Well-loved blades which you hate

[John Rose]

Wilkinson Sword (German) - These are the blades I started with, back in the '70s. Now i just find them to be too rough. I seem to keep acquiring them though, as part of samplers or shipped with razors. Once in a while I'll try one.

Best first shave on a blade: QShave Titanium (shipped with the Futur clone)
Worst second and subsequent shaves on a blade: QShave Titanium
Seriously - the very first shave was sharp AND smooth (without corking), but it went downhill quickly.

 

[Robknock31]

Derby - Not sharp enough
Vokshod - Not sharp enough

 

[AshleyC]

Voshkods.

But they're so smooth!

No, they aren't. They attempt to shave you by pulling the hair out by the root.

And if there was a blade at that price or cheaper that did a better job, we'd all know about it. But we don't.

So I designate the Astra green as the minimum useabable.

 

[Timeclo]

Personna Lab Blue for me. I got a 100 pack after listening the NickShaves but it turns out, they're pretty rough on my skin. They're efficient but at the cost of irritation and roughness.

Also, Derby Extra doesn't work at all for me. However, there is a wide consensus that Derby Extra are dull blades so I don't know too many people that love em.

 

[les24preludes]

Polsilver for me. Not as good as Astra SP, and that means behind Nacet and GSB as well. Simply don't see what the fuss is about. Disappointed with Personna Reds too. Probably not as good as Rapira PL.

 

[Batchief909]

Voshkods and Astra SPs.....very disappointing.

 

[les24preludes]

Voshkods and Astra SPs.....very disappointing.

Astra SP needs an efficient razor. Works well in a R41, but there are sharper blades (Nacet etc)

 

[Penknight]

Voskhod, Personna Med Prep, and Polsilver Super Iridium for me.

 

[Penknight]

Voshkods.

But they're so smooth!

No, they aren't. They attempt to shave you by pulling the hair out by the root.

And if there was a blade at that price or cheaper that did a better job, we'd all know about it. But we don't.

So I designate the Astra green as the minimum useabable.

I understand your pain. I have to say though, Treet Black Beauties (carbon steel blade) are wonderful for me. If you get a chance, definitely give them a try. They were about eight to ten cents each when I bought 200 a few years back. Wonderful single use blade that I favor for heavy growth, and I don't feel bad tossing the blade when I travel with them on vacation. I find them smooth, but everyone is different.

 

[NPK]

As a new DE shaver (1 month...previous 30 years were electric)....

This thread has been both infuriating and comforting at the same time....I have a sampler that I am working through and have some very popular blades that I placed on a bathroom metaphorical pedestal. As I work towards those popular blades I hope that one of them will be the silver bullet....alas some are just "meh" and I second guessed myself which made me irritated (no pun intended...well maybe) but after this thread I have removed all mental pedestals which is comforting.

If I end up liking whatever blade..its for me and no one else....and it doesn't matter how it ranks with others.

Truly a custom shave experience just for me.
Perfect.

 

[karacha]

Feather. Those are THE most unforgiving blades ever. Sure, they are sharp, but I want an easy, smooth experience, not cuts, not irritated neck. Sorry.

 

[BigD]

Pal Super GEM SE style blades. I still use them, but they aren't as nice as the GEM PTFEs.

 

[Umma2gumma]

Bolzano. Three shaves, two chunks of flesh cut out of my face with zero warning. And I mean, chunks. And I have no problem with Feathers, so it’s not like I can’t use sharp blades.

Crystal. Irritation central. Although I am not sure that it’s a “universally loved“ blade.

 

[SuperMax_fan]

Said it before but I'll say it again. Kai-really rough blade and not well sharpened. What others see in it is beyond me. Hate them and I bought 50 of them before I knew what they were like. Too late... Feather expensive but nowhere near the quality.

 

[TFAshaver]

I use a 34c mostly and have had bad shaves with persona Israeli reds, derby extras, and shark blades. Were they horrible? No. Just not worth me buying them again.

For the Israeli Reds I got horrible burn from the two blades I tired. Gave them three shaves each before discarding.

Derby extras were to mild for me and only got more tug prone the longer I used them. First one made it four days before cutting me, second one only half a shave before I gave up on it.

Shark blade tugged for me so much on the first shave I only tried it once. Have the second one from the sampler sitting in a drawer.

All of these work for some, just not me.

 

[weizemanner]

Feather: They were never designed for your face and they remind me of that fact every time I use one. They are rough and irritating and have a big blob of waxy glue that gets on everything, and I always end up with a cut no matter how careful I am.

Shark: scrapes over the top of the hair. And scrapes off the top layer or two of skin. Thought maybe it was just me but they are coming up a lot in this thread.

On the flip side, I've been having good luck with Derbys. Which is the universally hated blade.

 

[Nacp]

Derby extra, Rockwell and Biali.
Came free with razors. Tried them and tossed them.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Voshkods.

But they're so smooth!

No, they aren't. They attempt to shave you by pulling the hair out by the root.

I think the problem with Voshkods is the amount of PTFE coating they put on them.

The problem comes in when the coating is so heavy, that the blade just won't shave.

It is a catch-22 situation. You can't get a better 2nd shave, if you can't get past the first shave.

When you shave with one that is not over loaded with the coating, you do get a nice smooth shave. The Voshkods do not seem to be a long lasting blade though.

 

[CCS]

I have never tried a blade that I hated. I've never found a blade that couldn't give me a decent shave 3 to 5 times and I don't keep blades after 5 shaves anyway. Voskhods are great in my razors for my beard.

And that's why I pay absolutely no attention to blade reviews here or anywhere else as to what I should expect with X blade/s. Of every single blade listed in this thread as "hated", any of them I've tried have been just fine. My favorite blades (as I have bought the largest quantity of them) are Feathers which I use, primarily in my AS-D2 and Ball End Tech. 3-5 excellent shaves with them and on to the next. I'm a daily BBS level shaver with a medium light beard and while fair complected, don't have the "sensitive" skin every other member here seems to have. I attribute my close, irritation free shaves, regardless of blades, to decades of experience (over five of them) and don't blame the tools.

 

[Knuckleballer]

Astra SP was over-the-top awful for me. Not sharp, very jagged like shaving with the edge on the top of a tin can but way more dangerous. They actually seemed to avoid the whiskers and go right for the skin. When it did manage to catch on to some whiskers it tugged. Gave me the only instance of real shaving irritation I’ve ever had. My face and neck felt like it was covered in angry fire ants all day. That blade also gave me the first actual cut I’ve ever had from shaving and it took a while to stop the bleeding. Have had my share of small nicks and weepers but nothing even close to this and it seemed the lighter the touch I used, the more dangerous the blade became. Amazingly awful for shaving but excellent for making one of those traps from the Saw movie franchise, or suiciding yourself with. It wasn’t like I was new to shaving with DE razors either I was about 10 years into it at that point.

In all honestly I really do not care for any of the Gillette blades I’ve tried, they all seem rough and jagged and do not cut close enough. None came anywhere near all the hype I’ve seen about them. If Gillette is the best a man can get, I’d hate to see the worst. They’re the only brand I refuse to try any more of since virtually every other brand I’ve tried has worked fine. Silver Blues were ok for me but not worth the price when cheaper brands have worked much better for me. Some better than others but I’ve yet to come across any Gillette blade that didn’t feel rough and jagged on my face. But the Astra really stood out compared to the rest. For a long time I shaved with the cheapest single blade blue disposables known to man, and pushed them for months and I’d dig up one of those old heavily used clogged up cheapies of mine out of a landfill somewhere and shave with it before I ever consider using an Astra SP again.