My DE blades comparison test

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by The Wizard, Mar 20, 2016.

  1. The Wizard

    The Wizard Active Member

    Been testing out DE blades for the last month giving them scores out of 10 for closeness/smoothness, sharpness and for overall comfort and then deducted points out of 10 for aggression with 10 being the most aggressive/irritation.

    Having tested about 20 blades here is my verdict on my favourites and least liked blades in order of best to worst. Scores are out of a maximum 30 with points deducted for aggression and post shave irritation. All blades were tested in the same razor (Muhle R41) with exactly the same soap and pre and post shave routine. My skin type is sensitive and beard type is coarse.

    My Top 5

    Polsilver Super Iridium (19)
    Persona Israeli (18)
    Supermax Platinum (18)
    Dorco Platinum (15)
    Feather (18)

    I placed Feather last in my top 5 because despite being super sharp and scoring high I found them to be the most aggressive of my top 5 and left me feeling quite sore and irritated and they are also the most expensive. For the price I find the others give a more comfortable shave which is why I've placed them below the Dorcos which weren't as sharp or close but less aggressive and less irritating post shave so overall more comfortable.

    Best 5 Mid Range Blades

    These blades came out as nice and not totally uncomfortable but took a little bit more work to get a good clean and close shave and some took 4 or more passes to get a BBS but not so bad that they were overly irritating but left me with some slight razor burn and needed a bit of touching up afterwards where it hadn't cut cleanly.

    Supermax Blue Diamond (15)
    Lord Super Stainless (12)
    Voskhod Teflon (11)
    Dorco Stainless (11)
    Astra Platinum (11)

    Least Likes (best first)

    These blades came out as uncomfortable, not very sharp with quite a bit of post shave irritation and least closeness.

    Supermax Super Stainless (10)
    Shark (9)
    Rapira Platinum (9)
    Gillette 7 O'clock Sharp Edge (8)
    Gillette Super Stainless (6)

    Avoid at all costs! (least worst first)

    These blades I couldn't even finish my shave with and had to throw them away mid shave. Worse than shaving with a broken bottle. Dull, tuggy, choppy and very unpleasant and highly uncomfortable.

    Gillette 365 (6)
    Treet (5)
    Rapira Stainless (4)
    Derby (3)
    Wilkinson Sword (2)

    Overall Verdict

    My go to blades of choice would be the Persona Israeli, Dorco Platinum or Polsilver SI but would happily use any from my mid range choice if I couldn't get hold of any of these but avoid anything lower than these.

    Feathers hailed as the best I found to be overrated. While very very sharp and very very close they were too aggressive and are more than double the cost so are my least go to blade out of my top 5 but still an excellent blade.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2016
  2. necrotic

    necrotic Active Member

    Thanks for posting this. My own range of experience is much narrower but I will second your results with Supermax platinum. In my hands they give great results and are so cheap you can afford to start a fresh blade every other day. I usually go 5 -6 shaves (usually 2 pass) with one blade with some minor degradation noticeable after day 4-5. I have had some
    duds which you expect at that price point (perhaps not so rigorous QC) but the average blade is very very good and very cheap.
     
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  3. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    How long have you been DE shaving?
     
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  4. Fred Hill

    Fred Hill Well-Known Member

    Hmmm..., very enlightening; indeed. I'm thinking "variables," though; such as 'shaving-creams' &/or 'shaving-soaps?' (Lubricity Aspects) Hard Water/Soft? Growth/lengths of 'Daily-Beard/Stubble?' Razor Adaptation To Individual Face? (All Go-To-Examples-Considered, Herein!) But..., very "Astute!" Yet, I think about things such as Age? Youthful-Beard or Grey/White/Thickness? Gee...; at 72 & 1/2 years old I must say; "...my personal choices of "PERFECT BLADES" have been 'CHANGING;' all-throughout-my-(please forgive me my Lord) God-given-life. BUT; I won't allow the lengths of mine-own boredom attend you any further! "Ain't Shaving Fun In The Shave Den?" Thanks! :happy088:
     
  5. GMPTA

    GMPTA Active Member

    Funny that you have derby at the "avoid at all costs"... Currently that's one of my favorites. I would say in my top 3!

    Just goes to show... What works for some may not work for others. Or what works in one razor, may not work in another razor
     
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  6. The Wizard

    The Wizard Active Member

    Only about 4 months but trying to find a blade that suits me so decided to do a test on a number of blades but I can only do a proper comparison by sticking to the same variables other than the change of blade. Otherwise if I change razors, soap, routine and number of days between shaves etc you can't get a true comparison.

    Tried the Feather again tonight having had 1 more month experience using other blades. Again I can't fault the sharpness and smoothness and a very clean cut but sadly far to scratchy and cuts all over and a bit of post shave irritation.

    Sitting here now feeling my face it's super smooth however I get the same super smooth results with my other top 4 blades without the irritation and aggression so overall I prefer Persona and Polsilvers because they deliver the same results with less aggression. Maybe takes a bit more work but worth it for not ending up butchering my face.

    My beard type is coarse and partially grey in places and I shave every day due to the speed my stubble grows. I find the most stubborn parts are under my chin and middle of my neck. The blade which gives me the closest shave, or shall I say, the least amount of growth between shaves has been the Dorco Platinum. Oddly enough.

