Feathers are nice, but seem to dull quickly. Recommendations?

[paulmasson]

Right now my favorite blade is a Feather. They work great for a couple days then seem to not be so good. I don't know if I am expecting too much from them or what. I'm 59, so I now longer have a boy beard, but I like to have a clean shave, and shave everyday.

I've tried Merkers, Derbies and Astras and don't like any of them. Based on searches of the forums it looks like I might be happy with Personna Med Preps. Any other suggestions based on what I've said here?

I know how personal all this stuff is, and you really need to try stuff to know if you like it, but I'm trying to focus in on some options rather than buy them all. Please don't suggest sample packs, they look like they're half full of stuff I've already tried and not liked anyway.

Thanks for any suggestions, or encouragement to try the med preps. The only ones other than the med preps that look like anything I would be interested in would be red Personnas or the Israeli Personnas. But who knows.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

 

[mastershake]

i have the exact same problem with feathers the few i used were shot in 2 shaves then got tossed. so i had to search around since i actually liked them. gillette silver blue imo is my second choice after a feather, there is also the gillette 7oclock yellow or black. yellow being very close sharpness wise and smoother than the feathers imo, with the black or silver blue just a bit less sharp with even better smoothness than the yellow. the personna meds are the same blade as the lab blues which can be found for 13$ for 100 the only difference (and i got this direct from them and have used both) is the meds go through an extra process to make them sterilized for hospital use. they shave the same for me. i dont think i would say they are as sharp though personally. still a great blade. the kai is very close but very expensive and also a japan blade. then the super max super plats and maybe the rapira lux's among a few others then you get into the more smooth less sharp stuff. the personna red is NOT anywhere near as sharp it is a smooth blade but i would not go there if you like feathers but ymmv. but imo you also cant compare any of the ones you mentioned you tried to a feather. maybe the astra *could* be but while i think they are decent they are no where in my top blade choice.

my fav blades of all time though are the polsilver super iridiums they are still pretty sharp but fantastic on the face and last a good while 4-5 shaves for me which for any blade is really good because of my hair. they are a bit pricey depending on what you want to spend though there is a vendor here that has great prices on them. just remember this is my opinion where your may end up totally different. if you decide to try the lab's (meds) i dont think you would be totally dissapointed but just go in knowing they are not as sharp (which from my experience actually increases the life of a blade in many cases)

note from my experience: merkurs are terrible just wow awful, derby's ehh not great, astras are okay for me and what i will use for trips a lot of time ill take them with me as a cheaper blade.

 

[Wingnut]

From personal experience, I'd say give those Med Preps a try. Sharp, yes--but also smooth and long-lasting as well. From mere heresay, I'd also suggest Gillette Blacks.

 

[paulmasson]

Thanks guys! I just happened to be eyeing those lab blues too. If those worked for me, nice price. Not a big deal if they don't. A lot of people seem to like the med preps, and if sterilization is the only dif, no prob. If that's true, and I have no reason to think that it's not based on what you say, that's quite a premium you pay for the sterilization!

 

[Wingnut]

Re: Labs vs. Meds

While I've only tried the Med preps myself, Personna has said upon specific inquiry that they're the exact same blade, with the Meds undergoing an additional sterilization process. That said, there are guys wher who SWEAR that they can tell the difference between the two. Which camp will you fall into? Got a coin to flip?

The good news is that even if they don't agree with you you're not out a lot of coin and you can either sell them on the B/S/T forum once you meet the seller equirements or PIF them away for some good shaving karma.

 

[paulmasson]

Ha ha ha!!! Now I'm thinking more about those med preps again!!! You are right, not a lot of coin either way, for 100 blades. Beside the sterilization may come in handy if I ever forget to squeeze the ring on my Progress when I put the end back on and make a good slice on my finger again. It was a clean cut though and healed up well.

 

[Mick]

That said, there are guys who SWEAR that they can tell the difference between the two.

There are guys that swear they can tell the difference between two chocolate glazed doughnuts that are sitting side by side on the same display shelf in the same store too....

 

[Wingnut]

There are guys that swear they can tell the difference between two chocolate glazed doughnuts that are sitting side by side on the same display shelf in the same store too....

Oh, but one of those doughnuts was dipped for 4 seconds and one was dipped for 6 seconds, and slightly deeper too! I can TOTALLY tell the difference!!

 

[Wingnut]

Ha ha ha!!! Now I'm thinking more about those med preps again!!! You are right, not a lot of coin either way, for 100 blades. Beside the sterilization may come in handy if I ever forget to squeeze the ring on my Progress when I put the end back on and make a good slice on my finger again. It was a clean cut though and healed up well.

But remember that once you touch the blade, it's no longer sterile, and little nasties can't live on steel once it dries out! (Not to complicate matters even further... But I want the doughnut on the LEFT!)

 

[paulmasson]

Hmmm, now I'm thinking I'll give the labs a shot first. Great price on them.

 

[paulmasson]

Here's an excellent thread on the difference or lack of difference between the labs and meds if anyone is interested:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-322427.html
Great photos turtle! Thanks for posting them. I'm ready to pull the trigger on some labs.

 

[paulmasson]

Trigger pulled. Will report impressions after I get them later this week. Looking forward to another adventure in shaving (I hope.) I think they'll be great based on the amount of kudos they seem to get.

 

[Raydermiike]

Meds, Labs, Polsilver, 7 o'clock yellow. If you haven't give 'em a shot.

 

[El Judio Bravo]

Kai! The "better" Feather.

 

[paulmasson]

Got some Personna lab blues in a couple days ago. First day I tried one in a Merkur Progress. Very nice blade, great shave, nice feedback from it. This morning I tried the Personna in a DE89 head on a bulldog handle. Liked it even better, and got an even better shave, with just one pass and some touch up! Better may be just because I wasn't being so cautious, or maybe I smoothed out any bite/rough spots on the edge, or they just work great in the DE89 head.


Glad I like them, I got 100, but they were only $14. I think I'm done my search for now, and don't need any more Feathers at this point. Lab blues seem to work better for me in my set ups. Just gotta see how long they last.


That was easy!!!

 

[ShaverGN]

Oh boy! I was just going to start a new thread about my experience with Feather blades. I use them with a simple Gillette tech and get only 3-4 good shaves. After that, they get too dull. I’m glad to see others have similar experience. Where can I buy Kai blades?

 

[paulmasson]

http://www.leesrazors.com/products/Kai-Double-Edge-Razor-Blades.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kai+blades&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=6835298888&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1437814158809911892&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_7kvkq50bge_e

Just do a google search to find others.

 

[paulmasson]

So far I've gone 3 days on the same Personna lab blue. Yesterday was the third day. Did a 3 pass shave with excellent results. Blade didn't pull on whiskers at all, just cleanly cut them. Hardly feels like I need to shave this morning. It will be interesting to see how many days I can go with the same blade. BTW, I am mostly using it in a Merkur Progress.

 

[ShaverGN]

http://www.leesrazors.com/products/Kai-Double-Edge-Razor-Blades.html.

$0.75 per blade plus shipping?!?! That's crazy! I better try Personna Hospital.

 

[paulmasson]

$0.75 per blade plus shipping?!?! That's crazy! I better try Personna Hospital.

This is why I usually prefer amazon.com, and stuff that qualifies for "prime." With amazon prime membership, whatever qualifies gets "free" shipping with receipt in 2 days. I get so much stuff through them the cost of annual membership is worth it. That's how I bought my blue labs: $13.74 for 100. Lovin' 'em. On my first one now, so far it's outlasted Feathers by a day and still going strong, and at a cost of 14 cents a blade. Unbeatable.