Thread: Blade sharpness

I'm still pretty new to the world of double edge shaving. Early next week I'm going to be trying out a new blade so I was hoping someone could help me out with where my current blades fall on the sharpness spectrum. I've been using blue birds, I'd be especially interested in how they compare with Wilkinson sword, derby, and dorco

shriik,

I have never used Blue Bird blades and cannot comment on them. Derby is a middle-of-the road blade, and despite an occasional dud, overall it is a good blade. The Wilkinson Sword is somewhere in Derby's neighborhood. If you find the original British-made Wilkinson Sword, they are gold. Dorco is extremely mild and forgettable.

For what it's worth, my preferred blades are: Feather, Polsiver Iridium, Gillette 7 O' Clock "Sharp Edge" yellow packs, PermaSharp Super and Personna red packs.

I am still trying out lots of blades but my top picks so far are Feathers and Gillette Silver Blues.

I am not sure how I did it, but I killed a blade with one shave today. I hadnt shaved in several weeks, so it was long. It was one of my favorites too, Gillette 7oclock green. Is it possible that I got a bad blade? or do I have super hair? Also there was so much hair in side my 3 piece that I had to take it apart mid way thru to get it to clear out. Guess I should have run the trimmer over it first. Anyway I from what I have used so far I like the 2 different 7 o clocks, one Gillette, and the other some other brand. Both are in green boxes

I've used Bluebirds and Derby of your 4 listed.

Derby I would put at the bottom of almost any sharpness list.
The Bluebird I rank near Astra blades. Very much a middle-of-the-pack blade than I really enjoy. The bluebirds are from the same factory but perform far better for me than Derby.
Feathers are typically rated near the top for sharpness.

Originally Posted by redtruck

I am not sure how I did it, but I killed a blade with one shave today. I hadnt shaved in several weeks, so it was long. It was one of my favorites too, Gillette 7oclock green. Is it possible that I got a bad blade? or do I have super hair? Also there was so much hair in side my 3 piece that I had to take it apart mid way thru to get it to clear out. Guess I should have run the trimmer over it first. Anyway I from what I have used so far I like the 2 different 7 o clocks, one Gillette, and the other some other brand. Both are in green boxes

I've had a couple 7 o'clock greens that felt harsh and I binned early. I've also pushed past that harsh stage and used those blades for nearly a month (admittedly needing to do extra passes to keep the same results). I like them in my DE though I regret buying 100 of them instead of getting a 5-pack to test out (I prefer Astra SS and SP for a mid-sharpness blade).

I have really liked the Feather blades. Sharpest I've tried. They can seem harsh at first because they are so sharp but once you get a nice light touch with them, they shave super close. I feel like they last a little longer too.

Just for grins, it would be nice when talking about 7 O'Clock Green's to mention which ones you are referring to, the Russian Super Stainless or the Indian Permasharp?

there are some blade comparisons on different sites here's one i found with a quick search https://sites.google.com/site/gdcarrington1/home/de hope it helps. keep in mind that every body has there own opinion and YMMV.

I found that Gillette 7 O Clock Super Sharps and Shark Super Stainless work the best for me. Gillette 7 O Clock Greens don't last as long, lots of irritation on the 2nd or 3rd shave normally. Derby, GSB and Feathers were the worst irritation wise, Astra was OK, went thru several other blades as well; got like 12-15 different small packs to try out before ordering the 7 O Clock yellows and Sharks in bulk.