Lets say I snuck into your bathroom and swapped out your current blade for one of yours of another brand, and fled undetected.
On your next shave how would you react?
On your next shave how would you react?
The gift for detecting subtle differences
- Thread starter Ron Scott
- Start date
If it was my Wapi, I'd be upset as that was my first straight ever. Pseudo-Santa, if you do come by my house, I prefer 1/4-1/2 hollows with a french or round tip.
Oh.... I see. You meant DE blades
Oh.... I see. You meant DE blades
I would know; nothing is quite as sharp and smooth as my Polsilvers.
Each brand's blade edge is microscopically different, some feel the same and some don't. I guess it would depend on whether or not the blade that was swapped was similar or different than the one before it.
It would depend. I'm not like the blade equivalent of a wine taster "Ah yes, hints of vanadium and chromium with a 20.5 degree secondary bevel". If you swapped out a Crystal for a Personna Red, I would not be able to tell. If you put in a Spoiler (sharper) or a Rapira / Ladas / Sputnik (rougher) I would know immediately.
I have, in fact, occasionally forgotten which blade I had in, thought it was something else, and stopped my shave to check what was up.
Derek
I have, in fact, occasionally forgotten which blade I had in, thought it was something else, and stopped my shave to check what was up.
Derek
I'm still experimenting so I'm keenly aware of small differences in my shave.
For me it really depends on the blade. I like smooth blades and would now immediately if you put in a Sputnik. However, if you put in a Lord, Personna Med or Lab blade, etc., I would continue shaving.
+1. If I am shaving with a Red Personna and you switch it with a Derby, I would probably notice. But, if I am shaving with a Gillette Blue and you switch it for an Astra, I doubt I would know. Really though, I have settled on using one blade brand continuously, so my focus isn't on the blade performance and I would be slow to notice a difference.
If it was my Wapi, I'd be upset as that was my first straight ever. Pseudo-Santa, if you do come by my house, I prefer 1/4-1/2 hollows with a french or round tip.
Oh.... I see. You meant DE blades
As others have said, it would really depend on the blade. I'd notice if you swapped in a Derby or Merkur. But any of the sharper blades, I might notice something a bit different but not be sure what to attribute it to.
blind tests have already demonstrated that
1) wine experts chose CA white over FR white, after declaring that FR is better
2) beer experts chose an American brew over the imports in a similar setting
3) audio experts were unable to reliably identify "high end" speaker cables from the regular type of wire
i suspect that a test with DE blades would be similar
1) wine experts chose CA white over FR white, after declaring that FR is better
2) beer experts chose an American brew over the imports in a similar setting
3) audio experts were unable to reliably identify "high end" speaker cables from the regular type of wire
i suspect that a test with DE blades would be similar
This reminds me of a story a friend of mine - a non-smoker - once shared with me about cigarettes. His buddy was a smoker who claimed he could tell his favorite brand of cigarettes from any other. So they decided to conduct a test. The smoker was blindfolded while my non-smoking friend lit a cigarette, brand unknown to the smoker, and handed it to him to see if he could tell the difference. Only problem was, my non-smoking friend, quite by accident - well, he said it was an accident - handed it to him wrong way and the smoker then put the lit end to his lips. End of experiment - he could tell right away that something was different.
Depends on the razor for me . The Progress , I'd never know the difference . Any other razor , I'd know right away .
I wouldn't notice. All the blades in my house are there because I prefer them to others. All are my ideal level of performance and very similar. Switch one out with any in my stash.
Probably wouldn't notice the difference unless you switched with a couple of specific blades that have worked horribly for me in the past -- like Thai Red Gillettes. Since I'm a Derby and Shark user, in most cases I would probably think, "Wow! I got an extra good blade today!"
No reaction at all.
It happens so often that I'm used to it.
It happens so often that I'm used to it.
I agree this would be the case, but if a FR wine drinker (who drank it because they felt it was better) had their wine switched to a CA brand, would they notice? I would bet that they might.
I do not normally drink soda. Almost never actually, and I could take any blind taste test under the sun and know they were all different, but I couldn't tell you what they were from lack of experience. I would still know there was a difference. I feel the same would apply if your blade was secretly switched; unless there is no perceptible difference to begin with. The question would be moot if that were the case.
It really depends on which brands are involved. I have a few that perform about the same, with no noticeable differences. However, If you put a derby or a merkur in my razor, I would know it immediately.
If you didn't swap my Lab Blue for a GSB or vice versa I'd probably follow the blood trail, pry my pit bull off your gluteus maxmus, and recover my blade. Then I'd give Ol' Rover a doggie treat if he had any appetite left.
Just kiddin' but if was any blade other than those two I think I'd notice at this point. Nothing else I've tried comes close to those two.
Just kiddin' but if was any blade other than those two I think I'd notice at this point. Nothing else I've tried comes close to those two.Just because there are some examples of instances where people have gotten it wrong, it doesn't mean there are no noticeable and important differences between the given options. I think Oscroft's blind blade tests have shown quite well that many of the impressions that we had come to agree on regarding certain blades do hold up well to blind tests. I am by no means a wine expert and I have shown more than once in blind tests I can pick out the wines I don't like without having to see the label - a seasoned sommelier would be able to do more. The same is true for beer.
I appreciate that we can't all be snobs and suggest that we can tell the difference between 2 blades, labels of wine, beer, etc. at 200 yards, but there are significant differences between the available options.
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