Kingbeast's Lair

Summary

About a year ago I started looking for other shaving options.  A friend named Gary used a double-edged safety razor and suggested that I give it a try.  He prompted that the blades are cheap and you could still get a close shave.  After doing some research I decided to give it a try.

I decided on the Dreadnought razor based on reviews that it was good for beginners and easy to clean.  I went with a Dreadnaught brush and shaving cream as well.  At first I was not getting a close shave so I watched some videos and posted a bit about it on Facebook.  That is when one of my friends, Steve, said that the blade really makes a difference in the resulting shave.  I was dubious at first.  The next time we met Steve gave me a plastic bag full of various double-edges razor blades!  He also recommended a different brand of shaving  cream.

That was the start of this project.  I decided to test out the razor blades to see if they really did make a difference and to see which ones I liked best.

This project is not very scientific,  Here are the parameters of my testing.

• I used my Dreadnought Razor and Dreadnought Vanguard Brush only.
• I used only the new shaving cream that Steve recommended.  It is Omega Shaving Cream.
• I tested each blade for four days.  After each shave I wrote a small note or comment about how it went.  When I finished with the blade I gave it a rating.
• I tested only 1 of each blade.
• All blades were tested on my face only.  🙂

Reviews

I will be rating the blades from 1 to 5 stars.  5 stars is the best rating.  I will start with 1 star blades then move to the 5 star blades.  The format for each review is:

Name – Packaging – Comments

1 Star

• Derby Extra Super Stainless – Plastic box with paper sleeves – The first day the blade grabbed.  The second day the shave was worse.  The last day the shave felt like it was ripping my skin.  It felt dull.

2 Stars

• FEATHER Hi Stainless – Plastic box with paper sleeves – Cut myself the first day.  This blades easily nicked me.  Second shave was ok.  Cut myself again on last shave.
• ASTRA Superior Platinum – Paper box with paper sleeves – First shave super close.  Light scrapes on second shave.  Third shave was fine but last shave was very rough.
• Vidyut Super-Max Platinum – Paper box with paper sleeves – Pulled a bit the first day.  Bit rough and a nick on the second shave.  Two nicks on fourth shave.

3 Stars

• Dreadnaught – Plastic box with paper sleeves – Tears a bit on the first two shaves,  Not close on third shave but four shave was nice.
• Gillette NACET Stainless – Paper box with paper sleeves – Pulled a bit on the first shave.  Scraped a bit on second and third.  Fourth shave is fine.
• Gillette GOAL – Paper box with paper sleeves – Nice slick first shave!  Pulled a bit on the second and more on the third shave.  Fourth shave was rough.
• Derby Extra – Plastic box with paper sleeves – Not a bad first shave.  Second shave not close and a nick.  Third was rough and fourth was a tad abrasive.

4 Stars

• ASTRA Superior Stainless – Paper box with paper sleeves – Clean start.  Good second and third shaves but not real close.  Bit rough fourth shave but close.
• Blue Bird – Plastic box with paper sleeves – Started rough but ended first shave cleanly.  Very nice second shave but bit rougher on third and fourth shaves.
• Shark Super Chrome – Plastic box with paper sleeves – Nice first shave and last shave,  Second and third shaves pulled a bit and felt irritated.
• Shark Super Stainless – Paper box with paper sleeves – Great first and second shaves but bad third shave with a nice and not close.  Nice last day shave.

5 Stars

• TRIG Silver Edge Stainless – Paper box with paper sleeve – First shave was good but second shave was GREAT!  Close and no irritation at all.  Got minor nick on last day but the shave was close.
• ASTRA Platinum – Paper box with paper sleeve – Best first shave of the set!  Second shave was nice but bit rough.  Great third and fourth shaves with slick finish.
• BIC Chrome Platinum – Paper box with paper sleeve – Great first shave with no pull.  Good close second shave. Fine final shave but dull feel at end,
• Gillette 7 O’Clock – Paper box with paper sleeves – Great first shave!  Second shave was close with no pull at all.  Beautiful third shave and perfect 4th shave.  My favorite blade of the test.

Does The Blade Type Really Manner?

The short answer is yes…but not critically so.  You can see that I rated more of the blades 4 and 5 stars.  These are all acceptable to me.  I bought 100 of the Gillette 7 O’Clock and 100 of the TRIG after my test wrapped up.

To be honest, the change in shaving cream might have ended up being a bigger change.  The Omega shaving cream is a great product.  It lathers just right and one bowl lasts a LONG time…like 6 months!  Highly recommended.

Wanted to close by thanking Steve for the bag of blades so I could run this test.  I am really glad I went through the effort to switch to double-edged blades as it will end up saving me money and I find the act of shaving a bit more enjoyable.