Blades I've Used To Now

Alright, I scanned the wrappers for most of the blades I've sampled thus far. I've excluded ones that came in plastic tucks, such as Van Der Hagen and Dorco Prime Platinum. Also, as Astra Superior Platinum and Super Iridium blades come only in plain white wrappers, I did not scan those either.

Who has tried these blade brands, and what were your thoughts about their performance, or more accurately, your experience with them?

 

I like the vast majority of those blades. Either Feather or Gilette Silver Blues are my preferred blades, sharp and smooth.

Unfortunately, the only way to see what works for you, is to go through them and see what you like. It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the blade. also remember that your preferences change as your skill set changes and what is awesome today may be mediocre tomorrow. Eventually blade selection doesn't matter all that much. You will be able to get a comfortable long lasting shave from just about any blade.

If you are in the US and would like to try some blades, I would be glad to send you some different ones to try. Just pm me your address.

 

I will! I have got these blades that I haven't tried yet, along with a tuck each of Skark, Gillette Platinum, and Voskhod. I've also got a 100-count each of Astra Superior Platinum and Wizamet Iridium Super.

So far, my top three are Wizamet Iridium Super, Gillette Bleue Extra, and Astra Superior Platinum, though Astra doesn't give me as long-lasting a shave as the others. All of the blades I've tried have done well on my face, but for longevity, sharpness, and smoothness, these three were my favorites.

 

I've had great luck with all but the Treets. Have fun and let us know how they they al work for you.

 

Have not tried Gillette Bleue Extra,...... Treets are just plain dull, and the Personnas are only so-so. All the rest of those are great. You should try the German Wilkinson Swords.

 

Does anyone have experience with Bolzano blades? I just ordered a few and am wandering what to expect. So far Feathers, Kia, and Personna Reds are the only ones that don't irritate my skin. (Ingrown hairs not shaving irritation )

 

I have tried most of those blades, the only one i disliked was feathers. The treets were dull unless used in an aggressive razor and then they provided a very smooth shave. I mostly use perma sharps, nacets, 7oclock yellow, gillette super thin, voskhod, personna reds, dorco 300. When i started certain blades worked, but others didnt, now i feel as if i could make most blades work with the exception of the chinese blades that come from the company that will fake any packaging as long as you are buying 10k worth of blades. If you ever get a hold of one of those you will know it, paper thin blades that snap when you tighten your razor down, and the ones that dont will not cut hair just scrape your face. But i enjoy trying new blades from far away lands.

 

Rapira Swedish Super Steel blades are in my top 3 blades. I love them. They are the blades that Voskhod wish they could be !!!

 

I like the German Wilkinson Swords, in fact I used them exclusively for a few years, but lately I think I prefer Feathers and GSBs as they seem to be a little sharper.

Voskhods were fine as were Nacets and Merkurs but I couldn't get too excited about them.

 

Bolanzo was a great blade for me but did not make the cut because of the high cost compared to other blades .

 

I found (and we're all going to be different on our likes/dislikes) the Van Der Hagen were terrible and I obviously don't use them. The Dorco Prime Platinum were ok and I have some in my stash but have not used them for a long time. The Astra and Super Iridium Platinum are among my favorites and use them often. I normally shave three times a week unless my social calendar fills up. The Astra and SIP easily last the week and actually the second and third shave are better than the first. I find that to be true for most really sharp blades - they are better after that first use.

 

My experience with the Dorco Prime Platinum was the same as with the Feather blades: I ended up with a bloody face and neck from all the nicks. But unlike the Feathers, the Dorco blades left a lot of irritation that lasted literally half the night until I was able to fall asleep. I'm learning that some blades seem to work better in some razors than in others. My Merkur 34c seems to bring out the most of any blade loaded into it, so a particularly sharp blade will need more care in that than in, say, a Weishi (which gave me far fewer nicks using the Feather than did the Merkur). My technique didn't change; only the results did. So I'm learning that different razor and blade combinations will require their own techniques in order to get a nick- and irritation-free shave.

 

I use to have the same problem with feather blades and it’s definetly technique . What i started to do was use the feather in a mild razor like a tech or flare tip. I would use the Dorco in a aggressive razor like R41 or a higher setting adjustable. The difference was major in both cases. The Dorco originally felt dull and crappy but paired with an aggressive if felt smoother and sharper. The feather appeared to shred my face and felt overly sharp but in a mild razor it felt sharp and smooth.

I have now been able to use a feather in aggressive razor and a Dorco in a mild razor with great results. But some razor and blade combos just don’t match up.

 

I would have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. If a blade works well for you in one razor it should work equally well for you in another razor. Sure each razor may have different head geometry that may require you to change the angle of the blade or the pressure that you are applying to the razor. Proper application of technique will allow you to use any blade in any razor. Earlier this month I shaved with a hyper aggressive Above The Tie H2, A cheap chineese TTO that had uneven blade gap, and a plastic Gillette Super Click, all three shaves ended with the same result, an excellent smooth shave with zero irritation all the while using a blade that some people would label a trash blade. I would like to invite you you to come join us over on the 30 Day thread and spend a month really focusing on technique and getting the best shaves that you possibly can.

 

Oh I've been focusing on technique. I started with shavettes about twenty years ago before getting pulled into shaving with increasingly expensive cartridge razors, but never really lost the skill for using them. When I started using safeties, I had to learn how to shave properly with those. But I have noted substantive differences in blade manufacture and properties that vary because of the specific metals and coatings used and the process by which they are made. This means that, yes, blades do seem to work better in some razors than in others. But this simply means that one should learn the proper technique for a given blade and razor combination, after experimenting to find the right combo.

 

My own experiences were good with the Rapiras and Personnas. The silver blues are excellent.

I really liked the Polsilver too. But they aren't made anymore, so the price is dictated by scarcity instead of quality.

I have had one tuck of Feather for four years now that I haven't gotten around to trying.

 

I’ve tried Voskhod & Rapira ( pretty good), Personna(hated it) and Feather (my best result.)

 

Yep!

 

This is so true. Blades I couldn't shave well with a year or two back are now fine, or even some of my favorites.

Feather and GSBs are my top two rotation. A year or two ago I thought a feather couldn't work for me. I'd like to try some more rare Japanese steel

R41 - Bulldog combo

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I concur on this point with one caveat, an equally good shave but an exceptional shave may not be doable with the same blade. My personal experience would be the feather popular razor. My go to blade which is a Bic Chrome Platinum I can get a good close shave better than any cartridge but can not get a BBS shave period using that razor with that particular blade whereas I can can get as good but even closer shaves even if not BBS all the time on other razors using that one blade. Once you have a personal reference then you can fine tune to find the optimal blade to a particular razor. As an example I've found that a Merkur blade works the best for me in Gillette tech razor. I can get a BBS shave with a Bic or Merkur on that style razor but the Merkur gets the job done quicker and with less work.

As far as the blades listed Van Der Hagens and Polsilvers were too dull, Feathers are overrated sharpest blade doesn't equal best shave. Gillette Silver Blue and Voskhod are on par with my go to blade the Bic Chrome Platinum. The others I've never tried. I also like Merkur and Shark Super Chrome blades.