Feather - Alternative Blade Recommendations please

[DSK]

Several years ago when i got into this shaving m'larky I did the usual and got several sample packs and ended up using Feather blades over the last 5 years as they work well in a number of DE's and shavettes.

Amazon no longer sell the 100pk Feathers so I bought a 100pk of Astra blades from Amazon. No real complaints as its a pretty verstaile do it all type of blade but, I wish it was sharper.

Can anyone recommend any other DE razor blades that are known to be sharp? I'm looking to order a new sample pack and most places will allow you to make up your own sample packs.

Regards

DK

 

[RayClem]

It appears that the 100 ct Feathers are still available on Amazon in the US. The packaging might be different from your previous purchase, but everything I have seen says the blade is the same. According to many reviews, nothing is as sharp as a Feather on the first shave, but it quickly loses sharpness after that first shave.

Some coated blades become smoother after the first shave as the coating wears off. Other blades you might want to try are: BIC Chrome Platinum, Permasharp Super, Gillette Nacet, Gillette 7 O'Clock black, Personna Israeli Reds, and Wilkinson Sword Germany.

There are two Astra blades. I suspect you purchased the Astra SP (superior platinum coated). Because of the platinum coating, it is a smooth blade, but not super sharp. It gets a little sharper with use. The Astra Super Stainless is not coated (like the Feather blades) so it starts out sharper. However, if you like the sharpness of Feathers, then the ones mentioned earlier are your best bets.

 

[Badgerstate36]

Really, Kais are the only blade that rivals Feather in terms of sharpness. Beyond that, you will have to accept that a blade that is slightly less sharp. Ive used Feathers and Kais quite a lot and have enjoyed them but dont like the cost and how harsh they can be at times. I found Personna Blues and Dorco Primes to be pretty good alternatives but everyone is different and you will have to experiment and find what you like.

 

[LeGaulois]

+1 only Kai.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The nearest I have found to feather in terms of the keen edge feel, is Gillette SharpEdge

 

[BigJ]

Another vote for Kais. Almost as sharp as Feathers.

My personal preference is more towards GSB and Nacet which I find almost as sharp, but smoother and more comfortable.

 

[DSK]

Thanks for the replies. I am in the UK and we seem to get far less choice than the USA Amazon store.

I know one of the places I looked at that has a large selection of blades such as Kai, some Persona and a few Gillette variants. Never heard of BIC blades but I recall seeing them listed so will check and add those the sampler.

BIGJ - what is GSB?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

BIGJ - what is GSB?

Gillette Silver Blue

I don't rate them as "near Feather" blades (nor the Nacet), as my beard seems to do better with platinum coated blades rather than plain stainless. Probably worth visiting Razorbladesclub.com and getting a cross section of samples from the suggestions listed, as some might work better for you than others.

 

[Invicta]

I would suggest Gillette Silver Blue or Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge, both have a good combination of sharpness and smoothness. Feather blades don't have the same longevity as the two previously mentioned.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

Several years ago when i got into this shaving m'larky I did the usual and got several sample packs and ended up using Feather blades over the last 5 years as they work well in a number of DE's and shavettes.

Amazon no longer sell the 100pk Feathers so I bought a 100pk of Astra blades from Amazon. No real complaints as its a pretty verstaile do it all type of blade but, I wish it was sharper.

Can anyone recommend any other DE razor blades that are known to be sharp? I'm looking to order a new sample pack and most places will allow you to make up your own sample packs.

Regards

DK

If you like Feather, and keep coming back to them as reference (as I do), it might be worth getting the 200ct Yellow pack carton. You will eventually use them. I bought the 100ct Black package. But now wish I just ante'd-up for the 200ct Yellow pack, knowing it would be quite a few years before I'd worry about not having a Feather in my stash.

But to answer your question: I find Nacet to be the closest blade I've found to Feather, and it's very consistent from shave-to-shave with good longevity. Gillette Yellow is a sharp blade, and it's smoother than Nacet, but it still is a step below Feather, and slightly below Nacet. But it's a very good quality blade, and very comfortable. Slightly below both Nacet & Yellows, and similar to or very slightly sharper than Astra SP, is GSB. It is extremely smooth, the smoothest of this group, while remaining nicely sharp as well.

If I were you, I'd try Nacet firstly, and Yellow second. Then GSB, just to see the smoothness it has.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

The nearest I have found to feather in terms of the keen edge feel, is Gillette SharpEdge

Gillette Silver Blue

I don't rate them as "near Feather" blades (nor the Nacet), as my beard seems to do better with platinum coated blades rather than plain stainless. Probably worth visiting Razorbladesclub.com and getting a cross section of samples from the suggestions listed, as some might work better for you than others.

Interesting. Because I feel Nacet is indeed the closest in sharpness to Feather, where its actually surprisingly close in my opinion. Then next would be Yellows, with their also being sharp but slightly below Nacet.

However, I must agree with you that purely in terms of "blade feel", you might be on to something with the Yellows. To me, they feel exactly like a 9/10ths Feather, in that it's a bit less sharp, and a bit smoother. But otherwise it feels very Feather-like, just backed down a notch.

