Aftee using Feathers for the first month of wet shaving, I have switched to Persona Lab Blues. I have to say it was only the first shave but I really liked it. I was nervous as I have heard that Feathers were the sharpest but the Lab Blues felt so smooth. There was no razor rash or hot spots at all. How many blades do you experiment with before you find the blade for you??
I experimented with 5-6 blades before I decided that Astra SPs were the ones for me. Ordered 300 and thought I was good. Later tried Voskhod and thought they were even better and ordered 100. Then I tried some Rapira Swedish Supersteel (and some other Rapira) that I got in a PIF. Ordered 200 Swedes. I know I am happy with any of these three and am done with experimenting (for now)....
I have been testing some 30 different blades over the last several months. I've been ranking them into four categories: poor, good, very good, and excellent. I'm down to just two remaining. The Rapira Super Stainless - which will be my Wednesday shave. The last will be the Personna Lab Blue - that shave will be on Friday. I've tried two other Personna blades and did not like either one. We'll see with the Lab Blues. As for the Feathers, I ranked them as "very good": not "excellent". They are sharp but not smooth - for me. Lots of folks think "sharpness" means that the blade must be good. Its the combination of sharpness and smoothness that makes the blade - my thoughts. For what it is worth so far, my top five blades are: Polsilver Super Iridium, Astra SP, Voskhod, Ladas, and Rapira Platinum Lux. Still subject to change as I will retest my "excellent" category blades (there are 9 of them total). I look for that sweet spot of sharpness and smoothness combined.
I've tried quite a few blades. What I found is if you try one that you don't like on the first shave, chances are using more of those blades will give similar results. When I tired the PLBs, I knew wanted to try more so I ordered 100 to test and I still like them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
All very good blades that were mentioned above. I haven't tried the Polsilvers yet, but all the others I use in rotation in different razors. And Feathers are sharp, but the smoothness plus sharpness is what counts, as far as I am concerned.
Voskhod has a big following. A lot of people LOVE them. They're sharp but not real smooth to me. On my first sample pack of blades I got Sharps (2/10), Crystals (5/10), Voskhod (5/10), Astra SP (8/10), Astra SS (9/10), Shark SS (5/10), Shark SC (I actually have not used these yet), and 7am Platinum (5/10). Most of the blades with the exception of the Sharps were sharp blades but lost points on the comfort spectrum.
I like PLB blades. Not enough to buy a 100 pack but I would certainly recommend them to anybody. They are sharp enough, very smooth and consistent.
I've done my test using just the Merkur 34c razor. I wanted a standard test platform. As others have said - any given blade can perform better or worse in a different razor. I plan on keeping all the blades on hand after my test and will try some of the top blades in another razor. I have a Muhle R89 standing by. However, I am close to pulling the tigger on a significant bulk purchase of blades. I have a purchase list sitting here next to the computer that I seem to modify each day as to brand and quantity.
I just finished shaving with my next to last blade (Rapira Super Stainless) to be tested - posted on Shave of the Day thread. One more to go - the Personna Lab Blues. That shave will be on Friday. I have tested two other Personna blades (Platinum and Crystals) and was not impressed. We'll see how the Lab Blues perform.
If you're a "Buy American", the Personna Lab Blues are your only choice. But, I don't think there's a better value than Astra SP.
Trouble is, America really isn't in game anymore. Other than Lab Blues and maybe Rockwell are there any other blades made here?
An excellent blade. My best pairings are: 1949 Super Speed; Fat Boy; Slim; Rocket HD500. But in reality, the only razor I haven't liked with it is a Super Speed Red Tip.
I try and give at least three shaves with a new blade before deciding on if it's a keeper or not. Just to try and make sure it wasn't a fluke. Sent from my Galaxy Phone using Tapatalk
If you found "your blade", you can still continue trying other blades but know you know you have something to fall back on. Sent from my Galaxy Phone using Tapatalk
I didn't like the Personna Platinum or Crystals either, but Personna Lab Blues are my favorite blade. I use them in all of my razors.