Thread: Feather Blades

Been shaving with a DE safety razor for a few months now. Working through a sampler bag of blades. Knowing how sharp the feathers are, and after reading many comments about how aggressive they are I decided to save the feathers for last in order to gain more experience and courage before trying them out. First shave with the feather turned out to be the best shave I have ever gotten, took it easy, only using weight of the razor for pressure. No discomfort at all, just a really great smooth shave. Second shave completely different story. Felt like I was shaving with barber wire, still a good shave, just rough, no real razor burn or nicks or anything. Third shave tried hand stropping, result was much better than second but still not as good as the first. Fourth and fith shaves, after hand stropping, about the same as the third. Going to continue using this blade to see how long it will last but thinking that after that first shave this blade is no better than some of the other blades I have tried. Just wondering if anyone else has had similar results. Not sure this blade is worth the extra money for just one good shave. Yes, I know that tossing these blades after one shave are still way cheaper than than the mach 3 junkers I had been using, just thinking that any decent blade should give consistent results for at least a few shaves.

Never had this problem & I mostly use feathers & Sharks in various vintage Gillettes. Is it possible that you laid the razor "blade" down on the counter touching the edge? Did you remove the blade after the first shave to wipe or clean it off, maybe damaging the edge? Or put it back in not aligned quite right? I don't hand strop between shave, just rinse it off & hang,,, after 5 shaves put another in.

I leave blades in the razor until tossing except to take out to hand strop. After each shave the razor is placed in a mug in a way that the blade cannot touch anything ( unless my wife is playing with my razor) until the next use. This blade has received the same treatment as any other blade I have used. I have I think 9 more of these blades, and being the penny pincher I am will use all of them eventually. May find that I just got one suspicious blade.

Feather blades at times seem so Jekyll and Hyde, a you describe in the opening post.

Although I use them on a rare occasion (I can buy them at the local drug store) they have never treated me well shave after shave. But are on and off.

Feathers are my go to blade and I usually use them for about four shaves. I cant say that I have ever tried to strop a DE blade before (just seems like too much effort for cheap blades). Since 1, 3 and 4 were good, I suspect that your prep may have been lacking on the second shave.

DustySuds,

I really like the Feather DE blades, finding them smooth and sharp.

However, for me, they give only three (3) shaves max., compared with four (4) or five (5) shaves with Super Iridium or Gilette 7 O'Clock Yellow (Russia) blades.

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

I'm a big feather fan. Also, I've noticed that with the feather shavette, it takes a few shaves to get to where I like it. They start off too sharp - after about 5 shaves they settle in nicely.

Originally Posted by MajorEthanolic

I'm a big feather fan. Also, I've noticed that with the feather shavette, it takes a few shaves to get to where I like it. They start off too sharp - after about 5 shaves they settle in nicely.

I do hope that the usage of the feather blades have been when you were in the field in the days gone by. Otherwise, that Friodur might get jealous and Bite you! hehehehe

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I do hope that the usage of the feather blades have been when you were in the field in the days gone by. Otherwise, that Friodur might get jealous and Bite you! hehehehe

I still use the Feather occasionally if I'm in a hurry. Sometimes I shave right after work and then by the next morning there's a little stubble showing. That's when the feather is great - for a quick 2-3 minute touch up. But even as good as the Feather is compared to other shavettes I've tried, not even CLOSE to the Friodur!

Originally Posted by MajorEthanolic

I still use the Feather occasionally if I'm in a hurry. Sometimes I shave right after work and then by the next morning there's a little stubble showing. That's when the feather is great - for a quick 2-3 minute touch up. But even as good as the Feather is compared to other shavettes I've tried, not even CLOSE to the Friodur!

Good to hear!

Sanfte Rasur, mein Klingenbruder!

(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)

Roy