Feather blade - not impressed...

[sgtbash999]

I've been DE shaving for nearly 2 months now & all is going well. Admittedly in this short space of time my experience with different blades is limited. My first sample pack contained:
5 x Derby
5 x Astra SP
5 x Wilkinson Sword (black dispenser)
10 x Supermax (made in India)

I've had good shaves / great shaves with most of these blades although I'd say Derby was my least favourite & Astra / Supermax the best (to date).

Anyway I just took delivery of my second sampler pack as I thought it best to try as many blades as I can to see what suits me best. This pack contains:
10 x Feather
5 x Gillette 7 O'clock (blue)
5 x Gillette 7 O'clock (green)
5 x Shark SS
5 x Perma Sharp
5 x Asco
5 x Astra SS
5 x Astra SP
5 x Supermax (packaging is different to my first lot of Supermax but I think they are the same blade)

Back to the point! I was eager to try the feather after hearing so much about them & how sharp they are etc etc but it left me feeling very disappointed. It left me with an uneven shave (almost patchy) and the blade didn't get nearly as close as I thought it would. It also left me with a couple of razor bumps around the Adams apple area of the neck. I though initially that it may have been my inexperience but I gave the blade a second go last night and had pretty much the same not so close shave.

I'm going to try some other blades now for a few weeks and then come back to a new feather blade after that to see if I get any better results. If not the remaining 8 feathers will be surplus to requirements & PIF'd to anyone in the UK that wants them.....only time will tell

 

[Mspec]

Very interesting indeed, perhaps a dodgy blade? I've not yet tried a feather myself but it would appear by general consensus they are the most effective available

 

[Cal1961]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. This a YMMV issue as I love them and would not use anything else.

 

[sgtbash999]

I know loads on here praise the feather which is why I really wanted to give em a try. I suppose it is possible that it could have been a duff blade & as said I will come back to trying a new feather in a few weeks time after I've tried various others so I can get a better comparison.
Think I'll try the shark ss next or maybe one of the gillettes

 

[Mad Man]

Yep. I had the same experience with feathers early on: in my tech and slim they didn't rock my shaves at all.

Nearly a year later in my EJ barley they are my go-to blade. YMMV.

 

[elsmooth]

I went to Feathers after about 6 months of DE shaving with a more mild blade, and I had a much greater appreciation for them since my technique was fairly honed by then. Now, I use nothing else (and if I do, the drag is immediately noticable).

 

[InHotWater]

You have some good blades in those sample packs. I like the Astra SP and the Perma Sharps out of the lot. I tried Feathers also, and they didn't really knock my socks off the first time either.

 

[The Don]

I'm with Mad Man. The Feather works really well in some of my razors, and really poorly in others. Let us know how things shake out as you get through your new sample pack. What razor did you use with the Feather blade?

 

[Lamb Root]

I'm with Mad Man. The Feather works really well in some of my razors, and really poorly in others. ...

Very true.

 

[chuckr9]

The balde sample pack was a good way to go - and, at least for now, you know your razor & technique is not a good match for the Feather blades. Save them and try again in 6 months (you might be surprised!)

 

[dangersteve]

Don't get rid of those samples. You will be able to revisit all those blades after honing your technique for a year or two and quite likely get a different opinion.

 

[sgtbash999]

I used the blade in my Muhle R89 as this is my one & only DE razor.

 

[Mandina]

+1 on YMMV and on the fact that blade preferences may change over time as technique improves; they may also vary with the use of different razors. Some shavers dislike Feathers or Derbys, etc., at first, only to find later that they really like the initially dissed blade. That's why one piece of advice is to hold on to your blade samplers for later experimentation.

The second sampler pack is excellent. Where did you purchase it?

 

[Mick]

I used the blade in my Muhle R89 as this is my one & only DE razor.

The R89/DE89 head has a very shallow sweet spot.

Chances are your problem is technique.

How do you shave (How often? type of stroke you use [long/short], angle of head against face)?

 

[sgtbash999]

+1 on YMMV and on the fact that blade preferences may change over time as technique improves; they may also vary with the use of different razors. Some shavers dislike Feathers or Derbys, etc., at first, only to find later that they really like the initially dissed blade. That's why one piece of advice is to hold on to your blade samplers for later experimentation. The second sampler pack is excellent. Where did you purchase it?

i had the sampler from eBay (UK site) cost me £10 delivered. I know that i could get 100 blased for this price but that would mean all the same brand. still 50 blades (plus i still have a few left from my initial sampler should mean i'm set for a while before i need to purchase more)

 

[DougC]

I never got on with Feathers. I always found them rough. It's red pack IP's for me i get consistently good shaves with them.

 

[Parallax]

I've been DE shaving for just over a month. About ten days ago, I tried my first Feather and it didn't go well. Went to the blade forum and posted about it there. The guys helped me figure out how to use it correctly. The second shave was wonderful and I've been using it every day since.

Still like my Astra (greens) and have many other blades to try. But the Feather will remain high on the list. For now, I'd say it's number 1 except that, at 8 cents a blade, in terms of bang for the buck, I'm not sure anything can beat the Astra.