Sharpest blade? or not

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davnig

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14
Having recently acquired RAD and having bought 4 razors in the last 2 weeks (and 1 brush), not yet got the soap habit, but there's plenty of time!

Anyway, back to the point. New razors - do i use the sharpest blades i have, eg feather, or do I go with some other blades, eg derby, generic israeli which are not quite as sharp.

Reason for asking is that I'm not sure how aggressive the new razors will be so is it better to go for the sharpest in that it will cut easier and thus be an easier shave or be safe and go for something not quite so deadly and save my face.

Or does it not really make a lot of difference. Only been using a DE for a cpl of months with a Merkur 1904 closed comb so still very much learning.

I will post my experiences of them when I've had a cpl of shaves with them all. The new ones are brushed chrome Futur, Parker 60R, Gillete gold rocket and an unnamed open comb I got for a fiver off ebay.

any and all opinions gratefully received.

(ps is this correct forum or should it be in shaving help one ????)
 
I tend to use a middle of the road blade that I know well and I have found to be safe and consistent, like a Personna. You can use any blade you want and if you were used to using Feathers then I would say use them. This give you a good gauge on how the razor is performing against others otherwise if you do use the Feather is it the blade or the razor that made it a better or worse shave than the last one?
 
Audiolab said:
I tend to use a middle of the road blade that I know well and I have found to be safe and consistent, like a Personna. You can use any blade you want and if you were used to using Feathers then I would say use them. This give you a good gauge on how the razor is performing against others otherwise if you do use the Feather is it the blade or the razor that made it a better or worse shave than the last one?
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What he said.

Ian
 
I found this the trickiest thing when statrting off - Making that distinction between what cuts stubble and was going to burn my face up by the end of the shave. Learnt the hard way

I'd recommend getting a sampler from connaught or similar & single packs of whatever ones you see mentioned by other members. Money and time spent on the blade choice will be worth it. If it feels rough on the first pass then its probably not going to improve by the end of the shave.

Faces are different and you're after a pain free smooth shave after 3 passes which for you might end up being the sharpest blade or not.
The same blade may perform differently in different razors so stick with one, on a low setting if you can for a while - its hard to :D

Lots of the gents on here give away blades that just havent worked for them - doesnt mean they are bad, so feel free to take advantage and try them too i'd say

Dont know what others would think but until you find a blade that gives no irritation on WTG and then Across the grain passes I wouldnt try going against the grain just yet- thats when it will hurt most
Finding blades you like will be the best part Davnig so get trying them :)
 
As with most anything having to do with something as personal as shaving, it depends.

Sharper is not always better. I don't find Feather blades smooth, sharp, but not smooth. I don't like Merkur blades, yet some will use nothing else.

The bottom line is, use the blade that gives you the smoothest, irritation free, close shave. We all kiss a lot of frogs before finding the prince.
 
Lots of variables there.

Until you have your technique sorted, I would just stick with the 1 razor/blade combo.
Then, over time change 1 thing. Whatever that may be, blade or razor. And see what difference that makes to your shave.
Then, over more time you will learn what works best for you.
 
My first chip in, but i agree with the sentiment here..
Your still in the first couple of months of DE shaving, theres still enough variation in technique to not be sure of differences in blades imo.
Same with the razors .. Master one first then move on. (I used my HD for 6 months before i swapped to another from my growing collection , much as i was sorely tempted)

When your confident that you have a solid baseline of experience.. play about with other combos.

Blade wise tho - im a Derby man. I just don't get on with Feathers at all.
 
All good advice so far....I would stick to a blade i know. Your technique is going to be challenged as none of these razors come that close to the 1904.

If you are happy with your technique with the 1904, i suggest you try the Gillette rocket first. These are known to be an "easy" going razor.
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I think i'm going with the consensus and stick to the derbys for trying my new razors, am going to give up on the israelis for now, maybe archive a pack and try again in a few months.

In the meantime thanks to you generous people on here I have been Pif'd a good selection of sample blades to try over the next few weeks too, I think I have an interesting time shave-wise ahead of me.

My trouble is like tinkering, love to try new things, so it's going to be hard persevering with known stuff for a while, but I had a terrible shave last night with the futur and an israeli so am going to stick with tried and tested until my face settles back - no major cuts, just 1 or 2 on my neck butthe whole shave just felt so rough. I think I'll dial it back down to 1.5/2 (was on 3) and have another go with a derby next week.

Got my rocket today, looks and feels lovely, been opening and closing it for fun, what a fabulous mechanism, I can see me getting more gilletes in the future.

again, thx for replies, I'm sure i'll be getting more in the future

cheers
nigel
 
Smell The Glove said:
The Futur is a great razor. However it is a steep learning curve and must be respected at all times.

Once you have it mastered, other razors are mere toys.
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I do love the look of it, and the feel of it in my hand, the weight, the brushed chrome, fab!

But I think i do need to respect it a bit more like you said, will try it again in the near future with a familiar blade.
 
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