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Thread: DE Blade ranking

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    Senior Member Peter57's Avatar
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    Default DE Blade ranking

    I just ordered a Gillette Superspeed --TV Special-- Safety Razor (D-2 1958) and an assortment of blades. Looking forward to receiving it two days from now and trying my first DE shave.

    I am assuming it would make sense to start off with the less aggressive blades and work my way to more aggressive blades as I gain experience with DE shaving. Accordingly I am wondering if anyone would be able to rank the following blades from least aggressive to most aggressive.

    Rapira Super Stainless
    Voskhod Teflon Coated
    Shark Super Stainless
    Shark Super Chrome
    Persona Platinum
    Astra Superior Stainless
    Astra Superior Platinum
    Topaz Platinum
    Laser Platinum
    Racer Super Stainless
    Derby Extra
    Asco Super Stainless
    Treet Platinum
    Gillette Wilkinson Sword

    Thanks in advance and Happy Thanksgiving.

    Peter

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    Senior Member blabbermouth OCDshaver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter57 View Post
    I just ordered a Gillette Superspeed --TV Special-- Safety Razor (D-2 1958) and an assortment of blades. Looking forward to receiving it two days from now and trying my first DE shave.

    I am assuming it would make sense to start off with the less aggressive blades and work my way to more aggressive blades as I gain experience with DE shaving. Accordingly I am wondering if anyone would be able to rank the following blades from least aggressive to most aggressive.

    Rapira Super Stainless
    Voskhod Teflon Coated
    Shark Super Stainless
    Shark Super Chrome
    Persona Platinum
    Astra Superior Stainless
    Astra Superior Platinum
    Topaz Platinum
    Laser Platinum
    Racer Super Stainless
    Derby Extra
    Asco Super Stainless
    Treet Platinum
    Gillette Wilkinson Sword

    Thanks in advance and Happy Thanksgiving.

    Peter
    I don't think I could rank them all individually. But your least aggressive will probably be the Derby. In fact, many people say they are simply too dull for them. Your shark and Wilkinsons will be middle of the road and quite good. Treet gets sharper in my opinion and (for me) delivers a very nice shave. YMMV. Astra will be in the same category or sharper. If you want a starting out point, go with Derby.

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    Senior Member Chalito's Avatar
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    What is your opinion on feather DE blades?

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    Senior Member blabbermouth OCDshaver's Avatar
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    One last thing. The middle area on the sharpness scale is crowded. It also the area where you are most likely to find the best blade for your shave. Some people will swear that one brand is utter crap while it works like a charm for another guy. But most people will say that Derby is the least sharp and Feather the most sharp. My personal preference is for Kai and Treet Classic. You can tell us what yours is later.
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    Senior Member blabbermouth OCDshaver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chalito View Post
    What is your opinion on feather DE blades?
    If you're asking me (you might not be), I think Feather is a good blade but overly aggressive. It delivers a rough scratchy shave on my face. I prefer one notch down in Kai. Both are Japanese blades and quite sharp.

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    Senior Member Chalito's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OCDshaver View Post
    If you're asking me (you might not be), I think Feather is a good blade but overly aggressive. It delivers a rough scratchy shave on my face. I prefer one notch down in Kai. Both are Japanese blades and quite sharp.
    Oh sorry, yes I was asking you. I have used Derby, Feather and Shark. Shark was a very unpleasant shave, felt almost painful. Derby was comfortable but the feather felt much sharper.

    Thanks for your input!!

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    Senior Member Peter57's Avatar
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    Thanks for the feedback. I think I have a plan now. Appreciating that there's a large measure of subjectivity to all this, I wanted to at least try to test them systematically.

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    My approach after reading about the somewhat subjective blade characteristics was to start slightly down from the top of the sharpness scale rather than near the bottom.

    I choose Astras (and now like them). If they had been too sharp I would have gone down a notch.

    Feather seems to be at the top of the sharpness scale and Derby at the bottom.

    Let us know what you end up with!

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    Senior Member Badgister's Avatar
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    My only experience is with Merkur blades. They stay sharp for quite long, but I always dread the first few shaves with a new blade, as it leaves my neck full of nicks. I guess it is too harsh and sharp at first. Fortunately, I no longer have to deal with this problem with my straights.

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    Senior Member Peter57's Avatar
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    Thanks. Straights are coming for Christmas. Baby steps ...
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