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Everything I knew about blades

..... was probably wrong! When I first got into using a safety razor I tested out quite a few different blades but found that Feathers were the only ones that gave me a smooth non-irritating shave. After having some trouble with Feather blades recently I decided to try out some of my left over sample blades. A couple of the blades I rejected at first for being too rough and dull (Gillette Silver Blue and 7 o'clock green) turned out fine this time around! :blush: They turned out so fine in fact that I order 100 Silver Blues the day after I tried one.

I can only figure that when I was starting out my technique was so poor that I wasn't giving the samples a decent test. Needless to say I will be testing out more blades in the future! (Except Shark that is...) :biggrin1:
 
GSB are the only blades I have ordered 100 of. I am trying a bunch of different blades right now, but none of them have unseated the GSB for me. They have a great balance of smoothness and sharpness for me.
 
I like GSB as well. Not crazy about the wax used on the paper envelopes. I think you are probably correct about your developing technique. I noticed the same thing in my case. I have a few favorites now, but I remain open to trying new things. Once I find blades I really like I order 50 of them. That keeps me well stocked with blades I favor. Happy experimenting!
 
I went through a similar cycle; decided Med Preps were "my blade."

But now, only about 25 blades into my box of 100, I ordered 100 7 O'clock greens.
 
I did the same thing when I started. Crystal super platinums were the easiest on my face from my sample pack in the beginning so I ordered a bunch. Then about a year later I decided to try out the leftovers and was amazed at how much better some of them felt
 
Not uncommon to revisit a blade or razor and find your experience differs from a previous one based on changes you've made to prep, lather or technique.

The GSB is an outstanding blade. It's my daily shaver in a Schick Krona and I used it twice this weekend in a Gillette LC New. Incredibly close, smooth shave. I'm feeling my cheeks now and it's like I was born without a beard.
 
Hmmm.. I still have Lord Plat blade sitting in my pile, a brand I rejected when I first learned to use a DE. I was just thinking the other day I should try it out again.

I've never gone back to a blade that treated me rough, because I would just buy five and use them up and not buy any more. But this one has hung around all this time. Food for thought...
 
This is why almost immediately I just picked up a 100 pack of Astras at the beginning. I figured I'd have something serviceable to work with while I learned what I was doing and then later I could evaluate other blades with some confidence that I'd actually know what I was doing. In another month or two I'll start sampling other blades.
 
Great info as I'm still testing blades. I likes GSB as well and have found others I like also like Perma Sharp.
 
This is why almost immediately I just picked up a 100 pack of Astras at the beginning. I figured I'd have something serviceable to work with while I learned what I was doing and then later I could evaluate other blades with some confidence that I'd actually know what I was doing. In another month or two I'll start sampling other blades.

Astra blades are not the very best blades out there, but they are one of the better blades - and at their low price, Astra blades are hard to beat!!!
 

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The Instigator
It'll be a while before I trust another Merkur blade ... been getting better shaves with, let me see. Kai, Feather, Personna Blue, Astra SP, Dorco 301, even Dorco 300 ...


AA
 
The evolution never stops. A little tweak here - a subtle tweak there. Every day is a new experiment in technique. That is the fun of it.


It is Impossible to Teach an Old Dogma New Tricks.
-Dorothy Parker
 
This is why almost immediately I just picked up a 100 pack of Astras at the beginning. I figured I'd have something serviceable to work with while I learned what I was doing and then later I could evaluate other blades with some confidence that I'd actually know what I was doing. In another month or two I'll start sampling other blades.

This is what I ended up doing. I messed around with blade samples, and dismissed a lot of probably very good brands due to the fact that I didn't know what I was doing. Derby blades seemed to be the best, or the least bad in the beginning - so I bought, and have been going through, 100 of them.

Still, I think the time will come when those samples I have laying around deserve a second fair shot.
 
This is why almost immediately I just picked up a 100 pack of Astras at the beginning. I figured I'd have something serviceable to work with while I learned what I was doing and then later I could evaluate other blades with some confidence that I'd actually know what I was doing. In another month or two I'll start sampling other blades.
+1 I did the same, now I can get a great shave with many different blades and razors. Work on your Technique first then try different blades.
 
This is why almost immediately I just picked up a 100 pack of Astras at the beginning. I figured I'd have something serviceable to work with while I learned what I was doing and then later I could evaluate other blades with some confidence that I'd actually know what I was doing. In another month or two I'll start sampling other blades.

I did the same thing, but only because I got the 100 Astra Platinums for the same price I paid for 10 Merkurs (I hadn't a clue that AOS thought blades for safety razors should get a markup like a cartridge gets a markup).

I'm still looking to see if I can find blades (other than Van Der Hagen) that I can purchase locally; apparently, San Diego isn't really that big on DE shaving.
 
Drug stores and even grocery stores often carry one mid-range brand of blades, usually rebranded Personna or Dorco.
 
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