So I randomly choose a blade from the sampler pack I had ordered and came out with the treet platinum. I had been using the astra superior plat blades for the last few weeks and the treet was only the second blade I have ever used. My razor is a merkur 180. So todays shave was about 100x better than any of my shaves with the astra. The astra always left my face and especially my neck burning. I never got a shave without irritation, and now with the treet I had no irritation. So my question is, what would you guys consider the styles to be of the two blades so I could know my face doesn't like type "a" but does really well with type "b"?
Hey thanks man, but I actually have like 15 different types of blades. I was just trying to go a long time without changing the type of blade since I just began DE shaving. I wanted to work on my technique.
blades are one of the most subjective parts to shaving. Your face + your razor + the price of tea in China = the quality of your shave. Said quality will not be the same as any other person's shave. Here's proof: I've used both Treet Platinum and Astra SP. I found them to be very similar- solid performing, smooth, reasonably priced blades. My suggestion is that if Treet Platinum work well for you, then stick with them. I seem to remember that you can get 100 for less than $10. EDIT: just checked, and I was off on the price. It's less than $15 for 100 from many different vendors, which is still a good price.
Ya I got that, I just have so many people talk about types of razors being smooth, sharp, or aggressive. I was just thought someone would maybe say blade X is aggressive and blade Y isn't, so I would know I don't like aggressive blades.
Funny, I get mild irritation from the Treet Plat. blades but find the Astra to be a favorite. It's been some time since I used the Treet, but IIRC it wasn't as sharp as the Astra. If you have a Crystal Persona in your sampler, I think you'll like it. It's the mildest blade I find to be effective on my face, just a little sharper than I recall from the Treet.
my experience with blades is that what works for one person does not work for another. So what one person finds aggressive/ sharp another finds too mild/ dull. A member of a different shaving board examined blade edges under a microscope to come up with an empirical standard for sharpness- I don't remember his conclusions. If you'd like, I'll see if I can find that thread and pm you the link. EDIT: I've looked and I can't find the site that conducted the microscope DE study. I know someone did it- does anyone else remember who it was?
Again, YMMV, but I am the exact opposite. The Treet platinum's were very bad for me, but I really liked the Astra SP's. I was surprised that I had so much difficulty with the Treet Platinums because the Treet durasharps had worked well for me in the past. I even put Treet Platinum's in a drawer for a six or so month's and when I came back to them, I still hated them. They were just too rough for me, chewed up my neck something feirce. Blades are subjective, if they work for you fantastic. If not, stow them for awhile and come back after a couple of months. If they still don't work for you, PIF them to someone else and chalk it up to an education.
To answer the question in the original post, the Treet Platinum Super Stainless gave me shaves that were quite good and smooth in a Merkur 34C. Irritation was minor at worst. I got similar shaves from the Astra Superior Platinum in the Merkur. The Treets were somewhat better than the Astras, though. In the Edwin Jagger DE89L, the Treets gave shaves that were not smooth at all, and with some irritation. I have not tried the Astras in the DE89L. It just goes to show that blade performance can vary depending on the razor used. Your mileage may - or may not - vary. Both blades must work well for a large number of shavers, or else they would have failed in the marketplace.
Thanks for all the replies guys. Weird that one member can find a blade sharp while another one can find it dull. Sharpness really seems like a statistic that can be quantifiable as opposed to opinion base. I have since shaved twice more with the same treet blade and the first shave was the only one that was irritation free for me. I was hoping for more than that. Oh well, I will probably test one more blade to see how it compares and see if I find it only gives me one great shave again and then move on to a new blade.
It is interesting because I like the Treet Classic Carbons better than the Treet Platinum (that is stainless steel). So even between manufacturers, the product lines can have very different followings.
It very much is. What I drew from that microscopic blade study at SMF is that most blades are equally "sharp" within a rather narrow range. The grinds on those blades differ, the blade dimensions can vary slightly, and blade composition and coating can differ too. All of which affect blade performance. Your face and your razor add an additional host of variables that further affect blade performance. Once you're finished calculating all that, you come up with results that apply only to you. As I see it, this verifies that YMMV is scientific.
YMMV is more true for razor blades than any other element. Read enough reviews and you'll see 10 will brand X is the sharpest and 4 will say it's the dullest; 6 will say it's gentle and smooth, while 5 will say it chews them up. AND the blade paired with Razor A may be very different than when paired with Razor B on your face. If you only have one razor, you are lucky - you just need to find one blade that works well and then just shave without any more experimenting. Be wary of RAD and RBAD. This is advice from an addict who in the past year has acquired perhaps 30 different razors and a dozen different blade 100 packs (or greater).
It's all subjective. My two favorite blades are Derby and Feather - opposite ends of the sharpness spectrum. Depends on what razor I'm using it with, and what my mood is that day.
@Jefferey, may I suggest a 30 day Focus. You can take various blades and try them out one razor at a time. Tomorrow I commence a blade audition for a Parker 99r I just acquired. Feather, Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette 7 o'clock Green and Voskhod. I've already got blades for my EJ DE89bl(Shark), SA-109(Voskhod) and NEW SC(GSB). Hope this was of some help.
I tested the Treet Platinum when I went through my sample pack some months ago. I found it to be a middle of the road blade. Gave a decent shave but nothing to write home about. I used a Merkur 34c for all my testing. The Astra SP ended up being one of my top performers. The more important finding I made was that different razors often like different blades. The 34c worked well with a large number of blades. I have been going back through the various blades with a Muhle R89. It is far more picky. The AstraSP which worked well in the 34c didn't work at all in the R89 - for me anyway. The Treet was so so in both razors. Comparing these two blades - the Astra SP is far sharper than the Treet. In my opinion. If your technique is still evolving I can see where the Astra could leave some irritation. Also once you are comfortable with your technique - go back and retry some of the blades you thought you didn't like. They may now be great performers. That's all I got.
