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Budget Friendly Blades

In the “economy” category Astra blades are hard to beat.
While I prefer the blue ones by a small amount, either blue or green Astras consistently provide close and comfortable shaves.

From time to time, some of the more expensive (Feather, Nacet, Rapira Platinum) blades can also be had at significant discounts. (e.g. italianbarber.com).


Hope this helps…

B.
 
I concur with @nav basically 99.95% of available blades are dirt cheap, but perhaps we can help in following:
  1. How often you intent to continue shaving? Daily? Every couple-days? Weekly?
    • for daily use something from mild range might go well: Astra Green, Derby, Persona, Muhle, PermaSharp, Gillete Platinum (blue), Wilkinson German (black)... all around 1$ per 5pack or less
    • for heavy growth, thick beard, some sharper blades: PermaSharp, Persona, BIC, Gillete 7O'clock (yellow), some might go over 1$, close to 1.5$ but some come in 10pcs/pack so it's still a good deal, and some won't get dull quickly
  2. How sensitive your skin is? Can you shave too long with the same blade?
    • if you're planning to bin the blade per each use, I find Treet Classic (orange) dirt cheap, 0.7$ for 10 blades, they do rust after 4-5 shaves, but on first run - super sharp and smooth. If you want something to provide you nice, cheap shave and discard the blade after single use, this might be reasonable one to go with
    • I got Persona blue to last me up to 7 nice shaves, PermaSharp as well... so the overall cost is even better if you can reuse blade for lets say - a week of daily shaves (not sure and not recommend keeping the blade for a month). Wilkinson and Astra are for me also good, but perhaps the material is bit thicker, so it's hard to chip it in micron level during shaving and although not the sharpest out there, they won't cause any micro-damages to skin (like Feather - which I'll got back in text) they're quite consistent from first to last shave.
    • Derby is again, also mild, doesn't do much damage to skin, and in right razor (moderate to more exposed, open-combs, safety-bar with larger gap) they do get enough skip contact for BBS as well
  3. What sort of razors you use? Open-comb, closed-comb, slant, shavette?
    • for shavette - I'd go with sharper blades (Gillette 7 o'clock, BIC, PermaSharp, Persona...)
    • closed-combs - they can tolerate most of blade without issue. Beware of super-mild razors (R89, 34c, Henson AL13) as due to small blade gap and less exposure, it might take more time + inneficient blade - you'll be pushed to apply more pressure than needed.
    • open combs - as razor drives more blade to your skin, blade can be milder as well. For Fatip OC, Muhle R41, Rocca R94 i.e. I get nice shaves from mild to sharper blades, although for steep angle shaves, I found Rapira's and Derby bit tuggy. Otherwise, all worked well with me
  4. What didn't worked for me was - Feather!!!
    • I don't know if they are sharper than others or not, might be, but my experience is that they are thinner, and even if they are sharp in beggining, their blade edge deteriorate faster, like with each hair-cut they chip more and more. Even after single shave I did get a lot of micro-cuts, weapers and my aftershave splash felt like acid on the face. In ALL razors I've used (Fatip Piccolo SE, R89, R41, R94, Henson Al13, Wilkinson Classic).
    • besides that - they are horribly overpriced. I did hoped that they'll be longevity so that in use they will surpase initial cost, but for me just worked awful. I just get better shaves with "thicker", "stronger" steel blades that maintain their edge better thoughout shaves.
For record - I use mostly single pass WTG, occasionally paired with ATG/XTG on the neck and chin if needed, and I completely ignore DFS on one portion of right-below the jaw area where beard grows quite shallow and I don't even try to go BBS over there.

