Like my curious post asks..which blades can you NOT stand another pass with and which do you LOVE and how many ya got?..any sampler pack lovers?
:beer1:
Cheers!
pcdad
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Like my curious post asks..which blades can you NOT stand another pass with and which do you LOVE and how many ya got?..any sampler pack lovers?
:beer1:
Cheers!
pcdad
When I first started with a DE I had the sample pack and to tell you the truth I got good results from all of them. These days my favorites are the Feathers and the Mercurs and the Wilkinsons. My son uses iridiums and he likes them.
I have quite a few on the go at the moment, can't say that I have any that I absolutely hate. I've had less luck with Merkur and Sharks. The "good list" would include (but not limited to) Feather, Derby, Iridium, Crystal and Astra. JMHO of course.
Hello, pcdad:
Through the years I have gone through a large collection of blades. For now, I have settled on Feather and Gillette 7 O'Clock "sharp edge" in the yellow packs. My standard rule is to change blades after three shaves no matter the blade.
Regards,
Obie
Hey Obie..funny question for you!
What if the Pope himself gave you his DE/SE blade on a 3rd use and asked you to use it..what might you reply? (keep in mind..it's the holy man himself)
:shrug:
PcDad
I've waxed interminable about blades which I like, both discontinued (Swedes and UK Wilks) and current (none of 'em). Rather than do that again, here's some mean spirited stuff about blades which are good for less than one shave.
Derby: my one and only pack of these contained some perfectly ordinary razor blades, and some pieces of tin can which weren't fit for shaving with. Rejected permanently because Russian roulette doesn't appeal to me.
Merkur: one pack and they're out, again. I did all right with these, actually, because they got swapped with somebody who likes them. I just didn't find them sharp enough.
Wilkinson Sword (German and Economie): in a blind test I'd take both of these for Merkurs. A dreadful disappointment, because this was my brand of choice for years when they were still made in the UK: that's not a matter of chauvinism by the way, they were just sharper and smooth.
Dorco: I've saved the "best" for last. These blades are surely the work of the devil - blunt, jagged, unspeakably awful.
On the other matters, I've got something like 2000 blades in stock, which will see me out since I'm a straight razor shaver 95% of the time now; and the mileage for decent blades varies: 3 shaves for most brands, 4 or 5 for Iridiums and 7 o'clocks, more for Swedes.
Hello, pcdad:Quote:
Originally Posted by pcdad
With all due respect to the Pope and his flock, I have always followed my own nose. That goes for my decision on the number of times I use the same double edge razor blade: three shaves and new blade.
After many years of experimentation, I have discovered that the blade's quality declines after the third shave, Feather blades included. That's why three shaves per blade. My Hollywood face seems to like it.
Regards,
Obie
Mostly Swedes. I have somewhere around 200. As I shave with a DE infrequently these days I expect them to last a very long time.
A few Personna 74s, maybe 50, and a few Light Brigade Wilks.
That's interesting, Andy. These generally get favorable reviews, yet I've heard more than one account like yours regarding their QC. I completely respect your opinion of them, along with the likely outcome that you will never buy them again, however this seems to be the opposite of my experience with them. It seems either I lucked out with good packs or you "unlucked" out with a shoddy one :shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by Arrowhead
If you have little use for those Swede's I'd be happy help you out andQuote:
Originally Posted by Hawkeye5
take them off your hands :w
I've quickly built up a stock of many different DE blades (not a sampler, yet still easily facilitated by ebay). The two disappointments are: Personna Blue #2 USA which was jagged under the loupe, and Shark SS which lost all sharpness after three shaves. The most impressive have been: Astra Superior Platinum, Schick SS, Bluebird. Derby seems average along with the Lord Platinum. I also have some Vintage English Wilkinsons and Vintage Canadian Gillette Minoras (rarest) which I haven't tried yet. Also waiting on some vintage Gillette Blue Blades which I'm curious about.
Really like Astra SP, Gillette Sharp Edge ( yellow), Red Pack Personnas, Super Iridiums, and Med Prep Personnas. Don't like Feathers at all.
