But first, some exposition.
Since I started with a safety razor a few months ago, I've been on a quest for the perfect blade. Excaliblade, if you will. When you think about it, the blade is the thing that actually does the work. Everything else just makes it easier to use the blade. It's pretty cheap to try different ones, and it's quite interesting to see how differently they perform, especially when the design of the tool is superficially almost identical. Now, I have no particular special knowledge in this area. I really don't know what it is in the materials and manufacturing process that makes the blades so different in practice. I'm not an expert on metal or edged implements. These reviews are based purely on my own testing, which I thought others might find useful. Some restructions apply, results may very, not available in all areas, many will enter few will win, etc.
My barber rates my beard at about 4/5 on toughness. The hair pattern isn't especially dense, but the hairs themselves are mostly quite thick and dark. Sensitivity, I'd guess I'm maybe 3/5, but it's hard to say for sure since I own no other face to test with. I'm giving my barber the extra, unused blades, and she's slowly trying them with a shavette. There's a red beard she shaves weekly, and according to her redheads always have the most difficult beards. I'll update as she comments on blades, but as she's trying them at a much slower rate than I am, it may be a while.
I bought the majority of these blades on TryABlade, which is a great place to get small quantities of blades for testing. I have no association with them, just a satisfied customer. For all these tests, I'm using a Merkur 38c Barber Pole, Lucky Tiger aftershave, and Barbasol Original, brushed on with a Satin Tip brush. I know that Barbasol is widely considered heretical around here, and brushing on a canned cream is extremely redneck, but I have a few reasons. One, it's what I started with, and I don't want to change in the middle of testing blades. Two, Barbasol is consistent. I'll never get a bad shave because my ratio of water to lather is slightly off or something like that. Three, the brush also helps with consistency of coverage. Finally, I still haven't found a soap or jar cream that I like. Please, hold your suggestions, that's a topic for another time.
Now you may say, isn't technique the most important thing? Isn't it all about face prep, angle, and pressure? Isn't it a poor craftsman who blames his tools? Well, up to a point. After improving my technique, the blades I used at the beginning work much better now. I would cut myself at least once daily when I started. Now it's pretty rare to get cut, and I still manage to get a closer and more thorough shave. Still, tools matter. You can pound in a nail with the back of a screwdriver if you have to, but much better to get a hammer and learn proper technique with that.
Two things make me say that the blade is almost as important as technique. First, there are a number of blades that I've gone back to reappraise as my technique has improved. While I generally did better with them in absolute terms the second time around, in no case did it change my general opinion of how they compared to other blades. Second, and more recently, one of the blades I tested was so bad I couldn't even use it for a single full shave. I swapped blades in mid pass to one of my favorites. Suddenly, it was as though a thousand angels were dancing on the tips of every hair in my beard, lovingly mowing my face-lawn with divinely anointed and blessed miniature hedge clippers. So, tools matter, and not all blades are created equal.
My biggest priorities are good smoothness against skin, low hair drag, and closeness of shave. Price is secondary and only noted in a few cases. Longevity isn't a major concern for me, and wasn't tested. Most blades I only shaved with once. You might say that's not enough time to give them a fair shake, but again, none of the ones that I retested caused me to change my mind. I'm just not that interested in blades that give a bad shave on the first pass and then get better, or have quality control issues.
Having said ALL THAT, finally onto the blades themselves, in rough order from good to bad.
Would Use Happily
Astra Superior Platinum - Of all the blades I've used, Astra SPs slice through my beard like a hot knife through butter. Not quite the smoothest, and a little unforgiving on cuts, but seems to get the closest shave while being reasonably gentle. Super cheap, too. My first 100 pack.
Gillette 7 O'clock Super Stainless (Russian Green) - The smoothest and easiest to use of anything I've tried, but doesn't seem to cut quite as close as the Astra SP. A very close second, and my second 100 pack.
Gillette Silver Blue - The closeness of the 7 O'clock Stainless with the smoothness of the Astra. If only I could get it the other way around. Still a very fine and versatile blade. My third and final 100 pack until I need more blades.
