Should I hear the blade?

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Freshtrax55

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Hi, I'm new to DE shaving and about 12 or 15 shaves in with my EJDE89 and sample blades. I've had some great close shaves already and some not so great with a couple of nicks. A particularly unpleasant one was the first time I tried an Astra SP. I ended up with a hot sore face and got loads of spots on my chin/ mouth area for days afterwards.
After trying a Gillette green, I was pretty happy but have now gone back to a derby to start again with trying different blades.

Should I be able to hear the blade cutting? I shaved last night with a derby and had a good shave, no nicks which to be fair I've never had with a derby but it all seemed a bit noisy?
 
How are you getting on with that combination? My first Derby shaves were smooth, close and nick free. Tried an astra twice and it left me cut, sore and hot. Tried a gillette green and that was pretty nice for 3 shaves. Just went back to a Derby to get a reference point with some new cream but the cream stung a bit (t&h ultimate comfort sample).
 
I find the Astra a little harsh. If you are pressing down at all you will find them (or many) blade leaving your chops a bit 'hot'. Having been doing this for five years now I recently started using a Stahly razor and have realised that I probably have been using slightly too much pressure without realising it.
 
I get some sort of audible feedback on most razor / blade combo. I would say though I think I've had the odd bad blade from most blades out there. For me personally a sore face is usually down to too much pressure, usually bought on by rushing things. First thing I find with a dodge blade is dragging.
 
Thanks for the replies gents. I think i may have rushed my first astra shave but the second was no better. I liked the first Derby blade and so far have never cut myself with one, and i liked the gillette green (stainless? ). I still have gillette yelow, perma sharps and shark that came with my razor to try at some point. ..
 
I use Astra SPs as my regular blade, and I find them smoother than Derbys. I have a few tucks of Derby blades, and I use them in my MÜHLE R41 since it will "tackle anything", but I really just want to use them up. They give a good shave and are cheap, but they are less comfortable for me than the Astra SPs.

As far as the sound the blade makes whilst cutting the whiskers, I find it both pleasant and useful; I can judge the accuracy of my shaving angle by the fact that the razor sings a bit when it's cutting effectively.
~
 
I found that in order to get a comfortable shave from the EJ/Astra SP combo I had to change my technique a great deal, much shorter strokes than before. Once I did this I got nice smooth results. However they're not my favourite blade, more middle of the pack.

I don't tend to get an awful lot of aural feedback from my EJ DE89.
 
Freshtrax55 said:
I still have gillette yelow, perma sharps and shark that came with my razor to try at some point. ..
Click to expand...

Gillette 7 o/c yellows are a perfect partner to the DE89, IMHO.

If you want serious aural feedback from a DE, get yourself a Merkur Futur... and some earplugs
 
Noise comes from vibration (in my opinion the only things that should vibrate are speaker cones and sex toys) so if a razor is noisy then the blade is being allowed to vibrate. The damping factor of the razor (i.e. the material its made of) will also have a bearing on the volume too. I would guess that a less sharp blade such as a Derby will create more noise too because more force will be required to cut the stubble, but that bit's only guess-work.

The very best razor I've used (Wolfman DE and Mongoose SE) make very little noise because the blade is clamped very rigidly and therefore the source of the noise is minimized.

Personally I really dislike Astra blades - I find them too blunt and I often end up with redness if I've used one. I even prefer Derby blades to them and they have a poor reputation.
 
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