question on a blades first use.

[914fan]

I have always found that the first shave with a New blade pulls. that was always the case with the cheap disposable 1,2,and 3 blades, the cartridge 2, and 3 blades. from Bic, Gillett, and schick. I have had the same thing with the 3 different de blade brands I have used. 2 generic stainless made in usa, and the Walmart Wilkinson swords. the first shave feels a dull as the last shave, but the 3-5 in between are awesome. is that "normal"?

 

[QuantumX]

Howdy. That has not been my experience. With an Astra Platinum, Red Persona, or a Feather (especially) I found that they glided quite comfortably.

 

[BJC]

I used to have the same issue with Derby blades (horizontal packaging). After the first shave, things were fine until the blade was wore out. I've since found other blades that work better for me with no issues. In my current rotation, I have Feathers, 7 o'clock Gillette (yellow), and Red Personnas. The Red Personnas are my "go to" blade for daily shaving. They work well from the first shave till the last. I use the others for a change of pace or if for some reason I have a few days growth - which is rare. I have found all of these to be smooth. As in your case, when I tried the "supermarket" varieties, I had issues with tugging. My advice, try some of the other blades known for sharpness / smoothness and see if you can't find one you like better.

 

[jgkeegan]

I have always found that the first shave with a New blade pulls. that was always the case with the cheap disposable 1,2,and 3 blades, the cartridge 2, and 3 blades. from Bic, Gillett, and schick. I have had the same thing with the 3 different de blade brands I have used. 2 generic stainless made in usa, and the Walmart Wilkinson swords. the first shave feels a dull as the last shave, but the 3-5 in between are awesome. is that "normal"?

I have not had your experience with:

• Feathers,
• Kais,
• Astras,
• Irridiums
• Bolzano
• Bluebirds
• Red Personnas
• and several others

I did have a bad first shave with Derby and Merkur but they are bad blades, IMO.

Try a few better blades. Experiment. The brands you used are not well thought of.

 

[LiveOak]

I have the same experience. I use Derby blades (because I bought 100 of them instead of a sampler and am determined to use them all), and I notice the shaves in between are much better than the first and last.

Maybe that first shave serves as kind of a stropping for the blade, thus making any subsequent shaves better? I run the edge of my Derby blades on the palm of my hand (kind of a strop) for several strokes on each side. I learned this from someone here. I originally did it to remove some of the coating Derby uses on their blades. I was having reactions to it, but the palm stropping seemed to improve the shave a bit also.

 

[David in Boston]

Same here.

My goto and only blade is the Astra SP.

Great shaves however I have noticed that my first shave tend to pull just a bit. Follow-up(2 to 4) shaves are very smooth.

 

[rtt]

I've found my Derbys to be much smoother and paradoxically last a little longer if I "cork" them in styrofoam before the first shave..