Best Safety Razor blades (Poll)

[velocityg4]

I've seen a few posts on shaving and I'm sure most of you here do so. Besides those too young or prefer letting all your body and facial hair grow.

There was a thread I recall reading about wet shaving which included a link to an article, "How to get that perfect shave" by Corey Greenberg. I read this a year or two ago and was quite interested but did not want to outlay the cash at the time. Every once in a while I thought about this article as my disposable razors just don't cut it for me.

Now that my financial situation is better for such indulgences I am ready to take the plunge. I just ordered a vintage Gillette Double Edged Safety Razor and want to find the best blades for it.

Those of you that wet shave with a double edge safety razor what blades do you use?

 

[R94N]

Too young

 

[LumbermanSVO]

I just took the plunge into safety razors because my daughter suddenly decided she doesn't like men with facial hair, and I wasn't gonna pay the Gillette cartridge tax. I bought a Merkur 180 kit(razor, brush, stand, bowl, soap) and a box of Merkur blades.

So far I like the Merkur blades, but I have no other safety razor blade experience to compare them to.

Good luck and remember to relax when you shave

 

[chrmjenkins]

I've considered this so many times. I get really bad irritation on my neck every time I shave. I can get away with shaving every other day using a disposable multi-blade razor, and I often wonder if I'd benefit from doing this. Maybe I should ask for my birthday coming up in a few months.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Bic, sensitive, double-blade disposable in a 10-pack, for convenience.

But I do remember the heady days of a Gillette loose-blade razor, brush, cup and cream. A calming ritual in the morning.

A really good shave, but the angle of "attack" is critical, and changes as the blade moves across the contours of your face.

I never did the hot-towel thing, but it makes sense to engorge your face with moisture, in order to get a close cut.

 

[Macaddicttt]

I use Astras and Crystals. I can't decide between the two which I like better, although I'm leaning towards the Crystals right now.

 

[velocityg4]

After some searching I came across the ShaveWiki. I decided to try the Derby extra as it got good ratings and isn't too sharp for safety razor newbs. It also seems Feather blades are the sharpest but will really slice up someone use to disposables. Now I just need to wait for everything to arrive and hope this gear is worth the money.

I ordered
- Vulfix Badger hair brush
- Taylor of Old Bond St. Sandalwood Shaving Cream
- Old Gillette safety razor
- 25 Derby extra blades
- Geo F. Trumper's Sandalwood Skin Food

 

[renewed]

Best Razor I have ever used:

 

[r.j.s]

I chose Other for the Feather blades.

I have:
Merkur HD
EJ Best Badger Brush
DR Harris Almond Soap
Saint Charles Shave Coconut Cream Soap

and a 1940s Gillette SS on the way.

 

[imahawki]

Astra, Feather, and Irridium are my favorites. Anyone shaving with those godaweful multi-blade monstrosities doesn't know what they're missing.

 

[codymac]

Feather.

 

[rhett7660]

Astra, have used Personna which were absolute garbage and have used feathers. Liked Astra the best out of the three I have used.

 

[bunnspecial]

I've used pretty much all the popular ones, but I keep coming back to Derbys.

Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll have used my 400th Derby blade since starting with a double edge. I usually use them 3 days, but sometimes stretch to 5 or have used them single use when traveling. They're cheap enough that I can do that. There's nothing spectacular about them-they just give me a good, consistent, and comfortable shave.

I know the 400 number off the top of my head since I'm running low and need to order another 200 pack from Amazon.

With that said, I was in a hurry and couldn't find a fresh pack of them yesterday morning. I dug under my bathroom sink and came up with a single Gillette Silver-Blue. I don't think these are made any more, but I was reminded of just how good of a blade that is.

I've gone back and used Feathers a few times now that I feel really, really comfortable with a double edge(I think 400+ blades qualifies me for that) and I like them a lot better now that when I first started. With that said, they're not that much better than my Derbys and are a lot more expensive.

BTW, even though I have a couple of "fancy" Gillette adjustables, I keep going back to my grandfather's old Gillette Tech. It's a mild razor, but the balance is great and I love the fact that the head is small enough that I can get it into tight places like up around my nose.

