Blade sample pack reviews

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Demidog, Oct 22, 2016.

  1. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    Dec 25: Xmas shave. Again usual set up with my Merkur 34c, bowl, Vie Long horse hair brush, one of my favorite bay rums soaps - Barrister & Mann, Nivea to overcome the dryness here, and a new blade for testing - Treet Platinum. All in all a good shave. Treat is made in Pakistan and goes for around $12 to $13 per 100. It gave me a nice shave. Not great but not bad. Did the full three pass routine with clean up. Probably will rank it towards the top of the good blade category. I have tested 24 different brands so far. I now have 4 categories of results: poor, good, very good, and excellent. Then I rank them top to bottom within each category. 7 more brands to go. Hope everyone had a Merry Xmas.
    Dec 25, 2016.jpg
     
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  2. smittywerbenmanjensen

    smittywerbenmanjensen Active Member

    I like the 34c. It was my first DE razor. Bought a Futur last year and been using it since. But...just for yucks, I took out the 34c today and paired it with a Merkur super and some C.O Bigelow cream. A very nice Christmas morning shave. Peace and Joy
     
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  3. smittywerbenmanjensen

    smittywerbenmanjensen Active Member

    You are right on the mark. Leon from the Pasteur Pharmacy gave me a small sampler of the Executive Man soap disc and aftershave. Had I known it would be that intoxicating, I would have bought the regular size. I will for sure in the future.
     
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  4. LOOT

    LOOT Well-Known Member

    Executive Man is indeed intoxicating. My wife loves it. :) Sharp Dressed Man is a close second for her. Both are very clean, manly scents. Go for the splash and balm on both... In the biggest tub/bottle you can get. Can't go wrong.
     
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  5. smittywerbenmanjensen

    smittywerbenmanjensen Active Member

    LOL. I will but I have so much other creams and AS that I gotta use up or I'll have to file for bankruptcy!
     
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  6. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    I really want to try some other razors but for this test I thought I should stick with just one as a control.
     
  7. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Blade: Perma-Sharp Super

    I had a great second shave out of the Ladas and I was going to test longevity since I only have one, but impatience got the best of me. I decided to try the Perma-Sharp as per the recommendation of another member after he read about how much I love Teflon coated blades. The Perma-Sharp does indeed have a fairly thick layer of Teflon that resulted in yet another incredibly comfortable shave. However, I felt that the sharpness was a little lacking. I wanted to look as clean as possible for Christmas and while I managed to achieve an extremely close shave on my cheeks, I had some trouble with the usual problem spots, namely my jaw and my upper lip.

    The thick Teflon coating allowed me to attempt things that I would normally never do like going over certain areas excessively, but I really didn't have much in the razor burn in spite of these risky maneuvers. I still have yet to find a Teflon coated blade that is as sharp as a Feather, SharpEdge, or Nacet, but they often more than make up for it via the very comfortable shaves that they provide. Now I'm going to have an even harder time choosing my top blades to buy in bulk because the Perma-Sharp is on the list of possible candidates.

    [​IMG]

    Sharpness: 8/10
    Comfort: 9.2/10

    I don't think that this was sharp enough to have earned an 8 but I couldn't give it a lower rating than the Sputnik. They could be the same exact blade with different print and packaging for all I know.
     
  8. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    The Perma-Sharp is one of the blades I have yet to be tested. I may do it next.
     
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  9. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    I emailed Rod of Stirling and he said that colognes should be arriving at some point. It might be a long time before we see them for sale from what I remember, but I would definitely buy an Executive Man cologne. It beats spending $5 billion on a 2 oz bottle of Creed Aventus.

    I really have to try Sharp Dressed Man and Stirling Gentleman. I've gotten really interested in fragrances since I switched to soaps and safety razors, and it seems that a lot of the popular fragrances are very worthy of their praise. I've gotten a taste of Aventus and Cool Water via Executive Man and a TSD splash respectively, but I really want to smell the others that I see mentioned a lot like Drakkar Noir and Aqua Di Gio.

    I think I mentioned this in my Treet review but I consider them to be the Astras of Pakistan. They are about the same price point and they feel almost exactly like Astras. A solid blade that defines the "good" category when breaking them up into excellent, good, and bad.
     
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  10. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    Agree on Stirling's Executive Man. I like having a wide variety of soaps to choose from with each shave but, if I was told I could only have one soap - it would be Executive Man.
     
