SMF

I just tried an Astra blade for the first time. I was surprised at how smooth and sharp it is. It was so smooth that I think I got careless and cut myself quite often. The blade lasted a long time and they are restively inexpensive. Now I have a Feather in my razor to compare the two. The Feather is also sharp but does not give as smooth of a shave as the Astra. On the other hand I don't cut myself with the Feather blade as much as I did with the Astra and I use a Merkur Vision set at the most aggressive setting.

Are the any opinions on which blade is better, considering that the Astra blade is much less expensive than the Feather.

Thanks,
Steve

When I shaved with DE's Astra was my only blade. Of all the blades I tried(oodles), Astra always gave me a close comfortable shave and as you said, they last quite a few shaves. I now only use vintage SE's with very limited blade choices---which I like very well.

Hi Mike, you said you tried oodles of blades but did you try the Feather blade? Do you remember how it compared to the Astra?

I am curious, why did you switch to SE's?

Thanks,
Steve

Never much cared for Feather blades. but that is purely my subjective opinion. Astra SP is a fine blade, but for just a bit more $$ you can get an outstanding blade, e.g., Silver Blue, 7 O'Clock line, Nacet, etc.,

Steve, I did try Feather blades and they were very sharp out of the box, but did not hold up very long. After about 3 shaves, I could feel the blade tugging on my beard. For the cost of the short lived Feathers, I went back to the Astra. YMMV. I know lots of guys swear by Feathers, but they weren't for me. By all means, I believe you too should try "oodles" of blades to find your favorite. Sample packs are just the ticket. If you didn't try other products yourself, you wouldn't be able to compare them. This makes shaving fun and eventually satisfying.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your response! One last question, I found that I cut my face more often with the Astra than with the Feather. Did you experience this too?

Thanks,
Steve

When I first tried Astra, I had several nicks. This forced me to improve on my technique------minding my angle. I can't blame the blades for my lack of technique. After about a week of careful shaving, it became second nature. When I used blades before Astra(not as sharp) technique didn't seem to be a problem---as I was not aware of my improper angle because the less sharp blades just gave me razor burn. another warning I did not heed as well!!!! So, someone whom has shaved for years can learn to improve. Good luck in your search for the best shave!

I used to use an Edwin Jagger de rasor and Astra were excellent. The feathers were very uncomfortable. I now use a Focus r48. This is a se razor which uses a normal de blade which you snap in two. It gives a very close irritation free shave. Almost all brands of blade do well, but feathers are outstanding. Smooth and close.

On the occasion when I do not use a straight, I usually use either a Feather or an Astra SP (green packaging) blade in my safety razors.

Overall, I prefer Feathers as they give me in my Mühle R41 and Futur the closest and smoothest shave among all the blades I tried.
The Astra SP blade comes close behind though, is good for very comfortable shaves, and at ½ the cost of Feather blades is probably a better value for money.
I never had an issue with the purported aggressiveness of Feather blades and get consistently comfortable shaves from them, even though the Astra SP blade might, by the smallest of amounts, be the more comfortable of the two.

For frequent overnight trips, I prefer the Feather packaging over Astra’s, as with the Feather plastic container I never need to worry where to put a used blade, which is an issue with Astra cardbox container that has no space for discarded blades.

In summary, I find the difference between the two blades small and like the “buttery smooth” feel of the Astra blade. When I placed my last order for 100 blades I was tempted to order Astra SPs because of their lower price, but went in the end for Feather blades again, which was partly influenced by the better packaging.

I have tried many blades over the years, including Gillette, Bolzano, Astra SS, and Polsilver just to name a few, but I always seem to come back to either Astra SP or Feather blades.


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