I have a ? about technique

[mightyquinn]

Hello all!!!

I have been wet shaving for about 2 months now and I have been going through a sample pack of blades I got off of Amazon. Well the last 4 to 5 blades I have used seem to be working just fine as I have not gotten any weepers or nicks and have been able to get a pretty close shave. I am assuming this is happening because my technique is getting better. So I guess my question would be how do I tell which blade is best for me? Is it the one the gives me the smoothest shave with the least amount of effort/passes? Any advice or guidance will greatly be appreciated!!!

 

[Mick]

I've found that every blade I have used has been sharp enough to cut whiskers and smooth enough to provide a comfortable shave.

You could pretty much close your eyes and throw a dart and come up with a winner.

Since I could not decide, I just use every blade made

 

[mightyquinn]

Thanks Turtle!! I am starting to feel the same way but want to narrow it down to 1 or 2 blades so I can buy them in bulk to save some money. I will probably wait until I have used all of my sample pack.

 

[The Accountant]

Hello all!!!

So I guess my question would be how do I tell which blade is best for me? Is it the one the gives me the smoothest shave with the least amount of effort/passes?

The criteria you are using (smoothest shave, etc.) is one way to determine if you have found the best blade for you. Let's look at this another way. If you have been wet shaving about two months then that is equal to about 60 shaves, give or take. Say you change the blade every third shave you will have tried 20 different blades over this time period. Assuming some of the blades were "repeats" (same brand of blade from the sampler) then you tried maybe a dozen different blades. This is a small sample of the blades available even in today's marketplace. However, it is entirely possible you found "your" blade within this small sample.

My advice, and it is worth about what it cost you, is to keep trying different blades along with the blade you have selected as "your" blade. If you still feel the same way a year from now, then, yes you have found "your" blade. At some point in your shave journey you will try different razors; they may not give the same result with this blade so you have to keep looking. Part of the enjoyment of this hobby is trying different things. As always, YMMV.

 

[Apex]

The criteria you are using (smoothest shave, etc.) is one way to determine if you have found the best blade for you. Let's look at this another way. If you have been wet shaving about two months then that is equal to about 60 shaves, give or take. Say you change the blade every third shave you will have tried 20 different blades over this time period. Assuming some of the blades were "repeats" (same brand of blade from the sampler) then you tried maybe a dozen different blades. This is a small sample of the blades available even in today's marketplace. However, it is entirely possible you found "your" blade within this small sample.

My advice, and it is worth about what it cost you, is to keep trying different blades along with the blade you have selected as "your" blade. If you still feel the same way a year from now, then, yes you have found "your" blade. At some point in your shave journey you will try different razors; they may not give the same result with this blade so you have to keep looking. Part of the enjoyment of this hobby is trying different things. As always, YMMV.

Good advice, thats what I have been doing. I also try 1-3 samplers and shave with a feather to stay in tune. Feather being my favorite so far. I have also gone back and shaved with a couple of blades I really liked. To me its a slow process so enjoy it.

 

[martym]

These guys have given great advice. Listen to what your face tells you.

 

[August West]

If someone is willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane I do believe they will get to the bottom of this...

Best Wishes Airborne!

 

[mightyquinn]

If someone is willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane I do believe they will get to the bottom of this...

Best Wishes Airborne!

LOL!! Thanks for all the advice from everyone and I think you are right August!!!

 

[Dondoh]

Hey if they are all good, pick a cheap one, get 100, use them, but sample along the way. Search for "2013 Blade exchange" here and you can get a few to try every once in a while.
I currently am trying 22 blades in a blind test. I'm up to number 9 of 22. So far I really loved two of them. One was pretty substandard and the rest were perfectly fine. In fact I would be happy shaving every day for a year with all but one of them. But again, I really liked 2 of them. It is killing me not being able to tell what they are until I finish (which is at least a month away), but when I do narrow them down at the end price will be a factor, if there is a significant difference between the finalists, when it comes to stocking up.

Good luck.

I can also say this. Though in general all the blades are similar, they are different in which characteristics come to the fore. Some give a close shave, but are very tuggy. Some are not tuggy, but give a less close shave. Some are sharp, don't tug and give a little irritation. Some have no irritation but tug a bit. It seems there are some trade offs. The two I like best were one which was sharp-smooth-cleanshaving but had a little burn. The second is irritation-free, smooth-as-glass, but isn't completely close. I don't know why. They just are. It is fun trying them out though.
If you don't really care for the experimentation. Pick one that doesn't bother you that gives you a good shave, and order 100.
Best of luck

 

[Icebear]

... So I guess my question would be how do I tell which blade is best for me? Is it the one the gives me the smoothest shave with the least amount of effort/passes? Any advice or guidance will greatly be appreciated!!!

For me this is a blade that gives me the closest possible shave with the least amount of irritation. Ususally the level of burn when applying AS (with alcohol) is a good indicator if skin was scraped off along with the wiskers. All parts of the equasion will contribute to the result. Often it's a particular combination of blade and razor, brush and cream or soap, face or bowl lathered. When all comes together you will know it.

 

[Viseguy]

You'll know, eventually.

 

[ghurlag]

It's taken me two years to reach the conclusion that my "favorite" blades are no longer cutting it. Over the past few weeks I've been less and less impressed with both irritation and closeness. It has been suggested a couple times to buy bulk of your current favorite, and continue sampling along the way. I kind of wish I had done this. Instead, I started off with a 100 pack of Dorco ST-301 blades. I've tried a few other brands here and there, but my conscience kept questioning why I would spend money on more blades if I already had nigh unto a lifetime supply that were sufficient at their job. I'm now on my last pack of the 100, and just ordered 25 Astra SP blades, based solely on others' experiences. I plan, however, on doing a lot more sampling this time around.

If you've gotten lucky and found mostly keepers, maybe see if you can find a deal on 25 or so, and supplement with more samples. I *hope* my shared experience will help, if not my recommendation.

 

[Mandina]

+1 that your favorite blade (or razor, brush, soap/cream, etc.) may change over time, which is a good reason not to get rid of anything. For example, Feathers initially gave me just two shaves, one of which was painful and the other just okay. A year later I revisited them and since then I routinely get 7 very nice shaves from a Feather blade (despite my dense chin hair which requires a lot of buffing). That said, my early massive purchases of Perma-sharp Supers and Gillette Yellows--there were great deals on these--have worked out really well. But that's dumb luck, I think.