I'm four days in on a blade audition for my Gillette 1911 OLD. The GSB delivered its second BBS in four days. I start every blade audition with GSB because it has been the most consistent blade for me since I started DE shaving in April of '16. Love me some GSB!
Last shave for the GSB today. Did a really excellent job this week. Out of six shaves I executed, I received two BBS. The rest were either DFS or DFS+. Can't ask for more than that.
GSB and Voskhod are the only bulk buys I've ever had. GSB is an exceptionally smooth blade for it's sharpness level, and Teflon never hurts! Notice how it rinses easily and resists clogging? Teflon...it's really for the rinse.
In a year Astra SP will work fine. So will almost anything else. You'll still have faves, but the range of doable blades will widen for you quite a bit, mostly due to your ongoing priority of technique mastery. Sticking with a razor model like you have really pays off once you've done a couple hundred shaves with the same model. I feel like you've nailed the concepts, and it seems like it's just continuing to improve, albeit in a very fine way at this point. I've had 450 open blade shaves, and still consider myself to be learning the finer points. Just wanted to let you know that guys like you are why we keep doing the 30DC. It's been a pleasure to watch you master the tools. See above about Astra
Voskhod, to my perception, is marginally sharper than GSB, but not quite as smooth. Voskhod is probably easier in mild geometry than aggressive. Voskhod punishes angle and pressure more than GSB in a DE. They are both superb choices in a shavette by virtue of their consistent QC.