Blade Review Spreadsheet

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After some positive feedback on a comment I made about the table I keep of blades I've tried and how I've got on with them, I've decided to post my findings here. You may find it useful or you may want to replace my findings with your own.

Scoring
I hope it will be useful and/or interesting but it's totally subjective, as our experiences with various products always are.
For the record, I've tried these blades in a Merkur 38C and I have quite sensitive skin so popular blades like the Swedes have that reflected in the score.

I've scored under categories important to me, with a maximum score of 5 (except where indicated) although if a blade sets a new record in any category then I will give it a 6.

The Spreadsheet:
The score is calculated by adding up all the good scores (e.g. 5 for smoothness) and taking away all the bad ones (e.g. irritation 3). The score is automatically coloured for ease of reference: a poor blade will be scored with a red background, a medium score white, and a very good one green. Blades listed but yet to be reviewed are blue.

It is in a spreadsheet format (Excel, compatible with 2000/2003 I believe), so you could clear out all the subjective scores I've put in, leaving the formulas in place to calculate your scores. If you're that way inclined. The scoring colours will be retained as long as you don't change any of the columns around - just delete the data in them EXCEPT in the score column (it has the calculations for the score) or you will have to work them out yourselves.

One last thing, but a biggy, if you export to Excel you can filter each category (little arrows which when clicked produce a list of options) - e.g. brand, smoothness, longevity, pricing, score.

Anyway, I hope it's useful.
The Format:
I'm not allowed to upload Excel or CSV files so I've included links below.

Click here for all-singing, all dancing (and if you want to clear out my scores to use your own) (THIS WILL ALWAYS BE THE MOST UP TO DATE LINK):

Click here to view just the same without fancy formatting or score calculations in place. Might be useful if you are worried I have put viruses in or something (older version, not maintained):
When asked you will want the column separator to be TAB
 
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This is really good, so thanks for giving us all access to this. I have had a look-see, and it immediately gives me some ideas as to where next to look in terms of blades. As a noob, this sort of thing is mighty useful.

I wonder if there's something that could be done with this on Google docs? I have managed to open it with the app, but you lose the ability to pivot/rank the information. Would be great to build some kind of blade database… Actually, any database, tbh. I love looking at people's reviews of shaving hardware and software (surely I am not alone in this), but there isn't a site that compiles this info very well. For instance, I would love to see what the top ten blades/razors are (according to folk's experiences/thoughts). There's just no way of doing it (or nobody is doing it). Would be awesome to have that info – imagine a 'Top Ten Noobs Razors' or 'Top Ten Open Comb Razors' list/s… That'd be awesome, or am I dumb in the head?

Still, a it stands, just being able to look at your findings and then rank them is blummin' awesome, so much respect for your effort and the sharing of it.

Lipsy
 
Thanks! Glad it's proved useful. It's nice that one other person out there doesn't think I'm mad or anal or both, or if you do, you still like what I've done so I don't care!

I was a bit concerned that the spreadsheet's cold hard numbers would detract from the less quantifiable aspects of a good review - how does it feel to use? is it an aggressive or mild blade? - but as it was designed for me only I built it as a very quick reference to remind me of blades I'd already tried and formed an opinion of in the past. The numbers were there to sharpen the memory (pun intended).
You and hopefully others can use it to fill in your personal experiences; we're all different. I'm very different! For example, I don't seem to get on well with the more expensive blades like Gillettes and Wilkinson Swords, for example - cheaper brands tend to work for my sensitive skin and there are some very good cheaper blades out there.

It is possible to build a database, and I build databases at work for internal use, but I'm not an IT expert as it's all self-taught. I'm worryingly inept when it comes to web technology, for example, so any database I built now would be probably be a standalone example for downloading and running with Microsoft Access, not on t'internet.
I'd quite like to learn a bit about databases in web pages (the web is really just a series of databases, isn't it?) so maybe I will look into this and use the shaving database idea as a starting project, but this is subject to work and personal commitments. Thanks for the idea though - definitely something to think about and would help me build my skills whilst being fun and useful for others.

Lastly, people could edit the document on Google Docs - you can work collaboratively on there. Feel free to make any changes you wish.

Thanks for getting back to me and thanks for the positive feedback!
 
It's fairly easy to create a php/mysql application for this, and most webhosts allow you to have one or more mysql databases.
You should look into PHP, it's quite easy to learn, and has good integration with Mysql.
(this forum is running on a php/mysql server)

Max
 
Thanks! Nice to get positive feedback. Part of me thought I would get lots of "how can you say blade X is less sharp than blade Y" when I posted it a year ago but people are far too gentlemanly on TSR. It's why I'm quite active here and must have a lot to do with my increasing razor-related obsession.

