Question while waiting for my shipment to arrive

[jholbrook]

So I ordered my DE shaving setup from Italian Barber.

I see everybody seems to recommend trying out different blades so I ordered the 50 blade Sampler pack:

10 (1 pack of 10) Feather New Hi Stainless Double Edge Blades - Made in Japan

10 (2 packs of 5) Astra Superior Platinum Double Edge Blades - Made in Russia

10 (2 packs of 5) Lord Platinum Double Edge Blades - Made in Egypt

10 (1 pack of 10) Lord Super Stainless Double Edge Blades - Made in Egypt
10 (2 packs of 5) Bolzano Superinox Double Edge Blades - Made in Germany



Any tips/tricks/recommendations on which blades I should try out first? Any here that I should wait to try until I know what the heck I'm doing?


Thanks.

 

[Weaselsrippedmyflesh]

What razor are they going into?

 

[hold-fast]

I wouldn't start with the Feather. It's very sharp. The Astra SP is a nice middle of the road blade, a 100 pack will cost you $17. Never used the others.

 

[ThomasB98908]

The Astra SP's are great blades. What razor will you be using? With some razors, they work better with different blades than others. Looks like you have a good sampling to start with. The Astra's are my daily blade but alot of people like the Feathers which I believe are about the sharpest blade out there. Good luck in your search for the blade for you.

 

[jholbrook]

Holy crap. I can't believe how fast I get responses on this forum. This is awesome.

I'm getting the Merkur 38C.

 

[Taproot]

+1 on Astras

 

[tinashubby]

I don't understand why people advise against using the sharpest blade you can find. Irritation is more likely with a dull blade, and either one will cut you! Out of the blades you've listed, I have experience with Feathers and Astras. Feathers give me a smoother shave than Astras, and Astras are much better than Derby's or 7am's IMHO. Of course YMMV...

 

[elmerwood]

+ 1 on Feathers

 

[oxford1833]

I don't understand why people advise against using the sharpest blade you can find. Irritation is more likely with a dull blade, and either one will cut you! Out of the blades you've listed, I have experience with Feathers and Astras. Feathers give me a smoother shave than Astras, and Astras are much better than Derby's or 7am's IMHO. Of course YMMV...

I'm not sold on this logic. Feather and Derby are generally agreed to be on opposite ends of the sharpness spectrum, and both give me a craptastic shave with tremendous irritation. Hands down my two least favorite blades of the 12 I have tried.

I recommend trying the Gillette 7 o'clock series and Personnas.

 

[celestino]

Astra SPs!

 

[tomcj2]

I like the Feathers on day 2, 3, and 4 of use,( I almost always nick myself on day 1), but because of the cost I use Astra Platinum's most of the time.

 

[Klos Shave]

+1 on the Astra SPs. I currently alternate between Feathers and Astra SPs. Truthfully, every face, hair and technique is different. If you find a blade is horrible now, wait till your technique improves and try it again (in six months or so) and chances are you'll have a better go of it.

 

[blzrfn]

In my experience of the blades you listed the Lord SS are the mildest, so start with these if you are ok getting a semi-close shave without as much of a chance of carving up your face. The Feathers would give you a very close shave if used properly, but would punish you if your blade angle is off or if you use too much pressure. The remaining three are somewhere in between. I think the recommendation to start with the Astra SP is a very good one as I find that blade sharp enough for a great shave yet very forgiving.

 

[Seadooer]

Interested in finding what you think of the German Bolzanos?

 

[kmain]

I can use a Feather in my DE89 with zero irritation but if I put it in my Weber I have to be very careful...

 

[Elder Scrolls]

Try the Astra SP first

 

[Weaselsrippedmyflesh]

This is definitely a case of "horses for courses". I use feathers in my DE89 with no problem at all but never in my R41, I use Astras in that.

Part of the learning process for me (and I guess for everyone) is finding which blade/razor combinations work best. To this point, I haven't found "the one" blade that works great in every razor I've tried it in and I'm guessing that I won't - the razors are just too different.

 

[cpcohen1945]

I don't understand why people advise against using the sharpest blade you can find. Irritation is more likely with a dull blade, and either one will cut you! Out of the blades you've listed, I have experience with Feathers and Astras. Feathers give me a smoother shave than Astras, and Astras are much better than Derby's or 7am's IMHO. Of course YMMV...

I started DE shaving with a Feather, after some experience with a straight razor. It was a mistake -- I didn't understand just how sharp they were, and how light my touch had to be.

It took a while to understand what "no pressure" meant. They are my preferred blade, now.

The Astras are more forgiving, less likely to give razor burn to a new DE shaver, but still very sharp.

The Derbies I tried didn't impress me -- simply dull, compared to Astra and Feather. Probably a reasonable "transition blade" between cartridges and DE shaving.

. Charles

 

[Mick]

Use at least one of the Astra 5 packs before you even look at any of the others

 

[jholbrook]

Asking which blade to use is almost like starting a discussion about politics, religion, or GM vs Ford. (Of course everybody knows Ford is #1!...hehehehe)

Thanks for all the feedback. Greatly appreciated.