Recommended blades to try

[mwhals]

I am relatively new to wet shaving after giving up on the Mach 3 due to constant neck irritation and bumps (which are gone now! ).

With my Merkur 38C purchase, I bought Merkur and Feather blades. They are kind of pricey for blades and so I am wondering what else I should consider. I am using Taylor of Bond Street Avocado and like it. I am thinking of trying some other shave creams as well.

I am looking forward to the responses. Forgive me if this has been discussed in detail before.

Mark H

 

[dreadpirate]

Great mild blade; Red Personnas (so-called Red IP's)

Great medium blade; Gillette 7 o'clock sharp yellow pack

Great aggressive blade; Feather

A good shaving creme to try is Musgo Real; but only if you are not allergic to lanolin.

All of the above blades can be had at westcoastshaving.com. However - Feathers are cheaper on Ebay believe it or not.

 

[turkish]

Crystals, Dorco ST 301, Red Personnas and Derbys are all good blades that are relarively cheap and also more forgiving than the Feathers.

 

[zclake]

Feathers, Astras, Super Iridium, Dorco ST301 are probably my top blades, but I still haven't even made it half way through my sample pack.

 

[mwhals]

What category is the Merkur Stainless? medium blade? It seems to work real well for me, so a comparable one is maybe best. I am still trying the feathers, but they seem to last me for 3 or 4 shaves max.

 

[Aevum]

Merkurs are medium tending to mild,
feathers are sharp as an IRS agent, if you like them, you should check out KAI blades aswell,

as for the 3-4 shaves, yea, thats the avarage expectency of a DE blade, if you use red personnas like me, at 8-9 cents a blade, you´re not to bothered about it, since a mach 3 cartrige is around 40-50 times more expencive its not a big problem, but feather blades which go in to the 30-50 cent a blade range, we might have a economical issue here,

 

[Rancor16]

Super Iridiums are my all time favorites

 

[mwhals]

I am thinking I should try a sample set from Amazon. Any idea which one might have the best selections from which to choose?

Mark H

 

[americanarmsdealer]

As far as sampler packs on Amazon go, I found one from seller Wish4Star that has 18 different blades: Derby Extras, Shark Super Stainless, Crown Super Stainless, Lord Super, Lord Platinum Class, Lord Super Chrome, Lord Classic, Asco Super Stainless, Vidyut Super Max Platinum, Vidyut Super Max Stainless, Big Ben Super Stainless, Treet Classic, Astra Superior Stainless, Blue Bird High Stainless, Trig Silver Edge Stainless, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless, Feather Hi Stainless, And a Mystery Blade in no box, but still factory wrapped(?). I think the mystery blades are Kai brand. 100 blades total, and all for only $20 shipped. Been looking everywhere for the best deal with the most variety, and I think I may have hit the mother lode! I've been working my way through these, with mostly good results, and it's gonna take me a while to make it through testing all 18, but I think I'll have a good idea of what I like and what absolutely does not work for me when I'm done.

 

[rainman]

As far as sampler packs on Amazon go, I found one from seller Wish4Star that has 18 different blades: Derby Extras, Shark Super Stainless, Crown Super Stainless, Lord Super, Lord Platinum Class, Lord Super Chrome, Lord Classic, Asco Super Stainless, Vidyut Super Max Platinum, Vidyut Super Max Stainless, Big Ben Super Stainless, Treet Classic, Astra Superior Stainless, Blue Bird High Stainless, Trig Silver Edge Stainless, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless, Feather Hi Stainless, And a Mystery Blade in no box, but still factory wrapped(?). I think the mystery blades are Kai brand. 100 blades total, and all for only $20 shipped. Been looking everywhere for the best deal with the most variety, and I think I may have hit the mother lode! I've been working my way through these, with mostly good results, and it's gonna take me a while to make it through testing all 18, but I think I'll have a good idea of what I like and what absolutely does not work for me when I'm done.

20 cents a blade shipped is a great deal for a sampler pack.

 

[DE Shaver]

There are a number of blades to try and a sampler pack would be best. However, if I had to choose, some good blades to start with are...

Super+ Platinum (known as IP blades)
Astra Superior Platinum
Personna (Red Pack)
Derby Extra
Shark
Blue Birds

 

[Wheater]

I highly recommend trying a sample pack. When I went through mine, I quickly found which blades worked for me and which ones did not. (And some of them that did not work for me came highly recommended by other B&B members).

I have recently decided to go with two different blades for all of my razors -- Astra SP and Feather. But you need to experiment so that you can find the razor/blade combos that work for you. After all, it is all about personal choice. Good luck on your DE journey!!!

