The blade truly makes a difference!

[Kevan]

I posted not too long ago in the Clinic forum about my first experiences with a sharp blade. It was a Sputnik that I received as a sample from Shoebox Shaveshop, and it was very sharp but also very harsh. It left my skin tender. Prior to the Sputnik I had only ever used 3 blades, all of which with a reputation of mass suckage: 7am, Wal Mart Personnas, and Merkurs. As a result I had never had a BBS shave in 5 months with my DE, and I finished every shave with a final ATG pass with the Fusion, which resulted in BBS. I went through two DE razors before finding comfort in a Merkur 15c open comb, but I still didn't achieve BBS, so this week I finally (belatedly) ordered a blade sample pack.

And I'm writing this after perhaps the best shave I have ever experienced, thanks to a Gillette 7 o'clock Permasharp. Holy crap! The sampler contains 2 blades each of:

7 o'clock SharpEdge, Permasharp, and Platinum
Feather (I'm afraid of going near these)
Shark Super Stainless
And one each of Derby, Bolzano Superinox, and Zorrik

Anyway, I tried the 7 o'clock Permasharp first, and maybe it's because I haven't used many other blades, but it blew me away. I made the first stroke and said "You've gotta be f---ing kidding me."

I couldn't even feel the blade as it sliced off 3 days of growth. The shave was butter-smooth even on the first pass. In fact, I could've stopped after the first pass and had a DFS. The blade just skated across my face with no tugging or pulling of any sort, and I wasn't using a tallow soap or lanolin-based cream. I skipped the XTG pass and moved straight to ATG. After that, it was damn-near BBS already. I just needed the Fusion to touch-up a few spots.

The Floid hardly burned after the shave; just a little on my neck. I couldn't believe it. No nicks, cuts, weepers, irritation....it was the best shave I've had since starting this hobby back in October, when I still used a Fusion 100% of the time with cream and a brush. And I FINALLY understand now what people mean when they say a blade is sharp and smooth. I almost want to complain, since I couldn't feel the razor slice the hairs off like normal.

So...now I have to work my way through this sample pack. I don't want to declare a winner already, but the others have some catching up to do. For my face the 7 o'clock Green is a damn good blade.

I'm still sitting here faceturbating. Wow.

 

[tlanning]

7 oclock green, (russian I think) is for me the best of the 7 oclock group.

 

[Kevan]

The one that I used was the Indian green one.

 

[tlanning]

The one that I used was the Indian green one.

from asia? maybe thats the one I'm thinking of, been a while

 

[Kevan]

Must be. According to what I've seen, the "Super Stainless" greens are Russian, whereas the "Permasharp Stainless" are from India.

 

[tlanning]

Must be. According to what I've seen, the "Super Stainless" greens are Russian, whereas the "Permasharp Stainless" are from India.

Thanks

 

[Shave Cat]

There are two different Gillette blades in green boxes. One is made in India, the other in Russia.

-Clarke

 

[Kevan]

I'll get to see how the other 7 o'clocks differ with this sample pack. I have a lot of blades to get through....

 

[Topgumby]

Just tried a Shark. Liked it a lot.
Then again, I get good results with both flavors of Dorco, so I'm not a good bellweather for what most members like.

 

[tlanning]

Just tried a Shark. Liked it a lot.
Then again, I get good results with both flavors of Dorco, so I'm not a good bellweather for what most members like.

ACCORDING TO THAT "SHAVE-YOUR FACE" (opps) review (with the microscopic pictures) the sharp rated a 6 with the highest rating being a 7, (feather of course) I've been wanting to try them since I mostly like inexpensive blades

 

[Kevan]

My brother (who is constantly bemused by my shaving stuff) took one look at The Shark blade's packaging and said "Why do these things always look like they could've been sitting on the sink of 1950's hotel room?"

 

[Topgumby]

My brother (who is constantly bemused by my shaving stuff) took one look at The Shark blade's packaging and said "Why do these things always look like they could've been sitting on the sink of 1950's hotel room?"

That must be one of the reasons I like them!

Seriously, just take a stroll over to any number of "Best blade" or "Worst Blade" threads and you'll see plenty of evidence that there simply isn't one blade to rule them all...Even the much detested Merkur, Dorco and ASR Personna blades have avid supporters, and the famous Feathers don't work out at all for some shavers.

So far, I've been lucky enough to get decent results with every blade I've put to my face, and even luckier in that some budget blades (Dorco, and now perhaps the Sharks) work quite well for me.

If I'd come here and been scared off by the posts proclaiming Dorcos are duller than a phone book and worse than worthless, I'd have missed out on many fine, inexpensive shaves. Now, I'm certain that for some members they absolutely do not work well, but, as is famously said here, your mileage may vary, so why not try 'em all with an open mind?

I'd love to see a blind test of some detested and beloved blades, to see if some of our more passionate members would have the same results/reactions if they didn't know what they were using before they rated the blade. Tests like that with other products have given some eye-opening results. I'm not saying I'm immune, either: That mental image I now have of the Shark blades sitting on the sink of a 50's hotel room while Lana Turner shaves her gams isn't going to hurt my ratings of them any!