, but the blades are not cutting as sharply as they did - not surprisingly! A close inspection after the pass showed there was some skipping happening, with a few patchy areas - on both sides of my face.
Pass 2, XTG: This felt like a good pass, but with resistance starting to get a bit more noticeable, and again a close inspection showed a bit of patchy skipping and it wasn't as close as I'd usually expect a second pass to be. But it still felt smooth.
Pass 3, ATG: Again, a bit more resistance than previous, but still surprisingly smooth - I'm still able to shave comfortably ATG on my top lip, which is usually the danger zone for me when a blade is getting a bit old. At the end of this pass, I needed a bit of buffing under my chin, so I did a bit of that with both blades - and that little bit extra took it to a really good shave again.
Closeness: After a little bit of buffing under the chin on both sides, another DFS was achieved.
Comfort: Amazingly for blades this old (getting into the equivalent of 7 shaves each now), the shave was very comfortable again.
AS: Nice glow from the Old Spice Champion - equal on both sides. (If you don't know about Old Spice Champion, it's apparently a limited edition UK-only AS - there's some information here).
As an aside for those interested in Simpson brushes, when I first got my Duke 2 I struggled a bit with its density, and found it a bit of a lather hog with flow-through that really wasn't great. But this is a brush that develops beautifully as it gets some use, and it's now superb - it really is surprising how much good lather such a small knot can build, hold, and release.
I wonder how much further these blades are going to go?
Great test! I currently have an Iridium Super in my 38M that has 9 great shaves and 1 pretty dang good shave on it. I'm going for shave No. 11 tonight.
subscribed... i just ordered 100 of the iridiums from the guy in spain and have never tried the med preps. very curious to hear if i made a good purchase or not.
I just started reading this thread but I can't wait to see the results.
Alan - it's time for shave #14!
Can't wait.
Can't wait.
- Thread starter
- #49
Aargh, I did shave #14 and wrote it up yesterday - I must have only previewed it and forgot to save it!
Give me a few minutes and I'll do a rewrite as best as I can remember...
- Thread starter
- #50
Shave #14
Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Personna Med Prep blade and an Iridium Super. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.
White = right side of face
Black = left side of face
Brush = Omega 10005
Soap = Arko stick
AS = Alpa 378
Pass 1, WTG: Pass 2, XTG: Pass 3, ATG: I screwed up yesterday and lost my shave writeup, but it was a fairly short one and I can pretty much remember it all, so here it is again... Essentially, I felt that both blades are clearly losing their sharpness, but they're both staying smooth - some blades get rough and feel as if chunks are falling off their edges when they lose it, but these two are degrading very smoothly. At one point I thought that White had more sharpness left, but at another point the Black felt a bit better, but both are still easy to shave with. There is a bit of skipping and less beard reduction in the first two passes now, and I did need to do a bit of under-chin buffing on each side, but I did the same with both so at least I'm treating them equally.
Closeness: After the bit of buffing under my chin, another close shave.
Comfort: Still no discomfort.
AS: Alpa 378 splash felt nice - nothing like the sting I'd expect after using old blades.
The equivalent of 7 shaves each, both blades degrading a little but doing so gracefully, and both probably still sharper than a new Merkur blade
Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Personna Med Prep blade and an Iridium Super. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.
White = right side of face
Black = left side of face
Brush = Omega 10005
Soap = Arko stick
AS = Alpa 378
Pass 1, WTG: Pass 2, XTG: Pass 3, ATG: I screwed up yesterday and lost my shave writeup, but it was a fairly short one and I can pretty much remember it all, so here it is again... Essentially, I felt that both blades are clearly losing their sharpness, but they're both staying smooth - some blades get rough and feel as if chunks are falling off their edges when they lose it, but these two are degrading very smoothly. At one point I thought that White had more sharpness left, but at another point the Black felt a bit better, but both are still easy to shave with. There is a bit of skipping and less beard reduction in the first two passes now, and I did need to do a bit of under-chin buffing on each side, but I did the same with both so at least I'm treating them equally.
Closeness: After the bit of buffing under my chin, another close shave.
Comfort: Still no discomfort.
AS: Alpa 378 splash felt nice - nothing like the sting I'd expect after using old blades.
The equivalent of 7 shaves each, both blades degrading a little but doing so gracefully, and both probably still sharper than a new Merkur blade
Last edited:
Shave #14
The equivalent of 7 shaves each, both blades degrading a little but doing so gracefully, and both probably still sharper than a new Merkur blade
Amen to that!
men... I should order some IS ASAP!!
- Thread starter
- #53
Yep, before they're all gone!
- Thread starter
- #54
Shave #15
Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Personna Med Prep blade and an Iridium Super. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.
Black = right side of face
White = left side of face
Brush = Omega 10005
Soap = Monsavon Bol à Raser
AS = none
Pass 1, WTG: Pass 2, XTG: Pass 3, ATG: Just read "same again" - I think these two blades are going to last longer than me! But seriously, I get a bit more loss of sharpness again, but equally on each blade and both still shaving smoothly. I didn't do any chin buffing today.
Closeness: Fine again - a couple of areas that might stand some buffing, but really pretty good.
Comfort: Just fine - no irritation, no burn, no nothing.
AS: Didn't use any today, because I'm also sampling some cologne fragrances and I don't want to contaminate my nose. But I really didn't need anything more than a cold water splash anyway.
Test set up as described in this thread here. This test compares a Personna Med Prep blade and an Iridium Super. I'm using two EJ razors, one black handle and one white, and I don't know which blade is in which.
Black = right side of face
White = left side of face
Brush = Omega 10005
Soap = Monsavon Bol à Raser
AS = none
Pass 1, WTG: Pass 2, XTG: Pass 3, ATG: Just read "same again" - I think these two blades are going to last longer than me! But seriously, I get a bit more loss of sharpness again, but equally on each blade and both still shaving smoothly. I didn't do any chin buffing today.
Closeness: Fine again - a couple of areas that might stand some buffing, but really pretty good.
Comfort: Just fine - no irritation, no burn, no nothing.
AS: Didn't use any today, because I'm also sampling some cologne fragrances and I don't want to contaminate my nose. But I really didn't need anything more than a cold water splash anyway.
Still reading........
I find these to be the two best of the more than twen blades I've tried. Where I usually toss most blades after five shaves or less, both of these are still performing well at this point. I'm going to stick this thread out to the end as I find it very interesting. It also gives me a reason to justify paying a little more for these blades. Luckily, I've got over 500 Iridium and 50 Med Prep blades left.
Mike
Mike
I see no deterrences in performance for med prep and lab personnas. This very controversial topic came up on different forums. Maybe this would be a good match for the next test?
- Thread starter
- #58
I have a Med vs Lab lined up for a test soon. The next test is going to be Gillette 7 O'Clock black vs blue, but it may well be the one after that.
Looking forward to the Med/Lab shootout. I've had mixed results. My last mini-blindfold test did not result in my ability to tell the (2) blades apart. Your more scientific analysis will have more definitive results.
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