There is an entrenched cultural tendency to take the mantra that your mileage may vary to its absurd extreme. The truth is that there is an important subjective component, and an important objective component.
I see it the most with blades, where many seem to think that every blade is equal to every other blade, except for subjective personal experience. Yes, you should only consider buying 1000 of the one you actually tried and like, and many people will prefer something else. At the end of the day, you want to have the things that you like.
That doesn't mean evey blade has equal merits, or is equally worth trying. It doesnt mean a new shaver looking to find a favorite should start with the Samah and Lord catalogs since they can be had at the lowest prices. If one company tends to make balanced blades and another tends to make blades with one edge 20% sharper than the other, blades from company A are better. Some for making blades near your own nominal specification.
Sure you might like a mild blade when most prefer something sharper. Sure, you might like a tuggy blade when most prefer a smooth one. But blades with poor balance, poor lot consistently, duds, improper alloys, bad heat treatment, edges with dead spots from stray abrasives or sloppy grinding belts, everyone should try to avoid these things. There is no upside. They are inferior and a waste of your money and time unless you just want to be amused.
With an inconsistent blade, maybe you like it and I don't, not because it is subjective, but because you got a good one and I got a bad one. When people disagree about a Lord blade, I would just expect this to be a factor.
I think it is easier to get a razor right than a blade, so there aren't many terrible ones and the subjective component is a relatively bigger piece of the picture. There are elusive great ones, but it is pretty easy to find a good one.
I have even seen people describe objective criteria as if they were subjective, like saying a blade "was sharp for me." An absurd belief. Whether the blade is sharp is not subjective. Perhaps yours was sharp and mine wasn't, but if yours was sharp, then it was just sharp, and if mine was dull, it was just dull. You and I aren't making them sharp or dull through our tinted glasses.
I see it the most with blades, where many seem to think that every blade is equal to every other blade, except for subjective personal experience. Yes, you should only consider buying 1000 of the one you actually tried and like, and many people will prefer something else. At the end of the day, you want to have the things that you like.
That doesn't mean evey blade has equal merits, or is equally worth trying. It doesnt mean a new shaver looking to find a favorite should start with the Samah and Lord catalogs since they can be had at the lowest prices. If one company tends to make balanced blades and another tends to make blades with one edge 20% sharper than the other, blades from company A are better. Some for making blades near your own nominal specification.
Sure you might like a mild blade when most prefer something sharper. Sure, you might like a tuggy blade when most prefer a smooth one. But blades with poor balance, poor lot consistently, duds, improper alloys, bad heat treatment, edges with dead spots from stray abrasives or sloppy grinding belts, everyone should try to avoid these things. There is no upside. They are inferior and a waste of your money and time unless you just want to be amused.
With an inconsistent blade, maybe you like it and I don't, not because it is subjective, but because you got a good one and I got a bad one. When people disagree about a Lord blade, I would just expect this to be a factor.
I think it is easier to get a razor right than a blade, so there aren't many terrible ones and the subjective component is a relatively bigger piece of the picture. There are elusive great ones, but it is pretty easy to find a good one.
I have even seen people describe objective criteria as if they were subjective, like saying a blade "was sharp for me." An absurd belief. Whether the blade is sharp is not subjective. Perhaps yours was sharp and mine wasn't, but if yours was sharp, then it was just sharp, and if mine was dull, it was just dull. You and I aren't making them sharp or dull through our tinted glasses.