razor aggressiveness help

Let's talk about single and double edged razors and the blades that they use.
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mrjediconsular
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razor aggressiveness help

Post by mrjediconsular »

So i just got my razor and blade sample pack :D and i need help to determine what the blades aggressiveness is so i can start at mild and work my way up.

The blades are: DERBY extra, Gillette NACET, ASCO, super max platinum, super max blue plus, LORD, CROWN, BIG BEN, and FEATHER. i do know that feather is probably the sharpest of the bunch.
Thanks for any help.
Jordan
CMur12
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by CMur12 »

I don't have much experience with many of those blades, but I can tell you that the Derby would be the mildest and the Feather the sharpest.

I would avoid Feather blades until well into the development of your technique. I have experience shaving and I have very sensitive skin. I can't use Feather blades AT ALL. I would suggest you start with the Derby blades and leave the Feathers for last. The others you can take as you please.

Personally, I believe in keeping variables to a minimum. So I would use one blade until I got my basic technique worked out. Then I would try other blades. If you switch blades around before your technique is developed, you can't distinguish between underdeveloped technique and an incompatible blade, and it slows down the learning process.

Good luck!

- Murray
ShadowsDad
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by ShadowsDad »

Blades are neither mild nor aggressive, it's the razor that provides those qualities. Blades can be described as being sharp, dull, smooth and harsh and possibly more descriptors.

The super max platinum I would classify as a sharp and smooth. I agree with Murray regarding the Feathers, sharp and not so smooth.

I'm deliberately not telling you which of the blades mentioned I favor, and my not mentioning the others only means that I have no experience with them. You'll need to find out on your own what you like and what you don't.

I will suggest however, that if you find a blade that doesn't agree with you at this point, that you just put that type to the side and come back to it after learning how to shave. Then return to it and see if your first impressions were right.
Brian

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Squire
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by Squire »

If we are to measure aggressiveness by sharpness Feather is unquestionably the sharpest of the bunch. Oddly enough they may also provide the best shave. As for the rest I've used them all and performance is too close to line them up by aggressiveness. I mean, SuperMax is sharper than Crown, but the interesting thing is the variability of razors. Two razors made on the same day by the same workers on the same assembly line will not be exactly the same because of manufacturing tolerances measured in tens of thousandths of an inch. So a slightly sharper blade (SuperMax) may not be more aggressive than a less sharp one (Crown) in a specific razor.

So the most comfortable blade in your favorite razor may or may not be the less aggressive brand. The exception is Feather which works like a Feather in any razor.
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Squire
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BestBadger
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by BestBadger »

I agree with Murray. The Derby blade (from Turkey) is considered to be a smooth blade, so when you put the Feather blade at one end of the sharpness scale I would put the Derby blade at the other end (certainly this does not mean that it is dull and you cannot get good shaves from it). We can disuss a lot about sharpness and so on, but at the end you have to pick up one blade from your sampler to start shaving, and I would recommend the Derby blade for that. There is no doubt that Feather would be the wrong choice, in my opinion it's not for beginners. My experience is that Gillette, SuperMax and Lord are sharper than Derby, I never used the other brands. The Derby blade is also considered to be "good-natured" and "forgivable" if your technique is not perfect.
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Big Swifty
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by Big Swifty »

First off Jedi, love the avatar choice... fits your nickname perfectly
as far as blade choice just save the Nacets and feathers for later shaves, since you are using a Progress just dial it down low and use any blade and work on your technique and dial the razor up as your shaves improve. Just because a razor blade is sharp doesn't mean it cant be smooth, it all depends on your technique. I believe that razor choice more affects the aggressive shave nature more so than blade choice ie a Derby loaded into a R41 or any old open comb can be more unforgiving than a feather loaded into a tech or blue-tip, just my opinion though
~Steve

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Ouchmychin
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by Ouchmychin »

It's interesting that most are saying the feather is sharper and not more aggressive. I have used feathers for a lot of years and I can get a nick or a scrape with them faster than any other blade unless I am very careful of my technique. I call that aggressive, not just sharper.
Ouchmychin (Pete)
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BestBadger
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by BestBadger »

In my opinion the blade itself is more or less sharp. The shave becomes aggressive when using a specific technique and a specific razor. For example if you use a Mühle R41 (open comb razor) with a Feather blade and hold the handle of the razor as near as possible to your skin (which will result in a steeper angle between blade and skin) and press too hard, this would be a very aggressive shave. If you put the Feather blade into a Feather AS-D2 and do not press, this would be a very smooth shave - using the same blade.
CMur12
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by CMur12 »

Regardless of the terminology, a Feather blade in even the mildest razor has a markedly aggressive effect upon my skin. I simply can't use Feather blades.

