Shave'n Blind Blade Test

Don't shoot me. I'm just the messenger. :) Joel, it sounds like you're hard to please. I hope there's something in that pack that you like. NavyShave, I guarantee there's a blade or three you will like.

Uncle Bertie, we're still looking for more experienced participants. Would you like to join the test?
 
NavyShave, your blade one is my blade 04. I'm certain. Because this is without question the worst shave I have ever experienced. After suffering through all four passes today and having visible stubble, I did a cleanup shave with another blade and razor because I couldn't go to work looking like a lumberjack.

I may be hard to please, but I am confident there are better days ahead with these blades, because there is no where to go but up from this one...
 
alexface said:
Geez! Now I'm curious.
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You'll know when you get there. Today was SO painful it exceeded my threshold and I only did a WTG pass before switching to the emergency razor I put into action yesterday (I used a second razor + vintage blade as an afterpass because the shave was so bad). I've heard people on B&B state that Merkurs are simply terrible, and my personal experience with Lord has never made it past a single shave. My blade 04 has to be one of those two.

Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it was banned by the Geneva Convention because torture is not supposed to be legal...

Joel
 
Quick update on blade 02. This blade is awesome! Feels very similar to my Gillette silver blues, and is likely from St Petersburg Russia. Possibly also a feather or Gillette Indian black, but we will see how shaves two and three go.
 
I'm most pleased to report that blade 05 is a delight. It is very similar to the GSB. So far it feels like it might be a Polsilver SI to me, but I'm not sure. A couple more days and I'll finalize my guess.

Can't wait to hear Alex's response when he gets to your blade 01/my blade 04...

Joel
 
Quick update from me, blade 01 was good for two shaves and shite on the third. Based on the initial promise followed by a brutally bad third shave I'm almost prepared to bet that it's a Feather.

Blade 02 did well for all three shaves and renewed my faith that I wasn't going to spend the rest of the pack getting my face scraped off. Actually I reckon I'd get at least one more good shave out of 02 if it wasn't for the test being three.

I have a backup razor loaded too but am hoping I won't need to use it.
 
Chris, that's consistently my experience with Feathers: Good, Great, Bad, and Ugly. However, in your case, it can't be a Feather, because your pack is loaded with only Derby, Merkur, Mexican Swords, and something I picked up on the cheap in Bangladesh. Sorry.

Navy and Joel, I've had a bunch of dull blades, some that scratched me up after insisting on a smooth shave. My blade 03 is the closest to your description, but I'm not convinced it's the same. Second shave: "...expected a perfect shave but this was not delivered...even without touch-ups it caused irritation including several micronicks...caught my chin deeply...blade is degrading quickly." Third shave: "I would have binned the blade on the second shave, but this shave seemed slightly better. None the less, I experienced some irritation on the second pass and was hesitant to make a third. I'm not happy with the results."
 
alexface said:
Chris, that's consistently my experience with Feathers: Good, Great, Bad, and Ugly. However, in your case, it can't be a Feather, because your pack is loaded with only Derby, Merkur, Mexican Swords, and something I picked up on the cheap in Bangladesh. Sorry.
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ROTFLOL

Updating my list:

Blade 00: Gillette Silver Blue ;-) (bet I get that one right!)
Blade 01: Derby or similar blade known for being rather dull but smooth
Blade 02: Astra SP or other blade I will stay far, far away from in the future
Blade 03: Feather or something I've never tried that is sharp, like VgermannameIcan'tremember
Blade 04: Lord or what I have heard about Merkur
Blade 05: Great blade that dropped off a bit day 3. Personna Med Prep?
Blade 06: Gillette 7 o'clock yellow
Blade 07: Derby or maybe Personna Red? Just average.
Blade 08: Astra SP. Meh first day, good second day, performance dropped off cliff day 3
Blade 09: Not sure. Gillette Black maybe? Excellent blade.
Blade 10: Another blade I'm not sure about. Kinda harsh.
Blade 11: I think this is my Gillette Silver Blue. If it's not, I'm looking forward to knowing what it is
Blade 12: Not quite as good as blade 11. No idea what it could be. Time to stop guessing, the trial is over!

My ranking so far: 11, 09, 12, 05, 06, (07, 01), 10, 03, 08, 02, every other blade in the world, 04

I initially thought blade 6 might be the GSB, but it didn't hold up like a GSB does and that reminded me of the 7 o'clock yellows. So I edited the post. I added blade 7 which is just average and feels similar to 1 with slightly better results.

It will be funny to see how far off I am. As I said before, I haven't tried twelve different modern blades, so it's impossible for me to know what they all are.

Joel
 
It would be hard to compare every blades to each otger , but I would bet that my 01 and your 04 are the same blade. I would serious go back to carts if this was the only option.
 
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