Blades for razors and vice versa

gthomas04

...was Drubbing's first. AKA Captain Tightarse
Joined
Aug 22, 2011
Location
Mt Druitt Western Sydney
I recall some knowledgeable person on one of the forums reckoning the blade/razor combination made little real difference to the shave. Having just completed a shave, I must disagree. Close followers of my fascinating posts to these forums will recall my fondness for my Gillette Slim. Needed a new blade so replaced the Indian Wilkinson with a Gillete Blue 7 O'clock. Not the same shave at all. All the prep was the same - used my big badger and Cella, but the shave felt knowhere near as smooth as with the Wilkinson. Not to sure why this should be as theoretically a blade is just a very thin piece of metal with a really sharp edge.

Anyway that is my subjective views on things - must get anothe Slim so I can compare side by side.

Merry thingy and a happy whtsisname to you all

Glen
 
For me it's more a case of blades for faces. The same subset of blades appear to work best for me in whatever I put them in... rather than it's razor X, must use blade Y.
 
For me it's more a case of blades for faces. The same subset of blades appear to work best for me in whatever I put them in... rather than it's razor X, must use blade Y.

Probably quite correct - I , probably like many others, find something I like and stick to it, when I really must get into my other razors (a couple of flares and a speed something or other) and start using my collection of blades (not large numerically but certainly in variety) and see what I come up with.


All part of the wonderful journey.

Glen
 
Agree to some point, but a Feather in a (mild) slim still carved me up, I just never knew about it till I finished up, when it was too frickin late...
 
Agree to some point, but a Feather in a (mild) slim still carved me up, I just never knew about it till I finished up, when it was too frickin late...

Got some of those, might be next ones to try - a lot of people seem to have a down on Derbys, but they were my first blade and I quite liked them (maybe ignorance was bliss).
 
Agree to some point, but a Feather in a (mild) slim still carved me up, I just never knew about it till I finished up, when it was too frickin late...

Of course there is nothing quite as nerve wracking as the first use of an SE with a new blade. You get the impression that fractions of a millimetre offline will remove most of your face. Not the case of course, just a totally different sensation to any of the DEs I have tried.
 
I'm a big believer in the blade/razor combo effect. The real revaluation for me was the Eclipse Red Ring. Horrible with an Astra SP my usual go to blade after first trying a Personna Red because that was just what I grabbed. I couldn't 'feel the love' that others expressed for the Eclipse at all.

In desperation I chucked a Feather in - WOW! It made a huge difference and I still swear that the Feathers have the best results of any blade I've used in the Eclipse (YMMV of course)

I agree that beard type is likely to play a factor as well and some blades will not work for some people no matter what. My argument if a razor is not working for somebody though is not to give up until you have tried a couple of blades.

Drubbs, of course, is the exception to the rule :)
 
I recall some knowledgeable person on one of the forums reckoning the blade/razor combination made little real difference to the shave. Having just completed a shave, I must disagree.
Yes, I have been saying this since the start. Certain blades really shine in combination with a certain handle, and others are just awful.

Everyone knows that I have been down on Derby since the get-go, but that was in the DE86. When dropping a new Derby into my Slim as part of a Monsta using up all the open blade packs in the bathroom which will take 2 years project, then the shave was remarkably good.

Close followers of my fascinating posts to these forums will recall my fondness for my Gillette Slim. Needed a new blade so replaced the Indian Wilkinson with a Gillete Blue 7 O'clock. Not the same shave at all. All the prep was the same - used my big badger and Cella, but the shave felt knowhere near as smooth as with the Wilkinson. Not to sure why this should be as theoretically a blade is just a very thin piece of metal with a really sharp edge.
Strange as I usually find that the Slim brings out the best in almost every blade. I would have thought that the 7OC Blue would have really done a nice job in the Slim also. You may need to go to a higher number.

Now I want to try the Indian Wilks in the Slim, followed by a Blue (of which I have none - shock horror!)

Anyway that is my subjective views on things - must get another Slim so I can compare side by side.
You will find that different Slims will do a different job. Over time they get bumped and most are now misaligned at least a little bit.

Agree to some point, but a Feather in a (mild) slim still carved me up, I just never knew about it till I finished up, when it was too frickin late...
I think the issue with the Feathers is that the mildness of a razor gives you false security. Better to throw it in something super-agressive and really take care.

Got some of those, might be next ones to try - a lot of people seem to have a down on Derbys, but they were my first blade and I quite liked them (maybe ignorance was bliss).
In the Slim they are good, at least in my experience. Not awesome, not exceptional. Good, acceptable and good value.

I'm a big believer in the blade/razor combo effect. The real revaluation for me was the Eclipse Red Ring. Horrible with an Astra SP my usual go to blade after first trying a Personna Red because that was just what I grabbed. I couldn't 'feel the love' that others expressed for the Eclipse at all.

In desperation I chucked a Feather in - WOW! It made a huge difference and I still swear that the Feathers have the best results of any blade I've used in the Eclipse (YMMV of course)

I agree that beard type is likely to play a factor as well and some blades will not work for some people no matter what. My argument if a razor is not working for somebody though is not to give up until you have tried a couple of blades.

Drubbs, of course, is the exception to the rule :)
+1 to this madman's post.
 
The razor and blade combination I definitely believe in.

Permasharp super - Useless in Krona and Rocket HD. Best blade I have tried when paired with Merkur HD.

Derby - Quite possibly the best all-rounder out there, It just works to the best of it's capabilities in every razor I've tried it in.

Feather - Awesome in Krona. Rough shave in my other razors.

Pretty sure I am stocking up on PSS and Derby from bestshave after Xmas.

The gillette Yellow is good but I think it's a bit expensive for the 3 shaves I got from it.
 
Second shave with the 7 Oclock and the slim and also the final for this combination. Although the quality of the shave was quite good, it just didn't feel right. I really didn't have the confidence in this combination as I have had in others. Think I will switch the 7 Oclock into the Fatboy and see how I go.

Glen
 
Top