Blade sample pack reviews

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Demidog, Oct 22, 2016.

  1. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    I started working my way through my blade sample pack, starting with a Feather blade that I reviewed here. However, I thought that I'd start consolidating my reviews into one thread.

    Today I went with the Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge blades from Russia. The result was one of the most enjoyable shaves that I have ever had and the closest that I have ever come to a BBS shave since I switched to DE razors.

    The SharpEdge was comparable in feeling to the Feather and had absolutely no issues with tugging, pulling, or scraping. I was able to effortlessly glide across the trouble areas to attain my finest DE shave to date. A 100 pack can be currently found for $19.23, which puts these ahead of the Feathers in having a superior price/performance ratio. I have some reservations about the platinum coating but up next will be the 7 O'Clock Super Stainless.

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  2. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow are indeed great blades !!!
     
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  3. Matt0210

    Matt0210 Well-Known Member

    What blades did you get in your sample pack?
     
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  4. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Feather, Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge, 7 O'Clock Stainless, Gillette Silver Blue, Personna Lab Blue, Personna Platinum (Israeli Reds), Shark Super Chrome, Shark Stainless, Voskhod, and German Wilkinson Sword.

    I also bought a 50 pack of Vijay Stainless and I have a 100 pack of Astra SP that I bought before I knew anything about DE shaving, blades, and shaving forums. I'm thinking about trading some blades with others here who have generously offered to do so. The Vijays are as cheap as they come but they are strictly one and done in my opinion, and even then they are a rough shave. The Astra SPs are an incredible value for the money for I'm starting to feel like the platinum coating is not for me, despite the fact that the SharpEdge gave me my best DE shave ever today.
     
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  5. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member



    I'm a stainless user all the way. Some good stuff in there. Keep us updated !!!
     
  6. Matt0210

    Matt0210 Well-Known Member

    You got a good variety of blades there. What do you think of Voskhods? At first I didn't like them because I wasn't all that experienced. Now having a little bit of an understanding on how to shave with a DE they are one of my favorite blades. I have some Sharks, Crystals, Astra SS, but still haven't tried those.
     
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  7. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    I haven't tried the Voskhods yet but I have heard lots of good things about them. So far, I've only used Astra SP, Vijay, Feather, and 7 O'Clock SharpEdge. I will be pushing the blades until they start feeling uncomfortable, which usually happens after three uses. I've been taking some some days off in between shaving because I have a nasty nick from last week that just won't go away, so it's gonna be a slow process but I will be steadily working my way through the pack.
     
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  8. Borderboss

    Borderboss Active Member

    The 7 O'Clock Stainless has been my sole blade for several years now. I like them better than the SilverBlue, which were good but not great. Haven't tried the SharpEdge yet.
     
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  9. Pierce Jordan

    Pierce Jordan Well-Known Member

    Good news as I've got a pack(5) of them.

    I won't be using them for 27 days as I'm sticking with the same brush/blades/razor/soap for that time to get my technique right. So far I've only tried Derby(not for me) and Wilkinson Sword Classic(best I've tried :))
     
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  10. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Today's blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless from Russia

    Very mediocre shave today, mostly because my skin was still irritated from yesterday's shave and also because I've had the same nick for over a week that keeps opening up. I've been taking a day off between shaves as I go through the sample pack but I'm very eager to try new blades and I needed to shave today anyway.

    These blades were on par with Astra SPs. I was expecting something similar to the 7 O'Clock SharpEdge but without the irritation that platinum coated blades seem to cause. The blade didn't struggle through the tough areas but it wasn't as smooth as the Feather or the SharpEdge. However, I still had issues with the stray whiskers and I spent way too long trying to track them down. I look a bit unsightly today but hopefully no one notices.

    As for sharpness, I'm going to retroactively rate the blades as follows:
    • Feather: 10/10
    • 7 O'Clock SharpEdge: 9.8/10
    • Astra SP: 7/10
    • Vijay: 3/10
    I would put the 7 O'Clock Super Stainless at a 7/10, alongside the Astra SP. If the Astra Stainless blades are as good as the Astra SP, then I have no reason to use the 7 O'Clock Stainless blades again as the former have a much better price. The quality of today's shave isn't really the fault of the blade, in part because I was in a bit of a hurry, and I also had extremely high expectations after the incredible shave that I got from the SharpEdge.

    [​IMG]

    The 30 day focus helped me out a lot. I had to reset my counter a few times, which is why I took so long to finally start going through my sample blades, but it was worth it. I have some German Wilkinsons that I will be trying eventually. As for the SharpEdge, they are phenomenal blades and you definitely made a great choice buying a pack of them.
     
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  11. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    I do the same thing. When I get new blades I get so eager to try them, I shave on back to back days. This sometimes causes irritation. I have to fight to wait 1 day in between shaves !!!
     
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  12. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    I do this with any new shaving product that I get. Usually I have to shave daily anyway because otherwise I look really scraggly, but my face never handled it very well. I've gotten pretty good with my tools but there is still some room for improvement, so maybe when I find the right blade and get a bit better, daily shaving will be a lot easier.
     