Presonna Med Prep - I know this blade is supposed to be almost identical to the Lab Blue, but this seems to perform much better with less drag. A bit expensive, but great quality.
Polsilver Super Iridium - Extremely smooth for the most part, but seemed to get hung up on a few of the denser parts of my beard. Solid overall performance.
Voskhod - Pretty good. No real problems, but I didn't find the smoothness to live up to the incredible hype.
Gillette 7 O'clock SharpEdge (Russian Yellow) - Sharp, as the name implies. Takes almost a little too much off the top. Very similar performance to Astra SP, but not as comfortable.
Merkur - Not sure why people are so hard on this blade. It's not exceptional, but it's serviceable, and actually quite smooth. Way overpriced though.
Van Der Hagen - I'm pretty sure that a Van Der Hagen blade is just a rebranded Merkur, but I wouldn't swear to it in court.
Would Use if Necessary
Personna Platinum (Israeli Red) - An excellent quality medium sharpness blade, very smooth. I generally prefer something a bit sharper since my hair is fairly tough (hence the rating), but I'd definitely recommend it to beginners or people with light to moderate beards.
Feather - So the legends were true. RIDICULOUSLY sharp and requires great care to use. Somehow, the only blood I got was a finger cut when putting it in the razor, which has never happened on any blade before or since. Not my first choice due to unnecessary sharpness, but definitely high quality.
Gillette 7 O'clock Permasharp Stainless (Indian Green) - World's okayest blade, astonishing in its sheer mediocrity. It gets the job done moderately well with medium difficulty. Can't even touch its Russian cousins though.
Shark Super Chrome - Gets decently close without much pulling, but feels a little rough on the skin, almost like the edge is a slightly jagged or something. Acceptable results, but not the best experience.
Gillette Platinum - Though the packaging is similar to the popular GSB, this blade is much rougher. I'd use it if I had to, but I wouldn't enjoy it.
Would Not Use
Personna Lab Blue - Despite their good reputation, I did not like this blade very much. Pretty bad pulling and didn't get in close at all. No idea why the Med Prep works so much better, but it does.
Lord Super Chrome - A little better than the other Lord branded blades, but that's not saying much. Still a rather dull and unpleasant experience.
BIC Chrome Platinum - This little number is surprisingly sharp. Started out well, but left me feeling a little burned by the end. Might be good for those who prefer a smaller number of passes.
Astra Superior Stainless - It's crazy how different this is compared to the Astra SP. Much rougher and yankier, not a close shave at all. Only Russian blade I've met so far that I would refuse.
Kai - I don't know how a blade can both be uncomfortably sharp AND drag horribly, but here it is. Left me burned, and expensive on top of that. Big no.
Lord Super Stainless - Very dull and yanktastic. Not quite as bad as Derby, but not a good experience.
Lord Platinum - Sharp enough to cut my face, yet too dull to cut hair. How this works will have to remain a mystery, because I'm not using this blade ever again.
Derby - All smooth and no sharp makes Derby a dull blade. Good if you have a really light beard, maybe?
Shark Super Stainless - Exactly like Derby, only moreso. I don't think it actually cut any hair at all. So dull I couldn't even finish the shave. I actually switched to a Russian Green in the middle the first pass to see if the problem was something other than the blade. It wasn't.
Untested
There are blades that have caught my interest recently, since after my last order. If I ever get a wild hair and order from TryABlade again, this is what I'll get, but I've done enough experimenting for the very moment. Add to this if you want.
Croma Diamont
Gillette Stainless
Gillette Nacet
Gillette Rubie Platinum
Rapira Platinum Lux
Rapira Swedish Super Steel
Sputnik
Treet Platinum
Wilkinson Sword (German)
So there you have it. No, I have no idea why almost all my favorite blades seem to come from Gillette Russia. I must have some Russian in my beard or something. On the off chance that the Saint Petersburg factory ever shuts down, I guess I'd pay the extra money for Personna Med Preps.
Ladies and non-ladies, happy shaving.
