Journey to 100 blades (journal)

[Abz88]

Second shave with the White Letter Platinum today. This shave felt a lot like shave 2 with the King C blade, it was sharper and also felt a touch smoother and the gave a close, irritation free shave. Its not as sharp as a BIC but it's feels like a very nice mid-sharp blade that is similar to the King C, Polsilver and 7 O'Clock Yellows (albeit a bit sharper than the later two).

 

[Abz88]

Third shave with the Gillette Platinum (White). Very pleasant shave with this blade today. It felt sharper again on this shave but still very smooth, very similar to the King C blade.

 

[Abz88]

Fourth shave with the Gillette Platinum (White). Bit of a disappointing shave today, end up with some next day irritation I wasn't expecting after shave 3 and today after just a single pass shave I ended up with some more irritation (in a different spot)! Blade still felt smooth and sharp enough so not sure if it's the blade or something else causing it. I think this is one I'll need to try again as the shaves felt good but obviously something is off.

 

[Abz88]

Blade 19: Gillette Platinum (Navy)

Trying out the other Gillette Platinum this week to see how it compares to the King C and Gillette Platinum (White) blades I've used in this razor over the last two weeks. First shave in and it definitely felt different to the other two. To me it felt slightly sharper but not quite as smooth as the other two. Its still in the mid-sharp blade range but near the top end of that. I think I preferred it compared to the other two in this razor despite being not as smooth but I still have another 3 shaves to go!

 

[Abz88]

Shave 2 with the Gillette Platinum Navy.

This just goes to highlight YMMV, most of the reviews I had read said that the King C and Platinum White were a notch above the Platinum Navy, but it's the opposite for me. I was expecting the Navy to shave similar to the GSB (not sure why, I think I'd read somewhere they were very similar blades) which I find to be a bit rough but while the Navy isn't quite as smooth as the King C or Platinum (White) it's smoother than the GSB and I find it to be slightly sharper than all 3 of them. I usually get better shaves with sharper blades so the Navy has pulled ahead in my blade rankings in this razor as although it's not quite as smooth, it's smooth enough that it doesn't affect my shave. Its still in the mid-sharp range but sharp enough that I am getting close shaves with no post-shave irritation or sting from the Alum Bloc compared to some irritation from the King C and Platinum White. I'll have to try all three out on a more aggressive razor at some point to see if that changes my opinion, but for now the Navy is on top.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 3 with the Gillette Platinum Navy.

The blade felt sharper again today but also felt smoother. It seemed to be as smooth as the King C and a Gillette Platinum (White) today but continued it's trend of being sharper than them throughout usage. For me this blade has pulled ahead of the King C and a Gillette Platinum (White) blades in this razor based on in being sharper without sacrificing too much smoothness on the first two shaves. After today it's edged it's way out of the mid-sharp range and into the sharp range of blades (although still not in the very-sharp range). I'm not sure if I like it enough to buy 100 blades but I would have no problem shaving with it again in the future and will be trying it in a more aggressive razor to see how it performs.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 4 with the Gillette Platinum Navy.

The blade felt as sharp and as smooth as shave 3 for its final single pass outing. Overall a pleasant shave today and no irritation or feedback from the Alum block. Overall it's finished ahead of the Gillette Platinum (White) and King C for me in this razor based on its additional sharpness but it hasn't quite broken into my top tier of blades (BIC Chrome Platinum, BIC Astor, Israeli Red, Germany Gold and Vikings Sword) purely because it wasn't quite as sharp and initially wasn't as smooth as the others. That could all change in a different razor though so I'll need to revisit it at some point.

 

[Abz88]

Blade 20: Satinex 2000 Platinum Plus

Trying out Satinex 2000 this week and as expected it feels identical to the Israeli Red. The blade was rumoured/known to be a repackaged version of an Israeli Red for the Italian market or an Italian retailer. The shave today in the Rocca felt the same as last weeks shave with Israeli Red, sharp, smooth and provided a close irritation free shave!

 

[wazabees]

By my count, you have about 68 blades left to test. Which blades are in your backlog?

 

[Abz88]

By my count, you have about 68 blades left to test. Which blades are in your backlog?

I have acquired some others since that first post so currently have the following 72 in backlog

Gillette Winner Stainless

Gillette Super Thin (Thailand)

Gillette Minora Stainless

Gillette Super Thin Platinum

Gillette Super Blue

Gillette London Bridge

Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless (Green)

Wizamet Super Iridium

Gillette 365

Gillette Wilkinson Sword (China)

Tatra Platinum

Personna Lab Blue

Personna Med Prep

Treet Dura Sharp

Gillette Nacet

Gillette Rubie

Rapira Platinum Lux

Voskhod

Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (Black)

Gillette Perma-Sharp Stainless

Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless (Green)

Astra Superior Stainless

Tiger Platinum

Silver Start Super Stainless

Derby Premium

Dorco Red Platinum ST301

Dorco Prime Platinum STP301

Tiger Superior (Stainless)

