DE Blade Suggestions (Been away a while)

[ShaneC]

I need to order some new DE blades, but I don't know what's around any more.

I never quite got the hang of DE razors until recently. I quite like the Feathers I've been using, but having been away from the DE side of things for so long, I wasn't sure if there were any others "similar" for Feather fans.

Derby and Dorco don't do much for me for example.

I was (am) still a big fan of the GEM 1912 SE's and the occasional straight.



My straights need a good proper sharpening and strop. My pup thought the leather was tasty and shredded the strop completely, so I've not touched those in quite a while.

 

[Atlantic59]

I can recommend the Gillette Nacet. Lord Silver Stars are excellent, sharp and smooth for the money, the bargain pick.

 

[AUvet14]

I'm actually working through a blade search and documenting my take on many blades as I try them. I'll drop the link to the thread below in case any of that info is helpful to you. So far, my top choices are Wizamet Iridium Super and Gillette Platinum. the Gillette Nacet are shortly behind that for me but I am finding there are a lot of pretty good blades out there as well as several very popular blades that just don't work well for me.

My Blade Search Jounral

 

[Ron R]

This might help you, I have been using SE blades lately and still enjoy the DE razors once in a while.

Have some great shaves!

 

[sugardaddy]

I once created a big document of my experiences with different blades, with the purpose of putting it online and helping people . And then I realized that it was all a waste .

Unfortunately, there are just too many variables at play regarding our skin, our shaving technique, lather building skills , and other things , that make blade recommendations from one person to another irrelevant.

So I suggest going by the statistics ... and purchasing a couple of the Top 10 samplers at TryABlade.com . You're more likely to find good results in the most popular blades out there.

If Feathers do really well for you , then you may just need to buy a bunch of those. I've heard Kai often compared with feathers , so that might be one to buy a small amount of And see what you think.

But yeah, I think we have a good many options to us at the moment and so I'm sure you're going to be able to find some that you enjoy.

Also, it looks like PolSilver blades may have finally actually been discontinued. Rumors have been circulating for years, but people of been posting letters from manufacturers and distributors and things like that. So it may be true this time. So if those were a favorite of yours before, they may be a little hard to come by now.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

 

[RayClem]

The performance of DE blades a lot on the coarseness of your beard, the sensitivity of your face, the proficiency of your shaving technique and the razor in which your are using the blades. That is why nearly everyone considers blades to be the single most individualistic item in shaving.

I also suggest purchasing a sampler pack. Some of those packs come only with a couple of blades. That is not sufficient to give you a good evaluation of the blades, especially if you have more than one razor. I suggest getting a minimum of a 5-blade tuck for a dozen blades or more.

Some people find the blade evaluations on the Refined Shave web site to be useful.

The author tests the blades objectively using a sharpness tester and also evaluates the blades subjectively by shaving with each of them. Not everyone agrees with the testing method, but with my coarse beard and sensitive skin, I find that my own shaving experience tends to mirror the results from the web site.

My experience does not mirror that of Ron R in post #4. That does not mean that his results are in error; it just means that my beard, face and razors differ from Ron's. For example, Ron lists the Astra SP blades as both sharp and smooth. Astra SP blades are one of the most popular blades, but they do not work for me. My experience with Astra SP blades from various sources is that they are not quite sharp enough for my beard, nor smooth enough for my face. Thus, I would never consider them to be sharp and smooth. The Refined Shave evaluation of Astra SP blades posts results similar to my experience with an overall rating of only 3 out of 5. I use this as a prime example of the YMMV issue with DE razor blades. Blades that work well for one individual may not work for you. While blade reviews may provide general guidance, ultimately you have to try different blades and figure out what works best for you. Good luck with your search.

 

[ajkel64]

I would get a few blade sampler packs and try a few different ones out. Blades can be very subjective and what I like might not work for you. Plus with a blade sampler pack if you don’t like the tuck of blades you have not spent a lot of money on something that you are not going to use.

 

[Atlantic59]

The OP seemed to like Feathers, or blades similar to them. That narrows the field quite a lot. He doesn't need to waste time sampling blades on the duller side of the spectrum. So, @ShaneC could go to tryablade.com and order up a custom sampler of some of the sharper blades. Open the thumbnail picture below for some suggestions.

 

[Minimedic]

If you like feathers you have to try a tuck of Kai blades. Very similar to feather and very sharp but I feel that they are smoother.

 

[Scrape&Splash]

Personna med prep,
Bic Chrome Platinum,
Gillette 7 O clock yellow "sharp edge"

Those three subjectively feel the most like feathers to me. YMMV. If you want sharp and smooth nacet GSB and Gillette platinum are also really good blades and that might be a slight change up from feathers for you. They're a bit more forgiving but they're really quite sharp unless you're rocking steel whiskers

 

[bassplayer7770]

I love Polsilvers, but they become harder to find as they were discontinued. The Personna Comfort Coated have been solid, but I've recently started testing blades again to see if any other blade can unseat those for my needs. I have actually quite enjoyed the Dorco ST300 blades for 3 shaves in a row now.

 

[octoserge]

Timor. That is all.

 

[Romanex01]

does anybody like derby premium blades?

 

[Alex A]

Topaz platinum blades

 

[FarmerTan]

does anybody like derby premium blades?

NOOOOOOO! They hate my face.



Oops! I've never tried them. Sorry. But: every single other blade that says "Derby" or "Dorco" on the label hurts my handsome face, and then mocks me as I drip blood in the water of the sink, as well as tears. I cry mostly because I got fooled into trying the Derby blade yet again.

And the funny thing is: I will be fooled again. Someone will type something like: "Derby's just shine for me! You should try them again, Dave. You'll love 'em, Dave. I promise, Dave!" Well, sorry, but I ain't sorry if I can keep just one of you Gents safe by heeding my warning!

Don't say you weren't warned.

To the original poster boy: buy some GSB's. You are going to love them, gauranteed. Or however you spell garunteed. And anybody that don't like GSB's or sez your mileage may vary probably ain't right in the head or likes Derby's, or both.

Man, that felt good!

 

[santamariasteve]

Wilkinson blades made in Germany

 

[sharpstar90]

I gotta vote Gillette Rubie. They're a *little* more pricey but think they're absolutely worth it. I shave every day and they do great job on very short stubble with minimal irritation.

 

[Vincentchou]

Dear gents in this forum,
Pre-war Tech often gets its rotation in my shaving life.
It never lets me down in smoothness and efficiency.
I am now searching blades which make Tech to become a beast (without much loss in smoothness).
Thank you and hope you are all well in this hard season.

 

[Scott0079]

Silver stars or Tiger Platinum, there are no better blades for the cost per 100.

 

[Demolition]

does anybody like derby premium blades?

I liked the Derby Premium. It's yet another in that middle tier of medium-sharp, reasonably smooth blades.

Definitely better than the regular Derby Extra.