Blade Rotation Results

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droy3
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 6:06 pm

Blade Rotation Results

Post by droy3 »

When I started (8 wks now) I purchased an MVP sample pack from Phil. The contents were as follows:

- Feathers
- Iridiums
- Gillette Yellow SharpEdges
- Red IP's
- Astra Platinums
- Shark Super Stainless'
- Shark Super Chromes

I also purchased some Gillette Blues when I purchased my Rooney from Classic.

For reference, I'm using a veriety of soaps and creams (MWF, Tabac, IM, Floris Elite cream) all with a Feather SS DE and Rooney 1/2 Finest. Scuttle is a small Moss and most often I face lather and sometimes use Skin Food for prep, but I've abandoned it the last few times since I find it's not helpful for prep. Post is Alum, warm rinse, cold rinse, Thayers Superhazel, Skin Food (coral). My ranking thus far is as follows:

1- Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow Pack SharpEdges

I find they're forgiving (most probably due to technique at this point), comfortable and sharp. No weapers, cuts and little to no irritation. Once again, they may simply be masking my technique at this point, but I'm really happy with 'em. I definitely don't need to work as hard to get a BBS.

2- Iridiums

I found these to be a little less comfortable than the Yellow Packs, and ended up with weapers...not sure why. Smooth, although not as smooth as the Yellows, but sharp.

3- Tie: Astra Plats and Red IP's

A little more irritation than both of the above and a few more weapers. Also I found I had to work a little harder (an additional pass and more buffing at the finish) than the Iridiums and Yellows. Very slight edge to the Red IP's.

4- Feathers

Lots of irritation and burn. Poor technique...quite possibly. Sharper than all, much sharper than some of the above. Demands respect. I've gone back to the Yellows to refresh my memory this week, then I'll be going back to the Feathers to help determine if my technique's to blame.

5 - Tie: Sharks (SS and SC)

Found I had to work harder with these to get DFS and BBS wasn't nearly as easy as the Yellows. Simply not a good match with the Feather SS DE.

6- Gillette Blue

Better than a rusty spoon...but not much. Blunt instrument. 'nough said.

The plan is to use the Yellow SE's and then follow it up with the Feather, followed by Yellow's, followed by Iridiums, then Yellows, then Red IP's and finally one more round of the Yellow to confirm my suspicions. Hopefully, after this I should be able to eliminate one more variable in my equipement rotation...that is if I don't get interested in staights, God forbid.

Cheers,

Doug
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DesertRat
Posts: 385
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 11:59 am

Post by DesertRat »

Nice breakdown of your blade testing!

I also received the same pack from Phil 2 weeks ago. Granted I had been using Derby's for a while and liked them a lot. I've also tried the Feathers but my technique had to be right on or they made me pay.

The first pack I tried were the Iridium's in my Merkur HD and, after using them for a week, I ordered 500! I didn't bother trying the others but I'll have to give the Yellows a shot.

Just goes to show you that different blades match well with different people and sometimes different razors.
Paul
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Blue As A Jewel
Posts: 3834
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:14 am
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Post by Blue As A Jewel »

I found I preferred the Iridiums over the Yellows, but now I'll have to give it another whirl to refresh my memory... I found the Feathers have been easiest to use with the Feather Stainless Steel followed by my Merkur Progress. They are quite aggressive/harsh on any of my Gillettes....
- Ravi -

You can mistrust me less than you can mistrust him. Trust me.
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