Do you agree with this?

[mistercitizen]

This is my perception, but I'm wondering what others who have tried them all think.

Sharpest to least sharpest:

• Feathers
• Blue Israeli Personnas (Crystals)
• Astra Superior Platinums
• Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinums (Blue)
• Red Israeli Personnas

Just curious. These are the blades I use the most.

Ben

 

[cfender]

For me the 7 O'clock blue is clearly sharper than all but the Feather.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

Interesting. Being that blades are YMMV things, here's my evaluation from sharpest to least using these blades:
-Feather
-Blue 7 O'clocks
-Astras
-Crystals
-Reds

 

[Big_OC]

I haven't tried the Red IP's or Crystals but here's my .02

Feather
Black 7 O'Clocks (Favorite)
Blue 7 O'Clocks
Bluebird (Surprising)
Astras
Derby (Bleh)

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks have been the best so far for me. I have yet to try the Gillette Silver Blues though.

 

[mistercitizen]

Interesting. Being that blades are YMMV things, here's my evaluation from sharpest to least using these blades:
-Feather
-Blue 7 O'clocks
-Astras
-Crystals
-Reds

That's what I'm wondering. I'm a little unsure about the middle three. I think I read somewhere that Crystals were pretty sharp.... and maybe that's why I put them right behind Feathers. I'm pretty comfortable saying that the Feathers are the sharpest (obviously) and the IP Reds are the least sharpest.... but the middle three (Crystals, 7 O'Clock Blues, and Astra SP's).... I just can't really tell in terms of sharpness. Of the middle three I get the best shaves from the 7 O'Clock Blues.... but I don't know if it's because they are sharper. It's probably because they are the most expensive of the middle three .

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks have been the best so far for me. I have yet to try the Gillette Silver Blues though.

I guess another question I have is how do the 7 O'clock Blacks compare to the Blues in terms of sharpness?

Ben

 

[shave~extacy]

Imo gillete black, and astra are very close in terms of sharpness

 

[SteveWY]

IMO, for my mileage:

- Feather
- ***(Gillette Blues & Blacks! Just got packs of these. I'm trying these next)
- Personna Super (Labs)
- Astra SP
- RIPs
- Crystal

It is interesting and not to surprising that when you get to the middle of the sharp/comfortable scale all these fines blades are very good and their placement on the list is almost interchangeable. Any of these should be on a basic recommendation list.

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

The Gillette Blacks always give me a BBS shave in my OC NEW. Have not had a nick or weeper with them, yet.

 

[mistercitizen]

I should probably try the Gillette 7 O'Clock SP Blacks since I have mostly read nothing but good reviews on them. I'm a big fan of the Blues.... the only thing I don't really like about them is the price. But they are worth it in the end.

Ben

 

[mmack66]

Personally, I don't agree. Sharp doesn't mean anything to me if the blade isn't also smooth. The vintage stainless steel blades are the best I have tried, but the Gillette 7 O'clock Blacks, and Blues are the best modern blades for me.

 

[Agravic]

Polsilver SI - sharp and smooth. I place them in between Feather and Astra SP in descending order. YMMtrulyV as Gillette Blues gave me the blues

 

[JimK]

I agree that sharp cannot be divorced from smooth. I love Feathers, but They are only blood free in one razor for me. Israeli and American Personnas are pretty fine overall. Derby blades are OK and cheap, but not spectacular. Most anything coming out of the Russian plant is simply awesome, and that goes for the Indian black wrapper blades as well. However, current production Astra SP blades rule the roost over all comers for me. All the colorful Gillette brands are essentially the same as Astras for me, but the Astras just seem to give me a great shave in any razor I own, and a wonderful shave in my favorite razors. Because of their target market, they also happen to be dirt cheap. I'm in Astra SP heaven until quality goes south, or pricing goes north.....

 

[El-a-Menthol]

To me the Astra's feel a bit sharper then the Crystals, both smooth though. Feather of course at the top. Feathers are not smooth to me.
Also, I just tried Perma-Sharp (the Russian made for the turkey market, not Gillette Perma Sharps). Quite rough, not my kind of blade.
Yellow 'O Clocks and Astra SP's are still my favorite. Still have to try the Black 7'OC, hope I can find in no too far away.

 

[mistercitizen]

Personally, I don't agree. Sharp doesn't mean anything to me if the blade isn't also smooth. The vintage stainless steel blades are the best I have tried, but the Gillette 7 O'clock Blacks, and Blues are the best modern blades for me.

