There need not be anything weird or macho about sticking a smooth blade in an aggressive razor. It's common knowledge in these parts that such a combo works well - and that smooth blades generally work well for daily shaving. But each to their own. Someone will appreciate your donation(s).
Long Time DE Shaver Needs New Blades - Sharp and Smooth
- Thread starter cvac
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #62
I'm not new to this place, just been away for a while. People talk a lot of bull on hobbyist forums of any type. Been going on for decades. The fact remains that a razor with more edge exposure is not going to make a duller blade sharper. Not possible. You can put the blade in a "shavette" type razor or just hold it with your fingers, and that won't make the edge sharper either. You might be more at risk for cutting yourself though
.Agreed. The trick is to sift through the bull, and keep the odd gem. That's how that works.
Duller blades don't get sharper. Instead, they perform differently, depending how they are made to glide over the skin. That's what different razors are for, and the reason people like to try different razors, just like you enjoy trying out different blades. You will find plenty of testimony to such effect here. But if you don't enjoy trying different razors, I guess you won't get to experience that for yourself. A the end of the day, all that matters is that you enjoy your shaves.
I think BIC's are really a sleeper. They are almost as sharp as a Feather on the first shave, and quite a bit sharper than Feather after that. I haven't tried a KAI yet. With BIC staying super sharp for me after even 3-4 shaves I have problems paying the big bucks for Feather and Kai. But that's just cheap old me.
Ha! This is where I'm at now, or trying to get over it. I've got 25-30 razors at least. Most of them cheap. About 15 blade types. Now I'm trying to use a good long lasting 3-piece razor, and experimenting with 2-3 of my favorite blades. My current setup is a mild heavy Yintal razor and BIC blades. It was a wake up call for me to realize BIC is sharp on the first shave, then gets super sharp for the next few shaves. I was tossing blades after 1-2 shaves before I figured out the first shave on a coated blade is not their best. I will be experimenting with "corking" blades to get rid of the first shave dullness, so I can start with them being as sharp as possible.
Can not help you with blade choices. But all I can suggest, never have all your eggs in one basket. I have 4 different de blades in my large den. I know what blade works best for each razor. Most will work it them all.
Hope you fine what works for you and your tools. But please have a few backup options.
Different faces, skin, razors, skills. .the easy path my seem easy....and maybe it will be easy for you..
BFX...
Enjoy the shave...
Hope you fine what works for you and your tools. But please have a few backup options.
Different faces, skin, razors, skills. .the easy path my seem easy....and maybe it will be easy for you..
BFX...
Enjoy the shave...
My experience with blades is very similar to yours and I would say that most of my favorite blades (Gillette Platinum, Nacet, Wizamet, PolSilver) have been made in Russia. In my experience, the Feather is too rough on the first shave and the Kai is a good, but not great, blade. I would put the US made Personna Lab Blue, the German Wilkinson Sword (after foam stropping) and the Thai Gillette Super Thin Platinum as being one step below the Russian blades. Nevertheless, they are definitely sharp and smooth.
If you have a Feather razor, then the performance of the Feather blade is nearly flawless.
I will follow your thread with interest. We seem to have a near unanimity of taste in what works for us and what does not.
I probably use Feathers 40% of the time and a Russian-made blade the other 60%.
I understand the reasoning for finding another source.
By chance, I have a pack of the Czech-made Tatra Platinums on their way to me at the moment. A "blind buy" for me. I'll let you know my thoughts.
For fun, I also picked up some Czech Tiger Carbon Steel blades (and some Treet Carbon Steel). It has been quite some time since I've run any carbon steel blades. Especially curious to try them in some of the Open Comb DEs I've acquired since I last tried carbon steels. Likely to remain a novelty item.
Bill
- Thread starter
- #69
I found a site that does sharpness testing on blades. I'm not sure how much you can extrapolate from it because their sample size of each type of blade may not be large enough and there may be other factors at play. But anyway this testing does show that many blades do become sharper after the first shave. Presumably this is due to the coating being removed through shaving and rinsing but we do not know for sure AFAIK.
For me personally I can't think of a single blade I've tried over the years that felt better the more I used it, so I moved to the "one and done" approach. It works for me. I also experimented with "corking" blades and could detect zero obvious performance enhancement while shaving with the blade so I don't bother with that anymore either.
Most decent blades will have some type of coating though it can vary from brand to brand and type to type. I have tried uncoated blades before and did not like them.
My 2 cents.
- Thread starter
- #70
For today's shave I decided to use a Feather blade. Compared to the Bic Chrome I used over the weekend, the Feather is sharper and smoother than the Bic or anything else I've ever used. Not sure what it is about these blades and how they are manufactured, but they really are in a different class than most DE blades.
SOTD:
SOTD:
- EJ DE89L
- Feather Blade
- Vie Long Synthetic Brush
- DR Harris Sandalwood Cream
- DR Harris Sandalwood AS
For me, corking blades has never worked, except in the case of the German Wilkinson Swords. The coating of those must be extremely thick. Also, an actual cork can dull the blade. I have only used Styrofoam.
