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Here's a small project, how would you rate these blades, sharpness/smoothness

Okay, here's my current inventory of blades, from 100 packs down to one/a partial tuck left. I think it would be interesting to see how users would rate these blades on smoothness/ sharpness. Some of these I haven't used yet, seeing as how they were in sampler packs and just haven't gotten around to them yet. I'm also trying to stick to the sabbatical this year so won't be buying anything for a while, but I'd like to know where they stand (Mostly to find a blade that might work best with my .70 Mamba. It's been a bit of a dog so far for me).

So, in no particular order, here's the list:
Astra SP
Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless (Russian greens)
Asco (blue package, 10 blades per pack)
Personna Platinum (ie Personna Red)(White plastic dispenser 10 blades per pack)
Derby Premium
Qshave
Rockwell Swedish Stainless
Shark Super Chrome Blades
Shark Super Stainless Blades
Ladas Super Stainless
Lord Super Stainless
Lord Classic
Lord Super Chrome
Lord Platinum Class
Rapira Stainless
Rapira Super Stainless
Rapira Swedish Supersteel
Rapira Platinum Lux
Voskhod
Big Ben
Crown
Wilkinson Sword (Black plastic 10 blade dispenser)

Yes, it's a bit of a dog's breakfast for blades, but I'd like to find one out of those that might work well with my Mamba, or else it's going to be sitting for quite a while in the drawer. I've tried the 7 O'Clock SS, the Astra SP, and a Personna Red in it so far, and it hasn't been great. Out of what I have left, which ones do you think might work best in it.

Thanks in advance!
 
I'm not clear what you're trying to do here. If you want the best out of your Mamba to keep it out of the drawer and in your rotation, you want the best blade in it, period. I don't see much wrong with Astra SPs but if they don't work try Nacet or 7 o'clock Yellow Sharp-Edge. If they don't work, then the Mamba probably isn't for you.

As for the long list of blades, I can't see much of value there except maybe the Rapira Platinum Lux.
 
Since you don't want to buy new blades, in which case i would have recommended Feather and Gillette Nacet blades, i would go with the Rapira Platinum Lux, i'd rate them 7 out of 10 in sharpness and 8 out of 10 in smoothness. My second choice would be the Personna Platinum blades, not as sharp or smooth as the Rapira Platinum Lux but they come close.
 
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I'm not clear what you're trying to do here. If you want the best out of your Mamba to keep it out of the drawer and in your rotation, you want the best blade in it, period. I don't see much wrong with Astra SPs but if they don't work try Nacet or 7 o'clock Yellow Sharp-Edge. If they don't work, then the Mamba probably isn't for you.

As for the long list of blades, I can't see much of value there except maybe the Rapira Platinum Lux.
Thank you. I'll try out the Lux'es in it next. Honestly I'm finding that compared to the rest of my razors this one isn't working for me, takes too many passes to get a close shave, and causes irritation. It's very mild, so thus I'd want a sharper blade in it.
 
Since you don't want to buy new blades, in which case i would have recommended Feather and Gillette Nacet blades, i would go with the Rapira Platinum Lux, i'd rate them 7 out of 10 in sharpness and 8 out of 10 in smoothness. My second choice would be the Personna Platinum blades, not as sharp or smooth as the Rapira Platinum Lux but they come close.
Thanks, I'll keep this in mind when I load it next.
 
Thank you. I'll try out the Lux'es in it next. Honestly I'm finding that compared to the rest of my razors this one isn't working for me, takes too many passes to get a close shave, and causes irritation. It's very mild, so thus I'd want a sharper blade in it.

Do you have any open comb razors like Fatip or R41 or a nice old Gillette Old Type?
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
This appears to be a pretty strange collection of blades, many of which I have yet to find the courage or curiosity to try.

My suggestion would be to read a couple of "favorite blades" posts in that section of the forum and you will see a handful of blades appear on many lists. Those will be the safest to try.
 
Do you have any open comb razors like Fatip or R41 or a nice old Gillette Old Type?
Nope, none of those. I have other razors, currently my favorite is my Progress, that one is obviously easy to dial in, and quite a different head profile than the Mamba. Also I find my Rockwell 6C to be more efficient even on R3. To be honest, both of those razors work quite well for me, much better than any of the Razorock offerings I have (both GC plates and the .70 Mamba). I'm just trying to narrow down a blade to use in my Mamba while I'm on the no purchase sabbatical for 2019. I can wait till 2020 to get more suitable blades for it, it's not a big deal.
This appears to be a pretty strange collection of blades, many of which I have yet to find the courage or curiosity to try.

