with the good prices that Russion blades are going for, I'd like some advice on whether they are good blades for someone new to wetshaving. I see names like Rapira, Voskhod, Sputnik, Lux, Ladas, etc. I bought 100 Astra SP blades from a recommendation. Advice, please! I know that blades can be very subjective, but don't want to start off with something too aggressive, like Feathers!
Astras are good and sharp blades, a good all around performer. I'm not sure if you are asking because you want to buy more blades? I was impressed by the Rapira blades, and would take advantage of the sale prices.
All of them are good, some are great. Unfortunately blades are an item of such personal preference, only you can know which is right for you. The good thing is if you don't like any of those, they cost you little. The Astras you already have are one of my favorites, as are most on the list.
Astras are a pretty balanced blade that work in more people than most blades do. If you had a correlation coefficient matrix of people's blade opinions, you'd see that everyone had a high correlation with Astras. There's a higher probability on average that when people shave, they use Astras than other blades.
I was a fan of Keramik, but I haven't seen them in awhile. I like the Astras and find them better than the Swedish or Israeli Personnas. Rougaroo
Try some of each and see what you like: Tryablade.com And then make a bulk purchase if one hits the spot.
I find blade recommendations almost useless. The first blade I ever used was a Feather and got great shaves. It must have been because I didn't know they were to aggressive for my newbie ski and technique. I have tried many blades from the lesser aggressive camp and by and large they don't work out for me. I can't even use Derby's because I'd pass out from blood loss after they chew half my face off. Blades are definitely a YMMV item.
Rapira lux are about equal to Crystal blades, I use either. I'm not too crazy over the Russian made Gillette blades some guys feel there great tho, The Voskhod blades are also a good blade, before buying 100 get sampler pack Italian Barber sells Russian blades by 100, good prices too.
Your going to pay $5-$8 per 100 right now from IB. This is the best time to buy Russian blades as the rubble has dropped.
I'm not sure...... It's one of the few blades that seems to perform very well for me. Guess I got lucky finding it early on. I figure newbies ought to get a good sampler pack and not be afraid of using the Feather early on.
I'm waiting on a sample pack from Russia (Voskhod's, Lada's, Rapira's). I've never used these brands but have heard good things. The price was sure good at less than $0.10 per blade. I've used Russian blades such as Astra (SP & SS), Gillette 7 o'clock blues, greens & yellows with great success. I'm expecting them to be similar...........
Best thing you can do is get as many sample blades as you can, so you can find what works best with your face and technique..)
Bought a sample off the bay with various brands when I started wet shaving. Settled on the Astras and haven't regreted it. I get at least 5 shaves per blade.
Yeah, this thread certainly proves that some people hate everyone's favorite, and this is all highly subjective.
