Blades

So when I started researching wetshaving, I was concerned that I wasn't sure which blade to use. I had my razor, but now I don't know which brand of blade to choose? I read all sorts of online guides on which blades to use. None of which directly pointed me toward one specific blade. Everything said, it depends. Even mantic told me so :) Well, not specifically to me but he did here...

This is because all blades are made and manufactured different. They all have different levels of sharpness and forgiveness. So everything I read, said to get a “sampler” of different blades to try out, which I did.

I got a sampler of 5 different blades from West Coast Shaving. I thought this was a good variety to start with. It’s taken me a while to try and test out each blade. I wanted to go through at least 3 blades each before really deciding on what I like best, what worked best with different razors, etc…

A good source of information I found was at www.shaving101.com. They had an article about different blades and which one worked best for which skin type and beard type. I personally, do not have thick wiry harsh hair. However, I don’t have fine thin hair either. I think I’m pretty normal, but on the sensitive skin side, so the more aggressive and harsh blades weren’t for me.

I started out using a Derby and Red persona blades. These were my favorite blades. They were mild, but seem to cut my beard relatively well. They were not harsh or aggressive in any way, and had a smooth feeling. I like to use these blades for my Merkur HD razor, as I feel it has a more open and aggressive cutting angle than my other razors.

The Merkur and Crystal blades I didn’t like so much. The Merkur’s just plain sucked. They didn’t feel good on my skin and were pretty rough and left my face feeling "hot." The Crystal blades on the other hand were good and sharp, but were not as comfortable as the Derby’s or Personna’s. I liked them better than the Merkur blades though. I think these blades are best used with my Gillette Superspeed. Not as aggressive to me, but not a mild or light shave.

The feather blades were by far the sharpest of the 5 brands I got. They were fairly a smooth shave, but we VERY sharp and I did happen to knick my nose, even though I had a lot of practice with the other blades and hadn’t done that yet (my knick stick cured that pretty quickly). I didn’t like the feather blades because they were so incredibly sharp, but they did give me the closest shave I had gotten. I am using these blades in my Gillette Travel Tech because this razor is the mildest of the three I own. I feel that the aggressiveness of the blade is toned down in this razor.

Overall, it was a good decision for me to get the sampler. If I had just got a bunch of feather or Merkur blades instead of going with the sampler, then I wouldn’t have been so thrilled with this new way of shaving and probably would have given it up. Yikes! Glad I got a sampler, because now I can match the blades that work best for my face with the razor that I have.

I’m using up all the blades even though I don’t like some. I don’t want to waste them. Besides, when I put them in the desired razors, then I can get the best results out of them. If you would like a sampler of blades, then check out www.westcoastshaving.com or www.qedusa.com and look at their selection.

Happy Shaving!