Thought i'd give a some feedback on my first sample pack. If my style is ponderous - and boring - feel free to cut to the chase and read the end.
Just to give a little background, Ive been wet shaving for 3o something years, the last fifteen with Wilkinson Sword brushes and Palmolive creams and sticks, but am new to DE razors. I recently treated myself to an Edwin Jagger D89L razor, a semogue 620 boars hair brush, assorted soaps from Cella, Proraso and Tabac, and of course a sample pack of blades. I live in Thailand, the home of dirt cheap Feather and Astra blades (more on that later) as well as other less renowned brands, and have spent the last couple of months working my way through them.
Of course my technique has improved along the way, and its likely that when I return to some of the blades Ive tried my opinions will change. Nevertheless, I believe Ive got a reasonably good idea of what I like/dislike having spent 3 days with most of them.
It soon becomes apparent that blades fall into 3 main groups. First, theres the lousy blade thats best avoided. This group was small for me, partly due to the fact that the sample pack from Connaught Shaving contained popular brands. Ive seen other sample packs with plenty of obscure brands that appear to be widely disliked from reading reviews. The next group, and far and away the largest, is the OK blade. Most of the razor blades I tried were fine, though they did not make me wish to rush out and order a 100 pack. Even so, if I had to I could easily adjust my technique to using any of these blades full time. The good news is I dont have to, because the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] group consists of that elite collection of blades that for whatever reason work particularly well with my beard/skin/face. My reason for buying a sample pack is to identify the three groups, particularly the first and last, so in future I can spend my cash well and save my face from unnecessary grief.
I kept a diary of my progress and am referring to it here. Some blades got just a few words, some a lot more. Ill try to keep it simple.
Feather.
Feather blades are dirt cheap here in Thailand so I did wonder whether these were fakes. Having compared the local ones with Connaught bought blades I was unable to tell any difference. Ditto the Astras. Ive spent a little more time with these two blades than most others because it seems silly to order far more expensive blades from overseas when I can buy these for peanuts locally. The Feather was the first blade to go into my Edwin Jagger and I nicked myself on the chin. There was blood, and neither my Proraso balm or my |Alum block stemmed the flow. I spent an hour or so walking around with a bit of loo roll stuck to my chin, but the shave was otherwise outstanding, and I put it down to not being used to the weight of the razor and the sharpness of the blade. I spent two more days with the feather and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Later I returned to both the Thai and Connaught Feathers and currently have one in my Rimei razor which Ive been using to shave my head once a week (like a chainsaw through cotton candy). A thumbs up for the Feather brand then.
Polsilver
Super smoothe and sharp. I think I prefer this to the Feather. I go overboard a bit on day 3 and get a little sore, but Im putting it down to poor technique. I take a day off shaving and use the PS to shave my head with Cella soap giving myself the best head shave Ive ever experienced. Definitely a big thumbs up for this one.
Astra Blue (Thai bought)
At 170 baht (£3.50) for a 100 these things are virtually free but do they work? Happily yes. Perhaps not as joyfully as the Polsilvers but theyre decent blades.
Derby
Hmmm. Not the best Ive tried but theyre ok. Certainly nothing awful like Ive read in many reviews. Post shave is very nice indeed and my skin seems to appreciate it. Probably a good blade to return to if Im feeling tender.
Gillette Silver Blue
Was expecting great things from these and Im not disappointed. Best shave since the Polsilver. Very nice blade.
Treet
Initial impressions was that this was not sharp and that it irritated my skin. Completed my shave but didnt enjoy it. Day 2 I give it another go but abandon it after a couple of inches. My first bad blade. No thanks.
Dorco
After two swipes with the Treet Im in the kitchen with a face full of lather looking for a new blade and the Dorco is the first I see in the bag. This is a super cheap Thai bought blade made in Vietnam I believe, and first impressions are not great. Even so, I finish up but its a lousy shave. I bin the blade at the end. It occurs to me later that Ive not really given the Dorco a fair crack of the whip. My face was sore from the Treet and the lather had dried up in between changes. Ill give the Dorco another go at a later date.
Gillette 7 Oclock Yellow
Hallelujah! Heavenly blade. 3 superb shaves on the trot. Hugely confidence inspiring. At no point do I feel like Im going to cut myself with this thing, so I direct the blade into areas of my face Ive been wary of before. Absolutely top draw. Best so far. I reluctantly bin the yellow after 3 days and move on to the
Astra SP Green
Nice solid shave here. No complaints though perhaps less luxurious than the Yellow. Probably destined to go in the top half of the second draw. Super cheap here in Thailand, or at least the Blue version is. Ive not seen the green around but am told its available.