  11. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    Dec 26: Trying to get back on my normal schedule - Xmas threw me off. Another blade tested. This time its the Perma Sharp. A Russian made blade that goes for about $20 per 100. Teflon coated. Used my Merkur 34c, Omega Hi-Brush synthetic and Stirling Executive Man soap (just a great soap and yes its "blooming"). Not in the picture - I followed up with a splash of Thayer's witch hazel. The Perma Sharp didn't feel all that sharp. It gave me a pretty smooth shave but I needed all three passes with clean up to get a decent shave. A good shave and another blade for the "good" category. I now have 5 blades that rated "poor", 9 rating as "good", 3 rating as "very good", and 8 rating as "excellent". 5 more blades to go. When I go back and retest the "excellent" blades - I'll probably move some down to the "very good" category. Wednesday's shave will be the Ladas. Windy and cold here on the Olympic Peninsula tonight - time for a fire in the wood stove and Monday Night Football.

    Dec 26, 2016.jpg
     
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  12. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Good to know that it wasn't just me who didn't find the Perma-Sharp to actually be all that sharp. I also wonder if you'll have a similar experience with the Ladas. To date, it is the only blade that got better after the first pass. I think that my second shave with it was even better than the first.
     
  13. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member


    Where do you rate the 34C on the aggressiveness scale? What other razor would you compare it to?
     
  14. smittywerbenmanjensen

    smittywerbenmanjensen Active Member

    I started with the 34c. It's a good beginner razor. Not aggressive.
     
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  15. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    Mild to medium. Just returned to DE shaving this past summer after wandering in the wilderness (cartridges) of shaving for decades and didn't want to start with a very aggressive razor. I really like the 34c. Since I'm doing this rather lengthy blade testing - I wanted to use just one razor as a control. Once done I'll expand my horizons and try some other razors. However, there are a number of blades which, when used in my 34c, have given me as good a shave as I could ever imagine.
     
  16. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Blade: Rapira - Swedish Supersteel

    Comfortable blade but lacking in sharpness like the Perma-Sharp Super. I was still able to get a closer shave but I had trouble with my jawline. I was also able to attempt a third pass since this was a very comfortable blade. I suspect that it might have been a dud because the inner wrapping was a little crumpled up. It was marginally sharper than the Perma-Sharp so I should give it at least an 8, but I don't want to keep skewing the ratings.

    [​IMG]

    Comfort: 9.3/10
    Sharpness: 7/10
     
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  17. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    Dec 28: A most excellent shave just now. Two day growth and tested a new blade - Ladas. Another Russian blade and goes for around $10 per 100. I believe these are made in the same factory as the Rapira and Voskhod blades. The Russians know how to make good blades. I used my Merkur 34c, bowl, SOC boar and one of my favorite soaps - Cella. Cella makes great lather even though I have very hard well water. Finished with a splash of Fine Platinum. The shave was great. The Ladas blade is very near that sweet spot of being sharp enough but still smooth. Did the full three passes with a little touch up. Very close shave. I'll put this blade in my top category of "excellent". Next shave will be Friday and the test blade will be the Rapira Swedish Supersteel. Getting down there - only four blades left to test.
    Dec 28, 2016.jpg
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2016
  18. Col C

    Col C Well-Known Member

    Dec 30: Last shave for 2016. Going out tonight but I plan on staying in the rest of the weekend and watching a lot of football. Merkur 34c, Captain's Choice bowl, Omega Professional Boar brush, Captain's Choice North (blooming). Boy this soap produces the lather. Barbasol for the finish. New blade tested - Rapira Swedish Supersteel. Another Russsian blade from the same factory that produces Voskhod and Ladas. Goes for about $12 per 100. I tested the Rapira Platinum Lux a few days ago. The Lux gave me a wonderful shave. The Swedish Supersteel today - not so much. Definitely two different blades. The Swedish just was not sharp enough. No irritation - it just didn't perform like so many of the other Russian blades. It gave me a decent shave but did not compare to the blades that I have rated in the "excellent" category. I'll rate the Rapira Swedish Supersteel in the "good category". Next shave will be on Monday and I will try the Rockwell Swedish Stainless. Everyone have a happy and safe New Year.
    Dec 30, 2016.jpg
     
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  19. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    I just loaded a new Rapira Swedish Supersteel in my razor today and will shave tomorrow. I have never used this blade before and I am very much looking forward to it !!!
     
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  20. dangermouse

    dangermouse Well-Known Member

    I just used one of these blades in a 1918 Gillette single ring. I have to say it was a really nice shave. A good blade. I might look out for some Russian blades.
     
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