Hey everyone, I'm wanting to try a couple of different blades. I'm wanting to try either astral blues or gillette platinum, any input from anyone would be appreciated. I have rough skin and coarse hair.
Very subjective. Like asking what's your favorite scent. That's part of the reason TSD doesn't have a Blades Forum. Everyone is encouraged to offer their opinions. Then you'll have to buy some and try em out for yourself.
If you have good technique you can get a shave with a razorblade on a stick, ain't that right @wchnu ? Seriously though, try out the Gillette Silver Blue or the Astra green label. For me, they are neck and neck comparable (no pun intended) Then, when your ready come on over to the 30 day crew thread. Great folks and opinions from folks that know what they are talking about. @RyX can link you there.
i get great results from most blades, derby too dull, feather too sharp.. but every person is different..ymmv.. check out the 30dc..
They're pretty much all the same. Go with one of the Russian ones and you won't be disappointed. GSB, Astra SP, Polsilver SI, Gillette 7'O Clock Green/Yellow/Black, or Nacets...
Buy yourself a sampler pack. They typically have two blades each of a wide assortment. All the shaving supply websites, and even Amazon, carries them.
Get a couple of different sampler packs, that should give you a pretty wide assortment of blades to try. As was said the only way to really know what blade/blades work best for you is to try them.
Make sure the sample packs you get contain packs of 5 of each blade. You need enough to shave for about a month/30 days to get used to each blade (although I don't think th erres a huge amount of difference between most of them!)
In my Signature, or you can click HERE for The 30 Day Rule / Focus Group. If you want to drop in for a visit and ask some questions or hang around to develop your Technique there's always room for another shaver in The 30 Day Crew! Agreed, once you figure out the correct angle for a razor (ride the cap), learn to ease off on the cartridge habit of mashing the blade to your skin (less pressure), and do the skin stretching trick that helps SR users (more important the older you get), all blades start to feel much the same.
Both Astra and Gillette blades are made at the same factory and they are very similar, in my opinion. My favorite blade from that factory is Sputnik, as to me it feels smoother than the rest while still being the same sharp.
With full respect, I have to disagree on this part. All blades will not feel the the same, even with all the good techniques. Almost 6 years ago I switched to DE and still today I very much notice a difference between the blades. Some weeks ago I just for fun loaded my razor with a less sharp blade instead of my usual blade. The tugging was so terrible that I had to change blade half way through the first pass. I am all for 30 day rule as long as one has been finding a blade not tugging. I used the same brand (Derby) the first 6 months and I saw just irritation and blood each time and a terrible tugging. All that changed when I finally got better blades. A blade sharp enough to not tug will give you more precision.
Before buying one thing to consider is the type of razor you are using. If it is a very mild razor they tend not to give good shaves with anything other than a really sharp blade like a Feather whereas a very aggressive razor will work well with duller edged blades. Samplers are nice and all but a quicker way is to get a small cross section of blades from a vendor like tryablade first. They are the only vendor that I can think of that sells single blades, if there are others I would recommend them also. Get at least 2 Feathers for the sharp test, 2 Dorco blades for the dull test and something somewhere in the middle like Astras or Derby blades. Either start at the sharpest or dullest to see which is satisfactory for you on a particular razor you want to use. If neither is then middle of the road blades are what you need. Depending if you find the Astra or Derby blades too dull or sharp then from their if you want something sharper try a Bic Chrome Platinum or Kai if about the right for you then try a Voskhod or Gillette Silver Blue. Based on that then branch out using recommendations based on other blades users who also have used these and equate them together once you have a handle on how they actually perform through using them. One place to get what I think are the Dorco rebranded blades is Dollar General which has the 5 blades for $1 made in Vietnam double edge carbon steel blades.
i can t use derby blades either , too dull for my whiskers..i like the russian blades the best..my gilletes are mostly mild shavers as well..
DG and Family Dollar carry the OEM Dorco STD-301 blades. These are basic stainless, not carbon steel. (The regular Dorco ST-301 are Platinum-coated Stainless and the Prime Platinum are double Teflon coated Platinum.)
You are correct they are stainless not carbon steel blades. They aren't cheapest at $20 for 100 but in a pinch much cheaper than the the CVS, Walmart, Walgreens blades.
Respectfully disagree. If the OP gets poor shaves from one blade, they would move on assuming that blade is a poor one. Without proper technique and experience, you may be getting bad shaves because you're not always great at it yet. They would have no idea if a blade was too dull, or too sharp. You may just cut yourself because you arent great at using your razor.