I must say that I am a convert to feather. I used Astra super platinum and SS for years and now, even though I can only use the blade twice (third time pulls harder than a Tijuana hooker), I reach for the Muhle R41 Grande and a feather almost every shave now. Also I have found that Feather's tend to like it when you have more stubble, so now I shave every 3 days and get BBS and no burn. YMMV
Oddly enough the only other blade that I like in the R41 is the derby....I couldnt complete a shave with an astra locked in.
Oh and I despise Merkur blades...Good for taking paint off windows, bad for taking stuble off my face.