Thread: DE blades

Hi guys
i just bought an old (1964)Gillette safety razor off eBay while wanting on my sight unseen straight to arrive from whipped dog.com. I wanted it to use it as a quicker shave when I am rushed and while learning to use the straight.. My question is, I have seen a bunch of de blades and I wondered if anyone had any advice on which blades I should try?

Try them all,,,,one at a time,,,,put each one through 4 or 5 shaves,,,,see how you like them.
You might want to get a sample pack that has brands other than the ones you now have & test them too.
Don't be surprised if the shave with the Gillette DE, beats the straight you have coming.

Originally Posted by Aurandy

Hi guys
i just bought an old (1964)Gillette safety razor off eBay while wanting on my sight unseen straight to arrive from whipped dog.com. I wanted it to use it as a quicker shave when I am rushed and while learning to use the straight.. My question is, I have seen a bunch of de blades and I wondered if anyone had any advice on which blades I should try?

Best advice is to buy a sampler pack so you can try several brands to decide on a personal favorite.

Off hand, Feather blades are pretty much the sharpest. My favorites are Medical Personna (Personna Prep Blades) and Astra SP. If you bought a Gillette SuperSpeed, it is a pretty mild razor, so you can factor that in your thought process.

I saw a 10 pack of feather blades on amazon but it appeared they were sold by a Thai company with a shipping time of 3 weeks to a month and I'm not going to wait that long. I'll keep looking

If you have a Wal-Mart around, they carry Wilkinson Sword DE blades at a decent price (10/$2.00) and they're decent blades worth trying IMO. Also, Sally's Beauty Supply has Personna Super Stainless blades (more or less same as the Labs and Med Preps). They're good blades too. A bit more pricey at Sally's than you'll find them for online but not bad for trying them out.

+1 on CaliforniaCajun's advice...

BTW...There are any number of U. S. online vendors who sell DE razor blades, including Feather. Some of them advertise here at SRP.

Here are the links to two online retailers that I have ordered DE blades from in the past. One offers blade sampler packs.

Razor Blades & Cartridges | Men's Grooming, Skincare, Shaving, & Facial Products

Double Edge Razor Blades

Just ordered some feather blades from straight razor designs. My wal mart really has nothing in the way of wet shaving supplies. I've had better luck at Walgreens

Originally Posted by Aurandy

Just ordered some feather blades from straight razor designs. My wal mart really has nothing in the way of wet shaving supplies. I've had better luck at Walgreens

My local Walgreens doesn't carry much and what they do is pretty heavily marked up. If you can wait for stuff to come in the mail, it's the cheaper way to go and you can pick anything you want. Feathers are quality blades so you'll probably be happy with them as long as you keep the pressure off and don't get too steep on the blade angle.

I use ebay to find most things. I've tried derby, astra platinums and iridiums so far...the astras were good, didn't like the derbys that much, but the iridiums were amazing. I recommend those ones! I ordered a ten pack of iridiums from an ebay seller in the UK and they were here in less than a week. They might cost a tad more but WELL worth it if you ask me.

It is very much a YMMV thing - and if you have a bad experience with a blade early on don't forget that it may be your technique and not the blade.
if you are coming from the Cart world the first thing to remember is to dial down the pressure and take your time....
It's a Safety Razor, not an "Idiot Proof - I can't possibly cut/nick/razor burn myself with this thing" razor...
They do provide excellent shaves for a fraction of the cost of a Cart Razor.

My favorites are Feather and Astra Stainless (Blue)

Oh, and make sure that you have that thing closed before you start...I'm just sayin'.

Good luck and good shaving, it will be a useful addition to your shave Den...