Polsilver SI, Gillette Silver Blue, and Feather Comparison

[srgjazz]

Used each of these blades in my new Merkur Progress set at 3.0 All blades 2 and out. SI gave a smooth shave no nicks or irritation. Silver Blue gave a slightly closer shave also very smooth. Feather gave the closest shave of all but with some nicks and minor irritation. Used my Kent BK8 with original Proraso cream for all.

Next will try the same test in my EJDE89L.

Anyone else out there compared these blades?

 

[duckdown]

Never tried a Silver Blue but PolSilver's are to date my favorite blade yet.

 

[Flashvictor]

I find silver blues almost as sharp as feathers but a lot smoother. While I like both blades, I prefer the silver blues. I have not used the polsilver.

 

[jwilock]

Now that's a nice group of 3 blades to be comparing. Each seems to be the favorite of many here.

 

[Danricgro]

Like SI's and Silver Blues a lot. Absolutely despise feathers.

 

[Early Morning]

SI probably has more coatings than either Feather or GSB. All three have a different face-feel, which is quite nice if you like variety.

 

[cfender]

All three of those blades are in my regular rotation with the GSB getting the most usage recently by far. For me the GSB is a better blade than the SI because it's sharper but just as foregiving. The Feather is the sharpest but less foregiving than all of them.

 

[Lather]

I like the GSB so much, I just ordered 100. They are smooth and actually get smoother on the second shave. I could probably get 4 shaves for sure.

Astras are awesome for me. Polsilver SI are next for experiment.

 

[Moondoggie]

I subscribed to this thread to see what you come up with. Thanks for posting your results.

 

[CB1]

3 great blades. Those and the Gillette Blacks are the 4 I probably use the most along with Astra SP. Most days I use an R41. The SI's are probably the smoothest for me. The Silver Blues are maybe a tad rougher feeling than the SI's (but I'm being picky here) but an excellent blade that shaves close. The Feather's shave the closest of all of them and are fantastic blades but there is a slight possibility of irritation or weepers. I can use them for a week of perfect shaves and then all of a sudden get a couple tiny weepers. So I probably wouldn't use the Feathers for a month straight whereas the others I could. All are favorites of mine though.

 

[srgjazz]

Polsilver SI in the EJDE89L was like a hot knife through butter. Unbelievably smooth. Close enough but not BBS. Stay tuned.

 

[joeunc]

Polsilver SI in the EJDE89L was like a hot knife through butter. Unbelievably smooth. Close enough but not BBS. Stay tuned.

I have the EJ89DL also and I put in an order today for some of those blades to try out. my favorite so far in my limited history are the Astra SP

 

[CoolGuy90]

I was looking for a blade that had similar sharpness to the Feathers, but the smoothness of the Med Preps. I finally got some Polsilver SI and these fill the spot. Curious to try these Gillette SB's, can anybody spare a few?

 

[rxonmymind]

Yes I have had the same set up as you. I find the GSB edge out the Pol' s by a smidgen while Feathers were in third place. Ymmv.

 

[srgjazz]

Now after using the blades in my DE89 I find that the Feathers are the sharpest and give the closest shave but the least comfortable. Polsilver SI are the smoothest and give the least closest shave. The GSB are right in the sweet spot. Almost as close as a Feather 95% as smooth as the Polsilver.
Overall best shaving experience is the Merkur Progress set on 3.0 with the GSB.
I just got a 1956 Gillette Red Tip. First shave with the Polsilver was excellent. Right between the DE89 and the Progress. I am also going to try the Astra SP blade.

 

[Lather]

I finally tried Polsilver SI. Today, was the second shave and it was better than the first. I got a smooth shave but there was some tugging. I feel that they are not as sharp as GSBs.

Feather wil always be a great blade for me but it requires a lot of care when shaving. A Feather in my Sledgehammer slant can be a deadly combination. That doesn't mean that I won't stop buying them.

So, in terms of ratings, I say:

Gillette Silver Blue
Feather
Polsilver SI

 

[silvertipped]

I just tried Gillette Silver Blues tonight. I liked it. Very smooth with no irritation. The Polsivers are great too. The Feathers were close for me with a few nicks. Prob bad technique as I tend to apply more pressure than I should.

 

[poikkeus]

Polsilver SI - sharp, clean shave as good as I've experienced
Gillette Silver Blue - almost as smooth and sharp, but the blades last seven shaves on a R41
Feather - extremely sharp, also kind of expensive

Can you go wrong if you get all three blades? Doubt it.

 

[ArmyMedicDad]

Never tried the Silver Blues (have samples of them though), but I really didn't like the shaves I got from the PolSilver SI or the Feather. I found blades 1/2 the price (or cheaper) that gave me much better shaves (and with far less blood letting).

 

[rodmonster]

It is incredible to me that members of this forum cannot even agree on what should be a simple question: Is the GSB sharper, or less sharp, than the Polsilver? Seems that members are pretty much evenly split. I can fully understand someone "liking" one blade more than another. That is subjective and includes so many other blade qualities. But sharpness is an objective quality that we should be able to agree on. Oh, well.....

I prefer the Polsilver to the GSB. On my face the Polsilver is sharper and smoother than the GSB, so much so that I traded away all of my GSB.