- Murray
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BPman
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by BPman »

BestBadger wrote:In my opinion the blade itself is more or less sharp. The shave becomes aggressive when using a specific technique and a specific razor...
I agree. Moreso for me with certain razors. For example, I cannot use any old OC razors as they are just too aggressive to be comfortable for me on certain facial areas. To be frank, I only ever used a Feather blade a few times and then it was in a Feather Popular razor. The resultant shave was splendid, however I prefer smoother blades.

I would only add as advice to the OP to not be in a hurry. Too many people do a hurried prep and that results in many believing the blade/razor is at fault.
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BestBadger
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by BestBadger »

I can't use open comb razors like the Mühle R41, no matter which blade I put in it. They simply are to aggressive, and for me this attrubute doesn't depend on the blade being used. I think a very sharp blade intensifies this, but nevertheless it's an attribute of the razor. Open comb razors are definitely not for people who have sensitive skin, never ever use it if you have that kind of skin. Some years ago I tried and had a very close shave, but I paid for it with heavy razor burn that lasted three days.

Prep is very important, indeed. If you are doing a bad job here, no razor is able to compensate that.
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jww
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by jww »

Lots of good advise from the crew here. Let me add that I find Derby blades hit-and-miss and have done for a few years. They used to be my go-to blade, but I have since moved on to Gillette Silver Blue and Polsilvers. Feathers are an excellent blade and even though they are sharp, I would agree with Squire that they may well give the best shave of the bunch you cite as having in your sampler pack.
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nicodemus38

Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by nicodemus38 »

Don't forget there is no real way to measure the blade quality at the factory before packaging, they only check a few blades out of a stack of 2000 before it gets packaged. That, and the tolerancing, blades being so random.

However the biggest things to making a blade seem better or worse is the lather itself.
brothers
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by brothers »

nicodemus38 wrote: However the biggest things to making a blade seem better or worse is the lather itself.
Based on current experiences with a specific soap, I heartily agree with this fact. Lather and blade, a match in Heaven is made.
Gary

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Squire
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by Squire »

nicodemus38 wrote:Don't forget there is no real way to measure the blade quality at the factory before packaging, . . . .
Yes there is and yes they do Nic, DE blade manufacturing technology has been around for more than 100 years now and these people are not fools.
Regards,
Squire
nicodemus38

Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by nicodemus38 »

blade quality, not every blade is tested. its a fact. random sampling is used. on youtube there is a beautiful video of how razor blades are made. I believe its from Sweden or Germany. and they have little blade holders, that each hold roughly 1500-2000 razor blades.
In the video they only test a few. From each bundle. To think that each blade is tested,,,, is foolish. a 5 pack that retails for 1.25 includes retailer profit, not much, plus the makers cost, profit, shipping to the distributor, the distributors profit, shipping to the retailer.

maggard razors custom make your own blade sampler pack is a good example. That smallish company is not going to sell below what it cost them to get. So when they suddenly sell that 5 blade pack at .68 cents instead of the 1.25 it normally goes for, just because your doing the blade sampler deal.... you have an idea of what it costs THEM, and their rough profit margin.
brothers
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by brothers »

I may be wrong, but I understand most mass produced goods are randomly tested for quality control. I have an opinion that if asked whether it works, they'll answer in the affirmative.
Gary

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nicodemus38

Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by nicodemus38 »

normally the standard it very small. on most things the testing rate ends up beinf 1-2%. so basically 10 blades out of 2000 are pulled out for testing. and the funny thing is, they wont be random samples. random samples are almost unheard of.
and if standard practice is used, 3 bad blades in the test sample would mean the whole thing passable.
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Squire
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by Squire »

What I find extraordinary is they produce such good blades so cheaply. I cannot for the life of me think of a better value in the shaving world.
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Squire
brothers
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Re: razor aggressiveness help

Post by brothers »

nicodemus38 wrote:normally the standard it very small. on most things the testing rate ends up beinf 1-2%. so basically 10 blades out of 2000 are pulled out for testing. and the funny thing is, they wont be random samples. random samples are almost unheard of.
and if standard practice is used, 3 bad blades in the test sample would mean the whole thing passable.
In the absence of some kind of authority one tends to disregard or doubt the accuracy of such a statement, specifically that random samples are unheard of.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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