Most under-rated and over rated blades- in your opinion.

[Loveelvin]

I know finding the perfect blade is somewhat a personal quest..but here is what works for me.

Most over rated: Feather. Fine, it's super sharp... But sharp is not always the best quality. Their sharpness doesnt give a closer shave, and always leaves my face with irritation.

most under rated... I vote for Perma Sharp. I think these are my desert island blades. The perfect combination of smooth, sharpness, and longevity.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I agree with your assessment on the Feathers. I prefer KAI's, they are a bit smoother but IMO one of the few blades I find close to equally as sharp as them. Perma Sharps and Gillette Rubies are bit underrated.

 

[tfinch]

My vote for most under rated - the Supermax Super Platinum. But maybe I shouldn't count it since they seem to have disappeared lately. Most over rated for me would be Bolzano. Contrary to the general view of them being very sharp blades, they feel quite dull to me.

 

[Mick]

I've only found one blade that was not perfection at every shave and it is not sold in the US and almost imposable to get even if you wanted to look for it so no point mentioning it.

They're all good as far as I have found.

 

[skleice]

Overrated: Feather
Underrated: Shark Super Chrome

 

[cubfanbob]

Overrated: Gillette Silver Blue
Underrated: Rapira Super Stainless

 

[tubaguy]

Overrated: Derby. They're pretty awful to me. I couldn't even PIF a 5 pack on here! But I still don't think that's as bad as they were for me
Underrated: Sharks. Great blades, never an issue on these.

 

[mdevine]

My most over-rated blade is Feather. This isn't to say that it is a bad blade. I fact, I used one this morning. The worst blade that I've used was a Merkur. I'm sure the reason I feel that Feathers are over-rated is due to my unrealistic expectations of how good they would be. From all the praise I had read about them, I almost assumed that I could wave one over my face and have a shave so close that nothing I had tried before them could compare. I've probably shaved with on a good 100 times by now, and while I get a BBS shave, they are no closer than most of the other blades, and more likely than most to leave my face irritated. I bought fifty blades a few years ago, and don't see myself buying more once they are gone.

My most under-rated are Derby. I expected them to tear my face up, and was pleasantly surprised by the smooth, close shaves they give me. I actually prefer them to Feathers. The shaves are just as close with less irritation. They aren't quite as smooth as Iridiums or Med Preps, but for the price, I am happy with them. I all honesty, when I finish the 100 I bought, Irobably won't buy more of these either. That's only because that, for about the same price, I find Astra SPs to be even better.

Mike

 

[lowjax]

Overrated - Derby
Underrated - Red Personnas

 

[Luc]

From my DE days...

Overrated: Feather - sharp yes, smooth, no
underrated : I'm throwing Merkur in. Too expensive to be in the regular rotation but still a middle of the road blade. However, if I have to go with affordable and good, I was very impressed by the Indian Zorrik blades. They were similar to Astra SP

YMMV!

 

[Cobre]

Overrated - Gillette Blacks, super sharp AND super irritant on my skin
Underrated - Astras all the way

 

[5savages]

I'm surprised to see Derby as an overrated blade. I never knew anyone ranked them high enough to be considered overrated.

Overrated: I've found one yet, but then I've not tried many of the highly rated blades such as Feather.
Underrated: Racer

 

[Jimbo]

I'm not even going to get into this.

 

[creamgravy]

Over-rated: None yet, there'll be razor combo to suit the blade somewhere.

Over-hyped: Anything Russian, prices seem to be going up and up.

Under-rated: Lord cool, absolutely love these.

 

[theologist]

I think the Greek Bic blades are under-rated.

 

[keithmax]

Overrated: Astra there seem to be a lot of fans but these blades tore up my face and I could not get a close shave. I tried more than 10 always the same result.

Underrated: Permasharp

 

[Daiku]

Personna Labs are underrated, IMHO, probably because they suffer in comparison to Meds. I get GREAT shaves with Labs, and they're very affordable. Labs are almost as good as Reds to me, and Reds are my favorite blade.

Overrated? Maybe Feathers for those of us (present company included) who apparently don't know the secret of using them blood-free.

 

[bryan1980]

I don't know of any blades that are necessarily underrated, every blade seems to have at least a few vocal fans. As far as overrated, there seems to be a lot of hype about Gillette Silver Blues and Polsilver SI's going around right now. I haven't used either blade, so they might be great for all I know. But, if it's one thing that life has taught me, its that very few things live up to the hype applied to them, that the reality is always somewhere in the middle. As far as blades I have tried, 7OC blacks are pushed quite a bit, too. I think they're very nice blades, but they're not the end-all, be-all for me. I've found at least three other blades to be their equal.

Just to put this in perspective, I remember some people on here saying that Derbys were the most-hyped blade on the forum a few years ago. Who knows what it'll be in another few years.

 

[britewhiteram]

Most over-rated: Feather
Most under-rated: Red pack Personna Platinums

Feathers are awesome sharp and can give a good shave, but there are better, cheaper options out there, didn't stop me from adding 100 of them to my collection, I have yet to add the Platinums , but I really do enjoy them, for the price they are well made, comfortable and smooth

 

[talibeard]

Over-rated; Astra, any kind.

Under-rated; carbon steel DE-blades in general.


I could live with your choices as well:

Over-hyped: Anything Russian, prices seem to be going up and up.

Under-rated: Lord cool, absolutely love these.