Used a Feather for the first time... not what I expected at all.

[Umma2gumma]

That blade has such a fearsome reputation, I was afraid to use it even though I ordered them with my very first sample pack.

Finally, I felt adventurous enough that I decided to try it two weekends ago. Updated my will, kissed wife and kids goodbye, took a really hot shower, put the blade in my mildest razor (Baili 176) and shaved, fully expecting my face to be shredded like sashimi.

Well... it was smooth and completely painless.

OK... so the following day, I put it in my Variant (shave #2). Set it to a mild 1.5 setting... same thing. Smooth and painless.

Finally, I grew bold and set the Variant to 3 (I use 3.5 for my daily shaves with Astra). Very carefully shaved... smooth and pretty painless, with some very mild irritation in my most sensitive area.

All in all, I got four great shaves out of it. On the fifth shave, it felt a bit dull & I tossed it afterwards.

So, if anything, that fearsome Feather felt like Astra SP Deluxe - producing an even smoother, even more comfortable shave. And to date, out of all blades I've tried before, ASP was the best one in smoothness and comfort.

Now, I probably won't change to Feathers anytime soon. The difference in comfort was not great enough to justify the difference in price, and I have a feeling that if I was not very careful with it, I'd easily cut myself - ASP is rather forgiving. But, it was a pleasant surprise... and I have nine more sitting in the pack !

While the difference

 

[John Rose]

That's similar to my experience. Astra SP gets better after 5, Feathers go downhill.

 

[RayClem]

That blade has such a fearsome reputation, I was afraid to use it even though I ordered them with my very first sample pack.

Finally, I felt adventurous enough that I decided to try it two weekends ago. Updated my will, kissed wife and kids goodbye, took a really hot shower, put the blade in my mildest razor (Baili 176) and shaved, fully expecting my face to be shredded like sashimi.

Well... it was smooth and completely painless.

OK... so the following day, I put it in my Variant (shave #2). Set it to a mild 1.5 setting... same thing. Smooth and painless.

Finally, I grew bold and set the Variant to 3 (I use 3.5 for my daily shaves with Astra). Very carefully shaved... smooth and pretty painless, with some very mild irritation in my most sensitive area.

All in all, I got four great shaves out of it. On the fifth shave, it felt a bit dull & I tossed it afterwards.

So, if anything, that fearsome Feather felt like Astra SP Deluxe - producing an even smoother, even more comfortable shave. And to date, out of all blades I've tried before, ASP was the best one in smoothness and comfort.

Now, I probably won't change to Feathers anytime soon. The difference in comfort was not great enough to justify the difference in price, and I have a feeling that if I was not very careful with it, I'd easily cut myself - ASP is rather forgiving. But, it was a pleasant surprise... and I have nine more sitting in the pack !

While the difference

Although Feather's are very sharp on the first shave, they quickly lose sharpness. My beard is so tough on razor blades that I cannot even get three full shaves from a Feather. Because you used the extremely sharp Feather on it first shave in an extremely mild razor, it worked easily. By the time you got to a setting of 3 on your Variant, the blade had already dulled significantly. If you had put a new Feather in your Variant on a setting of 3.5, you would have felt the true sharpness of the blade.

I will use up the Feather's I have in a mild razor primarily for cleanup passes. They are too expensive for daily use since I cannot get three shaves out of them.

 

[mawashi]

That blade has such a fearsome reputation, I was afraid to use it even though I ordered them with my very first sample pack.

Finally, I felt adventurous enough that I decided to try it two weekends ago. Updated my will, kissed wife and kids goodbye, took a really hot shower, put the blade in my mildest razor (Baili 176) and shaved, fully expecting my face to be shredded like sashimi.

Well... it was smooth and completely painless.

OK... so the following day, I put it in my Variant (shave #2). Set it to a mild 1.5 setting... same thing. Smooth and painless.

Finally, I grew bold and set the Variant to 3 (I use 3.5 for my daily shaves with Astra). Very carefully shaved... smooth and pretty painless, with some very mild irritation in my most sensitive area.

All in all, I got four great shaves out of it. On the fifth shave, it felt a bit dull & I tossed it afterwards.

So, if anything, that fearsome Feather felt like Astra SP Deluxe - producing an even smoother, even more comfortable shave. And to date, out of all blades I've tried before, ASP was the best one in smoothness and comfort.

Now, I probably won't change to Feathers anytime soon. The difference in comfort was not great enough to justify the difference in price, and I have a feeling that if I was not very careful with it, I'd easily cut myself - ASP is rather forgiving. But, it was a pleasant surprise... and I have nine more sitting in the pack !

While the difference

I had the same experience and its become one of my regular blades. I love how effortless it cuts through my wire whiskers.

That's similar to my experience. Astra SP gets better after 5, Feathers go downhill.

I managed to get 30 shaves outta one blade but that record has been surpassed by a BIC... 40+ and still going lol.

They are too expensive for daily use since I cannot get three shaves out of them.

That I agree they are too expensive. However, HereticHermit says Thailand has cheap feathers so I'll grab a bunch when I'm there the next time.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

 

[Umma2gumma]

I don't just have wire whiskers. I have a wire brush, a.k.a. dragon teeth growing all over my very sensitive face. I could probably grate cheese on my stubble . For me, Astra starts feeling noticeably more dull after four, tops five shaves.

