Thread: Feather DE Blades

Originally Posted by Hutch

I like Feathers, but they always give me a little irritation, so I stick with Polsilver, Voshkod, Astra (Green), Derby and Gillette Silver Blue. I have some Permasharps coming to try. The next blades that I found very close to the Feathers were the Bolzano, the shave I get is almost identical to the Feathers including the weepers and irritation.

Never saw the Feathers in the blue packs, I have both the yellow and black packs (10's and 5's).

I too get about 7 shaves out of a Feather and the sweet spot for me is 4-6.

I have to add a second vote for Bolzano blades. I just recently purchased a Fatip Piccolo open comb; which is a somewhat aggressive razor. 1st attempt with a Feather blade left me red faced and irritated. (I'm sure my technique was partly to blame) The Bolzano however was very close and satisfying. They are a bit pricey though; $20 on Amazon for 30 blades.

Originally Posted by ChopperDave

I have to add a second vote for Bolzano blades. I just recently purchased a Fatip Piccolo open comb; which is a somewhat aggressive razor. 1st attempt with a Feather blade left me red faced and irritated. (I'm sure my technique was partly to blame) The Bolzano however was very close and satisfying. They are a bit pricey though; $20 on Amazon for 30 blades.

Amazon also sells 100 packs for $34.99.

If I could only have one - Feather without question.

I really like Persona Reds too.


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Finding your blade and razor is not so easy. I tried a lot of the blade, in that chile and "Feather" - they did not like me. I have a soft 89 head. At the second shaving, it is necessary to pass twice the same site. The blade misses the hairs. I found a blade that fits well with the 89 head, it's "Sputnik", which is often scolded for their excessive sharpness.

I didn't care for the Feather blades. I went back to basic Derby, 100 for under $10 on Amazon, delivered. Gives BBS shave.

I find that Kai blades are quite similar to Feathers. Plus they are beautiful: plain white paper wraps and naked (no brand stamps) holographic/rainbow finish on the blade. They deserve to be in MOMA.

Aloha!

Well, in decades of shaving with a DE, I have indeed tried Feather blades. And they are indeed extremely sharp - or at least that's how the edge presents itself in my shaving experience - EXTREMELY sharp. They are also, IMO, very unforgiving. You need light pressure. VERY light pressure, and your first few shaves with Feather will usually produce cuts, nicks, and irritation. To this day, I still end up cutting myself with Feather every so often, even if I am very careful. It's usually on the 2nd pass. Setting 3 on the Merkur.

In my eperience, any mistakes you make while shaving are greatly amplified by a Feather blade. I mean greatly amplified. Razor burn, rash and irritation combined with cuts may indeed make a newbie shy away from them. Or they just may NOT be for YOUR face or YOUR style of shaving.

Personally, they are my 2nd favorite blade, as long as I remember I'm using them and have to back off.... I mean really back way off on pressure, and pay attention to the detial of my shaving form and technique while shaving with them. If I make even the smalest mistate, ZipZop! I have a nick on my face.

My favorite blades by FAR are the Russian Voskhod blades. Now available for $11.00 from Amazon (Prime Shipping Included). These blades are miraculous. Smothest and most comfortable DE shave I have ever produced from a safety razor. I'm tempted to order 1,000 of them just in case the factory in Russia ever shuts down.

My 2 cents worth on Feather blades. YMMV of course. And in this case, YMMV is really true. It may vary greatly. Some say they are the best blades ever produced, some cut their face to pieces with them every time they shave with them.

Mahalo!

-ZipZop

Originally Posted by ZipZop

Aloha!


My favorite blades by FAR are the Russian Voskhod blades. Now available for $11.00 from Amazon (Prime Shipping Included). These blades are miraculous. Smothest and most comfortable DE shave I have ever produced from a safety razor. I'm tempted to order 1,000 of them just in case the factory in Russia ever shuts down.

My 2 cents worth on Feather blades. YMMV of course. And in this case, YMMV is really true. It may vary greatly. Some say they are the best blades ever produced, some cut their face to pieces with them every time they shave with them.

-ZipZop

I've moved on to straight razors in the last year, but the best shaves I've ever gotten were using Astra blades, which I think are also Russian. Astra and a Muhle R41 - best and smoothest DE shaves I've ever had. I've tried Feathers, and they do the job - but Astras are about half the price and gave me a smoother shave with less irritation. $10 for 100 blades - at one blade a week, that's a couple of years worth. I still have the last box, mostly full and since I don't use the Muhle much anymore except when traveling, they'll probably last the rest of my life

I am also a big fan of the astra blades. Economy and quality together, smooth and cheap.

I rarely use a DE, but when I do, I'm always pleased with how good the blades are for about 1-2 pennies a shave.

Aloha!

Agreed, I too mostly use a straight, but I still go with a DE once or twice a week just to mix things up, and when traveling. Astra is a great blade and I have a few packs in the cabinet. But I still prefer Voskhod overall for a "smooth yet close" shave. We're lucky we still have the choices we have in DE blades.

Lately, I have been using Feathers in my Edwin Jagger DE89 with stellar results. To me this is a far better razor for a Feather blade than other razors I have tried, and the combination seems to be a match made in heaven. The Jagger is a mild razor and seems to work much better with the Feather blades on my skin. Coincidentally, I just posted the Feather with the Jagger it in SOTD today.

Again, the bottom line for Feather blades is VERY light passes, let the razor do the work, and watch your technique. Today the Feather in the Jagger gave me a truly BBS shave with no irritation and only one tiny small weeper. Small price to pay for such a close shave, IMO. A light touch is the buzz word here. Feathers take a light touch. Most guys that want to "muscle" through a shave are going to end up with the razor burn from hell. I did the first time I used Feathers. Now they are my 2nd favorite blade, especially in the right razor with a light touch.

-Zip