Thread: what is the absolute most forgiving de blade?

so i was wondering.. of all the blades i've tried so far.. it seems impossible to hurt my face while shaving with a u.s. made personna blade.. is there a blade more forgiving?

just wondering.. so far it seems my blade of choice will have to be the feathers though.. but i have yet to try the 7 o'clocks.

oh.. and also.. do you think it's better to start with a forgiving blade or not.. perhaps learning with a forgiving blade could set you up for some bad habits in the future... what do you think?

That's a hard question because it will vary from person to person based on their beard and skin and how they use the razor and the blade razor combination. Throw in adjustable razors and it's really difficult. For me I think the Darby's are pretty tame blades.

Hello, Victor:

From the many double edge razor blades I have tried the Korean-made Dorco is the tamest.

Regards,

Obie

From my experience, the Personna (U.S.) and the Wilkinson (Germany) are rather mild and forgiving.

I have a friend who believes the same about Lord de razor blades.

thanks guys.. as for my question about using tame blades.. do you think they are bad in the respect of training yourself to be not as careful with your shave.. i would imagine that starting with a more aggressive blade may be infact a steeper learning curve.. but would you be ingraining strict proper technique and not leaving the opportunity to get in the habit of over pressure or other types of "bad form"?

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

thanks guys.. as for my question about using tame blades.. do you think they are bad in the respect of training yourself to be not as careful with your shave.. i would imagine that starting with a more aggressive blade may be infact a steeper learning curve.. but would you be ingraining strict proper technique and not leaving the opportunity to get in the habit of over pressure or other types of "bad form"?

As regards tame blades, it also depends on how aggressive your razor is. I just have two DE's left, and have settled on the Red Personna/Merkur Barberpole and Derby/EJ combos.

As for training, I think the goal would be to get a BBS shave, which is possible with any blade, as long as your technique is correct. If you end up with some stubble, then you know what to correct.

That would be better than having a goal of avoiding bleeding, weepers, and irritation. I guess you can do it that way too, but not only are those things that other people can actually see, they look and feel bad. On the other hand, only you will be obsessively stroking your face in WTG/ATG/XTG directions to feel for (invisible) stubble.

That being said, I have been using a DE for about 30 years, and I still get weepers whenever I try to use a Feather. I don't know that it is for everyone, no matter how good your technique is. Besides, when I want a really close, longlasting shave, I would just as soon use a straight.

IME the Derby is the mildest effective blade I've come across. I pretty much always shave with a straight because I have the time and I like it better than any alternative, but when I routinely used a DE I favored Gillette Swedes or Feather blades. Like Ray I would get weepers and the occasional nick.

I read about the Derbys and tried them and hated them. I felt they were dull and gave up on them after one or two shaves. Some months went by and my reading posts with many guys praising the Derby led me to try them again. I took a first generation Super Speed and found that I could get a smooth and comfortable shave with them. I suppose my technique had improved to the extent that I could appreciate them.

i too am unsatisfied with derbys.. the lack of sharpness makes me apply too much pressure and i end up with irritation.. i feel that the sharpest blade allows for the lease amount of pressure.. which results in the best outcome.

Maybe sharper blades are more forgiving because they need less pressure to work. You can just let them glide over your skin and do their job.

In this case the Petersburg Products International blades offer the ideal combination of smoothness and sharpness.

In other words the various Gillette brands plus Iridium, Astra etc.

thanks for the reply bruce.. your blog has been a good read lately..

my idea that less sharp blades cause you to apply more pressure and although they don't hurt your face as a sharper blade would.. perhaps they let you fall into the habit of applying too much pressure to employing poor technique.

so when you do load up a feather or other top of line blade.. you end up destroying your face..