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  13. matteob

    matteob Active Member

    My biggest surprize with a sample pack that a guy on the shavingroom sent me is the Treet Black Beauty Carbon Steel as forum research on another well known place has shown me that people become quite hot under the collar debating them. They seem to be a Marmite blade as we say in the UK (a yeast spread popular here whose advertizing slogan was "you either love it or hate it") I have had three great shaves with the blade and not had any rust issues as dry the blade straight away by taking it out of razor, spraying some rubbing alcohol on it and leaving it to dry.
     
  14. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    There was a recent threat here about those blades and the reviewer had a lot of positive things to say about the blade. I forgot to mention that I actually have some standard Treet blades that I got in the sample pack, but none of the Black Beauties yet. There are a few more blades with which I plan on experimenting hopefully after I finish the sample pack, and the Black Beauty is one of them.
     
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  15. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Blade: Gillette Silver Blue

    I'll keep it short from now on since this isn't an interesting thread.

    I haven't shaved since my last review in order to give my face time to heal. As a result, I had substantial beard growth so this wasn't really a fair comparison. It was another mediocre shave that was perhaps a small step above the 7 O'Clock Stainless. The blade was really struggling through the coarsest whiskers even on the second pass, so I got a bit impatient and overly aggressive. Still not much in the way of irritation fortunately, so it's really becoming clear that my face doesn't like platinum coatings even though the 7 O'Clock SharpEdge is still the best blade by a wide margin.

    7.5/10

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. matteob

    matteob Active Member

    It's interesting to me keep going. I am surprised them not being able to cope with coarse whiskers as I have read they are at the top for sharpness. They are also quite a bit more expensive than most blades.

    It sounds like you have fairly sensitive skin like me. I was suffering from shaving every day testing new blades so I am going to give my skin a rest too and reduce the passes.A couple of Asprin mixed into a paste in a teaspoon of warm water and applied to irritated skin calms the burning and gets rid of razor burn quickly. I am not afraid to use an electric to keep myself presentable while skin heals. A wet shave after using those things is so much more satisfying too.

    Be interesting to see how you find the Voshkods: I think they are superb on my sensitive skin. They feel sharp enough but buttery smooth and no irritation even on a back to back shave. Polsilver blades are also very good. Those two blades are the only ones where I have bought in bulk, in particular because the St Petersberg Gilette factory has discontinued Polsilvers last month. There are still millions of them out there though...at the moment.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2016
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  17. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    I like this thread too. Keep it up. If you PM me your address I will PIF some Astra Superior Stainless blades for you to try. And keep the great reviews going !!!
     
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  18. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the tip regarding Aspirin. I never heard of that remedy before but I'm definitely curious about it now. I'm also surprised that the Silver Blue didn't blow me away because they are very highly regarded and I see them mentioned very frequently amongst DE users. The Voskhods are the blades that I'm most excited about trying out of all the ones that I have left, although I might order some more sample blades when I finish this pack because I missed out on some other reputable brands.

    When I was learning to use a DE, I would resort to older tools too in order to tackle trouble areas and to give my skin a break. I might do that every other day now as you mentioned just to keep myself looking clean in between trying new blades.
    Thanks a lot for the feedback. I realized that most people are using SE or straight razors, and the ones still using a DE are already way more experienced with different blades than I am, so I figured that this wasn't helping anyone but me. I'll keep the reviews coming for sure though and thanks for the offer. I'd definitely like to take you up on it soon any maybe send you some of the blades that I bought in bulk for you to try as well.
     
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  19. matteob

    matteob Active Member

    Nice one!

    Do try the asprin remedy. Asprin works just as well as an anti inflammatory applied topically as it does internally. You will find administering the asprin paste immediately soothes the burning, kills bacteria and gently exfoliates too. Leave on face for 10 minutes then wipe with a warm flannel. You will see the swelling go down within the hour.

    I found the remedy googling "razor burn relief" and it is more effective than witch hazel and tea tree for me.
     
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  20. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Blade: Voskhod

    These blades are another game changer along with the 7 O'Clock SharpEdge and Feather blades. I started coming down with a cold today so I was feeling lousy, but these blades gave me such a great shave that it turned my mood around, at least for a little while. I also had an amazing lather and it almost seems like when I use a great blade, everything else just somehow falls perfectly into place.

    The Voskhod gave me one of the most comfortable shaves that I've ever had. I don't understand the science behind it since these weren't the sharpest blades that I've used, but they just felt incredible against my face. The first pass was heavenly and although the second pass didn't feel much different from an Astra SP, it was still good. No nicks, no weepers, and irritation feels nonexistent at the moment. I didn't get the closest shave but I certainly got an extremely satisfying shave, and that's just as important.

    Because these blades don't have a platinum coating, I think it's safe to say that given their price and the high level of comfort, they are the current contenders as my main blade to replace the Astra SPs. I also love the fact that there isn't any glue on the blades. I never considered it a problem but I still never quite liked the residue that gets left behind by other blades that have glue on them. I still have some more blades to try and many more sample blades to order, but it's gonna be tough to beat the Voskhods.

    I've been rating blades on sharpness so far, and I'd give the Voskhod around an 8/10. However, I'd like to create a new overall rating and give these a 9/10 because they were so comfortable.

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