Sorry for long post, icons of referenced blades below:
The main reason Feather blades do not last is because they are a medical blade, made for basically one use, as in shaving a body part prior to a surgery, and blade is discarded. How these got into the retail sector, is beyond me. Must be a cash grab for the company! I have tried them, and after two-three shaves, the blade is useless. So, it was not designed to work more than once, which explains the way the blade is honed to a fine edge.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
The main reason Feather blades do not last is because they are a medical blade, made for basically one use, as in shaving a body part prior to a surgery, and blade is discarded. How these got into the retail sector, is beyond me. Must be a cash grab for the company! I have tried them, and after two-three shaves, the blade is useless. So, it was not designed to work more than once, which explains the way the blade is honed to a fine edge.
Interesting, Feather DE blades are not included amongst the Feather medical blades that I have seen. Also, Feather make a single use razor with a fixed blade for surgery prep. Respectfully, may I ask how you know that Feather DE blades are a medical product? Is that a statement of fact, acknowledged by Feather, or is it supposition?
 
Interesting, Feather DE blades are not included amongst the Feather medical blades that I have seen. Also, Feather make a single use razor with a fixed blade for surgery prep. Respectfully, may I ask how you know that Feather DE blades are a medical product? Is that a statement of fact, acknowledged by Feather, or is it supposition?
They are made by a medical supply company in Japan. They only know one way to make blades, obviously.
 
They are made by a medical supply company in Japan. They only know one way to make blades, obviously.

So going back to EclipseRedRing’s original question, what you say is a supposition then, as it is certainly not “a statement of fact, acknowledged by Feather”.

For anyone interested, since 1953 the proper name of the company is “FEATHER Safety Razor Co., Ltd.” and Medical Products is only one of four areas they are currently active in, the others being Barber & Beauty Products, Consumer Products, and Industrial Use Products.

They have been producing SS double edge razor blades since 1964 and introduced disposable surgical blades 5 years later.

For people more interested in facts, their English language website is: FEATHER Safety Razor Co., Ltd.MADE IN JAPAN - https://www.feather.co.jp/en/



B.
 
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As an infrequent visitor to Japan I can also confirm that Feather DE razor blades are widely sold wherever shaving products are - to the exclusion of all others. I've never managed to find Kai blades in Japan (and note that there's a lot more English than Japanese on the tucks).
 
Most carbon-steel blades are cheap. I found three that combine good performance and longevity:
Treet Silver was the best value.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
IMO the most ‘expensive’ blade is one you don’t/cannot use.

Blades are such a bargain compared to carts, that the issue is to identify some you like!! :thumbup1::thumbup1:
Yes! Most of them are pretty darn cheap. Find one you like. Saving 4 cents a week isn't likely to change your lifestyle much.
 
I saw Vi-John SS blades on sale at Italian Barber for $6.99 per 200 or 3.5 cents per blade. Never used em, but a heck of a deal.
 
In the “economy” category Astra blades are hard to beat.
While I prefer the blue ones by a small amount, either blue or green Astras consistently provide close and comfortable shaves.

From time to time, some of the more expensive (Feather, Nacet, Rapira Platinum) blades can also be had at significant discounts. (e.g. italianbarber.com).


Hope this helps…

B.
I agree
 
Bic Chrome Platinum. My fave blade for many years now. Quite sharp out of the gate, gets slightly sharper after first shave, no wax dots. And, most importantly, they get on really well with my face. YMMV.
 
Reviving an old thread. First, I agree all DE razor blades are cheap compared to the alternatives.

But if you like the mental game of getting a bargain like I do, try to get your per use down to 3 cents or less. So by that math I consider blades that cost $12 per hundred or less a good deal if I know I will get at least 4 GOOD shaves out of them. And to be honest, for my type of whiskers, many brands fit the bill. Other people might decide their value point is something else, which is fine.

For me, I know Gillette Nacet, Treet Platinum, and Dorco ST300/ST301 (yep, that cheapo razor blade works well for me) will give me that threshold of 4 good shaves.

I suspect that these will fit the criteria also (based on others' feedback but have not tested personally yet):
  • Gillette Permasharp
  • Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp
  • Gillette Silver Blue
  • Gillette Platinum
  • Treet King
  • Treet 7 Day Platinum
  • Lord Silver Star
  • Lord Platinum Class
  • Dorco Prime
There's a decent range there. I value comfort and effortless glide above all. I think there is a convergence of sharpness and smoothness where they are not opposites. A dull blade cannot be smooth; it has to cut efficiently enough where you don't feel the resistance.
 
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