Personna Med Preps - This Feather User Is A Believer

[Phog Allen]

Gents, I recently purchased a ten pack of these blades from Bullgoose. Thank you Phil for breaking them down to trial size. It was $6.50 for ten which is perfectly fine by me. i did not want to spend $30-35 for 100 of them only to discover I didn't like them. I more than like them.

Let me set this up a bit. I have used Feather DE blades exclusively for about seven years or so. When I got back into DE shaving I was going to Walmart and buying Schick DE blades for about two dollars per ten pack and to be honest, they were rather good. When Schick discontinued them I was almost panicked. I HAVE to have a sharp blade. Many of the brands I tried were pure misery. Then I tried Feather after a few posts by our own Joel. I haven't looked back since. Or rather hadn't looked anywhere else til recently. While I love the Feather blades for their sharpness, the last few packs I have ran through have had some wide variance in sharpness and smoothness. Enough for me to consider other options. Frankly, the Feather blades I purchase a half decade ago were superior to the current run I was using.

So after looking over this forum I decided to get my hands on the Med Preps and the Personna Blue for comparison. I have seen the Prep blades likened to Feather for sharpness and smoother to boot. So the Prep was loaded up last Monday and used all week til this morning. And what a good week it was. Nearly as sharp as the Feather I think it was smoother and more forgiving. And it was more consistent feeling through the week. I used a wide variety of lathers from QEDman shave sticks to Mystic Water soap to Castle Forbes cream. It worked superbly with all of them and finished off a seven day run with AOS Sandalwood(tallow of course old boy). It worked about as good this morning as it did seven days ago. This is what Feather gave me years ago and has slipped a bit on now. This is a consistent meme I see through most of the threads about these blades. You are not getting hype from the lads posting about them. If you are a Feather user then do yourself a favour and at least give these a try. If you buy the ten pack from Bullgoose and don't like them then you are out a paltry .65 per blade and can easily PIF to someone else.

Cheers, Todd

PS; Next up, Personna Blue. If these work as well as the Preps then I have found a great blade at a fraction of the Feather and Prep prices. Thanks gents for leading me this direction.

 

[Cacique]

Thanks for the review, I'll be interest to see what you have to say about the labs. I got a couple through TGBE and while they were nice, I couldn't really go ATG with them, I got way too much drag. If I was to skip ATG, they're great. A lot of people say Labs and Med Preps are the same, in which case I guess they wouldn't work for me.

 

[MaxP]

Thank you Todd. I appreciate your trial and views.

 

[CanuckShaver]

Thanks for the review, looking forward to your view on Personna Blue.

 

[pdxshaver]

I have heard med preps are double washed "labs" or blues.
The double wash is supposed to be more hygienic possibly sterile.

 

[ArNav]

I like them very much too.

 

[Daiku]

Thanks for the review, and I too look forward to your opinion of Labs. I found that I preferred Labs after having used Feathers, Astras, and others, but I'm too cheap to pay for Meds.. Actually, I'm working through a backstock of Reds, and then I'll be switching exclusively to my collection of 500 Labs.

 

[Phog Allen]

Chaps, I will give you a mid week update on the Personna Lab or Blues or whatever they call them. First shave Sunday was a bit tricky. The start was not nearly as smooth as the Med Preps. Knowing better than to discount the ability of one shave to sort of strop a DE blade I approached Monday's shave with a positive attitude and was pleasantly rewarded with a much smoother result. I have used AOS tallow Sandalwood exclusively for three shaves to include this morning's(Tueday). So far this blade is holding up well. This is the seventh inning stretch as I like to call it. The last three or four shaves separates the men from the boys with my beard. Wednesday(well, technically today since insomnia is keeping me up right now) will see a shift to either QED mocha java or possibly Mystic Water Viola di Bosco.

I know some say the Labs and Preps are the same but I do not feel this way. So far at least. They are close, very close. But the Preps most certainly start out smooth as glass from day one. I also know better than to use each blade once and make a decision. So the rotation will start again next week. If these Labs come through with no irritation or pulling after five to six shaves I will be very happy. And maybe have found a $15 solution to sharp blades.

Cheers, Todd

 

[fuzinboston]

Congratulations on seeing the light!

I dumped my Feathers in favor of the Med Preps a long time ago, primarily because I couldn't get any reasonable longevity out the Feathers for the price (2 shaves max). With the Med Preps, however, I get not only longevity (4-5 shaves per blade), but also a smoothness and forgiveness not see during my Feather experience.