Nacet has a different blade feel that's hard to explain. Some call it prickly, like it is an uncoated very sharp cold surface upon one's skin. But damn, they're sharp. In my opinion, as close as one can get to a Feather.

Just my opinions ...

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Interesting. Because I feel Nacet is indeed the closest in sharpness to Feather, where its actually surprisingly close in my opinion. Then next would be Yellows, with their also being sharp but slightly below Nacet.

However, I must agree with you that purely in terms of "blade feel", you might be on to something with the Yellows. To me, they feel exactly like a 9/10ths Feather, in that it's a bit less sharp, and a bit smoother. But otherwise it feels very Feather-like, just backed down a notch.

Nacet has a different blade feel that's hard to explain. Some call it prickly, like it is an uncoated very sharp cold surface upon one's skin. But damn, they're sharp. In my opinion, as close as one can get to a Feather.

Just my opinions ...

It's not just in the feel were I didn't feel the Nacet was close to Feather. A Feather blade gave me 34 shaves, and a Gillette SharpEdge gave me 32. A Nacet only managed 10, and a Gillette Silver Blue managed 14.

 

[timah083]

I’d also suggest Dorco Primes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[DSK]

Thanks for the highly informative comments and suggestions.

I cross the blade suggestions and amazingly they are all available from the supplier I looked at. I'll get a couple of sample bags ordered next week.

Once again your opinions and experience have been greatly appreciated.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

It's not just in the feel were I didn't feel the Nacet was close to Feather. A Feather blade gave me 34 shaves, and a Gillette SharpEdge gave me 32. A Nacet only managed 10, and a Gillette Silver Blue managed 14.

Ah, thanks for sharing that. I go 4 to 6 shaves per blade, at most; so I never come close to evaluating a blade's performance in that very longterm metric.

But irrespective of that, I do often describe Yellows as a 9/10ths Feather, and it looks like you might agree. Nacet is my newest in my regular rotations, so we'll have to see my thoughts after living with it for a length of time. But right now, I'm impressed with it's sharpness.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Ah, thanks for sharing that. I go 4 to 6 shaves per blade, at most; so I never come close to evaluating a blade's performance in that very longterm metric.

But irrespective of that, I do often describe Yellows as a 9/10ths Feather, and it looks like you might agree. Nacet is my newest in my regular rotations, so we'll have to see my thoughts after living with it for a length of time. But right now, I'm impressed with it's sharpness.

Yes, those results do put Yellows as 9/10 Feathers. However, longevity isn't everything. My favourite blade is still Wilkinson Sword Classic, and my last Wilkie only racked up as many shaves as the Nacet, but those 10 shaves were far more comfortable than any the Nacet provided. I'm not saying the Nacet is a bad blade, it's certainly not, but there are other blades which give me nicer shaves and/or more of them.

 

[njpaddy]

I think Feathers and Astras are at opposite ends of the blade spectrum. My son-in-law likes sharp and has been using Feather blades for 10 years. He doesn't like Astra. He finds them not sharp enough and require more touch-up. I, on the other hand, prefer the smoothness of Astra & don't like the sharpness of Feathers. We both toss our blades after 2, so longevity isn't a factor. Of all the blades I've tried, I think 7 0'clock yellows come closest to the sharpness of Feathers. 7 o'clock blue are also up there for sharpness, but I don't think they are made anymore. Disclaimer: I'm retired and, unlike my son-in-law, normally shave after a couple G&T's, so I prefer a less-sharp, smoother blade, like Astra or IP Red.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

Yes, those results do put Yellows as 9/10 Feathers. However, longevity isn't everything. My favourite blade is still Wilkinson Sword Classic, and my last Wilkie only racked up as many shaves as the Nacet, but those 10 shaves were far more comfortable than any the Nacet provided. I'm not saying the Nacet is a bad blade, it's certainly not, but there are other blades which give me nicer shaves and/or more of them.

Actually, Wilkies are on my list of "blades to try".

Are you referring here to the current German Wilkies, the current Indian-Chinese, or NOS?

 

[Capisco Capisce]

I think Feathers and Astras are at opposite ends of the blade spectrum. My son-in-law likes sharp and has been using Feather blades for 10 years. He doesn't like Astra. He finds them not sharp enough and require more touch-up. I, on the other hand, prefer the smoothness of Astra & don't like the sharpness of Feathers. We both toss our blades after 2, so longevity isn't a factor. Of all the blades I've tried, I think 7 0'clock yellows come closest to the sharpness of Feathers. 7 o'clock blue are also up there for sharpness, but I don't think they are made anymore. Disclaimer: I'm retired and, unlike my son-in-law, normally shave after a couple G&T's, so I prefer a less-sharp, smoother blade, like Astra or IP Red.

You live more dangerously that I! But I suspect you enjoy your shaves a wee bit more!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Actually, Wilkies are on my list of "blades to try".

Are you referring here to the current German Wilkies, the current Indian-Chinese, or NOS?

German. I used them and the plastic Wilkinson razor exclusively for a couple of decades. It's only about five years ago that my eyes were opened to how much stuff was out there. Another blade that I think gives wonderful shaves straight out of the wrapper, is SuperMax Blue Diamond Titanium. Again, not huge on longevity, but a very nice balance of sharpness and smoothness.