gillette silver blue first impression

beerhog

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Feb 19, 2017
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doreen
i got some gsb in the mail today and switched out the old feather that was at the end of its life in my rockwell and thought ill give em a go.well what a shave! they are for my face damn close to the feather for sharpness but a scale of multitudes smoother at the same time. the fun part though is that on the same setting of 5 because they seem stiffer than the feathers it seemed the aggressiveness was greater as well. is this actually a thing the stiffness of a given blade changing the aggression of a razor? or was i just imagining it? either way although more aggressive a shave than normal it is also a better shave and smoother than ive been getting from the feathers with less irritation as well. tomorrow i will go back to the 4 plate and see how it goes there.
 
Recently I received a sampler pack of de blades. The first blade I tried was the Gillette Silver Blue. I'm using it in the Progress, which I initially set at 1.5 and advanced to 2 for the second shave. I've now used the same blade for seven shaves, with no nicks or weepers, and it isn't done yet. Since this is my first ever experience with the Silver Blue, I'm going to continue to use this same blade until it is toast. Yes, my beard is mild but for comparison I get only 2-3 not so close shaves with the Derby Extra, but the seventh shave with the Silver Blue mowed smooth even the tough and usually very stubborn area on my lower chin. I had no clue the Silver Blue blade was considered by many as very sharp before I made the purchase, but am very impressed so far with the smooth and close shave of these Gillette blades. It is also with sharp blades like the Silver Blue where I've found the adjustable Progress excels.
 
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i went back to the 4 plate on the rockwell and while it was a milder shave than i get from my de89 it shaves close in a way the de 89 razor cant match with any blade. so far im really impressed and think these blades are going to be my new go to blade instead of feather. but ive got some kai blades and some personna labs to try so will see what i get there. should i use the fatboy with the gsb in the morning to further test the blade or just try one of the other new blades ive got to try in the rockwell as a comparison instead?
 
Derby's are renowned for being dull blades @thw . I've had tomatoes which were sharper!
 
The other razor I'm now using is the DE89L. It is a mild razor, and eventually I'll try the Super Blue with it. However, I'm now on the first blade of a 35-blade sampler pack and on the eighth shave with it, while using the Progress. So, this could take awhile. What I recall from using the slim adjustable years ago (I bought two that were brand new (@$1.95) in the mid to late 60's and rotated them for about fifteen years) is that a sharp blade would sort of get broken in on the first couple of shaves. Then by using a low setting on the slim (a 3), and with my mild stubble, the blade could last a couple weeks. The idea was to get a BBS shave on the first couple of shaves, and then, with no heavy stubble to contend with on the following shaves, the sharp blade could easily provide a smooth and close shave. This seems to be what is occurring with the gsb and the Progress. But I think what I'd do if I had a fat boy (or even a slim) would be to go ahead and try the gsb with it.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but the Gillette silver blues were a bit of a pricey and premium blade a few years back why are they so cheap now?
 
In the 1960's, it was the Gillette Slim Adjustable razor that sold for $1.95. They came in a plastic case that held a blade dispenser that had a couple of blades in it. I bought two of the slims, and they were as good as new a decade and a half later. The Super Blue blades (carbon steel) went for a lot less. I forget exactly, but something like $.25 for a package of 10 blades--maybe less. They were sharper than the Gillette stainless blades that came out around 1968, but the stainless kept their edge longer than the Super Blue's.
 
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