Do you revisit blades that previously didn't work for you?

[LRod]

I have revisited blades that haven't worked. Not because of technique (I'm not a newbie) but most likely because the blade stinks or simply doesn't work with my skin. I stopped doing that at a certain point because I came to a realization: If it doesn't work for me the first time, it'll never work for me!
YMMV!

 

[Guido75]

I have relatively few different blades - but still quite a lot (who am I kidding). I do revisit blades and glad I do. As @ivan_101 said the razor-blade combination matters a lot and I believe technique is a factor as well.

I have had number of bad shaves with the Gillette Black, but revisited the blade and instead of the 4-5 ish mediocre shaves I got stellar shave instead. Was the first one a dud? The second one a unicorn? Only one way to find out!

You have a handsome list of blades tried. My suggestion (but YMMV) would be to use the same razor and soap for a week together with a blade of choice. This assists you not only in your technique but also in deciding if the blade is something for you or not (and if it fits to your razor of choice). And sometimes you discover a wonderful blade by happenstance. The Dorco Titan was that for me.

Enjoy!

Guido

 

[ivan_101]

I have relatively few different blades - but still quite a lot (who am I kidding). I do revisit blades and glad I do. As @ivan_101 said the razor-blade combination matters a lot and I believe technique is a factor as well.

I have had number of bad shaves with the Gillette Black, but revisited the blade and instead of the 4-5 ish mediocre shaves I got stellar shave instead. Was the first one a dud? The second one a unicorn? Only one way to find out!

You have a handsome list of blades tried. My suggestion (but YMMV) would be to use the same razor and soap for a week together with a blade of choice. This assists you not only in your technique but also in deciding if the blade is something for you or not (and if it fits to your razor of choice). And sometimes you discover a wonderful blade by happenstance. The Dorco Titan was that for me.

Enjoy!

Guido

Dorco Tiitan is excellent. Dorco Prime is even better for me.

 

[nlife]

Seems like there's a few different opinions on the topic, though it doesn't really come as a surprise given the YMMV aspect of DE shaving. I've been leaning towards the 'life is too short to shave with crappy blades' camp as opposed to the camp that will tolerate a less than comfortable blade because shaves 2 though X are better. I certainly don't fall into the elephant hide skin and can shave with a broken bottle camp!

At this point, I have a Henson AL13+, GameChanger .68 and .84P. I also have the original Wilkinson Sword Classic I picked up from Walmart as my entry into this world. It doesn't see use anymore. I have found that the Treet Platinum and Derby Premium seem to work for me in all three razors.

I didn't mind the Dorco ST300 New Platinum and Dorco Titan when I tried them, but they weren't comfortable enough to dethrone Treet or Derby for me. The I have yet to try any Lord blades, though there seems to be a growing number of posts saying they're decent blades.

 

[Lightspeed]

Seems like there's a few different opinions on the topic, though it doesn't really come as a surprise given the YMMV aspect of DE shaving. I've been leaning towards the 'life is too short to shave with crappy blades' camp as opposed to the camp that will tolerate a less than comfortable blade because shaves 2 though X are better. I certainly don't fall into the elephant hide skin and can shave with a broken bottle camp!

At this point, I have a Henson AL13+, GameChanger .68 and .84P. I also have the original Wilkinson Sword Classic I picked up from Walmart as my entry into this world. It doesn't see use anymore. I have found that the Treet Platinum and Derby Premium seem to work for me in all three razors.

I didn't mind the Dorco ST300 New Platinum and Dorco Titan when I tried them, but they weren't comfortable enough to dethrone Treet or Derby for me. The I have yet to try any Lord blades, though there seems to be a growing number of posts saying they're decent blades.

In my experience, other than the Shark Super Chrome, most Lord blades are mild to medium aggression wise (Shark Super Stainless in particular is well suited as a "baby's first DE blade" for people just transitioning from cartridges because they tend to be very forgiving even if you press into the skin, although they definitely are not sharp.)

My understanding is that Derbies and Treets also occupy that mild to medium range, so you very well might like the Lords! They are generally priced very well, too.

 

[nlife]

You are bang on @Lightspeed. The Treet and Derby that I use are middle of the road sharp. They are not Feather, or BIC Chrome, or Nacet for that matter. They are more comparable to Astra SP from what I understand. I have not yet tried the Shark Super Chrome, though I may consider it down the road.

 

[Jay21]

Yes. Because usually the first time it was a technique issue and not a blade issue.

 

[Tillerman]

I thought I had good opinions on blade quality, but with time and technique I realize that there are plenty of good blades out there and am glad I revisited them. I actually get good shaves out of most blades, it is now more of a longevity issue.

 

[Diesel_24]

Yesterday for some stupid reason I tried a Brown PolSilver that I've haven't used in like 3 years. Same result, irritated my neck. I'll stick to Feather & Kai & be done chasing blades

 

[Norman Gunston]

A very good question and great thread.

I recently revisited Gillette Platinum and Silver Blue blades, using a razor I am very familiar with (Blackland Blackbird SS SB).
The Gillette Platinum was much smoother than I recalled, and I had a very nice and very close 3 pass shave. Some minor irritation at a couple of spots around my mouth, which rapidly dissipated post shave with witch hazel and after shave lotion.
The Silver Blue was rough and tuggy - I almost considered terminating or switching to another blade. This was exactly my earlier expereince with this blade - it remains my sworn enemy!

 

[cranewarrior]

Sure, it's a good idea to retry blades at a later point instead of throwing them out.

I've found that razor and blade pairings matter a lot in my personal experience. So if you found a particular blade too "dull" for you, try in it in your next razor acquisition if it has greater blade gap. You might suddenly find the dud blades work great in a more aggressive holder.