Gillette Minora Platinum

Gillette Winner Platinum

Kai Stainless Steel

Personna - Royal

Shark Platinum

Sharp Titanium

Loi Titanium

Super-Max Super Platinum

Super-Max Blue Diamond

Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India)

Lord Platinum

Lord Super Chrome

Lord Super Stainless

Personna - Eddison Stainless

Personna - Tomy

Shark Super Chrome

Rapira Swedish Super Steal

Blue Beards Revenge

Ladas Super Stainless

Sputnik

Rapira Stainless Chrome

Rapira Super Stainless

Sharp Star

Personna Double Edge Super Stainless (Vintage)

Personna Platinum (Vintage)

Asda Personna

Wilkinson Sword (Vintage)

Racer Super Stainless

Lord Cool

Lamix Platinum Plus

Clifton Classic

Sharp Hi Chromium

Euromax EMP800

Cloud Bruce Lee

Treet King

Big Ben Classic

Vintage Personna Platinum Chrome

Sainsburys Blades

Shark Super Stainless

Super-Max Super Stainless

Parker Premium Platinum

Racer Super Class Platinum

Muhle K1

Dorco Titan

 

[Abz88]

Second shave with the Satinex today. It's sharp and smooth like the Israeli Red but starting to wonder if I need a duller blade in the Rocca! I think I'll try the Muhle blade that came with it on my next shave and stick the Satinex in a Tech.

 

[Abz88]

Third shave with the the Satinex today and I moved it over to my Slim Adjustable today and set it down to 5 after getting some irritation from it in the Rocca. Very pleasant 3 pass shave (identical to the ones I get with an Israeli Red in this razor) with no new irritation and no alum feedback. One more shave to go then I'll try out the Muhle blade in the Rocca.

 

[Abz88]

Fourth shave with the Satinex, again in my Slim Adjustable at 5. A very pleasant single pass shave today with no new irritation or alum feedback. After using this blade for a week I am definitely in the camp of "it's a rebranded Israeli Red". I bought a tuck of 10 Satinex, but I can get Israeli's Reds and the new German Personna Platinums cheaper than them so not one I will be bulk buying when they run out (which will take a while as I still have 72 other types of blades to try ).

 

[Abz88]

Blade 21: Muhle K1

After trying my usual sharp blades in the Rocca and ending up with some irritation and having to use a very shallow angle, I decided to try a milder blade and see if that changed things. So first up I put in the Muhle K1 blade that came with it.

I wasn't really expecting much as I have never gotten on well with milder blades in my milder razors, but in the Rocca this blade gave me a very nice shave! It felt very smooth and gave a close and comfortable shave. No new irritation but a touch of flare up of the irritation from the last couple of weeks and alum stung around those spots. I had decent first shaves with the Personna blades as well, but I don't think the Muhle will sharpen up on subsequent shaves in the same way they do.

 

[Abz88]

Second shave with the Muhle K1 and another smooth shave with it in the Rocca. I seem to be getting getting shaves with a milder blade that I did with my Personna Platinums and Satinex blades although it feels like I could do with using something slightly sharper. No new irriation and no feedback from the alum other than the patch of irritation I've had over the last couple of weeks. I think I am getting used to the heavier Rocca as well need even less pressure than my other razors!

 

[Abz88]

Third shave with the Rocca and Muhle K1 combination and again, although it feels smooth, it feels like I could do with using a sharper blade. No new irritation and I don't seem to be getting any ingrown hairs that I sometimes get with milder blades tugging instead of cutting, but the shave just isn't as close as I would like. One shave left with this blade then I'll start trying some other mild but sharper blades and build up to some of the sharper ones in my den.

 

[Abz88]

Fourth and final shave with the Muhle K1 blade today for a single pass. It's still a smooth razor/blade combination, but the lack of sharpness shows on a single pass. I have plenty blades left to try out so will start ramping up on sharpness over the coming weeks/months/years. Overall a pleasant enough shave with no irritation of Alum feedback but not the closest of shaves.

 

[Abz88]

Blade 22: Parker Premium Platinum

Trying out another mild blade in the Rocca and shave 1 was very nice. I had a couple of extra days growth so I wasn't sure how the Parker blade would handle it, but in the Rocca it was sharp enough for a close shave and felt very smooth. It feels slightly sharper than the Muhle blade did but nowhere near as sharp as the Personna blades (Satinex and Israeli Red) so it will be interesting to see how it progressess.

There seems to be various debates about who make these blades for Parker without any firm conclusion, but as long as it keeps shaving well, I don't really care who makes it!

 

[Abz88]

Shave 2 with the Parker Premium Platinum today. Again it felt nice and smooth and seems sharp enough for a close and tug free shave (sharper than the Muhle), and although I got no feedback from the alum, a couple of spots of irritation have appeared post shave. Hopefully they are gone by this evening and the next two shaves are irritation free!

 

[Abz88]

Third shave with the Parker today and again it felt smooth but could do with being a bit sharper. The spots of irritation after the last shave turned into ingrown hairs so I think the blade is likely tugging/ripping instead of cutting cleanly which I only seem to get with milder blades. No alum feedback today so I am hoping that's the last of the irritation!