Artist Club blades for the General - please help

alfredus

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Soon I will start my discovery of the General and luckily I have a blade sampler for it at home. However I have of course no idea, which blade is aggressive and which is mild and which one people like in this razor - so please help me.

I have 1 of each:

Feather Pro Super
Feather Pro
Feather Pro Light
Feather Pro Guard
Kai Captain Titan Sharpblade
Kai Captain Titan Original
Kai Captain Titan Mild
Kai Captain Titan ProTouch MG
Kamisori

Could you please rank them? I think I did it already by manufacturer, but would like some comparisons between the Feathers and the Kais.

Other questions I have:
Are there any other ones, I should try?

Which one do you like in the General?

Where do you buy yours (in bulk)?

Thanks for all your help (y)(y)(y)
 
Haven't got a general, but in the hawk I have tended to prefer the kai blades. I think titan original has been my favourite so far. The general is meant to be milder though so ymmv.
 
I have no idea about the General but I know some of these blades quite well. In the Feather line, the Super has most exposure and blade thickness, the Pro and Guarded are in the middle, while the Lights have least exposure and are generally considered to be not suitable for shaving (a hair trimming blade for barbers).

I find the Pros to be the harshest and least forgiving in my AC shavette, likely due to the higher angle required due to their lesser exposure compared to the Supers. No idea if this translates to the General though - maybe not as I hear it is a mild razor and using Supers could easily make it aggressive with the greater exposure. As a pure blade though I find the Supers to be the best combo of sharp but still smooth.

If you want least risk of damage, I would start with the Guarded blade in any case. They are still very sharp but have never really bit me. The guards work provided you don't get too slack with technique. Then try the Pros as even though they are harsh they should be well protected in the General. A bit like using an AS-D2 with a Feather blade, there seems to be some benefit to using a sharp blade in an otherwise mild razor design.

If that doesn't work then may as well try the Supers too - I love them!

I haven't done a lot of work with Kai blades but the consensus is that they are not much different to the equivalent Feather blades.

I haven't been able to find a source of cheap individual blade packs. You can find high rated eBay sellers for 200 blade boxes at very good prices though, once you work out the right one for you and your General. I get 15 ATG shaves per blade on average in my AC shavette.

Hope this helps...
 
@alfredus I'm told the Feather Pro Super blade is aggressive as YMMV when using the General and the Feather Pro Light is not design to used the General because the blade exposure is very small which makes this very difficult to shave with.

@alfredus your better off starting with a Feather Pro because you have much more experience handling the General without any issue, however you need to be very careful when you use a heavier handle because the General will bite you too soon.

All the other blades are okay with the General as you need to keep in mind the General is not design to used a Feather Pro Light blade so forget it is not worth it. Also in your experience shaving many different type of razors throughout your years you don't need the used the Feather Pro Guard and Kai Captain Titan ProTouch MG, because you won't like them is not your style of shaving and is your choice if you want to use them as I can't stop you because I know you won't like them.

Which one do you like in the General? At the moment I like the Kai Captain Titan Mild (Pink) blade because is very very smooth on my skin, I'll be trying the Feather Pro next later on when my current blade in my General has reach to a total of maximum shave as I'm up to #13 at the moment and is still going very smooth. I'm told they can reach up to a maximum total of 30 shaves per blade with the General as YMMV depending on your bread stubble during your shave because everybody is different.

Where do you buy yours (in bulk)? eBay is a good place to buy them in bulk and the most trusted supplier from Japan for a very good price plus free shipping is the user name from eBay is takey-jp2014 click here
 
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@alfredus - @Draco Noir recently posted this useful info.
@Korbz - I'm sure you won't be disappointed mate! And Feather Proguard or Pro will give you almost exactly the same same shave experience as Kai Pinks, while being a little easier to get.

FWIW, in ascending order of efficiency @Osman and I rate the various blades so : Kai Protouch, Feather Proguard, Kai Pink, Feather Pro, Feather Super Pro :)

I'm only 2 shaves in with mine, but so far I really like the Feather Pro blades.
 
@alfredus - @Draco Noir recently posted this useful info.


I'm only 2 shaves in with mine, but so far I really like the Feather Pro blades.
Ive tried my general so far with the Feather Pro, the Pro Super and the Kai Captain. The Feather Pro is my favourite. For me it was the best combination of comfort, closeness and smoothness. Its kind of between the 2 others for me. The Kai is very smooth but didnt get so close. The super pro is very aggressive, i got a few weepers but it was a very close shave with alot of blade feel.
 
2 shaves in with the Kai Pinks, and they're ok. Only one nick, but that was an ingrown. Apart from that no cuts or irritation. Not sure if it's how vocal the general is, but almost like the pinks are tugging or struggling with the coarse hair. Again, no irritation or cuts, so may just be psychosomatic.

Thinking I may try the proguard or protouch.
 
but almost like the pinks are tugging or struggling with the coarse hair
@Korbz this means your stubble is thick or tough as the Kai Captain Titan Mild (Pink) might be your main problem, try using the Feather Pro which is above the Kai Captain Titan Mild blade cutting rate.
 
Any once has experience with Kai original vs Feather Pro?

I read somewhere, that the Kai's are (in general) smoother from the get go, but you can't get as many shaves out them. This would certainly mirror my experience with Kai vs. Feather DE blades...
 
Ive tried my general so far with the Feather Pro, the Pro Super and the Kai Captain. The Feather Pro is my favourite. For me it was the best combination of comfort, closeness and smoothness. Its kind of between the 2 others for me. The Kai is very smooth but didnt get so close. The super pro is very aggressive, i got a few weepers but it was a very close shave with alot of blade feel.
We definitely are in the same boat @Itsonlyblood . I was switching blades around this morning to confirm my preference. My experience was too much tugging from the Kai Pinks and too much blade from the Feather Super Professionals for me. Feather Pros are on the money for me. :happy:
 
Just to point out some of us with thick, Italian stubble get very good shaves from the guarded blades. For those who find these SE blades too harsh, I recommend at least giving them a go - YMMV and all that...
 
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