Macduff’s Monthly Blade Review: Lord Super Stainless

[Macduff]

I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I usually use an Edwin Jagger razor and the Lord blades work great in combination with it. They're not Feather or Super Iridium blades (man I'm glad I loaded up on those when I did), but I can get a week of fine shaves out of a blade.

Hey count yourself as lucky! I wish I liked the Lord SS since it’s super cheap for 100 of them. It wasn’t till i started DE shaving that i realized people had different results with different blades. I just assumed some were worse than others because they weren’t as sharp. Subjectivity seems to be the name of the game with just about everything shaving related.

 

[Macduff]

Truth. The whole YMMV vary thing is so true, that no, the reviews are simply not particularly helpful. But it is fun, especially when, as in this case, the reviewer can write well.

Many thanks for the compliment aldomarino!

 

[been around]

Great writing. Put a smile on my face and I need to go back and find some of your other work. Like dklaiman I also find a Lord blade worked well in my EJ 89, and also did an adequate job in my recently acquired red tip. I'm just getting use to the Gillette so a mild blade for now. I've have only used four blades, two in each razor. However, I am going to dig the platinum out of my Lord sample pack next and try it. I doubt if I will leave my Personna reds for these any time soon.

 

[Chadjaja]

I can use them in my parker99r. The heft and agression of that razor with these blades gives me easy smoothe shaves. Any mild razor they struggle in.

 

[Your Majesty]

This looks exactly like the lord cool which I have. I swear all the lord blades are the same one.

 

[Macduff]

Great writing. Put a smile on my face and I need to go back and find some of your other work. Like dklaiman I also find a Lord blade worked well in my EJ 89, and also did an adequate job in my recently acquired red tip. I'm just getting use to the Gillette so a mild blade for now. I've have only used four blades, two in each razor. However, I am going to dig the platinum out of my Lord sample pack next and try it. I doubt if I will leave my Personna reds for these any time soon.

Thanks for the kind words @been around! The 16 shaves i had with the Lord SS and platinums were rough to say the least. I don’t look back fondly on that 6 week period suffering through those things. One of the platinum’s i used was decent but the other was clearly a dud as it felt identical to the SS. I think Lord has some quality control issues and though i WILL try their other offerings, my expectations are not high.

 

[Macduff]

I can use them in my parker99r. The heft and agression of that razor with these blades gives me easy smoothe shaves. Any mild razor they struggle in.

You may be right on that one. I always use my Van Der Hagen to test blades and it’s not light, but not exactly heavy either. You definitely have to use a little pressure to get the duller blades to perform. I know that’s blasphemy around here but i shoot for BBS every time so “letting the razor do the work” just doesn’t cut it sometimes. Pun most definitely intended!

 

[been around]

I have used the both the Shark ss and the Lord ss in my Red Tip. I understand from the Forum that it is a somewhat aggressive razor so I wanted to use Milder blades hence the two SS. I got four excellent three pass shave from both brands and they could have gone for more. In my EJ89 they would pull and form skin waves but no cuts or weepers with an average shave. Maybe the razor used does have a lot to do with performance. I like the Lord Platinum in either razor. It is close to but no match to the Personna reds or other premium blade. The shark SC is sharp, but leaves me with face burn. The Lord Chrome is nice after the first shave once it calms down, but again no match for a German Wilkie or any of the Personnas.

 

[GBerry]

@Macduff this is a very well done post. The post reports on various blade attributes and performance I might want to know should I persue blades in this family line.

I have already run a tuck of Shark SS blades paired with a Merkur 37C. I could accomplish a near BBS in 5 passes with each blade lasting only 2 shaves. I find the blades smooth but not very sharp. The quest for a smoother, sharper blade continues.

Thanks for performing due diligence testing these blades.

 

[been around]

Thank you for the kind words and all the testing you do. It gives a lot of us valuable information and saves a lot of facial skin. I know you fellows who do these tests spend a lot of time on it and it is appreciated.

 

[xiletero]

Yeah blades are funny like that. One man’s worst shave ever is another man’s go to blade. Sometimes i wonder whether it’s helpful to post reviews at all. But they’re fun so i keep doing them. Always interesting to hear different reactions.

I think reviews are very important.....use them as baseline. We can see what you have liked and if we agree on one...then go from there.....try the ones you like.... And the other way too: if we coincide on a certain blade you don't like,we can skip buying others you don"t. I personally hate pulling blades or rough blades....don't even give them a chance....life is too short to suffer with this

 

[Macduff]

I think reviews are very important.....use them as baseline. We can see what you have liked and if we agree on one...then go from there.....try the ones you like.... And the other way too: if we coincide on a certain blade you don't like,we can skip buying others you don"t. I personally hate pulling blades or rough blades....don't even give them a chance....life is too short to suffer with this

Agreed on the rough blades. I call feeling of a good, sharp blade “glide” since it just seems to glide through the hair instead of pulling through it. To me a blade that has glide always gets at least a 7 in my book since it just feels better while shaving. I’ve had excellent results from blades that have a bit of pull to them but overall those type of blades won’t be in the running for a bulk purchase. I try to be mindful about people who would find those blades to be good when i write my reviews though. My beard is pretty tough so many times blades that pull on my face won’t do so for others. It’s why i try to look at the other positive aspects when i’m reviewing so people will get a good idea if it’ll work for them even if i didn’t necessarily like it.