 

[VaJohnG]

Tried the Med Prep blade for the first time today on some 3 day growth (used EJDE89L razor) fresh from shower with Proraso Green...very smooth shave with 2 passes...in my opinion, way more forgiving than the Feather and just about as sharp.....absolutely NO irritation afterwards.

 

[VaJohnG]

Sorry - see my previous post for context: All of this is just my opinion...My impression of the Feather was that: A) It was darn sharp b) Caused me razor burn irritation afterwards C) Did not have that smooth feeling beyond 3 shaves for me D) Not sure it is worth the price difference - although since DE blades are cheap regardless, maybe this is not an issue

 

[bilkay]

For me, Personna Lab blades are a close second to Feather blades. A very close second.

 

[KRpdx]

Several months ago, after trying a LOT of different blades, I tried a MedPrep and they have become my daily, go-to blade. In an attempt to get a conclusive answer about the difference between the MedPrep and the Blue Lab, I wrote the manufacturer's customer service dept. That was two weeks ago, and still no response. I haven't had time to follow up, but am about to. I'm amazed that there is any debate at all about this. It's like this is classified information or something. Anyone get an answer from American Safety Razor?

 

[Phog Allen]

Gents, fantastic responses. A small update tonight and then final thoughts this weekend. The Lab blade is holding up well. Five shaves in and its durability is impressive. Maybe not quite up to the Preps but very good. I think I have some real options now. Stay tuned.


Cheers, Todd

 

[ricardo9505]

Phog, from your description of the meds I do not think they are even close. I use crystals, aka personna reds Israelis. They are farbetter than the blues, TO ME, and I always feel some tug on a 2 day growth as opposed to the Reds, all things equal.
I bought 50 and PIF'd some to my brother and barber. Still have a few. I have got to try the meds next as I hear so much great feedback. This clears some things up in the "Blues being the same as teh meds". Even the look of the blues is cheap. smeared print on the blades.

 

[razorhead63]

I love the Med Preps... sharp SMOOTH Reliable, long lasting. I recently bought 250 of them for 55 bucks (Robbins Instruments)
They are my most numerous blade in my stash, blade wise I am set for years..... as I usually get over 10 shaves per blade......
In my opinion, they are superior to most other blades......

John H.

 

[Viseguy]

I don't see a big difference between Med Preps and Labs. (I know that others disagree.) They are both first-class blades in my book. Labs/Med Preps and Indian Greens are my top 2.

 

[Chadao]

[Enter Rod Serling] "Phog Allen is preparing to shave." [Camera zooms in on Phog's back, standing in front of the bathroom mirror.] "Phog thinks this is a normal day, a normal shave. What he doesn't realize is, [Cue music, da-da-da-da; da-da-da-da] "Phog is entering the Personnas of the Mysteries..."" [da-DAH!!!]

 

[Phog Allen]

Okay lads. A final thought about this. I used a new Med Prep today to go through the rotation again. I will say that to me the blade is different to the Labs. It is not magnitudes of percentages but noticeable to me. It just feels better on my skin. So for me, the two blades are not the same.

I have decided to go with the Med Preps for now. Reasons. The Labs are half the price and I may revisit them yet. However, if I wind up using two per week as I was relegated to with the Feathers, then any savings is lost. I did not mind the price of Feather blades. I bought them from our own dridiot from Singapore. About 28-30 per hundred. So using the Labs at two per week(not necessarily mandated, they are smoother than the current Feathers) would put me back at approximately 30 cents per week. Might as well use the Med Preps and done. And I am not unhappy about the cost. Very cheap I think. What drove me from the Feathers was performance pure and simple. I was going through two a week. So at 60 cents per week I was in the Kai DE territory. That may be another blade I try as well. To sum up, both of these blades are great. The Labs are MORE than serviceable and for those of us with what I call tough 'close' beards(think growing at a very steep angle from the skin instead of closer to straight out) the Meds are probably superior. Thanks again to the community for pointing these out.

Cheers, Todd

 

[slim62]

I agree Phog...the Meds are better than the Labs to me...Labs are just OK and my be good for the money but the Meds are top notch...they are not the same at all to me. I'm mostly a SE shaver but for DE I usually reach for a 70's vintage or Med Prep for DE.