I use Feather only. The other blades I have tried has not reached the Feathers to the knees. The worst blade ever for me was the Merkur that came with my 39C Slant.
I usually have 250 Feathers, I buy 100 at the time on Ebay. 3 BBS shaves per blade for me. Could use it longer of course, but a blade don`t cost much, and I wet shave because of the pure pleasure of it, not to save money.
pcdad,
Excellent For Me:
Feather
Gillette 7'o Clock Sharpedge (Russian, Yellow packet)
Iridium Super
Astra Stainless (PTFE)
GEM SE
Ted Pella Injector (Personna I think?)
Terrible For Me :
Most blades - they are not sharp enough for my beard
Treet Blue Special - absolutely the worst blade I have ever tried; other shavers love them though, a true YMMV :)
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
After going through many different blades in sampler packs I have settled on Astra SP. The last time I bought them it was a 500 pack for 10 cents per blade that would give me 3 excellent shaves. Using the DE maybe once a week will give me several years of shaves. I also use once in a while the Treet blues for only two shaves as they get dull quickly. For those two shaves they are really nice. I rinse my DE in 91% alcohol after every shave.
bj
I like feathers, Swedes (on special occassions because I only have a limited supply), Red Personnas, British Personnas, and I'd like to try the medical personnas but haven't invested in them yet...
Everything seems to work for me.
Currently I'm using Dorco blades in a Shick Krona butterfly razor. The same blades didn't work well in my adjustable Gillette at setting #5 or in my fixed Gillette. So I suppose the razor is probably as or more important than the blade.
Anything made by Petersburg Products International in Russia.
Astra, Swedes, 7 O'Clock Yellows, Permasharp, Sputnik, Polsilver, Nacet, Rotbart etc etc
They could all just be the same blade in different packaging! They certainly are all made in the same building.
My favourite are the Iridium, but that could be pure placebo effect.
Wal-Mart Wilkinson Sword's.
The uncoated Personna's from CVS sucked.
My favorite DE blade is the Don Juan blade from the 40's/50's.
I have two display case boxes of them in pristine condition, that's 200 blades, plus I had about 50 or so already, so I have about 250 of them.
My favorite SE blade is also the Don Juan.
I was lucky enough to get 10 boxes of those (50 blades), the Don Juan SE is extremely rare, so rare that I can't even find any info. on the SE Don Juan blade!
I am able to get 'several' shaves off one SE Don Juan blade.
Good thing I am now getting into the straights as I will probably never be able to find any SE Don Juan's. :(
Even though the Gem, and Personna are also good SE blades, to me they just don't compare to the SE Don Juan.
...but I've found that probably isn't so.
When I started double edge shaving this May, the first blade was, as usual, a Merkur (it came with my new Futur). I didn't have a high opinion of that first blade, I can tell you.
But now, I'm quite sure that wasn't the blade's fault, but my own. The second blade I tried was an Astra, and it worked equally poorly. Now, I get great shaves with an Astra. Again, this experience repeats itself with the Dorco 301s. I actually removed a new one from my razor before I finished the first shave with it. Now, I find they are a competent, though not the sharpest blades available.
I'm becoming of the opinion that as the shaver's skill improves, he will be able to use any competently made blade and get at least a good shave from it. Now, it may not give two, three, or more good shaves. But I attribute that to differences in its initial sharpness, the steel composition, and the coatings on the blade.
I haven't found a blade yet that does not shave well for me.. I have tried Personna blues and reds, vintage Gillette blues, Feather's, and Wilkinson's so far with no issues. Once I get through the lot of reds I currently have I will try some Derby's.
Most brands of blade seem to work OK for me. I use a new blade when it start to pull, no set number of shaves.
I usually just use the ones they sell at the drugstore (I think these are re-branded Personna's, but I don't know for sure). I have a bunch of these and a variety of other brands, but I tend to stick to these so far.
I have some issues sometimes with green Derby's. They seem inconsistent; some shaves are great with them and some are terrible.
What do you use in your 39c now? I am guessing Feathers...Quote:
Originally Posted by ama015