I was wondering about the Kronas ... I've cut myself on it and thought it was due to strange geometry, but really it's because it's so mild I'm working too hard to get a close shave.
Agree. Of course a forgiving blade helps these great razors along. May I suggest a Red Personna or a Crystal.
No such thing as a "forgiving" blade. No such thing as a "mild" or "aggressive" blade. Only sharp or dull, harsh or smooth blades. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...ild-sharp-or-smooth-a-general-overview.37813/
Well then I will change forgiving to smooth. A Personna Red and Crystal are smooth. Some blades are just easier on the skin than others.
I agree 100%! Derbly and Voskhod just don't feel comfortable to me. That's why sample packs are the way to go when one is searching for their "perfect" blade.
Why is shaving so different from everything else? Why do we get so mystified? I am not going to just respectfully disagree, I am going to declare this to be highly misguided and poorly thought out advice. Let's stop repeating nonsense. Here is why: Do we tell new golfers to try a ball sample pack? No. That would be ridiculous because they don't know how to play, and to a new golfer, the differences in balls wouldn't matter. The new golfer lacks the control needed to benefit from any particular ball characteristic. But wait! We do exactly this on Shave forums. It's a really nice sounding idea.... Except that newbies have no experience, technique or capacity to judge blades, and rotating blades further confounds their development by taking their focus off of skill development. Sample packs for newbies is some of the most often repeated advice on shave forums, and it makes no sense at all. It just gets repeated and is never examined. It wastes their time and money, and slows their mastery, delaying happiness. I've watched this play out over and over, without fail on this forum. The variance in most DE blades simply isn't enough to account for the bad results newbies get, and every blade is rough at an improper angle and pressure. Blades don't matter anywhere near as much as people pretend they do, and are quite often a catch all for lack of skill or some other issue.
I agree with @Bama Samurai, but only to a point. We DO know that for some reason, Astra works for some people, but not others. We also know that for some reason, Derby is either GREAT, or absolutely abysmal - for various people. With that, I'd tell a new person to try different blades, but STICK WITH THEM each for at least five to ten shaves. By different blades, I mean _two_ on the opposite end of the middle of the spectrum. Derby, and Astra SP. Dorco (whatever the cheap one that they sell at the dollar stores might be), or Gillette Nacet. If you find you really like Dorco, stick with it for the 30 days. Or Astra, or whatever. After 30 years of shaving with DE's, I can throw just about anything in and get a decent shave - but I've found some of the blades are REALLY crappy for me, and I chunk them after a shave. If it's uncomfortable enough on the first shave, I don't care if it 'gets better'. If you hit your head with a rock a few times, it feels really good when you stop - but it's better if you don't start hitting your head with a rock in the first place.
To the extent that this is true, you are correct. Nailing a technique that works is crucial. But unlike in golf, shaving razor blades are made differently by different companies, with varying properties, and what works best for one shaver may not be ideal for another. We all have different skin and whisker types that will respond differently to different blades. That's why blades are probably the most variable component of wet shaving.
We’ve gotten slightly off topic here. Probably should make a “why are blade samplers ideal in the eye of some members and a disservice to new shavers according to others” thread. But until that thread is born, I’ll disagree with BS’s post a bit. Respect to you Samurai, but blade samplers can be beneficial to the new shavers. I initially started with one blade and worked with it. No matter what I did, terrible shaves. Then I got a sampler and realized immediately, there were better blades for me, regardless of my imperfect technique. As I worked my way through them, I could tell which blades were keepers and which were PIFers for a particular razor. Segue to next point. It wasn’t until I tried different razors that I found that some were remarkably better suited for my style of shaving. If I had just stuck with one blade, or one razor, I would not enjoy shaving as I do. I agree with Bookworm, give each product a chance. Your first experience may be less than ideal, but a revisit may lend different results. I also believe for many new shavers, immersing themselves in the hobby is part of the fun. Trying all of the products available to find what makes the perfect shaving experience for the individual. We are lucky to elevate a necessary chore to an elaborate hobby. With the availability of product to the new shavers and connoisseurs of shaving, there is no reason to stick with products that make the experience less than enjoyable, even while pursuing the perfect technique. YMMV. In keeping with the theme of the OP, the Weishi is incredibly mild. Even with a sharp blade. I can run that thing across my head for a few passes and not worry about head lacerations and I have thick/full hair. The CG lvl 1 is a very mild razor as well.
New to the Forum I didn't recently switch. There are three years of true variable controlled 30 Day eqipment exercises that myself and others have done on the forum. This is not to bust your balls but.... How many lifetime DE shaves are you basing that opinion upon? 60? 90? 180 with continual gear rotation? What do you base this belief upon, controlled experimentation, or stuff you read on the internet? If you recently switched, how would you know? Something tells me you lack the experience to know if your own statement is true or not. When I was new, so many blades tore me up. I guess the razor blade R&D is amazing, because every manufacturer has improved their blades so much in the last three and a half years I've beeen trying this, that most blades work for me now. Others here have noticed how much better blades have gotten as well...... When I was new, I wrote stuff like you just did above. I was repeating a shave culture notion without examining it one bit. This is how misguided advice gets repeated on shaving forums. Newbies don't know what's causing the irritation usually, and when they find out there are over 120 commonly available blades, it becomes distraction and not solution. People aren't as unique as they think, and many find that as they master the concepts of angle and pressure, any blade will do. Heck, I even know true experts here that glue a DE blade to a Popsicle stick and get DFS. Use your search Fu... I doubt they have any special skills or aptitude, but rather a mastery of the interaction of angle and pressure. This mastery isn't achieved by looking for solutions through swapping gear or blades. See above
You're right. Had you stuck to one setup, you might have mastered it faster and enjoy it even more than you do now.
I didn't read all of the threads, but the Rockwell 6S/C is adjustable such that you can use a very, very mild base plate. You can move up and down a 6 level scale to adjust for your shave. If you want to stay on the mild end of the scale, then you could try the Rockwell 2C. https://rockwellrazors.com/products/rockwell-6s https://rockwellrazors.com/products/rockwell-6c-razor-white-chrome https://rockwellrazors.com/products/rockwell-2c-razor-white-chrome
I suppose if your looking for the mildest razor. If your not specifying DE, SE, S8 or shavette; I can only speak of DE a couple SE I'm I've shave. The DE I've already expressed my opinion; as for SE that I've tried ... Schick Easy Rider and Schick Adjustable can be very mild. As for straight and shavettes I don't have experience with those
I'm gonna back this up, because not only did I read user reviews from people who've already been wet shaving for many years, I also did my own experimentation. For example, the Astra SP blades performed better in my Merkur 34c than in my re-branded Weishi 9306. By that time I'd already been shaving for months refining my technique. Conversely, the Treet Carbon Steel blades performed somewhat better in terms of smoothness and closeness in my Weishi than in my Merkur. The latter, because of its heavier weight and larger blade gap, generally performs better but then there's odd blade brand that is better suited to the former.