Mystic Water + Gillette Silver Blue = Oh My!

[Darkbulb]

I went back to Mystic Water (Unscented) this morning as I wanted to see if the soap was as good as I remembered it to be before using a lot of Stirling, etc soaps...and oh yes...the MW soap is just plain incredible to me. It is SO easy to lather (in SF water) and the lather is fantastic.
So, I also decided to 'pair' it with a blade new to me - the Gillette Silver Blue.
Never having tried any Gillette blade at all in the past it was pretty uncharted territories for me.

My blades so far have been;
- Derby (I felt it was a bit 'tuggy' and rough),
- Astra SP (my favorite..up until now..),
- Personna Super (I wanted to like it but also found it to be 'tugging' at me and not as smooth as I wanted it to be),
- Voskhod (1st shave with the blade was sub-par but the 2nd and 3rd (with the same blade) was much smoother).

So I went to work and....oh..my.. THIS is THE best shave I've had so far.

The Mystic Water's super rich lather combined with what seems to be a blade that is both very sharp and forgiving (however that is possible...) resulted in a very smooth and troublefree 3 pass shave (WTG, XTG and ATG) and for the first time I didn't have the need to go back for a few 'spot cleanups').

So far I had assumed that when I order my first '100 pack' it would be of the Astra SP..now...I'm leaning towards the Gillette Silver Blue

Is the Gillette Silver Blue really this good? I don't see a lot of mentions of it compared to the love that Feather, Voskhod, Personna and Astra gets.

Disclaimer: I'm still a newbie so some will be due to technique improving over time but I can only state what my results are as I have them

 

[Jeff_H]

Darkbulb,

I'm glad at least some of those blades are working for you. To answer your question about the GSB, yes, they are that good. There hasn't been as much talk about them recently, as I see a lot of talk about the Voshkod and a few other blades, but the GSB is one of the most highly regarded blades around here. They offer a great mix of sharpness and smoothness, which is ultimately what everyone is looking for. Even if it weren't a highly regarded blade, if it's the one that works best for you that's all that matters. If you run a search for Gillette Silver Blue in the blade forum you will get tons of threads on the subject.

The nice thing is the price on GSB's has been coming down. When I discovered them earlier this year they were around $32 on Amazon, but I found them at another site for $21/100 delivered. Then this summer I saw them for $25-26 on Amazon. Just recently I saw a post where they were down to $21-$22/100 on Amazon. If you decide to buy them but can't find them for that price, shoot me a PM and I will dig up the site where I bought them.

The Astra will only cost you about $10/100, so the GSB is more, but definitely worth it. I bought 200 of the GSB and 100 of the Astra. Then 100 of the Israeli Peraonna's and now I have about 350 of the Voshkods. I need to get more GSB's.

Anyhow, glad you had a great shave and glad you like the GSB so much.

 

[Darkbulb]

Thanks Jeff, yeah I really enjoyed the shave with the GSB a lot.
I still got a few more blades to go through before I settle on what MY first 100-blade order will be..but if it ends up being the GSBs I may need that site

Update: It seems like Amazon still got them for $21.49 for 100.

 

[ClintO]

I blindly purchased 100 just because I'd heard so many good things about them but I just can't get a good shave out of them.

 

[Darkbulb]

I blindly purchased 100 just because I'd heard so many good things about them but I just can't get a good shave out of them.

Maybe it's time to sell them? :-D

 

[Oldschool]

I agree - the Silver Blues are really that good. I've been trying several other blades lately but still haven't found anything that I like better all around.

 

[5savages]

Thanks Jeff, yeah I really enjoyed the shave with the GSB a lot.
I still got a few more blades to go through before I settle on what MY first 100-blade order will be..but if it ends up being the GSBs I may need that site

Update: It seems like Amazon still got them for $21.49 for 100.

When I look to the right where it lists other sellers, I see $21.00 for 100 with free shipping.

 

[Jeff_H]

Razors Direct always has them for $20.99/100 with free shipping. If you are already ordering from Amazon and getting free shipping, it might not be worth the hassle to make an entire separate order from Razors Direct. But, there was a time when other sites were selling the GSB for $26-$32/100 and Razors Direct was $20.99. That was a no brainer. I will always buy from them because they've been consistent on price. Unless someone is selling them stupid low. I'm not a complete idiot.

 

[Darkbulb]

Had yet another shave with the blade and man - this time with a different soap (Stirling) and man, the GSB really are fantastic!
I'd say it's my #1 now...bumping Astra to #2.

When you keep touching your face to feel how smooth shaved it is..you know something was right