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Picking my next 100

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
Over the years I have tried a lot of blades and figured out that for my beard (72 year old beard and first guy in my class to start shaving) and shaving objectives (three passes, zero discomfort or unpleasantness, and typically a BBS 10) I like a mild razor with a fairly sharp blade. I also like a blade that will easily go two weeks and can go a month, thereby eliminating some of the more exotic super sharps. I had already narrowed it to PIR, Astra SP, GSB, Nacet, and Crystal. I was getting low on some (most) of them and needed to accelerate my winnowing. Using a blade for three weeks and another blade for three weeks makes good comparisons challenging. So I have squelched the Scot in me and have been doing 2-3 use runs and A/B comparisons. Current rankings are PIR and Astra tied for last, Nacet a very close number 2, and GSB and Crystal tied for the number one slot. It is possible to rank the PIR (but not the Astra) higher if I use a slightly more aggressive plate (ATT copper regular rather than the usual copper mild), but the bottom line for the Astra and the PIR on my cheeks is that they are not as efficient as the other three. I plan to repeat this process a few times to avoid disqualifying or proclaiming the winner when a fluke may be involved. Everything else remains the same: Hot water for a pre, a Kent BK4, MdC Agrumes, a shower, and 4711 cologne for after. Above the Tie Windsor with CM1 and Kronos handle holds each contestant.
 
I am sure you have tried to wade through @Kennyg2019 thread about mild razors, blades do come up. In a mild razor, with your desire to have a lasting blade, I think you need to narrow down to Platinum blades. Others will tell you to order a box of Wizamets. I would recommend Bic Chrome Platinum. They are in between the Crystals and the Feathers sharpness wise and should meet your number of shave requirements. Otherwise, you will have to venture into vintage blades to find both sharp and long lasting.
 
Tried them, like them, thought they were a little pricey, could not get the blade life out of them that you do. You are a wizard in that regard.
No wizardry involved. I kept my eye out for a good price and when Amazon ran them for $14 per hundred I bought enough to last me until I’m 90, even if I change blades every Sunday. At $0.14 per blade I figured that was a good deal, especially since I like them so much.

As for getting them to last, I just take good care of the blades and prep well.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Gillette Silver blue Sharp & smoooth with reasonable longevity. 4-6 shaves then tossed, excellent blade.
 

JCarr

More Deep Thoughts than Jack Handy
Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum and Gillette Silver Blue are my top two blades. The remainder of the list includes:

Timor SS
Personna Lab Blue
Astra SS
 
Looks like our preferences are generally similar (’mild/moderate’ razor plus sharp, but not too sharp blade).

For what it is worth, my ’top-tier’ in no particular order:
Nacet
GSB
Astra SP
Personna red (Israeli)
Personna lab (or Med Prep)
I recommend any of these for bulk purchase!
:a29: :a29:
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
Looks like our preferences are generally similar (’mild/moderate’ razor plus sharp, but not too sharp blade).

For what it is worth, my ’top-tier’ in no particular order:
Nacet
GSB
Astra SP
Personna red (Israeli)
Personna lab (or Med Prep)
I recommend any of these for bulk purchase!
:a29: :a29:
Those are (were) pretty much what I have in my stash. The Israeli reds are dwindling. The Gillette Silver Blues are gone. I have three more Astras. The last Nacet is in my razor. It is only on day three, but if it lasts two weeks or more I will probably buy some. At first I was very happy with both the Personnas and the blues, but I hit a stretch of grabby ones. I wonder how you go about quality control in a razor blade factory. In my mind it woukd be very hard and certainly not down to the level of variances within a tuck.
 
Try the Lord family. I prefer the Lord Platinum, very sharp but smooth. The Rainbow, as sharp but a tad less smooth. The Shark Chrome, sharper yet but not as smooth. The new Shark Stainless may be the sharpest and I have read reports of 10 great shaves per blade. Crown, Racer, Big Ben, Asco, SilverStar, etc., are all great blades. YMMV but I think Lord is the best value in shaving.
 
I find the Rubie to be a little sharper and smoother than the GSB, not quite as sharp as a Nacet. I’ve never tried to push one past a week though.
A little late to this convo, but I have been in the process of pushing a bunch of Russian blades to somewhere between the 20 to 30 shave realm per blade. I might make a post with my results but I'm currently working on a rubie. Gsb and nacet both started a little nicer, but something about the Rubie is screaming 40 plus shaves to me...

So far I've hit nacet, gsb, Rubie, voskhod, ladas, ripera pl, and I think a couple others that I can't remember atm.
 
Looks like our preferences are generally similar (’mild/moderate’ razor plus sharp, but not too sharp blade).

For what it is worth, my ’top-tier’ in no particular order:
Nacet
GSB
Astra SP
Personna red (Israeli)
Personna lab (or Med Prep)
I recommend any of these for bulk purchase!
:a29: :a29:

Amen. This would be my list as well.
 
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