All the blades that are great for other people are bad for me. My measuring stick: -Razor: PreWar Fat Handle Tech -Brush: Plisson(softest, bound to not add any kind of irritation to let the blade show its true colors) -Soap/cream: Soap crafted with Brambleberry glycerin soap base made by SFIC corporation(gives me best shaves so far) Pre-shave: homemade PSO concoction of olive oil, castor oil, and jojoba. Prep: Hot shower, Glycerin soap face wash. Post: Alum, aftershave of choice, more PSO as face lotion. Best blade: Astra SP/SS/Voskhod/Dorco 301/GSB/PSI. Blades I've tried that blow that other people like -Personna Blue -Personna Red -Feather -Rapira Swedish Supersteel -Ladas -Sputnik -Gillette 7 o clock Yellow -Shark SS -Derby I can't think of any others. I think some of these blades are reputed to be better on the 2nd shave, but I'm not willing to put up with that. If I had to draw a graph, then I prefer blades that degrade in a linear fashion and have a best 1st shave. I'm not willing to put up with the dreaded rough first shave.
The only good blade is the one that works best for the individual. Nothing else matters! The Astra SP,SS and Voshkod all work well for me. I know many shavers who also like the Dorco 301's, but for me they bite the big one Have you ever tried a Vikings Sword? They are made in the Personna plant in Israel and are my favorite blade at the moment.
No I haven't. I was hoping that Personna Reds would work for me because of their vast quantity in 99 cent stores.
I hope so. I haven't been brave enough to try them out. 5 packs in white dispensers that say Personna as the brand and "Made in Israel" on the back.
Yeah for sure. It's next door to a Target and we're always there. I'll snap a pic. May be a few days though .
I agree with Astra SP, Voskhod, GSB and PSI as being great blades. They work for me too. On the bad end I agree that the Personna Blue leaves me bored, Feather is a joke, any of the St. Petersburg 7 o'clocks are out. I love Ladas, Sputnik, Rapira Swedish and I can tolerate a Derby or Shark. So yeah, we match on some, don't on some. The greatest YMMV item of all......blades. I think that's why I keep trying new ones. Just gotta discover them all!
Blades sure can be wierd from one person to another! Just tried a Voskhod this weekend and I swore it was ripping the whiskers out by the root, ouch. Worst blade I've tried yet, along with Feather. Tried both in different razors and still sucked, so no more of those two for me. Top notch for me so far, Astra SP, Personna Med and Derby. Good post to show that a lot wet shaving is vastly different for everyone. So try different combos of stuff to find what works for you. Don't load up on 100 blades you never tried before!
For sure. The only 100 blade purchases I've made have been Dorco 301s and Astra SPs. Dorco 301s were as good a shave as Astra SPs, but the 2nd shave was absolute rubbish. They were like a one hit wonder. So, I contacted Jason at TryABlade.com and traded them for Astra SPs with no extra money(same price on his site), then proceeded to buy a 200 pack of Astra SPs for $18 with free shipping on Ebay. Astra SPs are fantastic.
To answer all of these questions. Yes...Yes and Yes. Here in Southern California, I often shop with my wife at the "99 Cents Only" stores. I pick up a $.99 cent pack of Personnas marked, "Made in Israel" on the back, on just about every trip. They are only 5-packs so at $.20/blade they are not the absolute cheapest buy around, compared to Astra SP's, but they shave just like Israeli "Reds". The blades are in a 5 blade dispenser and don't have the markings the ones that are individually wrapped do so.....who knows 99 Cent Only stores are the only ones that seem to carry these. The other "dollar" stores such as Family Dollar and Dollar General seem to mostly have Korean (read Dorco) 5-packs.
My pleasure. PM me if having problem finding them and you want some. I can check my nearby store for ya 178
Yep, I got some of those from a .99 cent store that later closed up. That was in Ohio; few such places exist in my area of N.C. And check out a Fred's if you have one in your vicinity.
A few days ago I posted a poor review of the Voskhod blade but after reading more here I found a few people comment that their first shave with it was not that good but it improved with use. So, rather than toss it I gave it a reprieve and got a second and third shave from it and both were a vast improvement over the first use! Not the best ever but not too bad. Kinda weird but true! So I humbly retract my poor review and apologize to Mr. Vladimir Putin and his nation for a premature opinion! P.S. this was submitted under my own free will and in no way was I threatened by Mr. Putin to post a retraction!
