Which blades...should I get

[petercle]

Whats up fellas, I've been DE shaving for a little over 3months, and the only razors blades I've used are Merkurs. Now i know leesrazors.com sells a sample pack with Feathers, Derby's, Red Personnas, and Merkurs. But what about the other brand like Astra, Sharps, Crystal, DORCO, Gillette, Lord, and finally Wilkinson....any help or experience with these brands..?

thanks,

 

[xillion]

If you are interested in trying some DORCO, Gillette, Lord, and Wilkinsons. PM me your info and I will send you some for free.

Chris

 

[microtome]

I'm also new to DE shaving and so far, I like Wilkinson Sword blades (2 blades left in my 5 blade sample pak).

 

[Uncle Erik]

Pick up one of the sample packs and give it a spin. I really loved the sampler from West Coast Shaving. It provided a couple of months of experimentation and led to discovering the blades I like most. You really need to run through a bunch of brands to find what works for you - everyone is different. I discovered that I get the best results from the Bics and Red IPs. But you will probably have entirely different results. Get the sampler and find out.

 

[petercle]

Is their a big differents in the three gillette 7'oclock razors brands..??

 

[moonshine44]

Pick up one of the sample packs and give it a spin. I really loved the sampler from West Coast Shaving. It provided a couple of months of experimentation and led to discovering the blades I like most. You really need to run through a bunch of brands to find what works for you - everyone is different.

+1. Get the biggest sampler pack you can afford from WCS. I found that I like the Red Pack IP and Gillette 7 o'clock greens the best, followed by Crystals and Derbys equally. Feathers are great in my more mild razors like my Flare Tip and Blue Tip.

 

[xillion]

For me the Yellow 7 o'clock Sharp Edge work best. I have not tried the Green Russian 7's but I have tried the Indian Greens and they were not as smooth as the Yellows. I have also used the Black Super Platinum's and they are also good but not as smooth as the Yellows.

Is their a big differents in the three gillette 7'oclock razors brands..??

 

[barneyb]

+1 for the WCS sampler pack. I found Astra SP, the best bang to buck, and Crystal also good inexpensive blade. I also use Feathers and Iridium Super, but are more expensive and are truly excellent blades. I give the edge in performance to the Feather in that category.

 

[coolbluewater]

WCS is good; also check out the MVP sample pack at bullgooseshaving.net

Both of them are also members here

 

[DE Shaver]

I'll throw in my two cents. I find the blades that give me the closest shave (without irritation) are...

- Blue Birds
- Astra Superior Stainless (not Platinum)
- Feather

These blades give me the closest shave but not necessarily the smoothest shave.

 

[xillion]

petercle,

Offer still stands I have a free sample pack of Wilkinson, Lord, Dorco, Gillette 7 o'clock Black and Yellows, Bluebirds, and Kais. PM me if you are interested.

Chris

 

[Chickpea McGee]

It's impossible to know which blade will work best for you, and the performance of blades can depend on the razor being used, but if I were to summarize my countless hours of reading blade-related discussions on this board, I would (roughly) rank the more popular brands accordingly:

1) Feather - In a class by itself. The standard by which other blades are compared. Many folks love them, many fear them, all respect them.

2) The Best of the Rest - Highly regarded, consistent quality, work for most, personal favorites of many experienced users.
-Gillette 7 O'Clock (SharpEdge seems the most popular of this variety)
-Iridium Super
-Astra Superior Platinum
-Crystal or "Israeli" Personnas
-Red Pack Israeli

3) Middle of the pack - Generally well regarded, Favorites for some, but with some who are critical of quality and/or consistency
-Derby Extra
-Shark
-Bluebirds
-Merkur

4) Others - Good "budget" blades for some, but not as widely praised or considered as personal favorites.
-BIC
-Lord
-Sharp
-DORCO
-Wilkinson Sword
-US Personnas
-Treet
-7am

While this is my attempt at a meta-ranking, it is riddled with individual exceptions, and YMMV, of course. However, I dare say most would find a blade within the first two groups that works very well for them. I am a newbie, but have found the collective wisdom of the group to be fairly reliable.

