How many blade brands have you tried?

[Macduff]

I’ve probably tried 100, and I’m all the way back using ppi Gillette platinums.

Finding the one is futile, and the honeymoon is fleeting.

Color me depressed. Dreams? Crushed.Hahahaha. Seriously though you didn’t find that a certain percentage were superior? Personally i find the best blades have what i call “glide.” It almost feels like there’s no blade in the razor. I can get a great result from 95% of blades out there but the comfort while shaving is what i’m after. Either way, yours is a disheartening post @guitarslinger. Knowing you’ve tried that many blades and are back at square one makes me think i may be on a fools errand trying more blades.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

So i was thinking today that as i reach the end of my 30 blade sampler, i have a choice: Buy my favorite blades in bulk or continue on the holy grail blade quest. Currently, tryablade has 108 different blade brands. Having sampled 1/3 of them by the time i’m done and using some quick math, trying the other 2/3 would take me roughly 4 years. I’m still up in the air as to whether i’ll be continuing on the search but it got me thinking; how many brands have the esteemed gentlemen of B&B tried? Anyone tried all 108? My question is strictly to blades currently manufactured so as much as some people love vintage, i’m only interested in current blade offerings. I’m currently at 26 brands into the ol’ blade bank. So lets hear it!

Why limit yourself to only bulk-buying your 'Holy Grail'? Why believe one blade will perfectly cover all your needs?

I've found a half-dozen blades I like enough to buy quantity. They all have enough positive qualities, as well as enough differentiation from the others, that I always want to have one handily on-hand.

In fact, I don't have a 'Holy Grail' blade at all, though Feather comes somewhat close. Rather, I chose my day's blade by my mood, razor, and the task at hand. I like having a killer sharp blade, a moderately sharp blade, a killer smooth blade, a blade that I can get careless with, etc. And further, some of these blades just plain work better in some razors than others, so that also comes into play.

If Stateside, at 10-15 bucks ea., you can get 100ct bulk cartons of a half-dozen of your fav blades for a 100 bucks or less, even if including Feathers in the mix. That means you'll likely never run out of a favorite blade for many, many, years. I accumulated my bulk blades over the 3 years I've been wet shaving. That's a cheap hobby, IMHO.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

Started shaving almost 3 months ago.

So, let's see... it's an interesting exercise. All experiences and opinions are very highly subjective.

Baili blade in green wrapper (came with my first razor) - tore my face to shreds. To be fair, I did everything wrong. So, perhaps not the blade's fault.

Astra SP - a reliably smooth, reasonably sharp blade that became my daily driver and the benchmark I check all other blades against.

Astra SS - felt harsher than SP. Perhaps I should give it another try.

Personna Blue - gave me great shaves but every time I'd get a cut or a weeper. Or two. Another blade I'll keep trying.

Parker Premium - came with my Parker Variant. A very decent shave, I'd rate it just a tad below SP.

Derby Premium - bought them because I was told that's what Parker sells (rebranded) as Parker Premium, also because of great reviews. No matter how hard I try to like them, I can't. They feel harsh and irritate my face.

Feather - expected a meat grinder, got a smooth perfection. Beats ASP in comfort and sharpness, but perhaps not enough to switch, given high cost and it being so sharp I have to use extra care while shaving.

I may have missed one or two...

I very much agree with your Personna Blue assessment. They are nick prone for some reason, and I have no idea why because I did not find them highly sharp or efficient.

 

[guitarslinger]

Color me depressed. Dreams? Crushed.Hahahaha. Seriously though you didn’t find that a certain percentage were superior? Personally i find the best blades have what i call “glide.” It almost feels like there’s no blade in the razor. I can get a great result from 95% of blades out there but the comfort while shaving is what i’m after. Either way, yours is a disheartening post @guitarslinger. Knowing you’ve tried that many blades and are back at square one makes me think i may be on a fools errand trying more blades.

Let me just say, it’s a fun journey.

However, it’s easy for a subpar blade to accidentally make you biased against certain soaps and razors during your trials.

Example, you think a soap sucks, but it’s actually the blade.

 

[beer nuts]

I have settled with astra, nacet, bic and feather. All four seem to be popular here and I have bought all in 100s based on recommendation of others here. I have worked out which razors that i have work best with these. I just need to find 5th place and I will stop testing and start buying in 200 lots. My technique is getting better, i use same brush and soap, and I have reduced my razor selection so i am reducing the variables to getting consistant results. Open to suggestions on 5th blade. Total different blades tested would be about 10.

