I tried a personna red today. Shaved really well. I have a spot on my neck I knick every time I shave but at least it was sharp enough that I didn't notice.
the worst cut i ever had was a Crystal, I will have to try them again later with more caution and see what i think but for now all 99 blades are on the back shelf. bang for the buck so far is the Astra for me but i see the OP already tried them.
I was so excited to try these cool looking blades . I dropped one in my 1918 Gillette old type. It's a late, type 102 I believe. With the thin cap. My prep was less than usual because of lack of time. But I figured there a very old well established blade making company that has stayed in business all these years. They have to be doing something right. Right ? I face lathered abit extra to make up for the shortened hot towel time. Started on my first half inch and out came the tiger. I felt like I was being attacked. Being stubborn or stupid, depends on how you look at it I guess. I turned the razor in my hand to use the other side of the blade and attempted to continue the shave. I was being mauled by this beast. Really wanting to like these blades I thought well maybe the first shave is the worst. So I pulled out my cork and ran it across on both sides once. Re lathered and it was an improvement. By no means enjoyable. Some areas were ok some were tolerable. If that's the best it gets I will need one of the animal hunter tranquilizers before each shave . Since there is a fine line between courage and ignorance, stubbornness and stupidity, I will give it another go tomorrow in my Gillette 1929 New type with the long bar cap and base . With better prep as well. We shall see if it makes a difference or not. Anyone out there have a positive experience with these ? And if so was it right from the start or did it get better the more shaves you did ?
If you like KAI a lot, as you wrote, then go with KAI! It is a very great blade! I consider life to be too short to suffer through a lot of low quality blades! Each shave should be a joy. (At this moment I would only test a blade if someone suggest something at least as sharp as KAI and with teflon coating rather than platinum)
One of the interesting things in all of this, is how a blade can work wonderfully in one razor and the same blade work horribly in another. Keeps things interesting. The geometry of each brand of razor is likely different, in addition to blade gap, blade exposure, how much the blade is flexed with the pressure of clamping the blade in the head and a number of other factors. Some blades just like some razors. I believe a consensus that's been mentioned here many times, is that sharp blades work well in mild razors, and less sharp blades work well in aggressive razors.
This one I have to disagree with. The general consensus is that a really aggressive razor, like R41, for example, requires more sharp blade or it will tug and jump so badly that you end up getting weepers. It is also often stated that an aggressive razor will make the blade faster dull, because it is in harder use. Personally, I am not able to shave with a dull blade in an aggressive razor as I end up putting pressure in order to keep the razor from jumping. The closer to the skin you shave, the more whiskers you got to mow down. You do not want extra resistance because the blade is too dull or your razor will begin to skip.
To clarify my statements above: I am talking about the minimum sharpness needed without making the razor to tug and pull. What I am saying above is that a mild razor will most of the time manage with less sharp blades than a really aggressive razor. There are of course other variables, like shaving angle making this a little bit a case by case for each razor. But in general, less sharp blades are needed for mild razors. Of course, if one do not have a good technique and one still want to go over the minimum required sharpness for a razor, it is easier to do so with a mild one as it will put less blade pressure on the skin.
@NCoxSTL and I both had run ins with this beast. I shot it and moved on after the first few inches of mauling but he attempted to complete a shave with it.
I have to admit that I am disappointed to hear about the problems with the Tiger. I had sort of hoped to try one, just to see what a vintage-style blade would be like in my 20's Old Type.
I know that fine line you talk about and cross it regularly. It's a weakness. As for the Tiger 3H? Second worst blade made in my opinion. The only one I've encountered that's worse is the Flying Eagle. I made a full pass with the Tiger before sanity kicked in. Only took about 2 strokes with the Flying Eagle to toss it as far away as possible.
This subject of Tiger 3H blades came up on another forum and I expressed interest in trying one in my 20's OT. My curiosity was based on a nostalgic desire to see one of my favorite razors equipped with a "correct"-looking blade. A fellow member of that forum provided me with a couple which arrived yesterday and I promised I'd write up my experiences. A bit of background... I'm still a fairly new returnee to DE shaving at just over 2 months. I think I am well acquainted with the quirks of my OT, though, as I used it exclusively for the first three weeks of OCtober (mostly with Astra SP blades). My normal prep is a hot shower, warm water splash and VDH Deluxe soap applied with a VDH boar brush. As for the shave... It was apparent after the first couple of strokes that this was not going to be a pleasant experience. My WTG pass quickly felt like I tried to start with an ATG pass with lots of tugging. Some random thoughts that went through my mind at this point: I wonder if this is what people imagine when you tell them you are using a 90-year old razor. It's almost like there is no lather. Check angle? Nope, still the same. Is it the razor? This isn't shaving. This is some post-apocalyptic attempt at maintaining human dignity by scraping the hairs from our faces with a ration can lid honed on a bit of rubble. I wonder if I should send one to HDSledge so he can look at it with the microscope and see what is wrong. Gee, I wish I had a Derby so I could compare. About three quarters of the way through the pass, I realized that I was not getting the beard reduction I expected (or much of any at all) and that I was coming up on my hardest to shave areas. At that point, I bailed and pulled out the Slim Adjustable with an Astra SP, relathered and finished up. No nicks or weepers and just a little residual tenderness. All in all, this was more disappointing than I could have imagined. Up until now, my worst blade was a Vietnam-made one from the dollar store. (Dorco?) At least, I used that one for two shaves before giving up on it. It scares me to think that in some backwater of the Third World, a young man is pulling out a bit of Zamak crudely formed into the shape of a razor and loading a Tiger 3H blade as he prepares to face his day. I weep for that man and when Sally Struthers hosts the telethon for him, I will donate gladly. Honestly, I am boggled that a company could produce and sell a legitimate product that is so bad. I keep thinking that there must be some Soviet-era razor with an unusual blade angle or something that this blade must work well with. JR
Maybe this is one for @NCoxSTL to try in the end all be all of Soviet razors . . . the Rapira! Of course, knowing him, he probably already has!
Putting the Tiger into the Rapira would perhaps qualify someone for special status among either the stupidest or bravest man in the world. Using the Soyuz 1 (as I call it) would fall in the same category. So, no, I haven't tried that, nor had I even thought of it before you mentioned it. I can predict disaster and much pain. But, it's probably a good thing I'm in the middle of No Variation November or I might have to try it just to prove how bad it is! I know, it's a weakness. Interesting that yet another poor soul has done a run with this blade and had exactly the same result. It would be interesting to see a microscopic view of the edge. Either it's not sharpened beyond a rudimentary grind or else the edge has just been shredded beyond worthless.
@NCoxSTL. The tiger shouldn't fit in either of those razors so you should be safe even if Ivan wants you to. Now that new shavette that takes the whole blade. . .
Yeah that is one redeeming part of the Tiger......that three hole design keeps a lot of people from being able to suffer!
The one reference blade for me is Polsilver Super Iridium. Have yet to find a better one. Sharp, smooth, good for at least a week of daily shaves - and it's the one I use whenever I try a new razor. Gillette Silver Blue is a great performer as well, hasn't disappointed in any of my razors, be it modern or vintage. From a price vs. performance point of view though nothing beats Astra SP in my opinion.
Ooooh, I had this terrible mental image until you said "wrapped". It was an episode of Night Visions. Hey, whatever blade works for you is the right one. I would put that list in a completely different order.