 

[tsmba]

"One man's trash is another man's treasure" applies to razor blades....you really have to try them to know how you will respond. Many folks like Derby blades, but I cannot stand them. DrIdiot is a great seller in Singapore, and he offers samplers. His prices beat many others, include shipping, and you'll be amazed at how fast your order will arrive.

Most folks love the Israeli blades: RPs and Crystals. At $10/$12/100 from WCS, they're tough to beat!

 

[ajkimmins]

http://westcoastshaving.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=295

 

[mwhals]

As far as sampler packs on Amazon go, I found one from seller Wish4Star that has 18 different blades: Derby Extras, Shark Super Stainless, Crown Super Stainless, Lord Super, Lord Platinum Class, Lord Super Chrome, Lord Classic, Asco Super Stainless, Vidyut Super Max Platinum, Vidyut Super Max Stainless, Big Ben Super Stainless, Treet Classic, Astra Superior Stainless, Blue Bird High Stainless, Trig Silver Edge Stainless, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless, Feather Hi Stainless, And a Mystery Blade in no box, but still factory wrapped(?). I think the mystery blades are Kai brand. 100 blades total, and all for only $20 shipped. Been looking everywhere for the best deal with the most variety, and I think I may have hit the mother lode! I've been working my way through these, with mostly good results, and it's gonna take me a while to make it through testing all 18, but I think I'll have a good idea of what I like and what absolutely does not work for me when I'm done.

That is the exact same one I thoughtabout geting. It doesn't have Merkur, but I already have tried those.

This place does rock!

Mark

 

[mwhals]

I found this pack on Amazon for 22 dollars by the seller Wish4Star:

100 of the best Continental Blades in the market These are brand NEW Double Edge Razor Blades 5 FEATHER Hi-Stainless (Japan) 5 KAI (Japan) 5 BlueBird (Europe) 5 Derby (Turkey) 5 ASTRA Superior Stainless (Russia) 5 Super-Max Platinum (India) 5 Super-Max Stainless (India) 5 TRIG Silver Edge Stainless (Pakistan) 5 Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless (Russia) 10 TREET Classic (Pakistan) 10 LORD Super Chrome (Egypt) 5 LORD Super Stainless Classic (Egypt) 5 LORD Platinum Class (Egypt) 5 LORD Super Stainless (Egypt) 5 SHARK Super Stainless (Egypt) 5 CROWN Super Stainless (Egypt) 5 ASCO Super Stainless (Egypt) 5 BIGBEN Super Stainless (Egypt)

I think I will get this set and try it.

 

[mwhals]

What about this one: westcoastshaving versus Amazon

I intend to try one of these sample packs. The Westcoast one has 10 more blades and includes the israeli blades, but is about $9 more.

Mark

 

[mwhals]

I need to put in a purchase really soon, so please have a look at my last post and help me decide what sample pack has the best options.

Mark

 

[mwhals]

Which of the following is the best sample package based on the brands? The two packages have few brands that are the same. Based on the above recommendations, it looks like the second package has a better selection even though it is more money. Thoughts?

In alphabetical order for easier comparisons:

100 blades $22

# ASCO Super Stainless (5 blades)
# ASTRA Superior Stainless (5 blades)
# BIGBEN Super Stainless (5 blades)
# BlueBird (5 blades)
# CROWN Super Stainless (5 blades)
# Derby (5 blades)
# FEATHER Hi-Stainless (5 blades)
# Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless (5 blades)
# KAI (5 blades)
# LORD Platinum Class (5 blades)
# LORD Super Chrome (10 blades)
# LORD Super Stainless (5 blades)
# LORD Super Stainless Classic (5 blades)
# SHARK Super Stainless (5 blades)
# Super-Max Platinum (5 blades)
# Super-Max Stainless (5 blades)
# TRIG Silver Edge Stainless (5 blades)
# TREET Classic (10 blades)

OR

110 blades $31

# Astra Superior Platinum (5 blades)
# BIC Chrome Platinum (5 blades)
# Crystal or "Israeli" (10 blades)
# Derby Extra (5 blades)
# DORCO Platinum ST-300 (10 blades)
# DORCO Platinum ST-301 (10 blades)
# Feather New Hi-Stainless Platinum (10 blades)
# Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (5 blades)
# Iridium Super (10 blades)
# Lord Platinum (5 blades)
# Merkur Super Platinum (10 blades)
# Nacet Platinum (5 blades)
# Red Pack Israeli (5 blades)
# Sharp (5 blades)
# Shark Super Chrome (5 blades)
# Shark Super Stainless (5 blades)



Thanks,

Mark

 

[mwhals]

If I get both sample packs I would have 28 different brands to test since there are only 6 that overlap between the packages. Any thoughts to this?

Mark