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Feather Pro Guard Blades vs Soft Guard for a Beginner (and a little background story)

Hey guys, new here! And I'm not just new here, but also to shaving with both a Shavette and sometimes a safety razor. The last week I've been reading through your forum quite a lot actually, in my further research for where even to start. So I thought, I might as well just register! :D

To my shaving profile: I actually do have a beard, a full beard you could say and the reason why I even got into this whole straight edge razor thing, was because I was never happy with how I was edging, detailing my beard. I've used mostly cartrdige razors but that barely worked and if, not really exact.

Background story, not relevant for my actual question but feel free to read it:

So then after some time I accidentley saw in the local drug store a thing called "Wilkinson Percision Styler" lol. They look basically like those eye brow shavers for females, but have a bit of a longer blade. I bought them and started using them, and was quite impressed. Copmared to how detailed my beard before, that was a massive upgrade. But, the blades weren't really sharp and I didn't like the massive amount of plastic waste that goes hand in hand with it.

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So after some time I considered a straight razor, or rather a Shavette. I then bought one in the local drug store from Wilkinson and again, a huge step up in terms of detailiing but this time also sharpness. But now I realized, that thoes straight DE blades are also much less forgiving to what I was using before. I still get better day by day with the DE Shavette, but I wished it would have felt a bit more like the percision stylers I was using before.

The percision stylers had, so I thought back then, "weird blades". In fact they had guarded blades but I didn't even know that name. After some research and mostly actually through this forum here, I stumbled upon Feather Shavettes and those grabbed my attention, mostly because of the guarded blades. I realized there are actually more legit Shavettes, using the same technique as those percision stylers, which I missed in some way, since they were much more forgiving than the DE Shavette. But then there was the price....

However, I read form some people here that they just oredered for the beginning some of those clones on Aliexpress and used them with the originla blades. I did exactly that then, haha! First time ordering on Aliexpress and turned out well. 1 week later the Feather AC SS clone arrived and I can already tell, that I LOVE the shape and overall feel of it.

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It came with 15 guarded blades, but those blades are pure garbage. Almost dull you could say. But it was enough to just try out how it feels to shave with it and i love it!!!


So now after my long introduction and background story, which is in fact mostly irrelevant for what I wanna know, my question:

I am unsure if I should buy the Feather Pro Guards or Soft Guards. Im a beginner ofc and want the blade to be more on the forigiving side. But I also use it almost only for detaililing/lining up my beard and use a Safety Razor to clean out the rest.

I would be thankful for some input as to how the Feather Soft Guards compare to the Pro Guards when it comes to safety and forgivness when shaving.

Blades are kinda expensive and since I botught a lot of shaving related stuff, I dont wanna "waste" more money.

Thanks in advance for the input!!

Cheers from Germany!
 

Dave himself

No Words of Wisdom
Hi and welcome to B&B from N.Ireland. I'm sorry but my knowledge of AC blades is very limited, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly to help you out.
 
Moin und Gruß aus Wien :)

I'm also a Shavette noob and started my first shaves with the Soft Guard and an AliE clone. My beard is medium heavy as well as coarse. The Soft Guard to me felt too secure read inefficient but the Pro Guard is a treat! Sharp, efficient and still not scary at all.
 
Moin und Gruß aus Wien :)

I'm also a Shavette noob and started my first shaves with the Soft Guard and an AliE clone. My beard is medium heavy as well as coarse. The Soft Guard to me felt too secure read inefficient but the Pro Guard is a treat! Sharp, efficient and still not scary at all.
Ja griaß di (aber aus Hessen)!:D

Interesting! Tbh, that was/is so far also my gut feeling. Just from looking at the soft guard, it looks almost a bit too protected. My gut feeling, and it were also the blades that grabbed my attention for Feather ACs in the first place, told me the Pro Guards are the way to go.

But then obviously the Feather blades in of itself are much sharper than for example the Wilkinson Stylers Ive used, who also are wired. But I think even they aren't as wired as the Soft guards....but I think overall more dull.
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Oh and I forgot to ask something: Which type of a clone did you actually have? A SS clone, like I have? Asking because I read something, that due to the very short blade exposure of the soft guards, they wouldn't work as good in the Feather SS, due to their lip. But im not sure if thats even true.
 
Ja griaß di (aber aus Hessen)!:D

Interesting! Tbh, that was/is so far also my gut feeling. Just from looking at the soft guard, it looks almost a bit too protected. My gut feeling, and it were also the blades that grabbed my attention for Feather ACs in the first place, told me the Pro Guards are the way to go.

But then obviously the Feather blades in of itself are much sharper than for example the Wilkinson Stylers Ive used, who also are wired. But I think even they aren't as wired as the Soft guards....but I think overall more dull.
View attachment 1925474

Oh and I forgot to ask something: Which type of a clone did you actually have? A SS clone, like I have? Asking because I read something, that due to the very short blade exposure of the soft guards, they wouldn't work as good in the Feather SS, due to their lip. But im not sure if thats even true.
I bought it with no knowledge about the different profiles at all but yes I got an SS. Currently I’m contemplating getting a proper Feather SR Kami to see if it is more maneuverable than the folding design.