I think most people here are intelligent and experienced enough to know that it is subjective to the person and the razor, so are most people using it as their own template or to get guidance about blade performance?

I would also just like to thank again all those who have PIFfed me blades over the last twelve months. I have tried to do the same to newbies. There have been too many people to mention but you know who you are and thank you again.
 
I don't think its so much that we're too Gentlemanly to criticise...... Credit where Credits due...this is a great asset to experienced and novice shavers alike..

As to wether we use it as our own template....I personally am not computer literate enough to create a template as excellent as this one...

But I find it a very useful performance guideline for the various blades that are available...from what I can see of your research..your findings are very similar to my own humble trials.....

I rather seem to have settled on Feathers and Gillette Yellows as my favourite blades....using Astra SP's for my R41.... I've been using them for quite a while now....but like everything else its good to change now and again.....and your chart helps avoid making a blind selection.....Thanks again NTS
 
Hello. I'm getting a message that the web site can not be found. Again, I'm using my IPhone . Is it the phone or me doing something wrong?
Thanks.
 
It's probably to do with the setup of the iPhone I would imagine. From feedback in the thread and through PM others on desktop PCs don't seem to have a problem. I don't have an iPhone but I tested on my Android phone and it comes up just fine. Sorry. Try it on your Ubuntu netbook! ;-)

Thanks Goldcrest. Makes me feel all warm inside!
The initial harshness of the Gillette Sharp Edge (yellows) made me put in the "improves after blade settles?" column as I'd never experienced it before but that blade gets better after the first shave. It initially put me off them but I have done the rounds with others and come back to them. I don't think I will try the fearsome Muhle R41... having said that I have an Old Type on the way so could be worse! Can't go wrong with Astra SPs, especially with the current prices on Amazon and from Bestshave. I also like the Astra blues and Keramiks. Great minds... and all that!

If you (or anyone else) want to record your own findings you can delete anything except the score column because you'll lose the calculations from the other columns. I've probably mentioned that before but humour me!
GOLDCREST said:
I don't think its so much that we're too Gentlemanly to criticise...... Credit where Credits due...this is a great asset to experienced and novice shavers alike..

As to wether we use it as our own template....I personally am not computer literate enough to create a template as excellent as this one...

But I find it a very useful performance guideline for the various blades that are available...from what I can see of your research..your findings are very similar to my own humble trials.....

I rather seem to have settled on Feathers and Gillette Yellows as my favourite blades....using Astra SP's for my R41.... I've been using them for quite a while now....but like everything else its good to change now and again.....and your chart helps avoid making a blind selection.....Thanks again NTS
 
Right, in the post tonight we have:

Berkeley
Bonified Blue Steel
Cadet De Luxe Thin
Clix Blue
Gillette Super Silver
Jewel
Schaeffer Thin


The Super Silver should be one of the best blades you've tried.
 
Wow! Thanks very much!!! I've heard about the Super Silvers but only seen one seller on ebay and they were too rich for me. Thanks for giving me a chance to try them and all the others. I will record in the spreadsheet.

I've tried Jewel and they are already on the list... are these from sunburyboy? :lol: am I going to get 100,000 rusty blades throught the post? :lol:
 
To rate the blade using a "traffic light" system in terms of great, good, bad, etc.
Green is worth seeking out/buying
Yellow is average - maybe worth it if someone generous PIFs you a load of blades for free ;-)
Red is a definite no-no
Blue is only for zero score, i.e. not tested. If I'm reviewing a blade I make sure it doesn't score 0 - it has to be 1 or -1!
 
NotTheStig said:
To rate the blade using a "traffic light" system in terms of great, good, bad, etc.
Green is worth seeking out/buying
Yellow is average - maybe worth it if someone generous PIFs you a load of blades for free ;-)
Red is a definite no-no
Blue is only for zero score, i.e. not tested. If I'm reviewing a blade I make sure it doesn't score 0 - it has to be 1 or -1!
N.B. I've just realised you may have meant what were the colours on the name, not the scores! d'oh!
They're an over-simplistic reflection of the colours on the packet/wrapper, for when I try a series of new blades (such as those you kindly PIFfed me) and I remember the colours on the packet more easily than the name, initially at least. It also makes a dull set of figures more swanky (possibly with a silent 's'...)
 
If you cannot load spreadsheets, what you can do is insert the spreadsheet into Powerpoint as an object, then save the Powerpoint slide as a JPEG file. This can then be loaded as a picture.
 
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