Blades don't truly matter until you know what you're doing. Blades are nowhere near as important as technique. Buy some Astra SP or similar (good and cheap) and use them exclusively. Blade sampler is really a waste of time until you learn the techniques. Sample after you learn. You'll be able to differentiate blades than versus random results.

Yes, I know this is the opposite of what you're hearing everywhere else.

For _me_ I would suggest one thing. Ignore the 30 days if you get a REALLY crappy shave, and you have more blades from that tuck. Try another blade, preferably from a different manufacturer. (If Derby wasn't great, don't try BlueBird. If Astra wasn't Great, don't try one of the other Russians, try a Shark instead) If you get TWO crappy shaves from different manufacturers, other than Dorco/Derby, then you really do need to look at technique, or your lather. Or both That's one benefit to using the canned creams - they're predictable.

Techniques solve these issues. No such thing as too aggressive, only bad angles and pressure.

Rationale: people get irritation free shaves with open blades every day.

All razors are the same.

My top three blades are Polsiver, Nacet, and Silver Blue, in that order. However, as previously mentioned, this is a question that will get you answers all over the place. I believe just about any blade will work OK with good technique and prep. Not all, but most.

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Stu, remember something about gurus? Meet the ArchGuru!

Bama Samurai, this may be true, but one must start as a newbie. And to the newbie, the difference is night and day, because newbie has newbish technique. All razors are the same, if you become blade ninja. To me, aggressive and mild razors exist, because they are prefixed and their weight makes them so (i don't use pressure, i just let them). Open blades have nothing prefixed. You adjust them like you would adjust an adjustable. Like i posted in the focus thread, 3 more expert shavers than me, couldn't have a BBS, canonical 3 pass shave with Weishi and the sharpest of blades. It will be their technique that is inefficient. But, what if, i also never reach better technique than them? In that case, i can pick my weapons to counteract the lack of technique.

"When the man with a .45 meets the man with a rifle, "the man with a pistol is a dead man." Is this always true? No. But better be the man with the rifle, just in case you aren't Billy the Kid. I 'd rather be the man with the Astra, than the man with the Derby.

Or, like John Maynard Keynes said: "But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead."

Hey, I like my Derby blades. Don't pick on them. I don't know why everybody has to talk smack about Derby blades. It makes the SMALL minority who like them not want to admit to it. Like it is something bad, you have to hide from your parents like that Playboy collection under your mattress.

No really I don't care if you talk smack about Derby. I will continue to be a closet Derby user.

Here are the DE blades I use routinely, and they all work well for me. I change blades after three shaves. Astra SP and Voskhod are the best overall value.

Astra SP
Feather
Perma-Sharp Super
Polsilver Super Iridium
Voskhod

I might even have more Derbys than you:
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...ing-shaveapocalypse.55281/page-6#post-1226772

I bought them because they were OK and thought "ok, how much of a difference can there be in blades"... Then i tried other blades. And won't be buying more Derbys. At least, not for the Weishi. Not sure about the DE89, but i doubt for that either.

This doesn't mean that Derbys can't work for others. I posted the 4 point rules, because they can explain many things i have been reading in various forums. Including users that can't stand an Astra, but love a Derby.

For what it is worth: below is a photo of the 30 blades I tried when starting out. As others mentioned - you can get one or two blades from "Try a Blade". That way you are not out much if you don't like the blade. Pretty much all the top blades are represented in this photo. However as everyone says - only your face can make the final decision. My ranking, if it matters: from the top right (best - PolSilver SI) to the lower left (worst - Merkur)). I really like Russian blades. I bought the right hand column in bulk and should be pretty well set for the next century. Your ranking will be different.

There have to be a lot of Derby users, or else they wouldn't continue to be made and sold. It may be mostly hair shapers, but they're still sold.

There's no more reason to hide Derby usage than there is Arko or Williams usage.

I have a DE89L and after trying a couple different sample packs, not quite like you have Shave Fu (I submit to your 700 blades), I have settled on the Derby Extra green blades. My other razors are now straights.

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I just bought a case of Arko. It was cheaper to buy 12 then it was to buy 3. One for each of my two sons and 1 for me.

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Persona lab
Persona Crystal
Astra sp
Astra ss
Ladas
Voschod
Gillette silver blue
Gilette 7o clock green, yellow, black
Feather

One case for you, and one for each of the sons, or one stick for each? (or 12, and 4 for each?)

I bought a case of 12 for about 10 dollars, and I've PIFed three, and used up none yet.

I think at the end, there is usually a pattern in blade preference, that it's about sharpness, smoothness and the razor used. From all the googling i 've done, i haven't seen for example, someone say that in the same razor he loves Feather and Derby.

Here the shop i started buying blades from, is extremely Derby heavy and heavy on Derby promotion. Plus, they are the cheapest blade, which surely attracts users. To give you an example, in the shop's blog, i read that they send a free Derby pack with each purchase. They didn't send to me, cause maybe i already bought so many Derbys that it was futile or because the blog's post was old and they stopped since. But, every of their clients, was "introduced" to Derby. In my local Amazon, most reviewers say "acceptable quality", "good for mild beards", "best bang for buck". So they sell. But the no1 sold blade here is AstraSP. On Amazon, it goes for 10EUR for 100, on another shop with many blades it's 12EUR, on my barber's shop it's just 7.60EUR, just 10 cents more than Derby and cheaper even that Treet, Shark or Dorco. Which makes even the "bang for buck" Derby's advantage futile. If i could feel no difference between the 2, i would be fine with Derby too! The problem is, that i do. Will i just throw the Derbys? No, i will use them in the DE89, which is more aggressive than the Weishi and will also rotate them in the Weishi. Also, do i want a quick, ok shave on the fly with no risk of nicks? Derby.

Oh, the 700 are history. I have 300 more Astras and 200 more Dorcos coming in soon. I ll just wrap them tight with kitchen wrap to isolate them from external enviromental changes and let them wait their turn.

I also prefer buying in quantities when it's much better bang for buck. It's why i couldn't make myself to buy like 5 or 10 packs of blades. When a small pack costs 1 euro and for 8 euros you can buy 20 packs in one big box, you may as well buy the 100, as long as you can use them. Here i haven't seen Arko boxes (i think), but if i like it and were to find a box, i would probably buy a box too. Here in Italy, from a googling i made, it seems like 90% dont' buy just "Cella". They buy the 1kg Cella. Because the bang for buck is much better. Then they cut it to pieces. They use the first piece as refill (some people use old, empty handcream containers as soap holder for the Cella. The other pieces, they wrap them airtight and they store them away and each time they use take another one and use it as refill).

That's what I'll do. I'll trade sticks of Arko for sticks of Derby or Palmolive. I digress this is neither the place or time for that.

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Shush! Me too Keep it under your hat. There are so many but, of late, I really like Voskod; Rapira; Feathers are really sharp and smooth, for me. They might be great if you have course hair and I like 7 o'clock greens. One of the things I enjoy though is trying all the different blades. I get a good shave with most.

Talk to me in a year. You'll feel differently.

I promise.

And just to confuse matters even more. Try a few blades and the ones you don't like, put them in a drawer for a year and then take them out and try them again. Guaranteed you will find one among them you like.

I don't know if I have a favorite but because there are a few brands I have a lot of, I might be partial to Personna Lab Blues, Gillette Silver Blues, SuperMax Platinum, Astra SP and an occasional use of a Feather


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