Blade suggestions for new DE users
Hiya,
New DE shavers might read about all the different blades out there to sample. Yeah, there's quite a few to choose from, and maybe I can make things a little easier. I've been shaving with a DE(well, lots of em) for a number of years, and have got things down pretty well by now. Can't tell you how many blades I've used, but it's a bunch. I've also done a fair bit of reading about things I haven't actually tried, which can also be educational.
First, let me just say that yes, the Feather blade's the sharpest one out there. It's also true that it's not the right blade for many people. A blade can be too sharp and can cause the shave to be less comfortable than it should. Plus, many people don't even need that sharp of a blade to achieve a very close AND comfortable shave. In addition, the sharper the blade, the better your technique should be.
Mild blades can quite often offer very nice results, and my thought is to start with one of those in the beginning. Stay with the same type blade for a few weeks until everything starts coming together. You'll have less of a chance of cutting yourself and it's possible a mild blade is gonna be your preference anyway.
After a couple weeks, try another blade and see how that feels. Without knowing it, you'll have developed a reference point about blades. You'll know pretty quick if that new blade is better or worse than the last. It's all about understanding what to look for in a blade, and that only comes with experience. After a while you'll know within 1-2 strokes if a new blade's for you or not.
I'll list a few mild and a few sharper blades. I won't recommend any one type, since the ones I like you might hate.....heh.
Some mild blades with very good reputations are the Crystal(Israeli Personna) and also the Red Personna. Derbys are also used a lot, and I believe are on the milder side.
Shaper blades would include Shark stainless steel, Gillette SharpEdge(yellow) and Super Iridiums. Feathers should be used after your technique has been fine tuned. The Iridium blade would be the first one I'd recommend......an excellent blade. Very sharp, but quite forgiving. These come closest to the legendary old Swedes performance wise, at least to me. Matter of fact, I like the Iridium a little more.
There's a bunch of other blades somewhere in the middle, and I'm sure I'm leaving out other sharper and milder ones as well. This post is just a sorta vague guideline on what might be good to start off with......especially if you have a sampler pack.
One blade to stay away from would be the Merkur. These are often included with a razor purchase, but I'd strongly suggest you wait a while before shaving with one. You wanna have that reference point I was talking about before trying a Merkur blade. Most people don't like these blades, but some do.
I've read that straight users will catch on to DE shaving quicker than someone using a cartride system. Makes sense, since some parts of technique carry over. Things like no pressure and not rushing things are examples. Still, I'd guess it would take maybe a week or longer to get the hang of what a good DE shave can be like.
I hope this helps out in some way, and maybe others would care to add their thoughts.
Martin