Since I started with a safety razor a few months ago, I've been on a quest for the perfect blade. Excaliblade, if you will. When you think about it, the blade is the thing that actually does the work. Everything else just makes it easier to use the blade. It's pretty cheap to try different ones, and it's quite interesting to see how differently they perform, especially when the design of the tool is superficially almost identical. Now, I have no particular special knowledge in this area. I really don't know what it is in the materials and manufacturing process that makes the blades so different in practice. I'm not an expert on metal or edged implements. These reviews are based purely on my own testing, which I thought others might find useful. Some restructions apply, results may very, not available in all areas, many will enter few will win, etc.
My barber rates my beard at about 4/5 on toughness. The hair pattern isn't especially dense, but the hairs themselves are mostly quite thick and dark. Sensitivity, I'd guess I'm maybe 3/5, but it's hard to say for sure since I own no other face to test with. I'm giving my barber the extra, unused blades, and she's slowly trying them with a shavette. There's a red beard she shaves weekly, and according to her redheads always have the most difficult beards. I'll update as she comments on blades, but as she's trying them at a much slower rate than I am, it may be a while.
I bought the majority of these blades on TryABlade, which is a great place to get small quantities of blades for testing. I have no association with them, just a satisfied customer. For all these tests, I'm using a Merkur 38c Barber Pole, Lucky Tiger aftershave, and Barbasol Original, brushed on with a Satin Tip brush. I know that Barbasol is widely considered heretical around here, and brushing on a canned cream is extremely redneck, but I have a few reasons. One, it's what I started with, and I don't want to change in the middle of testing blades. Two, Barbasol is consistent. I'll never get a bad shave because my ratio of water to lather is slightly off or something like that. Three, the brush also helps with consistency of coverage. Finally, I still haven't found a soap or jar cream that I like. Please, hold your suggestions, that's a topic for another time.
Now you may say, isn't technique the most important thing? Isn't it all about face prep, angle, and pressure? Isn't it a poor craftsman who blames his tools? Well, up to a point. After improving my technique, the blades I used at the beginning work much better now. I would cut myself at least once daily when I started. Now it's pretty rare to get cut, and I still manage to get a closer and more thorough shave. Still, tools matter. You can pound in a nail with the back of a screwdriver if you have to, but much better to get a hammer and learn proper technique with that.
Two things make me say that the blade is almost as important as technique. First, there are a number of blades that I've gone back to reappraise as my technique has improved. While I generally did better with them in absolute terms the second time around, in no case did it change my general opinion of how they compared to other blades. Second, and more recently, one of the blades I tested was so bad I couldn't even use it for a single full shave. I swapped blades in mid pass to one of my favorites. Suddenly, it was as though a thousand angels were dancing on the tips of every hair in my beard, lovingly mowing my face-lawn with divinely anointed and blessed miniature hedge clippers. So, tools matter, and not all blades are created equal.
My biggest priorities are good smoothness against skin, low hair drag, and closeness of shave. Price is secondary and only noted in a few cases. Longevity isn't a major concern for me, and wasn't tested. Most blades I only shaved with once. You might say that's not enough time to give them a fair shake, but again, none of the ones that I retested caused me to change my mind. I'm just not that interested in blades that give a bad shave on the first pass and then get better, or have quality control issues.
Having said ALL THAT, finally onto the blades themselves, in rough order from good to bad.
Would Use Happily
Astra Superior Platinum - Of all the blades I've used, Astra SPs slice through my beard like a hot knife through butter. Not quite the smoothest, and a little unforgiving on cuts, but seems to get the closest shave while being reasonably gentle. Super cheap, too. My first 100 pack.
Gillette 7 O'clock Super Stainless (Russian Green) - The smoothest and easiest to use of anything I've tried, but doesn't seem to cut quite as close as the Astra SP. A very close second, and my second 100 pack.
Gillette Silver Blue - The closeness of the 7 O'clock Stainless with the smoothness of the Astra. If only I could get it the other way around. Still a very fine and versatile blade. My third and final 100 pack until I need more blades.
