Im looking at a number of different blade sample packs online. And there seems to be so much vareity as well as a handful of brands Ive never seen before. Im well aware my face will decide and I'm fine with that, what Im looking for is must try blades to help me in my selectikn process. I see a lot of support for Gillette Blues, and 7 O'Clock and others. So what im asking is what is your must try blade? Im currently running a super speed with Gillette Platnium Plus. I got 2 great shaves out of it, the third while not bad I definitely ended up with a few nicks and weepers. Could have been I rushed but I think I have sufficiently killed the blade. This isnt a new thing as I used to burn through carts very quickly with my beard being fairly thick. So far though given my very limited experience the Platnium Plus have served me well and I would even be happy with those over carts. Thank you in advance for any help. Steve Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
You will get many different answers, but it all comes down what ever works for you. Personally I like Personna Lab Blues, Voskhods, Ladas, Rapira (various types), Astra SP and Israeli Personna blades.
Thats what I want honestly! Ill see what shows up a lot and look for a set that has most of them. Been browsing a ton of threads but figured if I gave what Ive been using and whats working more or less I could get a better sample set. Keep in mind no asking what will work for me, I know I need to do the work there. Im just posing the question what blades do you feel are a must try.... Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Voskhod, 7 o'clock Green, Shark Super Chrome. Blades that didn't work for me but may for you: Derby, Wilkinson Sword Classic(Germany), Bolzano. Some places have themed samplers, i.e. Russian, Best Selling etc. Have fun finding that blade that's just right.
I use a blade twice, no reason to have a bad shave over a nickel. I'm a big Personna Lab Blue user, I'll throw in a Ladas from time to time.
I placed an order with Try A Blade. I bought 8 different blades (2 each) and shaved with all of them. I chose the blades based on what I read on TSD. After my little experiment, the Astra SS were the clear winner. Best blades by far. Other winners were Astra SP, Personnal Lab Blue, Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow and Rapira Super Stainless. Losers for me were. Supermax Super Platinum and Voskhod.
Can of worms... I use and enjoy: Vintage Personna 74 Tungsten Polsilver SI Feather Astra SP Derby Premium Personna Medical Prep blades.
Hello Stu, fellow newbie here. The gurus in the forum (pretty much everyone) can shave even with glass, that's why you don't see a specific blade section. I started with Weishi, which is a SuperSpeed clone, albeit probably milder. To get confidence with the razor, i 'd suggest 5 Derby extra blades, as they are close to impossible to cut you. To me they are also dull for the same reason and bad choice in the long run. I had excellent results with Astra SP and Dorco ST-301 and good result with Shark Super Stainless. But, in general, sharper blades go better on milder razor. I haven't tried Voshkod, but being teflon coated should be newbie friendly, while being considered a sharp blade. The best newbie to newbie advice i can give you, is this which i translated from a local shaving website: Possible problems: 1) The razor doesn't seem to cut and multiple passes are needed? --> The problem is the razor being very little aggressive. Some would suggest a sharper blade and this is true to some extent, but the main problem is the razor, act on the razor. 2) The blade scratches the skin while passes and removes the hair in one pass --> This is the opposite problem. The razor is overly aggressive and tends to amplify the blade's defects. Blades that by nature are not docile can prove "lethal" in this case. 3) The razor doesn't glide well, it gets stuck, jumps and you need to "push" it in certain areas: This is the typical trait of a blade that is too dull for your beard, that doesn't manage to cut and might even cut the skin instead of the hair. 4) In the 1st pass the razor doesn't give any problem, but irritation appears at the 2nd or 3rd pass: This is typical effect of a blade too sharp for your skin. All you need to do to verify, it to use an alcohol based aftershave: If at the end of the 1st pass, the aftershave doesn't burn or burns a little, but you howl like a wolf after the 2nd or 3rd pass, this is your problem. The explanation is: In the 1st pass, your hair keeps the blade at a distance from your skin, but once cut, the blade starts to dig deeper in the skin, because it's sharp for your skin, with conseguence irritation. ------------------------------------- I would add that 3) can also give irritation, by pulling your hair. P.S: In general, Feathers and KAI are supposed to be the sharpest blades out there.
I get it. Same thing happens with 9mm vs 45acp, tung oil vs linseed oil, the list goes on just throwing it out there. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Everyone has their one or two favourite blades. I like Gillette Silver Blues and Astra SP. You should experiment with different kinds of blades and come up with your own favourites. Experimenting is half the fun!
@ Stu, you may find this useful too. I made it for future newbies and finally i can put it to use. Chances are, that if you like the blade from a certain manufacturer, you will like more of his blades and the contrary: http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/a-blade-and-manufacturer-database.55384/ Also, this i found in another forum, where they made a blind trial of blades and someone (nickname "alexface" for the credit), categorized the results, by user preference:
Thats actually what Im trying to do, its just that the samplers vary so much. I am going to try to pick one incorporating as manynas possible from the recommendations. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Tryablade is also my recommendation. Some folks here might also offer you some overstock of razor blades they won't be using. (like if they bought a 100 pack of Derby, and decided 5 in to stop)
My addition to the excellent advice on here already is to actually get a tuck (pack of 5) of each blade you decide to try from tryablade, fendrihan, amazon or anywhere else that has samples. The reason is that your preference may change from the first time you use a blade -or even in different razors- as your experience grows. Pick from the bestsellers (My personal top two are Polsilver and Astra SP, but also have SharpStar and Voskhod in bulk). Pick 5 or 6 different and give them a try over a period of time. Using the same blade (and razor and soap) for 30 days will give you a much more informed decision. There might even be a thread for that...