 

[DEPenguin]

All sample blades I have tried I keep notes on--yes, a tad geeky, but it's interesting to go back and re-read my thoughts, especially as technique improves.

This blade was the one that confounded me the most so far. As you stated, it felt like it was tugging, even rough, yet my face didn't get irritated from it. The end results weren't terrible, but the process wasn't warm and fuzzy either. I like Asco, Crown, Silver Star and Shark, but for some reason the Lord SS blades were too rough for me--and yes, I've tried them in three different razors. For the record I also hated Racer's, more than these SS's.

Great review though!

 

[Chaucer]

I’ve used a fresh Lord SS for 3 shaves now. It’s not my worst blade. It gives me a DFS if I’m patient, but it’s just too dull to like. For perspective, the razor is a Tatara Masamune, which gave me BBS with the 7th and 8th shaves on a Polsilver. I’ll stay with the Lord for a few more shaves unless it gets much duller.

 

[Lather and Razors]

Lord blades seem to be average. Lord used to be called Wilkinson Sword ME in the 1960s.

 

[Chaucer]

After 5 shaves with the Lord SS, I’ve had enough. I could suffer through and get my usual 8 shaves, but why?

 

[Hak.1963]

I have never gotten a good shave with Lord SS, but I do love Lord Platinum.
My wife and daughter are very satisfied with Lord SS for shaving their legs, armpits and bikiniline.
But the ladies hairs on their legs can not be compared to a coarse and dense beard.

 

[cuh7b5]

Very enjoyable review, thanks @Macduff! I read it because I have been testing several blades and currently my top choice is the Lord SS. I was curious what others think of my favourite blade. This review is a very nice example of the YMMV-principle for me. I have experimented with ~40 blades in the past years to achieve acceptable results with a DE razor. I have sensitive skin paired with dense and thick whiskers. I aim for a BBS every day which is very hard for me to achieve without irritation. I realised that sharp blades like Feathers or even Gillette SharpEdges (which by the way I found to be very good blades) give me too much irritation. I also found out that I need some (light) pressure to get a very close shave. Sharp blades do not tolerate pressure, hence a BBS is always paired with a great amount of redness when I use them. Other blades like the Derbys or the Dorcos are too dull though and not smooth enough. I got nicks and irritation because they need even more pressure to get a close shave. For me sharp blades=irritation, dull blades=irritation. I have to stay in the middle ground which is a very narrow path for me to find.

My go to blades are:
Lord SS (my absolute favourite these days, effective enough to get a BBS but tolerates the pressure I need)
Lord Captain (a bit dull but still smooth, needs some buffing to get good results)
Big Ben (similar to the Captain, probably a tad bit more effective)
Israeli Reds (incredible blades if you are lucky but unfortunately I found them to be very inconsistent quality-wise)
Gillette - 7 0'Clock - SharpEdge (on the sharp side, best for 2 or 3 days whiskers)

I use these blades in an Edwin Jagger DE86. Aggressive razors are again a no-go for me because of my sensitive skin.

 

[Macduff]

Very enjoyable review, thanks @Macduff! I read it because I have been testing several blades and currently my top choice is the Lord SS. I was curious what others think of my favourite blade. This review is a very nice example of the YMMV-principle for me. I have experimented with ~40 blades in the past years to achieve acceptable results with a DE razor. I have sensitive skin paired with dense and thick whiskers. I aim for a BBS every day which is very hard for me to achieve without irritation. I realised that sharp blades like Feathers or even Gillette SharpEdges (which by the way I found to be very good blades) give me too much irritation. I also found out that I need some (light) pressure to get a very close shave. Sharp blades do not tolerate pressure, hence a BBS is always paired with a great amount of redness when I use them. Other blades like the Derbys or the Dorcos are too dull though and not smooth enough. I got nicks and irritation because they need even more pressure to get a close shave. For me sharp blades=irritation, dull blades=irritation. I have to stay in the middle ground which is a very narrow path for me to find.

My go to blades are:
Lord SS (my absolute favourite these days, effective enough to get a BBS but tolerates the pressure I need)
Lord Captain (a bit dull but still smooth, needs some buffing to get good results)
Big Ben (similar to the Captain, probably a tad bit more effective)
Israeli Reds (incredible blades if you are lucky but unfortunately I found them to be very inconsistent quality-wise)
Gillette - 7 0'Clock - SharpEdge (on the sharp side, best for 2 or 3 days whiskers)

I use these blades in an Edwin Jagger DE86. Aggressive razors are again a no-go for me because of my sensitive skin.

Glad you liked it! Looking back i’m not unconvinced i got duds. The fact that the Lord SP’s I tried had one dud and one good blade makes me think it’s a possibility both Lord SS’s i tried were bunk. Either way i wouldn’t try them again. I still cringe at the memory hahaha.Glad you enjoy them though. And know EXACTLY what you mean about some of the “duller” blades giving a better shave. And also about using a little pressure. I do the exact same thing. It’s heresy to say so here but it’s true! I’ve found the best blades for me tend to be Personna’s which trend slightly above medium sharp. Anyway thanks for the response and i’ve got many, many more Lords yet to test!

 

[Ukrainian]

Glad you liked it!

Could you please review Tatra or Tiger platinum when you get a chance? Really nice blade better than any gillette blades.