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I bought it with now knowledge about the different profiles at all but yes I got an SS. Currently I’m contemplating getting a proper Feather SR Kami to see if it is more maneuverable than the folding design.
But isn't that rather a Kai captain clone instead of a Feather AC? Or what am I not getting?

Also, are those the pro guards inside or soft guards? To me it looks like the pro guards

Thanks for the picture btw!

Oh and btw: Im also already considereing at some point to go for the real deal, if I end up enjoying the Feather style of shaving a lot. It looks like it, just from the blade options and also from what little taste I got from it by using the dull chinese blades lol. But I felt I had a lot of control on my skin due to the shape of the whole Shavette.
 
But isn't that rather a Kai captain clone instead of a Feather AC? Or what am I not getting?

Also, are those the pro guards inside or soft guards? To me it looks like the pro guards

Thanks for the picture btw!

Oh and btw: Im also already considereing at some point to go for the real deal, if I end up enjoying the Feather style of shaving a lot. It looks like it, just from the blade options and also from what little taste I got from it by using the dull chinese blades lol. But I felt I had a lot of control on my skin due to the shape of the whole Shavette.
I think it’s a design Mischmasch, the scallops say Kai the profile Feather the handle???
 
I think it’s a design Mischmasch, the scallops say Kai the profile Feather the handle???
It's the chinese super shavette!!! best of all trades! 😂

But yea...Ive actually ordered another one on AliE. Again an SS clone but this time the smaller one, without the handle or however this is called. It might be actually, that I prefer it this way for edging/detailing. Two part Shavettes are I think good for a bit of extra stability, but I will see how it feels.

But first of all I actually need quality blades. Still unsure but probably Im going for the proguards.

When you say it felt too secure for you, the softguards that is, how did that show itself to you? Was the shave just not close enough or did you feel it was pulling out hairs?
 
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It's the chinese super shavette!!! best of all trades! 😂

But yea...Ive actually ordered another one on AliE. Again an SS clone but this time the smaller one, without the handle or however this is called. It might be actually, that I prefer it this way for edging/detailing. Two part Shavettes are I think good for a bit of extra stability, but I will see how it feels.

But first of all I actually need quality blades. Still unsure but probably Im going for the proguards.

When you say it felt too secure for you, the softguards that is, how did that show itself to you? Was the shave just not close enough or did you feel it was pulling out hairs?
It was hard to get a clean stroke as the guards (too tight together) were catching at the stubble. With the Pro Guards you have enough exposed blade and the guards work more like a comb on a DE razor.
 
It was hard to get a clean stroke as the guards (too tight together) were catching at the stubble. With the Pro Guards you have enough exposed blade and the guards work more like a comb on a DE razor.
Alright. Well, then thanks so far for your input. I'm gonna wait a bit more to see if eventually other people show up who have some thoughts about this decision of mine, but otherwise I might just go for the proguards. Again, im currently still shaving with a classical DE shavette, and it does work. So I guess the proguard should add enough for "safety" in that sense.

The main benefit in my eyes of guarded blade is actually, that at least on my side I feel less scarred for the first touch of the blade on the skin. Since the first thing you feel, even if just for a tiny moment, are rather the guards than the fully exposed blade, like on a DE shavette. Because tbh, for detailing and not doing an all over shave, even the DE shavette does work. But im just often so insecure about the first contact of the blade. Once its on it just goes then.

With the Wilkinsons I almost didn't care at all (which is not good, you should always have a lot of respect for shaving with such razors), and just had almost no barrier in my head of re-positioning the blade however I wanted on my skin. Ofc also with those I got myself a few scratches now and then, but it felt easy, I wasn't nervous.

The fully naked blade of the DE Shavette....bro, it takes a long time for me to get more comfortable with that. I do progress, get more secure, but it's definitley something!

With guards on the other hand, at least in my head and from my experience with the Wilkinsons, I hope to get a little more security, just mentally. Thats imoprtant for me at this stage, the mental aspect.

But anyways, I'll probably go with the Proguards and order a pack later today. Unless my mind changes suddenly.
 
Ordered! So now, no one has to add his opinion anymore, unless he wants to convince me I ordered the right blades for the start! 😁 Joking.
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I will give an update here, God willing, once they arrive and I tested them! :)

Can't wait tbh!
 
I think you made the right choice.

I would even suggest that you try some unguarded blades too. You may prefer the extra efficiency. You can order individual samples from Razor Blades Club, so you don't have to order a whole pack to try them.
 
I think you made the right choice.

I would even suggest that you try some unguarded blades too. You may prefer the extra efficiency. You can order individual samples from Razor Blades Club, so you don't have to order a whole pack to try them.
Is Razor Blades Club this shop in sweden?