I also agree that very few blades actually improve with use. The best you can generally hope for is consistent performance. In my experience the only exceptions are the Feather and the laser marked Gillette Rubie Platinum. These are just too sharp for my skin on first use.
There is a recent and quite comprehensive DE blade review here by @hariph creek that may be of interest to those following this thread:
www.badgerandblade.com
So, I tried a couple - few blades...
So, I tried a couple - few different DE blades. I know this review will not be of the caliber you are all used to. But, I have put many, many months into testing and now a lot of thought into writing this. ME: I will start this off by saying, I know it is not the "right" way, but I shave...
www.badgerandblade.com
- Thread starter
- #73
Sounds like you get along with the feather blades and shoud stick to those. It will be hard to find anything close to the feather in terms of sharpness.. And for me they are among the smoothest blades out there.. I use them once and bin them, so blade longevity isnt a concern for me.
- Thread starter
- #75
So far Feathers are leading the pack. The original idea was to use Feathers 50% of the time and something else the rest of the time. However, Feather performance is tough to match. I will finish trying the rest of the blades I have but have no interest in trying a huge batch of blades, most of which are coming out of the same 5 factories or whatever.
- Thread starter
- #76
For today's shave I decided to try a Tatra Platinum. These are made in the Czech Republic, and I don't remember trying any Czech blades over the years. Supposedly they are made in the same factory as Tiger blades, though Tatra is a apparently a newer brand with different marketing.
For this shave I dusted off my jar of Barbus cream soap and Barbus classic aftershave. IIRC these products are made in either the Czech Republic or Slovakia.
Anyway my impression of this blade was that it was among the smoothest I've tried. The factory may be using a thick coating on these to make the blade smoother. Not sure. Sharpness was about average and I had to do some touch up work around the mustache area. If the blade was just a little sharper it would be extremely impressive.
Now to be fair, my lather today was a bit thicker than normal as I haven't used this cream soap in awhile. I was able to thin it out for the second pass but there was a ton of residual soapy slickness. To get a fair impression of the blade, I will probably try another one out of the pack and use a traditional English soap or cream.
For this shave I dusted off my jar of Barbus cream soap and Barbus classic aftershave. IIRC these products are made in either the Czech Republic or Slovakia.
Anyway my impression of this blade was that it was among the smoothest I've tried. The factory may be using a thick coating on these to make the blade smoother. Not sure. Sharpness was about average and I had to do some touch up work around the mustache area. If the blade was just a little sharper it would be extremely impressive.
Now to be fair, my lather today was a bit thicker than normal as I haven't used this cream soap in awhile. I was able to thin it out for the second pass but there was a ton of residual soapy slickness. To get a fair impression of the blade, I will probably try another one out of the pack and use a traditional English soap or cream.
Agreed. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
My comment was off-topic in hindsight. The Bolzano price tag was annoying after personally finding them NOT Sharp, Smooth, or Durable. I usually don't mind paying for something that is 2 of those, and can at least appreciate a blade for what it is, even if not a personal favorite. Bolzanos have plenty of fans though, including the Egyptian version.
I have also quit MIR blades. Finding replacements has been a (mostly) fun quest.
- Thread starter
- #78
For today's shave I decided to try the Personna Med Prep. To be clear, these are in a blue wrapper, made in the U.S., and marked "for hospital use" on the blade itself. I have attached a pic from a vendor. Note that the "Personna Lab" blades come in the same type of wrapper and I'm not sure how different those are.
My overall impression of this blade is good. It is not as sharp as a Feather but cuts well and seems decently smooth. I would say the sharpness level is about what I am used to from the MIR Gillette blades when they were at their best. I will need to try 1-2 more of these blades before forming a final opinion though.
SOTD:
- EJ DE89L
- Personna USA "Med Prep" blade
- Vie Long Synthetic Brush
- Jabonman Lilas Sandalo
- HBG Sandalwood AS
The Tatra blades are evidently coated with PTFE (Teflon), which isn't remotely unusual, but I get the impression that the Tatra's are somewhat similar to Voskhods in laying the Teflon on extra-thick.
I have some Tatras in transit, arriving sometime tomorrow (inshallah), so I'm keen to try them out for myself.
I'm a big fan of "Made in Russia" blades. I have a strategic stockpile. But (like you and others) I'd like to find another source. Aside from Feathers (which are their own thing), I've yet to find a currently produced alternative that I enjoy as well. Granting, I have not tried every alternative on the list.
I'll add my thoughts on the Tatras as I give them a run.
ETA: I just wrote to the manufacturer of Tigers and Tatras (among others), Czech Blades, to see if they could provide additional information about what differentiates their various offerings. I will share their response.
Bill
- Thread starter
- #80
That would definitely be of interest.
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