If you like the GSB and find Astra SP a little too aggressive, then Red Personna may be a good fit. I found the GSB and Red Personna to both lean more towards the smooth side and have a little less sharpness than say a Gillette Black or Astra. (For what it's worth, I've gone through orders of over 100 blades on all the blades I mention above.)
Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Apologies if the op was vague, but the last couple posts get what I was going for. I'll check out Teflon v. Platinum, and try a few Red Personnas. Fwiw, I found the Astra SP and Feathers too aggressive for the Parker (but great on the Lord). Bluebird, green 7 O'clocks were ok, but not smooth, and Derby and Shark were not good. I know ymmv, but similar blades give me a baseline. Thanks, folks.
Astra, GSB and PolSilver are all made in the same factory. There might be differences in the coating, but otherwise they are quite similar.
I don't know what your pre-shave routine is currently. Are you using a pre-shave oil at all? What soap/creme/goo are you lathering with? Perhaps someone can recommend the more protective soap than your using now? I notice quite a difference in smoothness and glide the few times I've used a pre-shave oil now. It might be enough to tip you in favor of the Astras, which are a fantastic value if you can get them to work for you.
The only blades I like better than GSB are the original Super Iridium. Be happy you found your blade so you spend more money on soaps and brushes.
Personna Israeli Reds and Crystal and Viking Sword all 3 made in Israel, great blades, you may want to include 1 or 2 in a sample pack
These are incredibly smooooth and as a bonus, inexpensive. I just bought 100. I can't find a razor they don't perform well in
I am using my first GSB these past three shaves (thanks Norseman), and they are significantly thinner that Polsilver SI's, Feathers and Personna Med Preps. They are sharp and smooth, yes, but in my Feather AS-D2, they trap a lot of lather and stubble. They are also difficult to remove from the razor. YMMV, naturally.
I have been using both the newer kind of PolSilver SI with single wrapping and the older with double. For me the older ones were significantly better. So, something has been changing at the factory. The change did not necessary happen at the time of the change from double to single wrapping. It could be later as my new PolSilver SI are just one year old. It is difficult to explain what I mean, I am trying to say this: Recent PolSilver == Recent GSB (except for maybe coating) Old PolSilver == Old GSB (except for maybe coating) Recent PolSilver != Old GSB Recent GSB != Old PolSilver (== equal, != not equal) What do you think? Same factory it is, that I have been hearing from those ordering directly from the factory. The wax spot and wrapping is also similar.
I'm liking my Astra SP (mother-load of blades). Recently got a 5 pack of Dorco new platinum with a razor purchase and noticed although they are not as sharp as the Astra SP they do seem to last long. Interesting note I find that blade lasting "durability" seems to depend on the razor used. I can always get more shave from my slants on a blade that seemed done on a cheap razor with less blade stability and chatter.
Try a blade is a great way to get an idea of what you like. There are so many brands of razor blades out there and each person is different. There is a blade out there for everyone, experimenting is part of the fun, and Try a blade is nice so you don't get stuck with a pack of blades that you don't like, the blades are cheap and shipping is cheap as well. I just received a nice sampler of 32 different blades fro them recently.
One of the interesting things about wet shaving, is how a particular blade will perform differently in different razors. For example; I frequently use Dorco Platinum 301's, and consider them a reliable upper middle grade blade that is inexpensive yet effective. Over time, I seem to have noted that the Dorco, placed in a mild razor provides a nice quality shave, but nothing spectacular. However, it always seemed that the Dorco performed better in a more aggressive razor. Yesterday I decided to test my experiences to see if they were real or perceived. I took an Edwin Jagger DE 89, (a nice medium mild aggressive razor), and a Scotch & Stowe open comb, (similar to the Muhle R 41 in aggressiveness), and used each razor loaded with the same Dorco blade, shaving one side of my face with the DE89 and the other with the Scotch & Stowe, using only one side of the blade for each razor, so each side of the blade would have the same number of shaves. I used a felt tip marker to identify the sides. I immediately noted the shave with the DE89, with two passes and some slight buffing was DFS, and nothing out of the ordinary. The same blade in the Scotch & Stowe, was dramatically better and an absolute dream, with two passes and some slight buffing providing a true BBS shave. Realizing that obviously a mild razor may not provide the same shave as an aggressive one, this evening I performed the same test to see how much of a factor the blade was, using an Astra SP in the same razors. The DE89 was smooth and two passes with some slight buffing provided a DFS. The Scotch & Stowe provided a little better shave, two passes with some slight buffing provided what I would call a DFS+. There was a difference, but nothing close to the dramatic difference with the Dorco blade. I believe the Dorco blade in a mild razor limits it's potential, and it needs an aggressive razor to achieve it's full potential.
They were real. The Dorco blade seems to work exceptionally well in aggressive razors, and not as well in mild razors. Razor blade manufacturers have what they consider to be their special treatment of the blade edge, regarding the angles of the edge grind, finish edge grind and polish, coatings etc. Razor manufacturers also have different specs regarding how the blade actually sits in the razor head, angle of the blade, exposure, gap etc. The reason a particular blade works well in some razors, and not well in others, is simply the pairing of these different angles which produces the perfect shaving geometry for that particular blade and razor combination. This is not my discovery, but known by experts in the shaving arena for many years. I was just curious about the Dorco blade. Back in the days of the Schick Krona, Gillette could not duplicate the sharpness of the Schick premium DE blades. It was a highly protected secret at Schick, and Gillette even sent employee spies in an attempt to discover the secret, but never did find out the actual secret. Most of the employees at Gillette (including my father who worked at Gillette) used Schick blades in their Gillette razors. One of the fascinating issues in wet shaving is finding that Nirvana of blade and razor perfection.
Matching a blade to razor has always been a long standing ideal with me. Personally Wilkinson Sword always worked well in my Gillette Adjustables and now Personna Israeli Reds work in my Weber PH as does Crystal, Astra for my EJ 89 and Merkur 34-38c. These combinations my or may not work for others.
Blades are different for almost every person it seems so what one person likes best may be your worst. For what it's worth, I like GSB and find Astra SP to be very similar. However, my favorite blade after sampling a lot of different brands is Kai. It's a little more pricey but I shave 4 times with each blade so they last me a while.