And yeah, even me as a noob would agree that in general, it's not a bad idea to at least give a SR with a "normal" blade a shot, cause that's ultimately the real deal. But as I've mentioned, I have a DE shavette here, so I can and do use a non guarded blade. But obviously, no comparison from a DE shavette to an AC with for example the normal pro blades. I might give them a try at one point. For now I am already starting to get buyers remorse 1 hour after ordering them, because just now I saw the kai captain titan protouch mg and tbh, they look like the perfect blades for me. They look like they would be somewhere between the soft guards from feather and the pro guards. The wiring is closer to another, looks a tad more save. But they are even more expensive. I don't think I am willing to pay that for my first try with an AC + guarded blade. I'm not gonna cancel the order, but the Kai captains look pretty good. Actually, they look from the guarding exactly like the Wilkinson percision stylers that ive posted above.
 
man....that shop looks amazing!! EVEN MORE buyers remorse! LOL But the shop isn't going anywhere + shipping takes much longer, but which is totally fine if you order in advance.

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The possibility to order single blades is phenomenal.

I actually saw this shop before already when looking for the best price for the Proguards. I saw them on Amazon and on eBay. Good price, but I saw it's from sweden and thought, well, for my first try I want the blades faster. I didn't take a look on their actual online shop.

Thanks for even mentioning them @Goblin
 

gpjoe

Slickness is a sickness
The difference between the SoftGuard and ProGuard is the design of the guard. The Soft version looks to extend much closer to the edge, reducing the exposure. Here is a pic that clearly illustrates the difference, posted by @sarimento1:

feather guard blades crop.jpg


...taken from this discussion:


I use ProGuard blades in my Feather and Kai shavettes, and my Blackland Vector, and find them very efficient and safe...my shaves are close and comfortable. I've also used Kai PproTouch (guarded) blades and gotten similar results.

As always, it is a matter of personal preference, and the best way to find yours is to try a variety.

Regardless, I think you'll be fine with the ProGuard blades.

Good luck, and have fun. 🙂👍
 
The difference between the SoftGuard and ProGuard is the design of the guard. The Soft version looks to extend much closer to the edge, reducing the exposure. Here is a pic that clearly illustrates the difference, posted by @sarimento1:



...taken from this discussion:


I use ProGuard blades in my Feather and Kai shavettes, and my Blackland Vector, and find them very efficient and safe...my shaves are close and comfortable. I've also used Kai PproTouch (guarded) blades and gotten similar results.

As always, it is a matter of personal preference, and the best way to find yours is to try a variety.

Regardless, I think you'll be fine with the ProGuard blades.

Good luck, and have fun. 🙂👍
Thanks for the input!

Yes, I have seen those close up pictures of it. But I was still unsure because pictures are just pictures. That's why I asked here but after all, just went with my gut feeling as well. I still wanna try out the Captain Titan Pro MG now, as I've taken a closer look on them. I think I will just order 3 soft guards and 3 captain pro MGs in this shop mentioned above. The pricing for what it is when you order single blades + shipping is super fair. Then I can just try them all!

And thanks! :)
 
man....that shop looks amazing!! EVEN MORE buyers remorse!

I wouldn't worry. Something I have realised over the past couple of days just reading around on the board and looking at threads other than the ones I participate in (because nowadays there are a lot of SE users comparing AC blades too, not just shavette users) is that there seems to be even less agreement about the merits of different AC blades than there is about DE blades.

You can't expect to find your favourite first time out and someone elses experience isn't really that useful as a steer either. Gotta try 'em all!!!! (Eventually).
 
I wouldn't worry. Something I have realised over the past couple of days just reading around on the board and looking at threads other than the ones I participate in (because nowadays there are a lot of SE users comparing AC blades too, not just shavette users) is that there seems to be even less agreement about the merits of different AC blades than there is about DE blades.

You can't expect to find your favourite first time out and someone elses experience isn't really that useful as a steer either. Gotta try 'em all!!!! (Eventually).
Yeah, I agree.

After all, the more you read, the more you research, the more opinions you get and after some point, instead of gaining knowledge, you feel like you get more and more unsure again. That's when you read too much, because obviously some level of research as a beginner, in whatever thing that is youre getting yourself into, is reasonable.

Like I said, I am prepared already to order a few other blades in the swedish shop above. If I had seen this shop with the option for single blade delivery, I would have actually just ordered there, accepted the little delay for the delivery from sweden but then have a few blades, including hte Kai ones, to try them out. BUT, since Ive already waited some time for delivery from the controversial chinese professional shaving store ( LOL ), I wanted to finally test the shavette with some good blades now and not wait again for another week. So I ordered in Germany a normal pack. Looking forward to it!

Edit: Also, I have to say again: This Razor Blades Shop - the guy behind that must have a lot of dedication and love for it, because that Shop is just amazing. Super fair shipping costs and even when ordering single blades it's not overpriced in context to the cost of a full pack of blades. Quite impressed. Besides the collection of Japenese Blades he has; I might as well order a few packs of DE blades there for my Safety Razor, just cause he has such a giant collection. It's an eye catcher, when looking through it, you wanna order everything. :D

Great thread!
FWIW, I've mostly settled on Proguards!
IMHO, they are the pinnacle benchmark of wet shaving!!
Makes me confident to hear this and also; nice setup you have there!!! 👌🏻
 
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