Finishing up my sampler pack.

[notbrant]

So today I get into my forth blade of my Tester Pack I got from WestCoastShaving.com

I started wet shaving with the blade that came with my Merkur HD(garbage, but people say to throw these away due to not being sharp from transport). My package was late so I had to buy some cheap Personnas from Walmart.

The Personnas gave a good shave, not BBS unless I did a lot of buffing, and only lasted about 3 shaves.

Since then, I have tried 4 different blades from my sampler, Personna Reds, Derby, Crystal, and Feather.

Personna Reds seem to be pretty sharp, lasted me about 4 shaves, very responsive.
Derby were OK, not as sharp as personna reds, same lasting power, not as close of a shave.
Crystal - garbage, felt like blade was dragging, pulling hairs.

Keep in mind these are only with 1 blade from each sampler pack, so there may be irregularities and results from the mentioned blades may be extreme cases.

Feather, I think this will be the brand I end up buying. When I was shaving I didn't even feel the blade against my skin, I thought it wasn't actually cutting the hair because I couldn't feel anything. After I was done my 3 passes(WTG, ATG, XTG), I barely had to blade buff at all to get BBS, my skin felt better. After using the alum block, I didn't feel any burn like i normally do. But after I washed off my face and pressed against my skin hard to check the closeness of the shave, I was amazed.

I still have 1 more brand of blades to test(Astra), and this was only my first shave with the Feather, but if the next 3 or 4 shaves are like this, I know what blade I'll be sticking with.

 

[JPM]

Good for you. I'm still working through my sampler pack and have been ordering a couple new blades here and there that weren't in the sampler pack I bought. So far, 7 O'clock Yellows are my favorite.

 

[bandit82ta]

Good bud,.... just make sure after a few weeks work your way back through and retest each blade as opinions change as technique grows.

 

[KennD]

+1 to what Bandit said. Also, I've been finding my shave results have changed with the change in climate here in New England. I think my skin is just drier in general which may mean I need to modify my pre-shave prep. But, I also second the idea that going back to blades from before may change your opinion, especially if you've done one blade from each in a sample pack.

Oh, and will you be trying more different blades? I feel really amazed at how many different brands there are, and all the different coatings, treatments, manufacturing plants, etc.

 

[mankini]

I went through no less than 4 sampler packs, technique is your biggest variable right now. My advice is to stick with one brand of blade for a few weeks, jot down some notes and move on to the next blade in your sampler.
At the end of a month or two you should have a good idea of what works for you.

 

[michiganlover]

I went through no less than 4 sampler packs, technique is your biggest variable right now. My advice is to stick with one brand of blade for a few weeks, jot down some notes and move on to the next blade in your sampler.
At the end of a month or two you should have a good idea of what works for you.

I too am still sampling blades, even though I have made bulk purchases of several of my favorites. Most recently, I won a Christmas contest, where I got a free sampler, so I have even more blades to test!! Yay!!