One blade guy

[luiscolon3]

I'm posting here because I've read and seen a lot of people that use and do good with multiple blades. That is not the case with me most of the blades I've used have given me sub par shaves, except for feather and polsilver which gave me a decent blade. I have no problem with the feathers they give me great shaves with minimal or no nicking and irritation but I dont want to be confined to a single brand of blade, here goes the rundown.

Dorco: These were the first blades I used, I know they're not really praised, but since I always have then available because I do my hairline shape ups with them and do a good job always so decided to give em a try first. These gave me some nicks on the neck ans some burn but shave was close and didn't hurt, but they go dull after like 2 shaves.

Feather: These were sensational and gave me the best shave ever, super smooth and sharp, no burn or hurt, minimal or no nicks whatsoever.

Polsilver: These felt smooth, got me relatively close, only problem was I got nicked a lot, last for a long time

Wilkinson: Bad! I got nicked a lot and gave me bumps in my lower neck like a cartridge razor

Gillette yellow: They're not that sharp like they claim to be, not a close shave, got me neck burn and they even nicked me in my cheeks!!

Gillette black: Really tuggy, felt like I was shaving with a good news razor

Astra: The worst shave ever, felt dragging on my face, nicks all over and irritation so bad that I almost screamed when I put the alum block to my face. After that I though that I might have caught a defective blade, But I wont risk my life shaving with this thing again.

I have the free merkur that came with my 34G and bought a 10 pack of red personnas but I won't even risk it, I'm sticking with feather

I wanna read from anyone who might have something to contribute or people that are having a case similar than mine.
Happy shaving!

 

[Lakebound]

I'm new to the game myself and have tried most of the blades that you mentioned. Besides the fact that this really is a YMMV issue, I tend to agree with your assessment of the Feathers and PolSilver SI's. I started with Derby's and tried one Merkur to begin with. I moved on to the SI's and was very pleased with the stability of the shaves. Now that I am more confident, I have made Feather's my daily shave and allow for the occiasional experiment with a new blade.

As cheap as all blades really are in comparison with the new carts, I see this as a win-win.

Next up, the straights! And I have a new to me blade coming in the mail today. Learning something new.

Frank

 

[luiscolon3]

That's totally true, cartridges are so expensive that make experimenting with DE's a small investment
I would like to try a straight to do my hairline shape when I do my haircuts, but it might be a waste of money, for now my 5 buck shavette with a half blade does the job

 

[Gryffandor]

I have gotten great shaves from all of the blades you mention & 3 of them are in my top 5 but I've been at it for over 50 years. I think you would be better served working on improving your technique rather than jumping from blade to blade. JMHO

 

[gus1942]

I have gotten great shaves from all of the blades you mention & 3 of them are in my top 5 but I've been at it for over 50 years. I think you would be better served working on improving your technique rather than jumping from blade to blade. JMHO

+1

 

[Cajunboy2k]

I've been using Gellette 7 O'clock green and yellows for the past several weeks. I've been really happy with them.

 

[nymtber]

Feather, for me, are not that spectacular, given their price. First shave is nice, some irritation but close. Second shave? Nicks, weepers, irritation galore. If they were priced at about $5/100 they would be a good buy for me. No more Too bad, first shave is great.

7 O'clock Yellow give me 5-7 good shaves.

Blades are definitely YMMV!!!

 

[VerbaVolant]

... for now my 5 buck shavette with a half blade does the job

This could be your problem.

 

[luiscolon3]

That is for shaping up my hairline as I do my own haircuts, I shave with a 34G HD

 

[VerbaVolant]

Ahhhh, my apologies, I missed the 34C part.

 

[luiscolon3]

dont worry my friend, your intention was to help out

 

[Neffarious]

Technique is most important. A year later I am back with vintage gillettes and they are like heaven compared to when i started because technique is king. Funny thing is psi and feathers are my bottom two. Weepers and irratation galore.

 

[razorhead63]

I highly agree with Neffarious above... technique really counts!! Most blades out there can be made to work (for at least one shave) with good technique... including good prep beforehand.

Feathers gave me good shaves, close, and all that... however they do not have the longevity I like in a blade.
The 2 blades that I mainly use now are the Personna Med Preps and the Permasharp supers. They are both quite sharp and give me a lot of shaves.... they are very economical.......

John H.

 

[luiscolon3]

Thanks, I will work on having my technique down pat and then give all those blades a second shot. and the longevity issue on the feathers its true, after the first shave, the quality of the shave notably declines, but they still don't burn me although I can get a couple weepers

 

[SteveWY]

Wow, is this ever an example of YMMV! It also reminds me of a similar place i was at in the first 3-4 months of DE shaving. I became quite an expert on blades. I diligently tested and documented all the attributes of several brands, banished the poor performers, elevated the better performers, picked on brand as my favorite and go-to blade, and found I had climbed to the top of the mountain.. Then about a year later I went back and revisited some of those really bad blades. I found that somehow those blades actually improved while in storage in a dark place. I'm not sure what happened there but I found I can effectively and comfortable use all of them.

Seriously, almost all shave quality issues are based on prep and technique. Hang in there and enjoy your shaves (and blades)!

 

[Mark_M]

I will preface this by saying that I have only ever used a Gillette Super Speed for my DE shaving. I've been doing this now for about 3 years. I tried several brands of blades over those years, and I have to say now (and I did not think this at first), that there *is* a difference between blades. I figure that my technique now is solid. What I find in the difference between blades is that some seem to tug less, some tug more. I'm doing this usually on a days worth of whiskers. I realize that if you go several days between shaves that you should expect a different shaving experience completely. I have not had a particular brand of blade give me consistent nicks or cuts. I rarely get them at all, it's usually due to my hurry or not being careful with the razor. I am tending now towards the blades that tug the least. Good thing they are cheap! My observation only.

 

[utahusker]

I'm a little curious of all the nicks you're experiencing.

I've been shaving for 40 years and haven't had as many nicks as you've described with your blade experiments. You may need to try a different razor.

 

[Red_Oak]

I have found that technique trumps the blade used. For example, with a Fatboy on setting 3, I can use blades such as Personna Red, Astra, Derby, Gillette Yellow/Blue with equal results.

Thanks