Supermax superplatinum
Ive gone from St Petersburg to India but its a small step. Similar quality shave though I think the Astra has the edge. On day 2 I have a hint of razor rash though I wonder if Ive been overdoing the shaving and just need a day off. Instead of taking a day off Im at the sink on day 3 with a Feather in my Chinese Rimei razor and the 3 day old Supermax in the EJ. The Feather quickly takes over the duties and the Supermax goes in the bin. Got to take my hat off to these Feather blades even in the cheapo Chinese razor its a beast. The blade glides effortlessly across the contours of my face with zero force. 2 passes and a 24 carat bbs is left behind. Wonderful! The Rimeis a good back up razor too. The Supermax will need another visit before I make up my mind, but Ill give it a tentative thumbs up for now. I have 4 left.
I decide to take a day off from shaving. My first in a month. As pleasurable as the Feather shave is Id ended up with what my 4-year-old daughter calls an ouchy at the Alum stage.
Wilkinson Sword
This blade reminds me of watching my dad shave as a kid. Im pretty sure this was my old mans go to blade and the memories come flooding back of being perched on the wicker laundry basket in the corner of his bathroom and gazing up as he performed his daily routine. The blade is ok. Not the best but not bad either. Day 2 is better. Day three I decide to take out the blade and pop in a
Personna Red (ISR)
Heard good things about this blade and assume its a shoo-in for the top draw, or at the very least the upper part of the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] draw. How wrong was i? Really didnt like this blade. Super tuggy and irritating. After ¾ of a pass it goes in the bin and the Wilkinson Sword does a fair job of completing the shave. So its a thumbs up for the WS and a large raspberry for the Personna.
Supermax Super Stainless Blue
I stumbled across this in a local market. 10 baht (20p) for a five pack and thought Id give it a try. Oh dear, i shouldnt have bothered. Nasty, tuggy, rashy thing. Binned it after seconds and finished up with a quality blade(more on that later).
Well I think thats about it. Ill revisit most of these blades but not the ones I really didnt like. Life is short and my face is valuable to me, and there are so many decent blades out there it seems crazy to waste time on the ones that dont agree with me. Then of course there are those few blades that were love at first touch. The Polsilver, Gillette Blue and Gillette 7 oclock Yellow all spring to mind. Then theres the mighty Feather. So you may be wondering which Im going to choose for my 100 blade bulk purchase? Ive narrowed it down to the four above and of course Ill be re-assessing these and other blades over the coming weeks since I still have 4 blades from the 5 packs to play with.
So what am I going with? And the answer is ..
None of the above.
Conclusion
Theres a little shop across from my condo, a small convenience store remarkable only because the owners sell me beer on Buddhist holidays when the sale of alcohol is forbidden here. I have visited this shop at least once a day for 4 years. Behind the counter are some dusty cartridge razors and next to those hangs a sheet of card coloured red,black and white. There are a couple of similarly coloured small boxes glued to the card with the silhouette of a man with a moustache next to some Thai writing. The edge of the box has a blue strip with a letter plus 1 on it. This is a buy 5 get one free deal. The packaging is cheap, shabby and third world and there is no suggestion that the box might contain anything out of the ordinary. But appearances can be deceptive, because as I was soon to learn this box did indeed contain something out of the ordinary. The smoothest, most forgiving shave Id yet encountered. The nearest comparison was the 7oclock Yellow, but this was just as good and was sold a stones throw from my front door. I was reminded of the story of the tailor who went to London to look for treasure when it turned out it was buried under a tree in his back yard.
For some reason the blades cost more than double the price of the Astra, and more than the Feather too, but at 40 baht (80p) for 6 they were hardly expensive. Makro carries 200 sheets for marginally less per pack. And boy, what a shave. I discovered them halfway through my journey and whenever I had a bad blade experience Id pop one of these in and the difference was night and day. After using the blades I barely noticed the Alum block either. I did notice that after 3 shaves the blade did not like shaving my head, but I soon assigned that jog to the Rimei razor. But for my face this blade is superb.
So what is the mystery blade?
The Gillette Super Thin.
Im told the blade is made in Shanghai and packaged for both Thailand and Vietnam. Anyway, marvellous blade that Im going to rotate along with Feather and probably the odd Astra. Thanks to Connaught Shaving for their excellent service and eclectic sample pack, but as long as I live in Thailand it seems crazy to order more expensive blades from overseas. Were blessed with what we have bladewize, though Ill certainly be buying other supplies from Connaught in the future.
