Have you ever not been able to finish a shave with a new blade?

[Ted Danson]

Hello all. I know recently I have asked a lot of basic questions and I apologize for that. I honestly do not know anyone else that is shaving like this. Anyway, on to my silly question of the week: have you ever started a shave with a new blade and could not finish?

I thought I would shave this evening and try out a new soap and new blade. I loaded my Fatboy with a Rapira Super Stainless, set it to 3 and lathered up with the Barrister and Mann Leviathan. Now I am a super mild shaver and normally I shave on setting 2. But I thought I have plenty of time, just pay attention and go slow. No pressure.
That. Was. Not. Fun.
I ended up trying to use more water in the lather but that didn't. I had to switch to a setting of 1 to finish my first pass. By the time I was done. I have done three passes ( I am 2 pass guy ). Passes were 1, 2, 2 - WTG, XTG, XTG.

So I made it through. Only a couple of weepers and the alum block didn't set me on fire which was surprising.

But at one point, I almost threw the blade away and tried something else. So that leads me to my question - have you ever shaved and been like "well this blade is not for me" and changed in the middle of a shave?

Thank -Erik

 

[MaineYooper]

It happened to me, probably several years ago. I can't recall the blade, but the first pass was horrible, so I switched out the blade. I typically soldier through, then decide later whether or not to bin the blade.

 

[Stuart Ganis]

Yes it was a sample blade that came with a razor that I just bought. Took it right out and put in a blade I was sure of.

8/19 /1942

 

[Steelerfan]

I had a Wilkinson Sword balde that was a dud.

 

[Atlantic59]

Yes, some blade in a sampler pack that was pretty terrible. I won't name names, but I think it came from the South Asian sub-continent.

 

[GR5233]

Yeah. I did that with a Merkur blade that came with the 23c razor I ordered. Definitely secures last place in my bottom 3 blades behind Dorco and Van der Hagen

 

[NPK]

For me it was a Derby blade in my sampler pack. It was so tuggy it amazed me so I changed it mid-shave.

 

[NewYorkBuck]

Yes. Once. Dorco.

 

[lak611]

Once. Derby Extra in a sample pack. It was so dull that I binned it and the other four blades in the tuck.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Demolition]

It has happened a few times.

Most recently, it was a Rockwell in my Slim. It felt extremely rough on every setting. My face was on fire, so I switched to a mild setup ('53 Tech and Astra SP) to finish up.

Meanwhile, I know people who've had great luck with Rockwells. But that's the nature of the beast, I guess. Or "YMMV", as they say.

 

[cyclingsteveb]

Gillette Super thin (Thai?)- couldn't complete one stroke, tried 2 blades, absolute crap. Not sure if I got a defective pack or if they're always like that. At least they were cheap.

 

[Weean]

At least two (Al Shabab & Flying Eagle carbon), and there are two others on my 'never use' list (Flagfish and Wetell). All were produced in China.

I suffer from BlAD, so regard this as an occupational hazard of trying to get my hands on obscure blades.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Had a bag of BIC Chrome Platinums that a buddy sent me.

Loaded one up, took a swipe ATG and it cut me something fierce. Yanked it out and threw it forcefully into the bin.

Gave em away in a PIF, just figured they weren’t for me.

Guy that wanted them loved BIC Chromes and had some to compare to, and figured out they were counterfeit after trying a shave with one and having basically the same experience I did.

 

[Ted Danson]

I appreciate everyone's experiences. I will try to shave tomorrow with the blade again and if after a couple of strokes it feels bad, I will discard and get something else to use.

 

[Mouser]

I can get an exact number of times by going through all my shaving logs but I distinctly remember two. One was a Balaka. Torture. The other was a Feather. First time I tried one. Torture. It didn't get much better the times I gave it a second and a third chance.

 

[Balthier]

derby extra with 3 days+ growth, and shark ss, but I think I found a dud.

 

[Ivo4u2]

Several times, Usual I try a second blade some time later just in case it was a dud.
Though when I have optimized that blade for that razor it is usually not optimal in another razor but it is not crappy scary awful either.
and some razors are a lot more forgiving in this respect.

 

[BigJ]

Yep: most likely to occur with vintage blades that I have tried! NO FUN!!

 

[Mouser]

Yep: most likely to occur with vintage blades that I have tried! NO FUN!!

Yes, if you don't know what to look for its risky business. If you do you'll get the best and most shaves of your life. Assuming they're Stainless. Carbons too but they way harder to get usable ones.

 

[lancre]

Twice. Once with a modern Flying Eagle carbon steel blade, and one with a vintage ASR carbon steel blade.