Presonna Med Prep - I know this blade is supposed to be almost identical to the Lab Blue, but this seems to perform much better with less drag. A bit expensive, but great quality.
Polsilver Super Iridium - Extremely smooth for the most part, but seemed to get hung up on a few of the denser parts of my beard. Solid overall performance.
Voskhod - Pretty good. No real problems, but I didn't find the smoothness to live up to the incredible hype.
Gillette 7 O'clock SharpEdge (Russian Yellow) - Sharp, as the name implies. Takes almost a little too much off the top. Very similar performance to Astra SP, but not as comfortable.
Merkur - Not sure why people are so hard on this blade. It's not exceptional, but it's serviceable, and actually quite smooth. Way overpriced though.
Van Der Hagen - I'm pretty sure that a Van Der Hagen blade is just a rebranded Merkur, but I wouldn't swear to it in court.
Would Use if Necessary
Personna Platinum (Israeli Red) - An excellent quality medium sharpness blade, very smooth. I generally prefer something a bit sharper since my hair is fairly tough (hence the rating), but I'd definitely recommend it to beginners or people with light to moderate beards.
Feather - So the legends were true. RIDICULOUSLY sharp and requires great care to use. Somehow, the only blood I got was a finger cut when putting it in the razor, which has never happened on any blade before or since. Not my first choice due to unnecessary sharpness, but definitely high quality.
Gillette 7 O'clock Permasharp Stainless (Indian Green) - World's okayest blade, astonishing in its sheer mediocrity. It gets the job done moderately well with medium difficulty. Can't even touch its Russian cousins though.
Shark Super Chrome - Gets decently close without much pulling, but feels a little rough on the skin, almost like the edge is a slightly jagged or something. Acceptable results, but not the best experience.
Gillette Platinum - Though the packaging is similar to the popular GSB, this blade is much rougher. I'd use it if I had to, but I wouldn't enjoy it.
Would Not Use
Personna Lab Blue - Despite their good reputation, I did not like this blade very much. Pretty bad pulling and didn't get in close at all. No idea why the Med Prep works so much better, but it does.
Lord Super Chrome - A little better than the other Lord branded blades, but that's not saying much. Still a rather dull and unpleasant experience.
BIC Chrome Platinum - This little number is surprisingly sharp. Started out well, but left me feeling a little burned by the end. Might be good for those who prefer a smaller number of passes.
Astra Superior Stainless - It's crazy how different this is compared to the Astra SP. Much rougher and yankier, not a close shave at all. Only Russian blade I've met so far that I would refuse.
Kai - I don't know how a blade can both be uncomfortably sharp AND drag horribly, but here it is. Left me burned, and expensive on top of that. Big no.
Lord Super Stainless - Very dull and yanktastic. Not quite as bad as Derby, but not a good experience.
Lord Platinum - Sharp enough to cut my face, yet too dull to cut hair. How this works will have to remain a mystery, because I'm not using this blade ever again.
Derby - All smooth and no sharp makes Derby a dull blade. Good if you have a really light beard, maybe?
Shark Super Stainless - Exactly like Derby, only moreso. I don't think it actually cut any hair at all. So dull I couldn't even finish the shave. I actually switched to a Russian Green in the middle the first pass to see if the problem was something other than the blade. It wasn't.
Untested
There are blades that have caught my interest recently, since after my last order. If I ever get a wild hair and order from TryABlade again, this is what I'll get, but I've done enough experimenting for the very moment. Add to this if you want.
Croma Diamont
Gillette Stainless
Gillette Nacet
Gillette Rubie Platinum
Rapira Platinum Lux
Rapira Swedish Super Steel
Sputnik
Treet Platinum
Wilkinson Sword (German)
So there you have it. No, I have no idea why almost all my favorite blades seem to come from Gillette Russia. I must have some Russian in my beard or something. On the off chance that the Saint Petersburg factory ever shuts down, I guess I'd pay the extra money for Personna Med Preps.
Ladies and non-ladies, happy shaving.
(Don't think I'll bother with Kai blades anytime soon...)