Thanks for reading, and check out the Super Thins sometime.
Just to give a little background, Ive been wet shaving for 3o something years, the last fifteen with Wilkinson Sword brushes and Palmolive creams and sticks, but am new to DE razors. I recently treated myself to an Edwin Jagger D89L razor, a semogue 620 boars hair brush, assorted soaps from Cella, Proraso and Tabac, and of course a sample pack of blades. I live in Thailand, the home of dirt cheap Feather and Astra blades (more on that later) as well as other less renowned brands, and have spent the last couple of months working my way through them.
Of course my technique has improved along the way, and its likely that when I return to some of the blades Ive tried my opinions will change. Nevertheless, I believe Ive got a reasonably good idea of what I like/dislike having spent 3 days with most of them.
It soon becomes apparent that blades fall into 3 main groups. First, theres the lousy blade thats best avoided. This group was small for me, partly due to the fact that the sample pack from Connaught Shaving contained popular brands. Ive seen other sample packs with plenty of obscure brands that appear to be widely disliked from reading reviews. The next group, and far and away the largest, is the OK blade. Most of the razor blades I tried were fine, though they did not make me wish to rush out and order a 100 pack. Even so, if I had to I could easily adjust my technique to using any of these blades full time. The good news is I dont have to, because the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] group consists of that elite collection of blades that for whatever reason work particularly well with my beard/skin/face. My reason for buying a sample pack is to identify the three groups, particularly the first and last, so in future I can spend my cash well and save my face from unnecessary grief.
I kept a diary of my progress and am referring to it here. Some blades got just a few words, some a lot more. Ill try to keep it simple.
Feather.
Feather blades are dirt cheap here in Thailand so I did wonder whether these were fakes. Having compared the local ones with Connaught bought blades I was unable to tell any difference. Ditto the Astras. Ive spent a little more time with these two blades than most others because it seems silly to order far more expensive blades from overseas when I can buy these for peanuts locally. The Feather was the first blade to go into my Edwin Jagger and I nicked myself on the chin. There was blood, and neither my Proraso balm or my |Alum block stemmed the flow. I spent an hour or so walking around with a bit of loo roll stuck to my chin, but the shave was otherwise outstanding, and I put it down to not being used to the weight of the razor and the sharpness of the blade. I spent two more days with the feather and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Later I returned to both the Thai and Connaught Feathers and currently have one in my Rimei razor which Ive been using to shave my head once a week (like a chainsaw through cotton candy). A thumbs up for the Feather brand then.
Polsilver
Super smoothe and sharp. I think I prefer this to the Feather. I go overboard a bit on day 3 and get a little sore, but Im putting it down to poor technique. I take a day off shaving and use the PS to shave my head with Cella soap giving myself the best head shave Ive ever experienced. Definitely a big thumbs up for this one.
Astra Blue (Thai bought)
At 170 baht (£3.50) for a 100 these things are virtually free but do they work? Happily yes. Perhaps not as joyfully as the Polsilvers but theyre decent blades.
Derby
Hmmm. Not the best Ive tried but theyre ok. Certainly nothing awful like Ive read in many reviews. Post shave is very nice indeed and my skin seems to appreciate it. Probably a good blade to return to if Im feeling tender.
Gillette Silver Blue
Was expecting great things from these and Im not disappointed. Best shave since the Polsilver. Very nice blade.
Treet
Initial impressions was that this was not sharp and that it irritated my skin. Completed my shave but didnt enjoy it. Day 2 I give it another go but abandon it after a couple of inches. My first bad blade. No thanks.
Dorco
After two swipes with the Treet Im in the kitchen with a face full of lather looking for a new blade and the Dorco is the first I see in the bag. This is a super cheap Thai bought blade made in Vietnam I believe, and first impressions are not great. Even so, I finish up but its a lousy shave. I bin the blade at the end. It occurs to me later that Ive not really given the Dorco a fair crack of the whip. My face was sore from the Treet and the lather had dried up in between changes. Ill give the Dorco another go at a later date.
Gillette 7 Oclock Yellow
Hallelujah! Heavenly blade. 3 superb shaves on the trot. Hugely confidence inspiring. At no point do I feel like Im going to cut myself with this thing, so I direct the blade into areas of my face Ive been wary of before. Absolutely top draw. Best so far. I reluctantly bin the yellow after 3 days and move on to the
Astra SP Green
Nice solid shave here. No complaints though perhaps less luxurious than the Yellow. Probably destined to go in the top half of the second draw. Super cheap here in Thailand, or at least the Blue version is. Ive not seen the green around but am told its available.
