How long did it take for you to find your perfect blade? and how did u find it? Or is it just an on going process where u stick with whats good and try new ones on the way. I'm new to this and have only tried a couple different ones but can't see myself settling for awhile as theres lots out there to try. So far i've tried derby, astra and lord super stainless. any other recomendations to try and scoop up first to try out?
i just got my sample pack today, the blades that i got with my razor blow so im hoping theres a good one in my small bundle. :bounce
I assume we're talking about DE blades. Feather was about the fourth brand that I tried, and is so far still the best. Just tried Astra for the first time in, I think, January of this year, and it's darn close. Less expensive too. Still have quite a few untried, though. I have some NOS Gillette Spoilers and Personna 74s, and plan to try one of those next time I pick up a DE. Can't rely on a steady supply of affordable NOS blades, though. The usual perfectly good advice is to order a sample pack. I never did that, but just ordered small numbers of the ones that I'd seen other people recommend in Amazon reviews and ones that I just assumed should be good. Not the best plan, but it worked out okay in the end.
ya sorry I am refering to DE blades. And the blades that I do have did come in sample pack with a couple that I did like. So it will either be use them up and settle with what i liked or go with another sampler just for the sake of trying more
Well you have no choice but to go through them all. When I started out, I didn't think there could be much difference between variuous blades. My first blade was a Derby. It was smooth. The second I tried was the Super Iridium. It also was smooth. But it didn't feel sharp. The third on that I tried was a Crystal. Also smooth, but a small bit sharper. When I tried the Astra is was VERY SHARP. It was a really noticeable difference! When I went back to the Derby, or Isreali they seemed so dull! When I tried the Super Iridium I knew that it was sharp. But it's so smooth you don't realize that is sharp. I've still have to try Feather and Gillette 7 Yellow. I can hardly wait. But there is no way but to try them. This is important. Some find one blade great, other just don't get allong with them. No matter what! Different face, skin type, techinique. You'll just have to try them all. But it is worth it.
That's what I did....... Got a sample pack and went through them all. Finally settled with the ones I liked and will stick to them. But don't be affraid to use every now and then something new
Sample packs are the way to go. I had previously bought a bunch of Merkur and Derby blades only to find that they don't agree with my face. So far I like some of the Dorco, Persona, and Lord Platinum blades. Just used my first Lord Platinum tonight and got a great shave. So far the best.
There is no such thing as a "perfect" blade. But there is a thing such as the "best" blade your you. I got a blade sampler pack and at first got decent shaves from a Derby Extra blade. But after viewing the various shave forums for about 6 months I found a thread over at Shave My Face by Squire where he did the blade testing for me. After reading his reviews (they are stickied at the top of the Razor and Blade forum there) I decided to try the Gillette 7 OClock SharpEdge, The Super Iridiums and the Polsilver blades. I found that the 7 O'Clock blades worked best for me followed by the Iridiums. There are several online sources for blade sampler packs and I suggest you find one with these two blades in it and try them.
I think when DE razors are concerned, it's really quite personal. I've sold a few sampler packs and each time the blade perference varies from person to person. Although there is a few blades that tend to be favoured by some more than others but generally I think it boils down to the beard type, the shaver and shaving style. "Different strokes for different folks" I agree that sampler packs are probably the best way to find your own favourite
I'll let you know when I find the best one for me (based on the belief that everyone's "perfect" blade is whatever works for them). I've been using a DE exclusively for almost 2 years and I've tried probably 10 different kinds of blades. Right now, the front runners (in no order) are Derby, Astra, and Feather blades. I've heard that Derby has made some changes, and I have some of the newer blades, so they might drop off that list. For me, I want blades to last a long time. I don't like changing blades every three or four shaves. (I just had shave 14 on an Astra this morning and still no irritation)
Blade or Skin? It's a very interesting discussion. When I started shaving with a DE I received 3 different type of blades. Derby Dorco and Astra. I tried them and I prefere the Astras. Now, I don't undertand why I still use the same blades with the same razor and the same cream but I get lousy shaves. So, is it possible that the skin chganges therefore the blade doesn't react the same way? I live in Norhthern Quebec and during winter time the humidity level inside and outside vary a lot. Anyway, I will experiment with the Gilette 7 o'clock to test my theory.
