Blade Selection - Paralysis by Analysis! Help please…

D

Dickie

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439
I sincerely hope that it isn’t just me who is disappearing into the ever deepening rabbit hole of ‘which blade’ (let’s not get into which cream/soap yet) it feels like there should be some kind of intervention ‘my name is Dickie and I have a problem’..

Sucked into the vortex of trial packs and then noticing that some recommended blades don’t come with said pack I now have around 30 blades to try.

Currently I’m working through based on using once and how I ‘feel’ the shave went, putting them in order and discarding the ones that carve lumps out of me and then revising order as I work back through, keeping the same process (shower, Proraso, Lea cream, shave, alum, Lea splash, cerave moisturiser)

This is taking forever and feels a fairly weak and inconsistent method, there must be a better way?

Please help me !!!
 
Half the problem is "YMMV". There's a spreadsheet somewhere with a load of blades and somebody's opinions, but their results or preferences may not match yours. Some like very sharp, others not so much. For any tests to be halfway meaningful you have to shave the same length of stubble with the same prep and soaps, same pressure etc. Then take into account the number of shaves that blade has done.

I don't think I've ever really achieved such uniformity and as such, I am amazed how people have such clear opinions on which blades to use. I have just been working my way through various blades and just making a mental note of which ones were loaded when a shave went well. I've gravitated towards Nacet and Astra SP, have also had good results with Wilkinson Sword. The only blade I really wanted to bin halfway through a shave was Lamix. There are of course loads of blades I have not even tried. Must get myself some GSBs soon, but I literally ordered 30 Astras due to arrive today.

I conclude it's best not to over think it, just see which way you're drifting after you've tried a few.
 
I kinda second what @hotmetal said ...
Find a blade you enjoyed from the off.... Buy a few packs, say 20 blades, shave with them until you are happy with the your technique. Then start worrying about other blades.
I've been using a DE for about 4+ years now... And only really just started thinking about other blades... I've mainly used Astra (Green), and some odd blades that come with a razor..... Can't do with Wilkinson sword Saloon....feels like a cheese grater to me. (Apart from in an aluminium handled tech, which was acceptable but not great).
Just try 5 or six blades, find one you like and stay with that for a few months.
This is just a suggestion and my opinion by the way.
 
I started a spreadsheet 3 years ago to record razor, blades blade age, soap and shave quality (1 to 10 scale). It's still subjective and looking back, I wish I'd recorded a few extra things. I have a giant pivot table of every razor and blade to see which blades work best in which razors. It won't make the process faster, could help with consistency.

Works for me... YMMV
 
Some excellent advice there, especially ymmv and your own technique may have a lot to do with it.


I have tried around 30 different blades and the only ones that I would buy again are Dorco Titan and Dorco Prime, best of all for me is Feather.

Having said that I have enough blades for six years shaving having bought the 100 pack of Titan for under £3 from Amazon.


The three above are the best imho, there are many that are ok and very few that are bad, to the point that I have changed the blade half way through a shave.
 
Wow, that’s some super organised work! Seems. Common problem but having bought the trial sets I’m loathed to throw them away.

Current top two seem to be GSB and Feather in that order, slight bas towards paper packaging
 
Again as said above blades are very subjective.
You can’t really judge anything trying them once.
Some blades are better after the second or even third use.
Also never throw blades away you don’t like
chances are in a year or two’s time you’ll change your mind.
Also different razors are better with different blades.
Apart from the odd few blades most are actually ok ish. some are quality but for me i haven’t tried to many that are a total no no although there is a few.
Bic being one of them.
Three years ago there was a number of blades i didn’t like but i like them now.
Once your technique gets better you’ll start changing
 
My advice:
Early on, no matter how much you like a blade, DO NOT buy 100 of them.
You'll find a blade just as good or better and buy another 100. And another 200 as there is a good offer somewhere.
Then you'll discover that you like SE blades better (or maybe find another even better DE blade) and you have 100s of blades you will never use.
After playing around with blades for two, better even three years, settle on what works for you, buy a lifetime's supply and be content.
Better even - don't buy a lifetime's supply, keep using different blades with a small stock of blades that really work for you.
Of course, nobody will listen to me. I'm sure someone said this when I started and I didn't listen.
As to which blades are the best for YOU? How would I know?
 
Dickie said:
Understood, what im trying to get to is how do I know ..
Click to expand...
Unless you are well into your 90s you'll have decades of trial and error in front of you.
Take it easy. No need to settle on the ultimate blade just yet. Enjoy the journey.
Improving your technique is much more important than finding the perfect blade.
It's not the blade that makes a shave great, it's you.
(and at some point try those lovely vintage SE razors and give straight razors a go as well. You might enjoy the experience)
 
Just as I was about to say "buy one blade for life, get a straight razor" and it turns out you're attached to your ears, pah!

Don't have to chuck blades away.
If you find yourself with a load of blades from a sample pack you can either :

1. Keep them for a year and give them another go in a different razor or when your technique has settled

2. Pass them forward (PIF) - people here every so often have a moment of good karma generation and do little giveaways of stuff they don't want to fellow members and n00bs.

3. Sell them as a sample pack with the quantity made up or the price adjusted. People are always up for a bargain or curious about new blades
 
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