    I realise the old YMMV thing and everyone has different preferences but I've really enjoyed my experience experimenting.

    For anyone who's interested my routine starts with a hot flannel on my face followed my a mild exfoliating facial scrub while my brush and razor is in soak. This rids my face of yesterday's oils, soaps and post shave products leaving me with a nice clean slate to start on. I then lather up with TOBS cream. I do a first pass with a Muhle R89 with the grain and a 2nd pass across the grain and the 3rd I swap the head for the R41 open comb. Finish off with a post shave oil and do any final touching up followed by a final dab over with Clubman talc.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2016
  7. The Wizard

    The Wizard Active Member

    My first pass with Derby felt very synthetic. Not sure how else to describe it. By my 2nd pass it was starting to tug terrible and the burn/irritation became quite intense by this time to the point it felt like I was plucking at my hairs with tweezers and rather than cutting it felt like it was dragging my hairs out. I couldn't stand the pain and irritation any longer so decided to ditch the blade for something more comfortable for my final open comb pass.

    It's one of several blades which I simply couldn't get on with. Maybe not best suited to tough stubble.
     
  8. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    I know when I have poor preshave prep, even the sharpest blades feel like they are tugging.
    What is your preshave routine?
    Do you fully hydrate your beard with hot water/towels?
    What soaps do you lather with? Is it slick, or just fluffy?
    Do you face or bowl lather?

    The reason I ask, is that your blade selection is confusing to me. I know it's a YMMV thing, but, Supermax Platinum? These have been consistently rated a less than one and done, by many, including me.
    The Gillette 7 O'clock Yellow(Permasharp). One of the sharpest and smoothest out there, consistently. These are truly great blades.
     
  9. blashe

    blashe Well-Known Member

    I guess every body has its own prefrences when it comes blades, I for example cant get over how good are the Rockwell and Voshkod blades, pure joy to shave with them, so close in sharpness to Feathers but much nicer feel to the skin when you shave with them.
     
  10. The Wizard

    The Wizard Active Member

    I was pleasantly surprised with the Voskhods. I think it's always better when you don't go in with preconceptions of a blade because if loads of people say it's a good blade you kinda convince yourself it is, even if it's not the one for you.

    I hadn't heard any reports of Voskhods so went in with an open mind and was quite pleased with them.
     
  11. The Wizard

    The Wizard Active Member

    I was really surprised with the Supermax Platinum. Most of the other blades in the Supermax range I've been pretty unimpressed with but had a really good shave with this one as did with the Supermax Blue Diamond but the other Supermax blades weren't good at all.

    I haven't tested the millage on this blade yet. The test was done on a single shave only. No doubt my opinion may change depending on how many shaves I get out of it but as a single use blade I found it to be a good shave. However you will notice that despite it being in my top 5, I haven't chosen it as my 'go to blade'. That honour goes to Persona Israeli, Polsilver and Dorco Platinum.

    I tend not to worry about trying to get more than 2 or 3 uses from a blade as compared to my old Gillette cartridges they cost peanuts so I rarely use them more than twice, maybe 3 times max before throwing them away. I will maybe stretch my Feather blade to 4 shaves before swapping it on account of it being almost 'too sharp'.

    I realise the Gillette blades are popular with many people but I just couldn't get on with them. The Sharp Edge was the best of the lot but still very scrapey and scratchy. Just didn't like them but it's all personal choice of course.

    For some reason I seem to get on better with platinum coated blades.

    I've posted my full shave routine in the post #6.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2016
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  12. som

    som Well-Known Member

    I've only tried three blades in my short time wet shaving.

    Feather - I get a good shave, but my face feels sensitive the whole day.
    Merkur - I got one freebie blade, couldn't even finish a shave with it.
    Wilkinson Sword - I bought these 'cause they had 'em at Bed Bath & Beyond. In my limited experience, these fall between the Feather and Merkur....I get a good shave, and it doesn't feel too aggressive. From the three blades I've tried so far, I would rate it at the top.

    I have an assortment on the way...I look forward to experiencing some new blades:

    Astra Stainless
    Astra Superior Premium Platinum
    Red Pack Personna Platinum
    Shark Super Chrome
    Shark Stainless
     
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  13. barbersurgeon

    barbersurgeon Well-Known Member

    Forget not the Gillette silver blue blades. I get three solid shaves from one.
     
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  14. The Wizard

    The Wizard Active Member

    Just ordered a pack from EBay that allows you to mix and put your own pack together for £15 including postage.

    On my experience of testing various blades I've ordered ten of each of the following...

    Persona Platinum Israeli
    Supermax Blue Diamond
    Feather Hi Stainless Platinum
    Dorco Platinum
    Polsilver Super Iridium
    Lord Super Stainless
    Voskhod Teflon

    Works out a little expensive on average 21p a blade but it should last me a good 6 months providing I can get 2 - 3 shaves from each blade but this way I can eliminate the ones I don't like and only select the ones which I found most comfortable and enjoyable to use and I'm not having to buy them in packs of 100 so I can still swap and change for which ever one suits my mood at the time. I also have a 100 pack of Astra Platinums that I bought several months ago so that should last me a long time.
     

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