I'm looking to buy a sampler pack of blades just to get a good feel for what would work best but I'd like to know what brands of blades I should look for in sort of a starter sampler pack. I wouldn't say I really have sensitive skin if that helps at all.
Doesn't matter. Any sample pack will have some you like, some you won't. Really you gotta ask your face, not us. Go over to the Shower and Shave of the Day forum and you'll get a feel for what others are using and often their opinions.
When you decide what blades you want to try check out Tryablade.com you can pick and choose only the blades you want and the shipping is flat rate and quick.
Top 10 most popular across multiple forums Astra Superior Platinum Feather Polsilver Super Iridium Gillette Silver Blue Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (Blacks) Personna Lab (Blues) Personna Platinums (Reds) Personna Med Prep Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (Yellows) Voskhod
Blades and Razors work together as a system. One blade may work well for one razor and not well for another. A sampler pack is a must and Tryablade.com is an excellent resource. You might want to take a look at some of the references contained in my signature line below for discussions of the 30 Day systems and more on shaving hardware (blades, razors, concepts for each, brushes, etc.) and software or just CLICK HERE! You should also concern yourself with Technique. So please take some time and look through the threads contained HERE! Good fortune on your search.
It doesn't. Beginner blades are like beginner cigarettes. Pick the packs with the coolest packaging/name (that everybody popular is using) then find what works best for you.
Don't use these. Just cool packaging and name. I actually borrowed the design to make a label for a popular ejuice manufacturer.
I also +1 this (or is mine a +2 since @Darkbulb already did a +1). Either way, it is a great place to get some blades to try. They have several sample packs, including a top 10 pack with some very popular blades. Get a few of each blade and see what works.
Tryablade is good source to get only the blades you would like to try. That said, the only way to know which blade works the best for your face, razor and technique is to actually try it. So in that light there really is no generic BEST blade to start with, there is only the best particular blade for you and you must experiment, with as many blades as possible, to find out what that blade is. Remember just because a blade is expensive or cheap, super sharp or most popular, none of this means it will be the best for your face. YMMV so trying the blade is the ONLY way to know if it works for you, its just as simple as that.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm still a hardcore newbie. I went kind of cheap on my first shave set just to test the waters and will upgrade down the line. Just bought a van der hagen premium shave set and a Lord safety razor and will be ordering my own sampler pack of blades off of tryablade very soon. Thanks again everyone!
Cheap in this case only means inexpensive. The VDH soap (best bang for the buck in my opinion) and Lord razor are nothing to scoff. Now the brush, on the other hand, can be hit or miss in getting a shedder.
Yeah I expected the brush to be hit or miss but its all part of the learning process. There are quite a few nice but inexpensive brushes out there and if I have to replace it sooner rather than later then I'm not too worried about it