My suggestion would be to read a couple of "favorite blades" posts in that section of the forum and you will see a handful of blades appear on many lists. Those will be the safest to try.
I'm participating in the 2019 purchase sabbatical, so I won't be buying any blades till the restock period starts up, unless I bow out due to having to buy something before then, so I'm just trying to find a blade that I currently have, that might be best for that particular razor. It's not the end all be all, I just want to narrow it down to something that I currently have that would work best in it.
 
Nine years in and my blade experimentation is long over. Some blades on that list I never had and others I had and gave away without using. I never kept a list of all blades I tried. The only blades I still use and stockpile are Astra SP and Personna Red (both 10 pack plastic and 5 pack box). I'm retired and tend to down a few G&T's before shaving, so I like a smooth blade and those two always worked in any of my DE's. On the other hand, my son-in-law prefers a sharp blade and has used only Feather blades for the past 10 years.

The good thing is that blades are cheaper than any other component, so it doesn't break the bank to try a bunch. From my experience, the blades you think are great 6 months into wetshaving may not be the blades you'll prefer 2 years from now.
 
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Nine years in and my blade experimentation is long over. Some blades on that list I never had and others I had and gave away without using. I never kept a list of all blades I tried. The only blades I still use and stockpile are Astra SP and Personna Red (both 10 pack plastic and 5 pack box). I'm retired and tend to down a few G&T's before shaving, so I like a smooth blade and those two always worked in any of my DE's. On the other hand, my son-in-law prefers a sharp blade and has used only Feather blades for the past 10 years.

The good thing is that blades are cheaper than any other component, so it doesn't break the bank to try a bunch. From my experience, the blades you think are great 6 months into wetshaving may not be the blades you'll prefer 2 years from now.
Totally agreed, and I'm trying to narrow down my set up. I think I'll be BST'ing some razors in the nearish future if I can't dial them in (due to what ever reasons). My current experience seems to point to me liking more aggressive razors than what the .68 GC/ .70 Mamba provide.
 
My current experience seems to point to me liking more aggressive razors than what the .68 GC/ .70 Mamba provide.

Who am I to mess with a year's sabbatical, but if you can see your way to exchanging rather than buying, exchange some of what you have for an open comb Fatip or Schone and get some decent blades like Nacet or 7 o'clock Yellows. Looks like you're really struggling at the moment and mediocre blades are the last thing that's going to help.
 
I’m on a personna med prep kick lately. Pricey and don’t last more than 5 shaves but dam are the smooth and sharp.
 
I think you're right in that the Mamba requires a sharper blade. None of the blades on your list are standouts to me solely in terms of sharpness - though I find some of them to strike a very good balance in terms of sharpness and smoothness. To really see how the razor performs with truly sharp blades, it might be worth picking up a sample pack of Nacets, Perma Sharps, and Feathers.
 
My suggestion is that you use those Wilkinson Sword Classics and get to know them first. I think it's as close as it comes to a baseline blade in terms of performance, longevity, and sharpness. They're great to compare every other blade to. Paul H on YouTube does this and I have tried it myself. It's a way to wrap your mind around the confusing world of DE blades.
 
I’ve only used 9 of them, but my sharpness/smoothness ratings for them are at the link in my signature. Good luck! I liked the Astras, Wilkies and 7O’Clock SharpEdge.
 
My small contribution :
-Shark Super Chrome-sharp but coarse, not too comfortable(though honestly I only used one blade so far, in one razor, out of a stock of 150 of them). Depending on your skin type and beard toughness might work better for you
-Astra SP and Rapira Platinum Lux are very smooth and pretty sharp. Both good blades. Rapira maybe a bit sharper.
-Personna Platinum-very smooth, not too sharp. On my beard drags a bit. Lord Super Stainless about the same.
-Lord Platinum Class-smooth and sharp but QC might be an issue. Smoothness-wise they're even better than Astra or Rapira
-Voskhod-probably the smoothest blade on the market today. A pleasure to shave with if you softened your beard properly.
-Wilkinson Sword (not sure if you mean the Classic version made in Germany, that's what I have). Tried several blades. Smooth but also can cut you pretty bad if you're not paying attention. I'd say medium sharpness. I have about 17 left still. Haven't used them in quite a while.
QShave-I have a tuck that I haven't opened yet. Not sure if I will ever get around to testing these.
The rest I have never owned.
It really depends on what kind of blade you want. The stock you have would satisfy any preference. For a nice combination of smoothness/sharpness besides Astra, Rapira is an excellent choice out of the list you mentioned and maybe Lord Platinum Class if you get blades with no quality issues. For smoothness, Voskhod is best and if you want raw sharpness Shark Super Chrome.
 
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