Newby blade question

[Soup Dragon]

Newby question that I'm sure must have been asked a thousand times, so apologies.

I've only been DE shaving for a week, and absolutely loving it. I was gifted some Feathers and to start with that's all I had, so had to use them. I realise this wasn't the best idea for a first blade but amazingly the bloodshed has been minimal and I seem to get on with them OK, especially as my technique improves incrementally each day.

However, I thought it would be wise to buy some milder blades, so I bought a pack from Boots (Dorco) and ordered a sample pack from Barber Blades which arrived this morning. It contains: Derby; Supermax stainless; Astra superior platinum; Merkur super; Wilkinson Sword and Gillette 7 o'clock yellow.

I gather the Derbys and Merkur aren't well thought of? Which of the the others would be good to try next? I'm using a Merkur HD34C.

 

[Brianpilman]

For me it's the Astros or gillette yellow both a very nice to use blade and highly regarded on here

 

[chrisbell]

I'd suggest the Supermaxes - I don't like them, but they're milder than the Astras or Gillette Yellows, which might be better for learning.

 

[isaiah53]

i wouldnt take too much notice of what other people like or dont like tbh, i like the derby blades and ive always found merkur to be ok, but i found astras really made my face sting. i prefer the gillette yellows out of your list

 

[dodgy]

Newby question that I'm sure must have been asked a thousand times, so apologies.

I've only been DE shaving for a week, and absolutely loving it. I was gifted some Feathers and to start with that's all I had, so had to use them.

ordered a sample pack from Barber Blades which arrived this morning. It contains: Derby; Supermax stainless; Astra superior platinum; Merkur super; Wilkinson Sword and Gillette 7 o'clock yellow.

Hi there,

Well, having started with the Feather blade is gonna give you a certain point of view about what a sharp blade is like. This one just happens to be sharper than usual, so it's not quite like shaving with other blades.

Since you have a weeks worth of shaves with your razor/blade combo, I'd stay with that set up for at least another week and probably two. By then your technique will have gotten better and you'll notice the way a different blade will perform when you finally switch.

If it was me, the next blade I would sample is the Gillette SharpEdge. It's sharp, but not compared to a Feather. You should find it much easier to use, and maybe even more fun.

Hope that helps,

Martin

 

[Soup Dragon]

Thanks peeps, good advice and some food for thought.