What a difference!

[Veldmaat]

I’m cycling through a sampler pack, having recently switched to a DE razor.
A couple of minutes ago, I had my second shave with the Astra SP blade.
I have also switched shaving soaps.
I went from De Vergulde Hand (easyest available ‘puck’ soap in the Netherlands), to
Proraso Red and it’s matching Pre-Shave.
It was the most comfortable shave I think I ever had!
Only a couple of small nicks during the ‘cleanup-pass’, no weepers.
And most importantly: no razor-burn or irritations!
I think I may have found my go-to blade, allthough I will try the other blades in the sampler.

 

[dmshaver]

Always good to hear stories with a happy ending, congratulations on your great shave!

 

[RayClem]

I am glad you were able to get a good shave after only a few experiments. However, over the next several months, your skills with the razor will improve and you will start to figure out which razors, blades, soaps, beard prep, etc. work best for your beard and your skin. If you think your shaves are good now, just wait and see what they are like a year from now. You will be amazed at the improvement, especially if you use forums like this one to improve your knowledge and skill.

 

[ackvil]

As you gain more experience your favorite blade very well may change.

 

[Jer78]

Well done VM! Always nice when you find things that work better than before. All the best, JM

 

[cw62803]

Good for you. I also love Proraso Red. What I love even more is experimenting with different combinations of products. Enjoy your shaves!

 

[xxvaleria]

Congratulations.

 

[Mad Man]

My 2 cents? Stick with the combo mentioned for at least a couple weeks. The temptation to change is strong early on and genuinely good products may not “work” due to your variable skill level. Get your competence up before you change anything in your setup.

 

[BigJ]

Good man!! The only way to determine what works best for you is to try things for yourself!!

 

[Twelvefret]

I’m cycling through a sampler pack, having recently switched to a DE razor.
A couple of minutes ago, I had my second shave with the Astra SP blade.
I have also switched shaving soaps.
I went from De Vergulde Hand (easyest available ‘puck’ soap in the Netherlands), to
Proraso Red and it’s matching Pre-Shave.
It was the most comfortable shave I think I ever had!
Only a couple of small nicks during the ‘cleanup-pass’, no weepers.
And most importantly: no razor-burn or irritations!
I think I may have found my go-to blade, allthough I will try the other blades in the sampler.

I followed the same path as you and came to the same conclusion. $9 got me 100 blades.

 

[ajkel64]

Sampler packs are fun to use. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

For sentimental reasons a puck of "De Vergulde Hand" can be nice to use every once in a while..

07FCDC95-1BD6-43BF-AF31-F98FDAFCD1B4

• Flying Dutchman
• Jul 6, 2019

 

[Veldmaat]

For sentimental reasons a puck of "De Vergulde Hand" can be nice to use every once in a while..

07FCDC95-1BD6-43BF-AF31-F98FDAFCD1B4

• Flying Dutchman
• Jul 6, 2019

It’s still there, but for now Proraso Red it is...

 

[ShaverAZ]

I've used Barbasol pretty much forever but just recently made my first puck of shaving soap. It works as well as Barbasol, but doesn't dry out a quickly. Living in the desert, humidity is usually low, plus in the warmer months air conditioning can get indoor humidity down to 2-5%.

I've discovered that the choice of razor in combination with a particular blade is more important than choice of soap.

I settled on Astra Superior Platinum as my go-to blades. They worked great in several of my razors at the time. Then, as my number of razors grew, there were more that worked only marginally with the Astras.

While the Astras are still a favorite, they are only so in a select bunch of razors. In others, Voskhods and BICs work better in a bigger variety of razors. .Then there's Shark Platinums, Lord Platinums and Shark Stainless that work great - but mostly in specific razors.