What are the lesser known blades that work in a Slim

[weekly]

What I usually see in the forums when it
Comes to blades that have success in
The Gillette Slim are the well known popular ones (GSBs,Polsivers, Feathers,
Astra and so on) I'm very interested in
What not so well known or not so popular blades turn out to be perfectly
Matched in the users opinion and on what setting And number of passes..
All replys are well appreciated..

 

[riverstyxxx]

Blade experience is highly subjective and not typically factored into which handle is being used. What works for you probably wouldn't work for me, and so on. That's why people buy sampler packs and try a bunch to find a few. I could tell you which ones work for me, but it wouldn't be of much use to you (nothing personal). Blades are just as important as your shaving soap/cream of choice. It's a difficult equation to work out, and it can only be found by using them and taking notes. I've been experimenting for three years and still have a ways to go, it's a lot of work but also a lot of fun.

 

[Graybeard57]

Silver Star generally flies under the radar. 100 for about $15.

 

[BSAGuy]

 

[weekly]

Let me be a little clearer, I am not trying to
Find what will work for me , what I'm doing
Is Nosing around trying to find out what
Others are using in their Gillette Slim on
What setting and how well it works or not
Work for them..

 

[psfred]

The point being made is that what other people use has very little significance for what YOU will like. For instance, Polsilvers are reputed by many to be superb, very sharp blades that give easy, close shaves. Not for me, I've got 28 shaves on one so far and today was the only "great" shave I've gotten -- had to monkey around a lot to get a good angle and have to use more pressure than I really like (they are VERY sharp, after all).

German Wilkies, on the other hand, give me truly marvelous shaves day after day (up to #58 as of Monday), and appear to have a very very long life for me (80 plus shaves, probably). Other people just don't get good shaves with them.

I've had that Polsilver in six razors so far, and it's only OK in a FatBoy on 6. Completely useless in a Krona, barely adequate in my favorite Super Speed, etc.

You have to try them for yourself. Blades are cheap enough in assortments or from Tryablade.com, enjoy the trip!

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

What not so well known or not so popular blades...

If a blade is not well known, or popular, there is probably a reason. Performance?

 

[weekly]

If a blade is not well known, or popular, there is probably a reason. Performance?

That is just not true..

 

[homh]

If a blade is not well known, or popular, there is probably a reason. Performance?

Marketing.

 

[psfred]

DE blades have not been actively marketed in the US since the mid 70's as far as I know, at least since Gillette decided to make much more money with cartridges. That means the vast majority of them are marketed (and used) in the "third world" where a few cents for a blade is a lot of money for many people and cartridges are simply unaffordable.

Therefore, it's quite unlikely Indian made (or Pakistani made, or Egyptian made) blades will be well known here. Quality has nothing to do with it, it's just lack of marketing. Razor blades are made on automated equipment, and have been for a very very long time, so as long as it is set up properly and maintained, the blades will be good.

And, not least, the same blade can be packaged with a different name for different markets. Names matter, and don't translate all that well sometimes, as GM found out trying to sell "no va" cars in Spanish speaking markets -- Nova pronounced a bit sloppily translates as "won't run"......

That said, there are probably no miracle blades out there hiding behind foreign packaging. There simply is not enough difference possible in the edge, there isn't much to work with there, and so long as the steel is the right alloy and correctly hardened, sharpened, polished, and coated, they all should be usable. Some will be better than others, but not by huge margins.

 

[TheVez2]

Any DE blade will work in the slim. I don't have any specific blade/razor combos. I make my blade and razor choices independently.

 

[razorhead63]

Any DE blade will work in the slim. I don't have any specific blade/razor combos. I make my blade and razor choices independently.

+1 Same for me.

 

[cw62803]

I find the Slim to be a wonderfully smooth shaver, so I tend to use blades that are on the sharper side. Nacets and 7 o'clock yellows come to mind.

 

[BigJ]

Blades are the most YMMV thing in DE shaving IMO.

My experience/opinions may or may not be relevant to you as there are too many variables. That said I prefer mild/razors (mid range of the slim) with sharper blades. Most any Russian steel is worth a try.