 

[Tostig]

I have settled with astra, nacet, bic and feather. All four seem to be popular here and I have bought all in 100s based on recommendation of others here. I have worked out which razors that i have work best with these. I just need to find 5th place and I will stop testing and start buying in 200 lots. My technique is getting better, i use same brush and soap, and I have reduced my razor selection so i am reducing the variables to getting consistant results. Open to suggestions on 5th blade. Total different blades tested would be about 10.

It seems to me if you like Astra, Nacet, and Feather, you lean toward sharper blades and will probably also like 7 O'Clock Yellows and Perma-Sharp Supers. Perma-Sharps being nearly Feather sharp, Yellows being a tad less sharp but smooth and forgiving.

 

[DougK]

I've used maybe a half-dozen or so different blades over the last ten years since I started DE shaving, which isn't a lot compared to many folks around these parts. I settled on Feathers early on so that I could remove a variable from the equation and focus on technique while I was learning. Now that I know what I'm doing with a razor, I'd probably find other blades that are equally acceptable.

 

[Macduff]

Why limit yourself to only bulk-buying your 'Holy Grail'? Why believe one blade will perfectly cover all your needs?

I've found a half-dozen blades I like enough to buy quantity. They all have enough positive qualities, as well as enough differentiation from the others, that I always want to have one handily on-hand.

In fact, I don't have a 'Holy Grail' blade at all, though Feather comes somewhat close. Rather, I chose my day's blade by my mood, razor, and the task at hand. I like having a killer sharp blade, a moderately sharp blade, a killer smooth blade, a blade that I can get careless with, etc. And further, some of these blades just plain work better in some razors than others, so that also comes into play.

If Stateside, at 10-15 bucks ea., you can get 100ct bulk cartons of a half-dozen of your fav blades for a 100 bucks or less, even if including Feathers in the mix. That means you'll likely never run out of a favorite blade for many, many, years. I accumulated my bulk blades over the 3 years I've been wet shaving. That's a cheap hobby, IMHO.

Oh i’m not limiting myself to just one blade. I already have about 3 i’d buy in bulk. I’m just wondering whether i should just keep going with using only sampler packs. I know myself enough to know that if i buy say, 50 of each of my top 3, i’ll be far less inclined to work myself through another 75 brands. The ones i’ve liked best so far have been really good whereas most blades seem to fall into the “i can get a great result but didn’t much enjoy the shave” category. Whether it’s slight irritation or a propensity toward getting weepers, some blades just don’t deliver the the comfort level i prefer. I can get a great result out of 90% of them, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable.

 

[RowanN]

Ten DE and three SE. Not a fan of the Artist Club blades and razors. Gem SS blades and Gem razors are my top favorite combination. Top DE blades are all PPI products Nacet, Rubie, Gillette Platinum and 7 O'Clock Yellow are very close, top depends on the day or maybe the last shave.

 

[Capisco Capisce]

Oh i’m not limiting myself to just one blade. I already have about 3 i’d buy in bulk. I’m just wondering whether i should just keep going with using only sampler packs. I know myself enough to know that if i buy say, 50 of each of my top 3, i’ll be far less inclined to work myself through another 75 brands. The ones i’ve liked best so far have been really good whereas most blades seem to fall into the “i can get a great result but didn’t much enjoy the shave” category. Whether it’s slight irritation or a propensity toward getting weepers, some blades just don’t deliver the the comfort level i prefer. I can get a great result out of 90% of them, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable.

I can definitely see your reticence to try another plethora of blades in sampler packs. I'd never do it. What I did, was buy locally or online a tuck or two of the blades I found on B & B that struck me as interesting.

So I never bought a sampler pack, but rather amassed a collection of tucks of maybe 40 or so brands. The usual suspects (Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Maggards, Merz/Smallflower), all sell tucks at a buck or two (or three) each. I'm fortunate that I found most at my local shave-shop, at reasonable prices.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Actually, any of these blades can produce a good shave" LOL

For me, they do. It is more if a question of "for how long"?

I have my favorites (Yellows & Polsilvers) and I believe blades are different, just not quite "as" different as I used to think.

People firmly believe that there are "vast" differences between different razor blades. I would be more inclined to side with your appraisal.

Out of 100 different blade, there are probably only a dozen or so that are really different.

 

[GaryTha]

Four.