Sharpness IMO can be measured. I'm not an expert in metals, but for the most part a blade is sharpend to a certain level of sharpness by the manufacturer. Smoothness, to me is more of a YMMV thing. It has more to do with a combination of the type of metal, the level of sharpness, and the coating (if any) used for the blade. Let me be clear that I'm not asking if people agree that this is a ranking of "best to least".... I'm asking everyone's opinions about their perception of the level of sharpness of the blade. I'm positive that not everyone will agree with my perception, but that's what I'm interested in finding out from others.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

I agree that sharp cannot be divorced from smooth. I love Feathers, but They are only blood free in one razor for me. Israeli and American Personnas are pretty fine overall. Derby blades are OK and cheap, but not spectacular. Most anything coming out of the Russian plant is simply awesome, and that goes for the Indian black wrapper blades as well. However, current production Astra SP blades rule the roost over all comers for me. All the colorful Gillette brands are essentially the same as Astras for me, but the Astras just seem to give me a great shave in any razor I own, and a wonderful shave in my favorite razors. Because of their target market, they also happen to be dirt cheap. I'm in Astra SP heaven until quality goes south, or pricing goes north.....

I guess I am divorcing sharpness from smoothness for this thread. Everyone pretty much agrees that Feathers are the sharpest out there.... Kai blades are maybe close from what I hear (never used Kai). Most people also agree that Derby's are some of the dullest blades. I'm thinking along those lines for the purposes of this thread. I guess I'm not so much asking to rank in terms of "best to least"..... but it is nice to hear everyone's opinions about that too because these are the blades I primarily use, so I'm curious what other's think overall. Like you said, Feathers only work well for you with one razor. I would agree that the sharper blades work well for me in certain razors and that the duller blades work better for me in others. I'm just disecting the situation a little bit by asking what everyone's opinion is with regard to level of sharpness of these particular blades. I'm not talking price, smoothness, best, worst....

Ben

 

[JimK]

Ben,
I understand your perspective. My divorce comment was motivated by my comparing blades in terms of passes needed to achieve a certain degree of smoothness, vs the comfort of the final product. I agree that a Derby blade can give a good shave without irritation, but at the cost of sharpness... It takes much more work to get a BBS shave with a Derby (in my experience). Still, not a bad backup blade to have...

What may put my divorce comment in perspective for you is that I demand a sharp, smooth, and drama free shave all of the time... I don't want to choose between any attribute in my go-to blade.. That's where the current production Astra SP blades from Gillette really shine for me. It's not about price at all, although that turned out to be a huge bonus. The simple truth is that a current Astra SP blade will give me a BBS shave in as few strokes as a new Feather blade, and the Astra shave is almost always blood free, and delightfully comfortable in any razor, while the Feather only matches or slightly exceeds the Astra performance in select razors, using careful technique.

That is what I meant by keeping sharpness and comfort together. I realize that fans of the Feather legend may be well disagree (I own quite a few Feathers, and I like them when I have the time to obey their demands), but I think it is possible to find a blade that does everything we look for in a great shave extremely well, and in a wide variety of razors. For me, it is the current Astra SP. Given the same number and pattern of strokes to achieve a BBS shave, the Feather cannot be sharper. Since the Astra SP is most often blood free, and comfortable during and after the shave, the Feather cannot be smoother, as it can cause weepers on the dead, and is demanding of both time and technique..... The fact that the Astra costs from 1/4 to 1/5 the price of the Feather is a bonus, but also a testament to the ability of Gillette to mass produce consistsntly world class blades for nearly nothing (when they want to)..

 

[mistercitizen]

JimK,
Thanks for expanding on your comment. I am still experimenting quite a bit with the blades I listed and so I'm more or less dissecting the characteristics of the blade. I've used all of these blades with some success, but I couldn't exactly tell anyone why or what makes them successful. For me, a sharp blade (Feather) seems to work pretty good in a mild, non-adjustable razor like a Gillette Super Speed. Other than that, I can't say anything for sure right now. I've had very good shaves with other blades in other razors, but nothing with any regularity. Even last night, I shaved with a Feather (second shave) in a 70's style black handle Super Speed. My neck was a bloody mess after my last pass of going ATG. Little weepers all over but no major cuts or gashes. I splashed my Myrsol Metilsol all over when I was done and and they continued to bleed for an hour or so.... but after that, no irritation whatsoever.... and a very close and smooth shave. The weepers are not normal for me with that set up, but the end result was the same as I'm used to (after I quit bleeding in an hour).

Lately, over the last 2 to 3 weeks I've been focusing on just the Feathers and Gillette 7 O'Clock SP Blues. I'm definitely a "gotta try it out to see if I like it" kind of guy. If I don't try something, I usually just sit and wonder if it's any better than what I'm currently using. Like many things in life, experience is very important.... and that takes time. Thank you for your perspective. I understand what you are saying about the Astra SP's giving you a smooth, close and efficient shave. I really do enjoy hearing what others hear have to say and how they perceive things in this forum.... especially when they take the time to explain their thoughts. Thanks again.

Ben

 

[the_edski]

I think one thing we can all agree on is that Derby will be at the bottom of the list!