 

[xriley]

It's impossible to know which blade will work best for you, and the performance of blades can depend on the razor being used, but if I were to summarize my countless hours of reading blade-related discussions on this board, I would (roughly) rank the more popular brands accordingly:

1) Feather - In a class by itself. The standard by which other blades are compared. Many folks love them, many fear them, all respect them.

2) The Best of the Rest - Highly regarded, consistent quality, work for most, personal favorites of many experienced users.
-Gillette 7 O'Clock (SharpEdge seems the most popular of this variety)
-Iridium Super
-Astra Superior Platinum
-Crystal or "Israeli" Personnas
-Red Pack Israeli

3) Middle of the pack - Generally well regarded, Favorites for some, but with some who are critical of quality and/or consistency
-Derby Extra
-Shark
-Bluebirds
-Merkur

4) Others - Good "budget" blades for some, but not as widely praised or considered as personal favorites.
-BIC
-Lord
-Sharp
-DORCO
-Wilkinson Sword
-US Personnas
-Treet
-7am

While this is my attempt at a meta-ranking, it is riddled with individual exceptions, and YMMV, of course. However, I dare say most would find a blade within the first two groups that works very well for them. I am a newbie, but have found the collective wisdom of the group to be fairly reliable.

I think the Feathers are extremely controversial. I don't like Feathers because they are too sharp and thus not as smooth as other blades. While your rankings seem spot on as far as the general consensus goes. The Feathers should be moved outside of the rankings you listed, in a list by itself.

 

[Chickpea McGee]

Fair enough, XRiley. Controversial is a good word for Feathers.

 

[Slivovitz]

Many different opinions here, and no reason for the OP to give any particular weight to mine, but the ones that have worked best for me, best first:

1. Feather
2. Astra
3. Shark
4. Gillette Super Thin
5. Derby

A couple of brands that a lot of people like, Red Pack Personnas and Gillette 7 O'clock Yellows, just didn't do it for me. The worst brand I've used so far was Equaline, a generic label sold at my grocery store.

 

[petercle]

petercle,

Offer still stands I have a free sample pack of Wilkinson, Lord, Dorco, Gillette 7 o'clock Black and Yellows, Bluebirds, and Kais. PM me if you are interested.

Chris

Thanks, but am just going to order it from WCshaving or Leesrazors, sorry but much appreciated

 

[tsmba]

I've found that I get my own best results by sticking with blades I know are good (for the most part). I have gotten sampler packs, gotten into frequent switching of blade brands, and had trouble. I developed a fondness for RPs and WS blades pretty early, and someone said, "why switch?". Frequent change seemed to lead to chronic irritation, which made meaningful evaluation next to impossible. I've done much better by sticking with the winners, but keeping a couple test brands handy for *occasional* use.

 

[Rufust445]

...But what about the other brand like Astra, Sharps, Crystal, DORCO, Gillette, Lord, and finally Wilkinson...

Of the brands you mentioned above, Crystals and Dorco ST-301's work for me. Smooth and forgiving, and just sharp enough. I have a stash of the ST-301's. Also have a small stash of Gillette 7o'clock yellows. They're among the sharpest after a Feather, but they could be a bit smoother.

Of the 12 or more brands/models Lord makes, I have a stash of the Shark Super Stainless. They're a bit sharper than a Crystal or Dorco 301, very smooth, and the longest lasting blade I've tried. They're also the cheapest of the Lord brands if you shop around.

As for Wilkinson, I have about 35 NOS Wilkinsons from the '70's in the UK, which I grabbed when I could find them at a somewhat reasonable price. They're at least as good as any blade I've tried, if not better.

As always with blades, YMMV.