Seriously confused on (what's suppose to be) the TOP rated (DE) Safety Razor Blades. List your favorite TOP 3 blades please!

[FireDragon76]

If there's a thread that needs some objectivity, it's definitely this one! The OP discovered how many varying opinions there are for the same blade.

It's interesting that those tests found Feather to be one of the duller blades.

I suspect Feather's don't have a very smooth edge, and people associate that with sharpness. The random nicks that Feathers seem to give also seem congruent with that. But that's just an hypothesis.

Gillette actually did some tests in the 60's and found that most blades are very sharp, however, people perceive less smooth blades being less sharp. This lead to the development of polymer coatings for blades.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

It's interesting that those tests found Feather to be one of the duller blades.

I suspect Feather's don't have a very smooth edge, and people associate that with sharpness. The random nicks that Feathers seem to give also seem congruent with that. But that's just an hypothesis.

Gillette actually did some tests in the 60's and found that most blades are very sharp, however, people perceive less smooth blades being less sharp. This lead to the development of polymer coatings for blades.

Lower number is sharper, he measures the Feather as the sharpest blade, on the first use anyway. He measures the Nacet as sharper than the Feather on the second use, etc.

 

[jmudrick]

If there's a thread that needs some objectivity, it's definitely this one! The OP discovered how many varying opinions there are for the same blade.

I am a great fan of the site and his work. And it is objective. But nothing there tells us what is best. It doesn't even give a clue as to how objective sharpness contributes to an overall assessment of blade quality because that is a purely subjective assessment. What it does best is demonstrate even "sharpness" is subject to great interpretation: sharpness out the box? sharpness after one, two, three shaves? Average? Consistency? Effectiveness on the beard? Head?

What I learned in comparing my personal preferences with the measured sharpness is that objective sharpness made very little difference (Sharp BICs and "dull" Treets being two of my favorites). Look at Chase's favorite blades in his subjective reviews, they are all over the sharpness map. He makes it clear that that he values consistency over raw sharpness as measured over the course of two head and beard shaves but odds are pretty good your mileage may vary as you have neither his beard, his head, his tools, or his skills, or his aims.

 

[SSGShave]

My favorite three:

Astra SP
Gillette 7 O clock Blues (if you can find them)
Feathers


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bkatbamna]

Nacets, Lord Platinums, Gillette 7'oclock green Russia.

 

[Mycroftxxx]

If there's a thread that needs some objectivity, it's definitely this one! The OP discovered how many varying opinions there are for the same blade.

that Is interesting, thank you

 

[B B]

The top blade I keep hearing about is Feather. Personally, my top three are, in order:

Personna Med Prep
BIC Chrome Platinum
Kai Double Edge

All three are effectively as sharp as Feather, but smoother. Of the three, Personna is the most aggressive, BIC is the smoothest, and Kai is mildest (distinct from smoothness).

 

[Ron R]

I have tested some new blades but have not updated my list. This is my latest list if it helps anyone that would be great. Like some have mentioned shaving is very opinionated & that is Ok.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Tanuki]

Hey SixCats!

Just the facts. After buying a self-chosen sampler of 100 blades, and getting through less than half of it, I have made four other 100 blade purchases (in chronological order):

Astra SP
Rapira Platinum Lux (considered Voskhod and Nacet but these won out)
Supermax Blue Diamond (wanted a non-Russian in the mix)
Feather Hi-Stainless (sample tuck convinced me to pay)

I use all these blades and give them to my sons to use. In DE, I primarily use OCs and slants. I am trying to make myself change blades more often and shave fewer passes and strokes.

Opinions over the four.
Astra SP mellowest, good choice for an unknown razor, or a new DE shaver
Rapira PL nice daily driver, effective, long lasting
SBD sharp and effective, alternate to Rapira PL
Feather very sharp, good for a close shave, too much annoying wax/glue, not a long haul blade, not 2.5X better than the others

A few rejects (based on a single sample tuck)
Bic Chrome Platinum didn’t last many shaves
Personna Platinum meh
Polsilver nothing special

Rejected based on sample blades included with razors:
Merkur poor
Timor poor

 

[Atlantic59]

Note: there are a bunch I have not tried.

Top:
Personna Med Prep
Nacet
7 o'clock Yellow

Honorable mention:
BIC Platinum (though a lot of people don't like them)
Astra SP (works pretty well in 37c)

 

[Tanuki]

Nailed it on post #7!!!

 

[Splinter]

Nailed it on post #7!!!

Look at the outpouring of advice and opinions since. What a rich and wonderful community to take every question as if it were asked for the first time and respond with such enthusiasm and detail. The biggest challenge is sorting through it all to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff.

 

[Razor_Ramone]

My top blades:

Gillette Wilkinson Sword
Gillette Nacet
Dorco Primes
Supermax Diamond Edge

Roughly in that order. I prefer the Wilkinson Sword because they are the perfect combo of sharp and smooth. They feel smoother than the Nacet to me, with the Nacet feeling a bit sharper. Dorco primes are just all around solid and a good shave. Supermax Diamond Edge are really solid blades as well. I need to buy a 100 pack of those.

 

[Rhody]

I honestly think that they are better now. They have this laser engraving towards the narrow end. I got a bunch given me by @mrdoug and for my face they rival GSB.

Of course, he didn't care for them, that's why I got 'em. So take my ringing endorsement for what it's worth!

thx
i bought 100 and by mistake ordered twice so ya lol
but fortunately for me i like them pretty darn good.

 

[something better]

Gsb
polsilver
Bolzano
Nacet