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gillette silver blue

I had not even noticed whether Gillette Silver Blues had wax or not. I guess I am unfazed by it. My Gillette Silver Blue provided shave number twenty this morning in an Above the Tie Windsor with a mild plate. The shave was smooth and close, BBS in three passes. What's not to like about that?!
Nice,is that the most shaves you got out a gsb?
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
Nice,is that the most shaves you got out a gsb?
I have been to thirty on both Gillette Silver Blues and Crystals. For much of COVID I have been changing more frequently among Gillette Silver Blues and Nacets, Israeli Personnas, Astras, Crystals, and Feathers and not using them until they gave up. I was making comparisons. I am embarrassed to admit this, but both blades I have used to thirty were still shaving close and smooth. I just changed them out because I felt as if I ought to. I have also been in the high twenties with Israeli Personnas, but they were clearly at the end of their run. Astras and Israeli Personnas were good but a definite second to Blues and Nacets for me. Feathers are wonderful, but I cannot get decent blade life from them. Even though my Above the Tie is quite mild, I got far better blade life from Feather blades in a Feather AS-D2, mid-teens. As with all blades, YMMV.

Edit: Before I joined Badger and Blade I was pretty oblivious to what I was using. My DE was a Gillette, no idea what sort, and I have no idea what my brush was, only where I got it. I did generally track blade longevity but not brands other than Crystals which I loved but only bought them because they were cheap. After I joined Badger and Blade I did not think I had tried Gillette Silver Blues, but after ordering five and loving them, I found more in the back of my drawer when I cleaned it out!
 
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I have been to thirty on both Gillette Silver Blues and Crystals. For much of COVID I have been changing more frequently among Gillette Silver Blues and Nacets, Israeli Personnas, Astras, Crystals, and Feathers and not using them until they gave up. I was making comparisons. I am embarrassed to admit this, but both blades I have used to thirty were still shaving close and smooth. I just changed them out because I felt as if I ought to. I have also been in the high twenties with Israeli Personnas, but they were clearly at the end of their run. Astras and Israeli Personnas were good but a definite second to Blues and Nacets for me. Feathers are wonderful, but I cannot get decent blade life from them. Even though my Above the Tie is quite mild, I got far better blade life from Feather blades in a Feather AS-D2, mid-teens. As with all blades, YMMV.

Edit: Before I joined Badger and Blade I was pretty oblivious to what I was using. My DE was a Gillette, no idea what sort, and I have no idea what my brush was, only where I got it. I did generally track blade longevity but not brands other than Crystals which I loved but only bought them because they were cheap. After I joined Badger and Blade I did not think I had tried Gillette Silver Blues, but after ordering five and loving them, I found more in the back of my drawer when I cleaned it out!
Yea I really like them,
I get the impression that they grow on you the more you use them too I reckon
 
For shave two and after on the comparative sharpness charts I have seen they appear to be among the sharper blades.
Most blades become sharper after the first shave as the coating wears off. According to the Refined Shave web site, the GSB blades continue to get even sharper after the second shave. The evaluation stopped after two shaves in the interest of testing different blades. It might even be sharper after the third shave.

Unfortunately, with my coarse beard, blades like GSB, Rubie Plus and Personna Lab Blues tend to tug painfully on the first shave. Once I get past that first shave, the subsequent shaves are fine. However, I prefer using blades that start out sharp so I do not have to be subjected to an uncomfortable first shave.

For those whose beard is not a tough as mine, the blades are likely to work well from the start.
 
...However, I prefer using blades that start out sharp so I do not have to be subjected to an uncomfortable first shave....

Rayclem you are a perfect test bed for the questionable endeavor of stropping DE blades. Forget hand stropping but a denim pant leg or a leather belt? Or a real strop if you have one. Sharpness, smooth, longevity?

I have to ask with nearly unanimous closeness and lack of irritation shaves from users why are you not a SR devotee? Seems worth the learning curve for you.

Take Care my friend...
 
Rayclem you are a perfect test bed for the questionable endeavor of stropping DE blades. Forget hand stropping but a denim pant leg or a leather belt? Or a real strop if you have one. Sharpness, smooth, longevity?

I have to ask with nearly unanimous closeness and lack of irritation shaves from users why are you not a SR devotee? Seems worth the learning curve for you.

Take Care my friend...
I hear you.

Along with my collection of DE razors and blades, I also have a collection of straight razors, hones, and a variety of leather, fabric, and pasted strops. When I shave with a straight razor, I hone it using a 20K Suehiro Gokumyo hone and then polish the edge using 0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 micron Cubic Boron Nitride abrasives on nanocloth strops. That produces an edge that is super sharp and super smooth, just how I like it. The problem is that it takes a lot of time to maintain the edge in that manner. I can only get a few shaves from a straight razor before the edge needs refreshing.

I have been tempted to use the pasted strops to see if they will improve the edge of blades like GSB. I suspect they will. However, as long as there are blades available that work without stropping, it is a lot simpler to use them. I find blades like BIC Chrome Platinum, Gillette Nacet, 7 O'CLock Super Platinum black, Dorco Prime Platinum, and Personna Platinum blades are sharp and smooth enough to work from shave one without the added complication of stropping.

However, I might take a couple of blades like the German Wilkinson Swords, the GSBs and Personna Lab Blues and try to strop them to see if that eliminates the issue with the first shave. I suspect it will. The issue is whether it is worth the effort.
 
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I hear you...
...The issue is whether it is worth the effort.
Since you have hardware that doesn't need the extra effort the only reason would be for science and the good of the order. At your leisure of course, like when you retire! LOL! Take Care
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Gsb is a great blade. I haven’t used it in awhile but should revisit it. I generally like the Russian Gillette line up as others have said. I’m looking to try the ruby blades next.
 
GSB gives me a very fine comfortable shave. I've tried others in a sample pack, including feather and most were very rough. With my ART m1, I get around 7 great shaves. I can't get as many from feather. Although sharp, the comfort isn't there.
 

JCarr

More Deep Thoughts than Jack Handy
GSB's, for me, are like a dream. Top five blade in my collection. Rubie blades are also excellent...but...check the price difference against the GSB's.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Popular blade, but they don't work for me. I don't know why, but they are too quick to provide some irritation. Feather's work great for me, so it's not the sharpness.
 
Since you have hardware that doesn't need the extra effort the only reason would be for science and the good of the order. At your leisure of course, like when you retire! LOL! Take Care

I have been retired for a number of years. Before I retired, I shaved daily, usually in the shower using a cartridge razor with shampoo or hair conditioner as my lubricant. After I retired, I decided I would explore all the avenues of wet shaving and learn how to get the closest, most comfortable, most enjoyable shaves possible. That goal has driven my purchase of hardware and software. I started getting close, comfortable, enjoyable shaves about three years ago. Now I am just trying to get even better.

Since I was trained as an engineer, doing things for science is in my DNA. I will see what DE blades does for those blades that are not quite sharp enough. I might even try the process with Astra Superior Platinum or Derby Extra blades which have never worked well for me. If I can get those blades sharp enough, the process should work on any blade.
 
i think that statement suits the whole gillette razor blade range very well imho
I heartily agree. Russian Gillette blades seem to universally work well for me. The top of the heap is the newer KCG blade which is sublime. I just ordered 100 light blue Platinum as my go to.
 
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