After searching all over for a blade sampler pack I liked I finally just ordered what I wanted and essentially made my own. I was curious what you all thought about the blades in the picture, love, hate, etc... I will be using the razor in the picture so any personal experience with it and one of the blades would be greatly appreciated!
The Fat Handle Tech is a great razor. No moans or groans whatsoever when it comes up in rotation. I'll hold comment on the blades. Will it really make a difference if I like X and hate Y? No. All of those blades are well known and they all have their fans and haters. Who are you going to believe? As I said, some well known blades there. Use 'em, then ask your face how they did. Thinking about it, I guess the same could be said about the razor. Disregard everything I just said.
You did well. Now I'd keep a little journal about the performance of each blade and go from there. Welcome to TSD!
Thanks swarden43, just got all of that in the mail today so I can't wait to get started! RaZorBurn123, appreciate the tip about the journal, I'll definitely do that!
You have lots of popular blades in the group. I think you will probably find some you like, some that are ok, and some you dont like. As @swarden43 said, which ones you like will depend on you. As @RaZorBurn123 said the best thing you can do is keep a journal. Use each blade 3 times rotating brands after each blade is done, take notes on how you liked the shave, was it smooth, did it pull or tug, etc. Go through several different brands and then go back through them again. If you decide you want to try some more brands of blades, I can recommend tryablade.com as a great place to get lots of different blades at pretty good prices.
first off, i see that you're a new member. welcome! i'll make an assumption that you're also new to traditional wet shaving. given that, here's my take: your first blade sampler is not necessarily to find the 'best' blade. i believe it is to find a blade that works pretty well ... as compared to the others. once you find that blade (and razor combo), whether it's the first week, second week, or fourth week, buy a month's worth or more of that blade and go immediately to the 30 Day Rule as found in @GDCarrington's signature ... to work on your technique. do not pass go; do not collect $200! after getting better at the basics, go back to the sampler, and run through the blades again. during this sampler round, you'll be more in-tune to subtleties of sharp, dull, smooth, tug, pull, drag, etc., etc. ... to find the 'best' blade for you. most of all and regardless how you go about it, enjoy your shave!
About half the blades you have there, I haven't tried. The ones you do have that I have tried, I liked. Feathers, Polsilver, Crystals, Personna Platinums...all good blades for me.
Where's the Astra SP's? Just kidding, looks like a solid assortment to me. I'd like to try several of those myself! Enjoy your blade tour!
Ive just ordered the gillet 7 o clock because ive heard good things about them....i really do like the kai and feathers. Let us know which ones you end up liking
I personally think that personna blue is a great blade. Your experience with everything may be different. Many people love Astra sp but I personally don't get good results with them. So everyone is different. And like razorburn said, keep a journal. I currently have a notepad on my phone where I will keep track of how my soaps and blades preform. I keep track of each shave like this. "Blade name" 1: (meaning first pass) "insert comment" ex. Smooth 2: "..." 3: ".." And I will continue the list until I get the max number of shaves I can get off the blade and I'll make a note of how many shaves I get off it. At that point I add a little */10 score for the blade. That's how I like to do it. But welcome to TSD and I hope you like it as well as I have. It's good to see a fellow newcomer.
Of the blade you got there, I liked best Feather and Kai, PolSilver, GSB and 7 o'clock yellow (in that order). In your sampler, I am missing Astra SP and Voskhod. They are very well worth to give a try as they are quite popular. By adding those two blades, you maybe have the most used blades considering what you already got in your sampler.
That is a good selection of blades. Try them all and then order what you like. Some will only give you 2-3 close shaves, and some will feel like jagged glass after 1 shave. Beard thickness, skin type, razor brand, blade angle, shave soap, etc. all effect how a blade shaves. Crystals work well for my face and I can get 10-15 shaves out of blade, more if I hone the blade after each use. I've gotten good shaves but fewer shaves from Feathers.