 

[0388631]

Feathers.
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With that said, they're not that much better than my Derbys and are a lot more expensive.

I notice a difference between them. Expensive, sure, if you always buy small packs of them. I was lucky enough to buy several boxes online years ago. It was a little over 1000 blades. I can get about 2-3 shaves per side of the blade. There's a notch on the top plate of my razor so I know which side I've used. I've managed to get 5 shaves on one side before but I could feel it tugging. I have coarse facial hair as well.

In the grand scheme of things, it's way cheaper than cartridges which I used for years or disposables. There are very few disposables on the market that are any good. I do like the Dorco cartridges, though. Better than the bigger name brands. And sometimes you can get a great deal with an online coupon code.

I take it you don't use the Big Ben blades?

 

[bunnspecial]

Fair enough-all of these are cheap enough that cost really isn't a huge deal. I think the last time I priced out Feathers, they worked out to maybe 20¢ each, which isn't exactly an earth shattering amount of money. BTW, as far as "sides"-I use both sides indiscriminately when I'm shaving. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it works for me.

Still, though, it's probably more correct to say that I've found something that works for me and haven't seen an overwhelming reason to change.

I'd honestly never heard of Big Ben before this thread. When I first bought a DE a couple of years ago, I bought a couple of Amazon "samplers" and had at least a 5 pack of most of the blades on the market. I don't recall that being a name that came up.

 

[Tomorrow]

I bought a box of 100 Astras for $8.90 on Amazon a few years ago. I've used about half of them.

In my experience, Feathers are a slightly more comfortable and sharper blade, but they were considerably more expensive (like 3x as much).

Never liked Personnas or Derbys. Had a pack of Dorcos and threw them away after the first use. Gillette Blacks are okay, greens and blues a bit less so. Sharks aren't bad if you can't find Astras or Feathers.
[doublepost=1501087405][/doublepost]

I can get about 2-3 shaves per side of the blade. There's a notch on the top plate of my razor so I know which side I've used. I've managed to get 5 shaves on one side before but I could feel it tugging.

Wow, that's a new one on me - I've never heard of anybody using only one side of the blade for an entire shave, let alone five shaves in a row.

BTW, as far as "sides"-I use both sides indiscriminately when I'm shaving. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it works for me.

I'm right there with you. I use both sides of the blade, rinse, and continue. A blade lasts me around 3 shaves before I pitch it and use a new one.

 

[0388631]

Wow, that's a new one on me - I've never heard of anybody using only one side of the blade for an entire shave, let alone five shaves in a row.

Cool water tends to keep blades sharper longer. Likewise, it seems untreated mineral rich water damages blades faster than softened water, though the latter may cause a blade to rust if excess water isn't shaken or blown off. No idea why cool water helps. If I used hot water, it would be toast after 2 shaves. Never? Clearly you've never seen nor used a SE razor.

 

[bunnspecial]

Hot water tends to soften whiskers better, which leads to an overall more pleasant shave and also avoids dulling the blade.

Personally, I'll stick to hot water and change my blades every 3 days.

BTW, we're not talking about single edge blades here-we're talking about double edge. Considering that I'm often half asleep when I'm shaving, I'd hate to keep track of which side of the blade I used the day before. I usually just flip on alternating strokes so both sides get used about the same. I don't see any advantage to ONLY using one side in a given shave.

 

[Tomorrow]

Clearly you've never seen nor used a SE razor.

I have 3 of them, I'm more a fan of DE's. Easier to find blades for, and they feel more ergonomic in my hand than a SE.

 

[jeyf]

I Gave up shaving but keep a tight groomed 5 o'clock shadow. I use a Whale Peanut corded clipper for the shadow. Bought it on Amazon. The bad; clipper is aggressive and will cut you. Not sure I got a real Whale brand, maybe a brand knock off. It works well just need to be awake in the morning.

As for the grooming I use a medium cost Gillette Fusion disposable. For my limited use, I con extend the disposable usage a week or two or three.