Supermax superplatinum
Ive gone from St Petersburg to India but its a small step. Similar quality shave though I think the Astra has the edge. On day 2 I have a hint of razor rash though I wonder if Ive been overdoing the shaving and just need a day off. Instead of taking a day off Im at the sink on day 3 with a Feather in my Chinese Rimei razor and the 3 day old Supermax in the EJ. The Feather quickly takes over the duties and the Supermax goes in the bin. Got to take my hat off to these Feather blades even in the cheapo Chinese razor its a beast. The blade glides effortlessly across the contours of my face with zero force. 2 passes and a 24 carat bbs is left behind. Wonderful! The Rimeis a good back up razor too. The Supermax will need another visit before I make up my mind, but Ill give it a tentative thumbs up for now. I have 4 left.
I decide to take a day off from shaving. My first in a month. As pleasurable as the Feather shave is Id ended up with what my 4-year-old daughter calls an ouchy at the Alum stage.
Wilkinson Sword
This blade reminds me of watching my dad shave as a kid. Im pretty sure this was my old mans go to blade and the memories come flooding back of being perched on the wicker laundry basket in the corner of his bathroom and gazing up as he performed his daily routine. The blade is ok. Not the best but not bad either. Day 2 is better. Day three I decide to take out the blade and pop in a
Personna Red (ISR)
Heard good things about this blade and assume its a shoo-in for the top draw, or at the very least the upper part of the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] draw. How wrong was i? Really didnt like this blade. Super tuggy and irritating. After ¾ of a pass it goes in the bin and the Wilkinson Sword does a fair job of completing the shave. So its a thumbs up for the WS and a large raspberry for the Personna.
Supermax Super Stainless Blue
I stumbled across this in a local market. 10 baht (20p) for a five pack and thought Id give it a try. Oh dear, i shouldnt have bothered. Nasty, tuggy, rashy thing. Binned it after seconds and finished up with a quality blade(more on that later).
Well I think thats about it. Ill revisit most of these blades but not the ones I really didnt like. Life is short and my face is valuable to me, and there are so many decent blades out there it seems crazy to waste time on the ones that dont agree with me. Then of course there are those few blades that were love at first touch. The Polsilver, Gillette Blue and Gillette 7 oclock Yellow all spring to mind. Then theres the mighty Feather. So you may be wondering which Im going to choose for my 100 blade bulk purchase? Ive narrowed it down to the four above and of course Ill be re-assessing these and other blades over the coming weeks since I still have 4 blades from the 5 packs to play with.
So what am I going with? And the answer is ..
None of the above.
Conclusion
Theres a little shop across from my condo, a small convenience store remarkable only because the owners sell me beer on Buddhist holidays when the sale of alcohol is forbidden here. I have visited this shop at least once a day for 4 years. Behind the counter are some dusty cartridge razors and next to those hangs a sheet of card coloured red,black and white. There are a couple of similarly coloured small boxes glued to the card with the silhouette of a man with a moustache next to some Thai writing. The edge of the box has a blue strip with a letter plus 1 on it. This is a buy 5 get one free deal. The packaging is cheap, shabby and third world and there is no suggestion that the box might contain anything out of the ordinary. But appearances can be deceptive, because as I was soon to learn this box did indeed contain something out of the ordinary. The smoothest, most forgiving shave Id yet encountered. The nearest comparison was the 7oclock Yellow, but this was just as good and was sold a stones throw from my front door. I was reminded of the story of the tailor who went to London to look for treasure when it turned out it was buried under a tree in his back yard.
For some reason the blades cost more than double the price of the Astra, and more than the Feather too, but at 40 baht (80p) for 6 they were hardly expensive. Makro carries 200 sheets for marginally less per pack. And boy, what a shave. I discovered them halfway through my journey and whenever I had a bad blade experience Id pop one of these in and the difference was night and day. After using the blades I barely noticed the Alum block either. I did notice that after 3 shaves the blade did not like shaving my head, but I soon assigned that jog to the Rimei razor. But for my face this blade is superb.
So what is the mystery blade?
The Gillette Super Thin.
Im told the blade is made in Shanghai and packaged for both Thailand and Vietnam. Anyway, marvellous blade that Im going to rotate along with Feather and probably the odd Astra. Thanks to Connaught Shaving for their excellent service and eclectic sample pack, but as long as I live in Thailand it seems crazy to order more expensive blades from overseas. Were blessed with what we have bladewize, though Ill certainly be buying other supplies from Connaught in the future.
Thanks for reading, and check out the Super Thins sometime.