Indeed, where are the Astras (Other than that omission) you have parsed together a pretty darn good selection When you first start out, it is a good idea to minimize some of the variables. So, even though you are trying to find your perfect blade by trying all the options, if you find one that works for you then stick with it for a few weeks. There are plenty other variables to account for too. The Tech is a very able razor and one that many of us have used before. It is a bit on the mild side, so you may find that a blade that works well for you in the Tech may be less forgiving with more aggressive razors. Blades tend to be smooth and sharp. There are those that are very smooth, but not all that sharp, and vice versa. Then there are others that are both smooth and sharp to a certain degree, and of course Derby which is the opposite.
Well, I usually get paid at least a penny for my thoughts , but anyhow... The Tech is an excellent mild shaver. You can't go wrong with it so long as it gets the job done for your particular needs. I find it too mild for my beard. Of the blades you show, the 7'o clock yellows are my second choice after my go-to Astra SPs. I've also used KAI and would rate them a 3rd or 4th on my list, but I don't use them. They are very sharp, but sometimes don't agree with my face. The Dorcos, for me, are just horrible.
For Me: 1st Place: Super Iridium Pol Silver. I get the most clean and smooth shaves from this blade, bar none. 2nd Place: Gillette Silver Blue (*very close 2nd place*). I get extremely clean and smooth shaves but only 2 or 3, then the shaves go downhill from there. But when these blades are new, they give me amazing shaves. I get the same with the SI's but get more shaves out of the SI's, so the slight nod goes for the SI instead of these. Will Not Use Again: Shark SuperMax Never Tried But WANT To: All the rest. I really want to try the Feathers and the 7 o'clock varities. YMMV.
There are as many opinions on different blades as there are shavers willing to try them. My only suggestion is try several and see what you like. The Heavy Tech is an outstanding razor...it is my daily razor... in fact very close to shaving perfection in my books. Use each blade for at least a few days before you pass judgement. I generally get between 5 and 7 shaves per blade. I find a new blade is always better on the 2nd or 3rd shave and not necessarily on the first shave. I noticed you didn't have Astra SS or Astra SP blades in your photo...they are very good blades as well...very popular. Best of luck and enjoy the journey!
I have that razor and have tried each all of those blades. quick questions... How frequent do you shave? Do you have a thick beard growth? I will add that it's a good idea to revisit blades after your technique improves. For me my best results came from th polsilver's, feather's, GSB's, and Gillette black ninja's. Enjoy the journey...
I did the same thing, and it worked really well for me. Nearly all of the "blade samplers" are not samplers at all, just a collection of complete blade packs put together. One might as well just put together a sampler of his own choosing. Here is my experience with the blades in your sampler pack: Feather Hi-Stainless - Not so good. It gave me shaves that were irritating yet not that close. Many other wetshavers swear by them, however. Gillette 7 O'clock - Not good at all in a Merkur 34C, much better in an Edwin Jagger DE89 and a Gillette Slim adjustable Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum - Really close shaves and with zero or very minor irritation. Each blade lasts me around two weeks. Great blades! Gillette Silver Blue - Gives me close, irritation-free shaves. Nice blades. Gillette Super Thin - Gave me good shaves, close and with no irritation Personna Blues - Shaves were not all that great, not terribly close. A lot of guys seem to like them, though. Personna Platinum - Worked OK for me, but just OK. Polsilver Super Iridium - Excellent blades, give close, irritation-free shaves Kai - Never tried these Please bear in mind that these are my personal impressions, using a Gillette Slim, a Merkur 34C and an Edwin Jagger DE89L (mostly with the DE89L). Since a blade often shaves quite differently in different razors, it is the blade + razor combination that counts, not just the blade. Since you are using a different razor, your results might be different than mine. Even if you used the same razor as I, you could have completely different experiences with the blades. Differences in facial contours, beard toughness and growth patterns, skin sensitivity, even minor differences in technique also factor into the equation. Please do let us know how the blades work for you.
That is an awesome sampler. I love trying new blades - and you have selected my seven all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy the experience of figuring out which ones are your favorites! All my best to you.