I'm in complete agreement with ThePossum....no "perfect" blade exists. We can find blades that suit our needs, but those needs tend to change as we gain proficiency in wet-shaving, even when switching razors. It is possible to simplify our search, though. I think Red-Packs were the third blade I tried, and I loved them. They seem to have it all: smoothness, sharpness, all at a low cost. I made the mistake of continuing to search in an attempt to do better. Now I have found other good brands, all at considerably more cost. If I had it to do over, I think that the best move would have been to immediately order a good supply of that great blade (whatever it is for you), and go with them, while building proficiency. Then, (and this is what I'm doing now) begin occasionally trying different blades while maintaining your foundation blade. Vintage DE razors are my current fling, not from a collectors standpoint, I'm strictly utilitarian when it comes to shaving gear. My Merkur Slant-Bar is my go-to standard, but some of the vintage razors I've tried work (a little) better with other blades. The differences are very fine and, while I've found a few brands that might hold their edge a bit longer, or feel slightly sharper, but at much higher cost.
I went through a pack of Wal-mart Personnas and a sample pack when I started. After going through the sample pack a had 3 blades I really liked (Astra SP, 7 O'Clock SE, Silver Stars by LORD). I liked them all about the same. The 7 O'Clocks were most expensive and the Silver Stars aren't as widely available, so I went with Astra - still my favorite overall blade. I've since found my preferences are a little different in some razors, so have bulk purchased Crystal and Dorco ST301 (for head shaving mostly) blades also. Somehow I tried Red Pack Personnas really late and like them as well or better than Crystals, so will likely order RPPs instead of Crystals when I finally run low. I think it's good to try about a dozen blades before picking one to bulk order. Then you have a standard to measure other blades against and know it's better for you than 11 other blades so you're not bulk buying blades you'll regret or end up trading or giving away. It's still good to try a few more that are similar to those you've liked best from the sampler and see if you find something better.
There's some good info in here but i think this is my plan that i came up with so far that i'll stick with my sample pack that i have now, develop my technique a bit more and get a feel of the ones that i like and when the time comes order more of the one(s) i like, with trying new ones out along the way. That way when sampling others and if they dont work out, i'll always have something to turn back to that i know works.
I got a trial Merkur blade with my 38C, but I bought 10 Red Personnas. I decided that I'll switch blades after using at least 7 blades and experimenting with how long I can use them and the shave quality after some number of consecutive shaves. Since this is my first time using DE blades, I noticed I liked the Personnnas I received more than the Merkur blade. However, I also noticed I got the US packaged ones. Considering how many people consider these blades inferior, I've decided to move to using Gillette 7 O'clock or Gillette 7am.
Took me about 9 months - worked my way through a sample pack, which gave me a good baseline, then systematically tried every other blade I could lay my hands on. At the end of that lot, I was down to about half-a-dozen blades that I could "race off" against one and other... In the end I have a favoured 3 - because not all blades work the same in all razors... In that 9 months, I've had some stunning shaves and some absolutely hideous shaves.
About two years ago, I was in the same position as you - new to DE shaving and trying to determine which blade was the best. I have found about five top notch blades in that time. The method used was to simply order packs of various blades and try them out. Could I have ordered blade sampler packs and done the same thing? Sure, but by ordering a bunch of packs of my own choosing it was easy to create a custom sampler. The blades selected were based on recommendations from the wetshaving boards. If many individuals gave a blade a thumbs up, into the sampler order it went. That was especially true if they were using the same razor as I, and their opinions of various blades matched what I had found so far. If you try out 35 different blades, you may find the blade to end all blades in the first pack, the thirty-fifth or anywhere in between. Based on my own experience, I recommend trying at least 15 different blades to start. That should identify some that give a nice, smooth, irritation-free shave. The ones that work particularly well for me are: Big Ben Super Stainless, Derby Extra, Gillette 7 O'clock Permasharp (green wrapper) Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum (black wrapper), Iridium Super Extra Stainless, Rainbow Super Stainless and Super-Max Platinum. But that is just me, others may get different results.
It seems like the number of vendors offering sample packs is pretty small. What's the deal? I'm having a hard time finding one with the blades I want to try.
Remember that not all blades appear in sample packs though. But I agree, sample packs are the place to start... and keep notes on what you've tried (so you can try not to double try) - some sample pack vendors are open to changing the composition of their packs or making up custom packs too...
