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Exploring new blades with specific concerns

I've been using Feather for years now for my DE Vintage Gillette. But I was reading today about different blades, different types of hair, different types of water and how that combination makes for different experiences. I'd been wanting recently only out of curiosity to try others. I can't get any sample packs on Amazon France where I live so I thought I'd ask for some suggestions...
- I have thick facial hair and really sensitive skin
- I have pretty hard water
- As a point of comparison, Feather blades get me no more than 3 shaves a week per side of the blade, so 6-7 shaves for two weeks

Is there something other than Feather I could be using. I had started with Merkur, didn't like them. Lots of tugging, lots of irritation. I feel like I need VERY sharp and to make sure hard water isn't harming the blade edges. This store is where I get my shaving products and these are the DE blades I can get.

Thanks!!
 
You could try Gillette 7:00, Polsilver, Bolzano, and Timor. I keep Bolzano and Timor on hand; I find them to be very good blades. The others enjoy popularity with a number of folks here, as well. Enjoy!
 
Out of those available on the linked pages I would say the sharpest in there are KAI, Gillette 7 O'clock super stainless, Astra SS, and polsilver.
 
I've been using Feather for years now for my DE Vintage Gillette. But I was reading today about different blades, different types of hair, different types of water and how that combination makes for different experiences. I'd been wanting recently only out of curiosity to try others. I can't get any sample packs on Amazon France where I live so I thought I'd ask for some suggestions...
- I have thick facial hair and really sensitive skin
- I have pretty hard water
- As a point of comparison, Feather blades get me no more than 3 shaves a week per side of the blade, so 6-7 shaves for two weeks

Is there something other than Feather I could be using. I had started with Merkur, didn't like them. Lots of tugging, lots of irritation. I feel like I need VERY sharp and to make sure hard water isn't harming the blade edges. This store is where I get my shaving products and these are the DE blades I can get.

Thanks!!

I have the same face type as you do, and I've settled into Red Personna and GSB. YMMV but they seem to do the best job with my thick hair without burning my skin.
 
So nothing you can get that works better for hard water?
And am I right in assuming that sharper is better for my skin type because you can get more done in your passes? I HAVE to do three always.
 
You can buy blade samplers from Gifts&Care. They offer more variety, better prices and I think shipping to France will be quite reasonable.

I'd recommend the Gillette Platinum (which is currently out of stock), Polsilver SI and Bolzano.
 
I can only get 4 shaves per blade from Feather, which are far too expensive for regular use
I also get 4 shaves per blade from Personna Platinum from Israel, also far too expensive for my liking

Luckily the other blades that I can get 4 shaves from are more reasonably priced............

Zaza Super Stainless (Turkey), Wilkinson Sword (Germany), Racer Super Class Platinum (Egypt), Gillette 7 O'Clock Green (India), Bic Chrome Platinum (Greece)
 
By the way when I say Feather, I'm talking about the Yellow packaging ones, not the black and grey.
Also, when people say "GSB", what are they referring to? I assume it's Gillette something?

I'm a bit concerned about Polsilver because there are several accounts of them being less sharp than Feather and I already find that after two shaves, Feather can sometimes start to pull too much. So, if Polsilver are already less sharp I may not even like the first shave.
 
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Gillette Silver Blues and Personna Med Preps. Bolzanos have already been mentioned and I really like them also. Gillette Blacks- 7 O'Clocks get phenominal reviews. I have some on order, but can't comment on them personally yet. If they're as good as GSB's, then I won't be disappointed.
 
I have hard well water & I get around 6-10 shaves per blade with Astra SP or Dorco ST 300 blades. You can always get distilled water but, I doubt hard water is dulling your blades.
 
By the way when I say Feather, I'm talking about the Yellow packaging ones, not the black and grey.
Also, when people say "GSB", what are they referring to? I assume it's Gillette something?

I'm a bit concerned about Polsilver because there are several accounts of them being less sharp than Feather and I already find that after two shaves, Feather can sometimes start to pull too much. So, if Polsilver are already less sharp I may not even like the first shave.

GSB is Gillette Silver Blue. I love GSB and 7 o'clock Blacks. The others like Astra and PolSilver I haven't tried however, I hear they are just as sharp but more smooth. Remember it's the smoothness or lack thereof of that can be causing the tugging. The others named are all slightly less sharp than Feather as everything is, but the smoothness is higher. Just curious but have you tried tryablade.com they may ship to France!
 
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Blades are very much YMMV. As my technique improved, I get more and more out of most blades. For comparison, I tossed a Feather last week after day 7. This was because I wanted a new blade for variety. The Feather likely had a few shaves left.

My current top five: GSB, Personna red, Personna labs, Wilkinson sword (German), and Astra SP. Best of luck in your quest!
 
You can buy blade samplers from Gifts&Care. They offer more variety, better prices and I think shipping to France will be quite reasonable.
Thank you so much, I didn't know that shop at all! Ended up being half the price of my French shop. And even cheaper shipping.
I've gone for a 5-pack of Astra SP and another of PolSilver SI.

If either is less rough than Feather I'll be happy. Then I'll pick one of the two to go with from then on. Still curious about Bolzano though but I just couldn't find enough feedback about them.
 
Thank you so much, I didn't know that shop at all! Ended up being half the price of my French shop. And even cheaper shipping.
I've gone for a 5-pack of Astra SP and another of PolSilver SI.

If either is less rough than Feather I'll be happy. Then I'll pick one of the two to go with from then on. Still curious about Bolzano though but I just couldn't find enough feedback about them.
You're welcome!

I think you'll love the Polsilver SI. Keep us posted. [emoji106]
 
I can only get 4 shaves per blade from Feather, which are far too expensive for regular use
I also get 4 shaves per blade from Personna Platinum from Israel, also far too expensive for my liking

Luckily the other blades that I can get 4 shaves from are more reasonably priced............

Zaza Super Stainless (Turkey), Wilkinson Sword (Germany), Racer Super Class Platinum (Egypt), Gillette 7 O'Clock Green (India), Bic Chrome Platinum (Greece)
You do know they're 9 EUR for a hundred at giftsandcare.com right? Almost as cheap as Derby. Have not checked ebay, but i suppose they could be cheaper there
 
You do know they're 9 EUR for a hundred at giftsandcare.com right? Almost as cheap as Derby. Have not checked ebay, but i suppose they could be cheaper there
I bought my Personna blades locally from Mercadona Supermarket
I usually buy my blades from eBay, but I might look into giftsandcare when the exchange rates stabilise again
At the moment I'm guarding my money with my life
 
I bought my Personna blades locally from Mercadona Supermarket
I usually buy my blades from eBay, but I might look into giftsandcare when the exchange rates stabilise again
At the moment I'm guarding my money with my life
??????
giftsandcare is a spanish website
 
??????
giftsandcare is a spanish website
I know
But the referendum for the UK to leave the EU has wreaked havoc with exchange rates.
Money transferred from England to Spain is in £ Sterling, if there is a bad exchange rate, it is possible to lose a lot of money every month when it is exchanged into € in the Spanish bank.
As a British Expat living in Mallorca, Spain, I can't afford to spend any more money than is necessary - I might need every last Euro if things get worse and I can no longer afford to live in Spain.
The prospect of having to leave Spain and move back to England is enough to give anybody nightmares !!
 
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