 

[sharpstar90]

My beard and skin are the same. For me, nacets, silver blues, and permasharps are uncomfortable. It's like they scrape the skin as they cut the hair. For me, Feather is so sharp, it just cuts the hair. I don't know why, but it does. What nicks I get are so fine, they bleed and then disappear. Yet I get no face irritation the way I do with other "sharp" blades.

I can get 3 shaves from a Feather, which is exactly the same as any other blade. The fourth shave is dicey for me, whether it's a Rubie, Wilkinson, Astra, whatever. Tough hair and sensitive skin combo is a different animal.

 

[fast shaver]

The Feather blade works great for me. I got X10 DFS's from the only blade I had.

 

[Zen Shaver]

I’m a fan of Feathers. They work well for me in any razor I put them in. I’ve settled on 4x shaves/blade. I just recently finished off a box of 200 and cracked open a 100 count.
They are more expensive than other blades but pretty insignificant compared to what I’ve spent on soap and razors. I believe I paid $45 for the 200 count. That would be 800 shave or 5.6 cents per shave.
Edit (more numbers): I typically shave 3 times a week, so that it would take 5+ years to shave 800 times.

 

[dmshaver]

Feather is the blade most feared by newbies. No need to fear it, just have proper technique.

 

[John Rose]

Feather is the blade most feared by newbies.

Only because of the tales told around the campfire, with the flashlight under our chin.

 

[Juanmosey]

Feathers in my 1904 are no sharper to me than any other sharp blade. In my old Super Speed I would be very careful. Just got through with one yesterday.

 

[RayClem]

Feather is the blade most feared by newbies. No need to fear it, just have proper technique.

How many newbies have you met that shaved with proper technique??? Technique evolves with experience, something a newby does not yet have.

 

[BigJ]

For me Feathers are just a bit too sharp out of the wrapper. As noted by many, they don’t stay sharp for long.

The only razor that I found a perfect match was the AS/D2: perfect! Still, everyone should give them a spin!!

 

[Mitzie]

As this post and others suggest Feather blades work best in mild razors. With the potential of a close (BBS) shave with virtually no nicks or cuts -even after repeated buffing. My favourite razors for Feathers being Baili BD176, Wilkinson Sword Classic (black plastic) and Yaqi Mellon...and, if I could afford one, the AS-D2

You haven't 'lived' if you haven't tried a Feather blade in one of the above razors

 

[Umma2gumma]

Well, today I put a fresh Feather into my Variant set to 3.5, which is how I've been shaving daily for the past month or so with ASP blades. While not a really aggressive razor at that setting, it's not mild either, and has a noticeably higher efficiency than Baili 176 (which I also own). (I'd compare Baili aggressiveness to Variant set around 1-1.5, but at that setting Baili wins because of its slimmer profile and wider variety of shaving angles that it allows).

Same exact experience as the last time. Like shaving with Astra SP on its second shave (when it feels the best) but smoother. If not for the huge price difference, could become my blade of choice, but it doesn't feel that superior to Astra, to be honest. OTOH, we're only talking 7-9 cents per shave anyway, assuming I can get 3 shaves out of a Feather... not like it's going to break the bank.

 

[Macduff]

That blade has such a fearsome reputation, I was afraid to use it even though I ordered them with my very first sample pack.

Finally, I felt adventurous enough that I decided to try it two weekends ago. Updated my will, kissed wife and kids goodbye, took a really hot shower, put the blade in my mildest razor (Baili 176) and shaved, fully expecting my face to be shredded like sashimi.

Well... it was smooth and completely painless.

OK... so the following day, I put it in my Variant (shave #2). Set it to a mild 1.5 setting... same thing. Smooth and painless.

Finally, I grew bold and set the Variant to 3 (I use 3.5 for my daily shaves with Astra). Very carefully shaved... smooth and pretty painless, with some very mild irritation in my most sensitive area.

All in all, I got four great shaves out of it. On the fifth shave, it felt a bit dull & I tossed it afterwards.

So, if anything, that fearsome Feather felt like Astra SP Deluxe - producing an even smoother, even more comfortable shave. And to date, out of all blades I've tried before, ASP was the best one in smoothness and comfort.

Now, I probably won't change to Feathers anytime soon. The difference in comfort was not great enough to justify the difference in price, and I have a feeling that if I was not very careful with it, I'd easily cut myself - ASP is rather forgiving. But, it was a pleasant surprise... and I have nine more sitting in the pack !

While the difference

@Umma2gumma your experience was nearly identical to mine! Expected a bloodbath and it was the literal opposite. YMMV strikes again!

 

[Suhrim21]

I have two tucks of feathers and am scared to use them. Would they be ok in a tech?

 

[naughtilus]

Yup. Feather, Nacet, Yellows, BIC, Perma-Sharp... victims of niche hobby groupthink.

 

[ghostlife]

The one blade that always 100% guarantees no irritation on my neck... love feathers and they'd probably be all I use if they lasted more than 2.5 shaves on my facial hair

 

[Feynmansbongos]

I have two tucks of feathers and am scared to use them. Would they be ok in a tech?

Yes 100%


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk