Which blades are the sharpest?

[xiletero]

Hardness is usually measured on the Rockwell scale . Harder blades will deform less, and so keep their edge longer. Edge retention is an important measure of the sharpness of a blade.
I think trying some will let you find out which work best for you (too many variables).
I find Feather, Nacet, and israel Personna to be good. And also Schick and Persona injector blades....

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My findings differ greatly from others:

• Feather is the one with the keenest edge feel when new, but also my longest lasting blade
• Gillette SharpEdge comes second in both respects.
• I find Derby Extra Green to be sharper than Polsilver, which is my worst blade.
• Nacet and Gillette Silver Blue start out scratchy, and then get worse with each shave, so their sharpness is irrelevant to me.
• Wilkinson Sword and Astra SP are my best balanced blades in terms of sharpness and smoothness, and both last me a long time.
• I find Perma-Sharp to be decidedly average.
• My top 10, all things considered are:
  • Wilkinson Sword
  • Astra SP
  • Feather
  • Gillette SharpEdge
  • Derby Premium
  • SuperMax Blue Diamond Titanium
  • SuperMax Super Stainless
  • Derby Extra
  • Personna Platinum
  • Gillette Platinum

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Hardness is usually measured on the Rockwell scale . Harder blades will deform less, and so keep their edge longer. chip easier

I lose more edges due to chipping out than to deformation. I would say wear is as much to do with coatings and edge geometry as it is to do with hardness. Though geometry differences may contribute to the chipping out too.

 

[zygalski]

Kai & Feather.

 

[Space_Cadet]

A random troll might claim that Feather is only sharpest straight out of the box and loses that edge exceptionally quickly compared to pretty much every other blade discussed.
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"A random troll"? That's what you call many members on this forum...

 

[RanTan the Cool]

I recall l told my #1 son as he loaded the 'tech' my late Dad owned l gave to him for the first time; "Careful! Those things are razor sharp!"

reminds me of our neighbour, who on seeing her daughter take yet another apple from the bowl, admonished her with “Susan! Those things don’t grow on trees you know!”...

And my sister-in-law, who on seeing several rabbits on the bankside as we walked by offered the opinion that “they’re cute, but they breed like rabbits...”

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

Did I mention BIC platinum chrome, proudly manufactured in Greece? Please, make sure you get the genuine one. Best of the best, sharpest blade out there on par with Japanese Feather, but much longer lasting and 2-3 times cheaper. Most underrated blade of all times.

I’m about to order 100 BIC chromium platinum blades and I’m concerned about getting the genuine article. Any suggestions to insure I don’t get hornswaggled? Amazon has them for $13.65 but I’m suspicious.

 

[zygalski]

If the reviews are decent for the seller then there shouldn't be much of a problem.
Who's going to go to the hassle of manufacturing 100 fake Bic blades to sell them for $13.65? It would seem unlikely.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

If the reviews are decent for the seller then there shouldn't be much of a problem.
Who's going to go to the hassle of manufacturing 100 fake Bic blades to sell them for $13.65? It would seem unlikely.

I initially thought the same thing until I read a bunch of reviews similar to this.

“Possibly the WORST blades ever! I was getting cut and pulling hair instead of shaving. Gave them to a friend of mine who also wet-shaves and he found out these were knock-off imposters. I will never buy these again. Sticking with Merkur from here on out.”

This does not describe the BIC blades that I have used, so something is up with this deal. Plus they are 60% of the price from someone like West Coast Shaving. I know there are large margins in blades, but this large?

 

[zygalski]

I initially thought the same thing until I read a bunch of reviews similar to this.

“Possibly the WORST blades ever! I was getting cut and pulling hair instead of shaving. Gave them to a friend of mine who also wet-shaves and he found out these were knock-off imposters. I will never buy these again. Sticking with Merkur from here on out.”

This does not describe the BIC blades that I have used, so something is up with this deal. Plus they are 60% of the price from someone like West Coast Shaving. I know there are large margins in blades, but this large?

BIC Chrome Platinum Double Edge Safety Razor Blades,100 Blades | eBay

Outstanding Longevity - retains sharpness and smoothness for many shaves! Made by BIC. Total 100 blades.

www.ebay.com

Those are legit & not much more expensive.

 

[vacman]

For me, I prefer the Wilkinsons to the Feathers and they last longer. I also got good results from the Mercur blades. For now, I've switched to an injector razor so my choices are limited. Not sure yet whether or not I prefer the Schick or the Personna.

 

[RayClem]

For me, I prefer the Wilkinsons to the Feathers and they last longer. I also got good results from the Mercur blades. For now, I've switched to an injector razor so my choices are limited. Not sure yet whether or not I prefer the Schick or the Personna.

If Merkur blades work well for you, it appears you are in the minority. Nearly all the reviews of Merkur blades I have seen have been negative. I have a coarse beard. Merkur blades tug so badly, I cannot even make it though the first pass with the blade. If your blades is such that Merkur blades work for you, there is no need for you to use Feathers, BIC or other super sharp blades.

I recently obtained a vintage Schick Type L injector razor. It came with some vintage Schick blades made in USA. I did not like them. They were not sharp enough for my beard. Not wanting to discard the razor, I ordered some modern Schick blades made in China. They work quite well.

 

[Atlantic59]

I’m about to order 100 BIC chromium platinum blades and I’m concerned about getting the genuine article. Any suggestions to insure I don’t get hornswaggled? Amazon has them for $13.65 but I’m suspicious.

I have used Amazon for blades, but it tends to be like an Oriental Bazaar (Wild West, buyer beware), so I prefer to shop from trusted suppliers such as WCS, Maggard's, Connaught Shaving in the UK, Gifts & Care in Spain, or Yourshaving.com also in Spain.

It does seem unlikely that crooks would peddle fake BIC Chrome blades, but how can you explain why opinion on these blades varies from "Best ever" to "Never again"?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

but how can you explain why opinion on these blades varies from "Best ever" to "Never again"?

All blade reviews are like that Every single blade brand has lovers and haters here, and elsewhere online. Apart from the Graham Whatshisface blades. Everyone hates those...

 

[Atlantic59]

All blade reviews are like that Every single blade brand has lovers and haters here, and elsewhere online. Apart from the Graham Whatshisface blades. Everyone hates those...

True, reviews vary a lot. It just seems insanely divergent for the BICs. It goes from "sharper than a Feather" to "pulls and tugs, could not cut my beard at all, I had to toss them, what a ***." Not much in between the extremes.

 

[shave/brush]

My pick for the sharpest blade after Feathers are Personna Lab Blue followed by 7 O'clock yellows.
I find the Yellows the smoothest of the three.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

All blade reviews are like that Every single blade brand has lovers and haters here, and elsewhere online. Apart from the Graham Whatshisface blades. Everyone hates those...

That’s the problem with reviews on Amazon and similar sites. I typically only read the 3 reviews as they tend to be more middle of the road and not too extreme. The issue I see with blade reviews is that we don’t know the experience of the shaver and it’s a subjective judgement. But it does concern me when I see people say they normally get good comfortable shaves with a blade, but on this batch they did not. One batch of blades should be like any other batch of the same brand and stock number. So, something is off.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

True, reviews vary a lot. It just seems insanely divergent for the BICs. It goes from "sharper than a Feather" to "pulls and tugs, could not cut my beard at all, I had to toss them, what a ***."

In fairness, Polsilver SI are (were) the same. Most say they're excellent, but they were trying to rip my beard out at the root. Even trying a blade from someone else's batch, who rates them very highly. Same result. Just not a good match for my beard, technique and razors.

 

[jmudrick]

"A random troll"? That's what you call many members on this forum...

Was referring to myself ironically actually, hope you read that right. If you believe Feather has high sharpness retention that would make you not a troll but objectively incorrect. I do think many members of do understand Feather's characteristic initial sharpness is short lasting.



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[AimlessWanderer]

Was referring to myself ironically actually, hope you read that right. If you believe Feather has high sharpness retention that would make you not a troll but objectively incorrect. I do think many members of do understand Feather's characteristic initial sharpness is short lasting.

Feather is my longest lasting blade...

Feather 34 shaves
G. SharpEdge 32 shaves
Astra SP 26 shaves
Wilkinson Sword 19 shaves
Derby Premium 16 shaves
Everything else I use 10-14 shaves

The additional shaves over what the Astra gives, are roughly what the Feather and SharpEdge take to smooth out to the same comfort level of a fresh Astra.