BP7770 Blade Test

[bassplayer7770]

I did a couple rounds of testing a few years ago, and I ended up preferring Personna Comfort Coated blades along with Polsilver. My Personna blades are starting to get low, and I want to use my Polsilvers sparingly going forward (because they're discontinued). My shaving technique has certainly changed over the past few years, so I decided it was time (and would be fun) to do more blade testing. Can any blades unseat the Personna blades for me? The first round of testing will be using my favorite razor which is a Parker Variant.

I'm ranking (scale of 1 to 10) in 3 categories:

1. Sharpness - For the most part, this is my best judgment based on whether I feel any tugging during the shave. This is probably the least important ranking for me (as long as the blade doesn't tug).
2. Smoothness - How smooth did the shave feel? How close was the resulting shave? How much (if any) irritation?
3. Overall - Combination of the first two with a heavier emphasis on smoothness. If the shave seemed almost effortless and the result was a very smooth face with no irritation, then the overall score will be very high.

I've used my first blade in my testing for 4 shaves, and here were the results. In addition, this will show the rest of the blades I'll be testing.

 

[sharpstar90]

Sorry to hear about the Polsilvers. That discontinuation rumor kept ricocheting around the internet for a long time. Is there any chance it's still just a rumor?

I see that Gillette Rubie Plus is not yet on your list. You may wanna get around to it eventually because the Rubie Plus is Gillette's flagship DE Blade, their top of the line in terms of production cost. You can find 100 for 20$ if you shop around. There is something about those blades, I don't know what it is. They are both some of the sharpest AND the smoothest I have ever used and I have been testing them against others for more than a year. YMMV and all that, of course. If I had to choose one blade out of all the ones I have tried (and it's been a lot), that would be the only one I would ever use.

Best of luck with your testing. I hope you find a blade you love!

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

That's a fun and informative way to go through your blade stash.

 

[bassplayer7770]

Sorry to hear about the Polsilvers. That discontinuation rumor kept ricocheting around the internet for a long time. Is there any chance it's still just a rumor?

I see that Gillette Rubie Plus is not yet on your list. You may wanna get around to it eventually because the Rubie Plus is Gillette's flagship DE Blade, their top of the line in terms of production cost. You can find 100 for 20$ if you shop around. There is something about those blades, I don't know what it is. They are both some of the sharpest AND the smoothest I have ever used and I have been testing them against others for more than a year. YMMV and all that, of course. If I had to choose one blade out of all the ones I have tried (and it's been a lot), that would be the only one I would ever use.

Best of luck with your testing. I hope you find a blade you love!

I don't know about the Polsilvers. The website I had used to order my blades is saying they've been discontinued.

And of course I've missed another blade (I've already made 2 orders so I would have 2 blades each of most of the blades listed for testing).

 

[bassplayer7770]

I may or may not already be adding a few blades to this. This might take a while...

 

[sharpstar90]

There has been a lot of debate back and forth on B&B about whether they are truly discontinued. A search of the forums may shed some light, but I haven't followed closely because I don't use polsilver.

 

[sharpstar90]

I may or may not already be adding a few blades to this. This might take a while...

And I only point out the Rubie because I think it may be a good lead for what you're looking for. Others are gonna throw out ideas like crazy until every blade ever manufactured is a "must have". Some people even swear by Treet Black which is astounding to me. Feels like shaving with Corn Pop's rusty pocket razor he banged on the curb and left in the rain barrel.

I'm just wanted to tell you that more than a year of my own research has lead me to Rubie, for whatever it's worth!

 

[bassplayer7770]

And I only point out the Rubie because I think it may be a good lead for what you're looking for. Others are gonna throw out ideas like crazy until every blade ever manufactured is a "must have". Some people even swear by Treet Black which is astounding to me. Feels like shaving with Corn Pop's rusty pocket razor he banged on the curb and left in the rain barrel.

I'm just wanted to tell you that more than a year of my own research has lead me to Rubie, for whatever it's worth!

I've seen some of the conversation. They can't be easily found on Amazon, and Maggard has them at a fairly high price.

 

[bassplayer7770]

Just to update with a few more blades added. I think I forgot to mention this earlier, but I intend to do a minimum of 3 shaves with each blade. As I said, this is going to take a while...

 

[Ivo4u2]

Kai ?

 

[bassplayer7770]

Kai ?

I have to cut it off somewhere, but we'll see...

 

[BigJ]

Great blade selection!! (Obviously you have been doing your homework.)

 

[bassplayer7770]

Great blade selection!! (Obviously you have been doing your homework.)

Thanks! Yeah, I've been shaving a few years, and I've shaved with some of these blades previously. It's just time to do some testing again, and it's a bonus that it's kinda fun.

Today, I received the remainder of the blades I ordered for testing purposes, so all of the blades listed are now here.

 

[bassplayer7770]

Okay, after using the 2nd blade in Round 1 (Gillette Wilkinson Sword made in India), here are my results so far. The difference in sharpness is negligible to be honest, but both blades have delivered wonderful shaves using my Parker Variant razor.

 

[bassplayer7770]

Another update after using the Astra SP. So far, all 3 blades have provided great and smooth shaves in my Parker Variant. The Gillette Silver Blue is up next.

 

[ouchyfoot]

I’m glad to see Shaver Boy in there. I have ten of them but have not tried them yet.

 

[bassplayer7770]

I’m glad to see Shaver Boy in there. I have ten of them but have not tried them yet.

Yeah, I saw them in a YT video, so I added them to my cart at tryablade.com when I saw them. They seem to be worth a shot.

 

[SpannerX]

Sub'ed. This looks like a good list. I won't add any blade suggestions, you seem to have plenty to go through there.

 

[bassplayer7770]

Okay, as you can see, the shaves have been very consistent with my Parker Variant razor so far.

 

[Atlantic59]

What about Wizamet Super Iridium? These are indistinguisable from Polsilver.