Okay, this morning's shave with Voskhods. There was very little stubble to work with so I dialed my Black Beauty back to "7" for the first pass(WTG). Second pass XTG, cheeks & chin, ATG neck dialed to "6". Tomorrow I might stay at "7" just to see how the blade reacts(not to mention my skin). Overall so far I'm very impressed. Blade seems to be smooth and sharp. It's now a tight race between GSB, 7 o'clock Greens and the Voskhods as to which will be my blade of choice for my SA-109.
That's a lot of blades that you've tried! I've only tried about 6 brands. I think I'm going to order another sample of blades just to try some new ones. I've heard about tryablade.com but for some reason when I try to add blades to my cart to buy them it doesn't do anything. Maybe the site is down.
I just tried and it works for me. When I clicked the add to cart button there was no acknowledgement, but when I went to my cart they were in there.
My original sample pack had 18 brands in it. I ordered another 10 brands (2 blades each) from Try A Blade about three weeks ago. I got an email saying they received the order and two days later I received the blades in the mail.
I'll try it again. I used my phone to do it but maybe it doesn't have a mobile version for the website. That might make a difference. I was surprised at just how many brands are out there. Literally dozens and dozens of brands.
I was on the phone when I tried it. No problems. If you continue to have problems just scroll down to the bottom and hit contact us and send Jason a message. He's a great guy and will help you out.
A beautiful sight. Just arrived a few minutes ago in the mail. My wife ordered them for me. She knew I liked them. I am still going to bulk order some other blades as well, as soon as I'm done with my test. However, Voskhods are a good start.
Wait until you see the rest of my bulk purchase. I'm taking at least one full armor division off line.
Looking ahead to next week when the Focus will shift to my NEW SC, the field is going to be smaller: GSB, Feather Black, 7 o'clock Green and Voskhods. The GSB's beat out Astra Green, Bolzano, Derby, Shark and Wilkinson Sword Classic. My EJ DE89 is set with Shark Super Chrome. I am not going to rerun that audition(at least not until summer maybe). Then my rotation will be set. Unless I make another fleamarket find when it reopens in the spring. A four razor rotation makes more sense doesn't it
Continuing with my Focus Voskhods shaves. Today I left my SA-109 on "7" for both passes. As it "ages" the blade seems to like the more aggressive setting. I had the second pass on "6" yesterday and needed a touch up. Today no touch up. It's gonna be a tough decision when Friday rolls around as to which Russian blade is going to bear away the bell.
By your handle you should take a look at the thread "Stoic or Epicurean" I started in The Chatterbox. I'd be interested in your thoughts.
So, I finished my Voskhods Focus. And by a razor thin(sorry, I couldn't resist) margin the Voskies edged(sorry again)out 7 o'clock Green. I see a bulk purchase in my future. Next up is my NEW SC. GSB, Feather Black, 7 o'clock Green and of course the Voskhods. I like "Anhold" will be back with more observations.
I gotta say, I am thiiis close to officially naming Voskhods as my favorite over Gillette Silver Blues, which have been my #1 go-to for a while now. The shaves I get with these blades are out of this world and I almost never get so much as a nick regardless of what soap I use. The smoothness is undoubtedly the best I've used and my face feels so fresh and clean afterwards, it seems to hit just the right sweet-spot for me. Luckily I bought 200 more blades just before the new year so I'm set for a while on blades while I start what I hope will be 2 years of not buying any product.
also @CliffDweller Voskhod and GSB are functionally equivalent to me. I've put 21 shaves on a GSB and 12 on a Voskhod (got bored and moved on), they are both top tier gear. Edit: on cost basis, Voskhod wins.
For me, it's like this: 1. Polsilver 2 Voskhod / Astra Feather's are fine and extremely sharp blades, but like stated above, they aren't forgiving and if you make a mistake, you pay.
