03.03.08
Brands of blades
I’ve frequently pointed out that a brand of blade that’s good for shaver A may be bad for shaver B, a mysterious but frequently observed fact. Hence the sampler packs, since A (and B) must find their best blades through their own direct experience.
Over at ShaveMyFace.com, a number of polls were run to see how shavers experienced various brands. The percentages don’t necessarily add to 100—simple rounding error, and insignificant. The numbers in brackets show the number of shavers responding. Some brands have been available in the US for a long time, and the numbers for those brands are correspondingly high. Moreover, it turns out that most shavers, once they find a brand that seems to work, are uninterested in exploring further. So the figures of interest from the poll are the percentages: proportionately how many shavers found each brand to be good, so-so, or bad.
Even though every brand will have some who experience it as “bad” or “so-so”, I do encourage exploring the various brands of blades: it’s interesting, inexpensive, and you will find an occasional brand that astonishes you with the quality of shave that it offers—not the result of the shave—once you can get a nick-free BBS shave with no irritation, it’s hard to get much better—but the process of the shave.
Some blades definitely astonished me by how much smoother and easier and more pleasant they made the shaving experience. The first time it happened, I was (figuratively) floored. I hadn’t realized that it would be possible to get such a significantly better shave (the experience, not the closeness of the shave—that result was good for both brands). And this blade (Treet Blue Special) was one that works only for a minority—I just happened to be one of that minority.
Since then I’ve found several brands that offer a really pleasurable shaving experience—though, as the polls below clearly show, for each brand some will find that that the brand does not work for them or is only so-so. But some will find it good, and occasionally some will find it superb.
So if you want to see just how much pleasure a shave might offer, I encourage you to explore. More information on the various blade sampler packs here.
The results of the polls, in descending order on % “Good” (ties in descending order on % “So-so”):
Gillette Platinum (aka “Swedish” Gillettes)
Good 83% [ 41 ]
So-so 8% [ 4 ]
Bad 8% [ 4 ]
Feather
Good. 66% [ 39 ]
So-so 16% [ 10 ]
Bad 16% [ 10 ]
Derby
Good 61% [ 54 ]
So-so 22% [ 20 ]
Bad 15% [ 14 ]
Astra Superior Platinum
Good 51% [ 18 ]
So-so 20% [ 7 ]
Bad 28% [ 10 ]
Trig
Good 50% [ 4 ]
So-so 25% [ 2 ]
Bad 25% [ 2 ]
Iridium Super
Good 50% [ 6 ]
So-so 0% [ 0 ]
Bad 50% [ 6 ]
Polsilver
Good 42% [ 6 ]
So-so 0% [ 0 ]
Bad 57% [ 8 ]
Zorrik
Good 33% [ 7 ]
So-so 29% [ 6 ]
Bad 38% [ 8 ]
Gillette 7 O’Clock ExtraSharp
Good 33% [ 3 ]
So-so 11% [ 1 ]
Bad 55% [ 5 ]
Treet Blue Special
Good 30% [ 8 ]
So-so 11% [ 3 ]
Bad 57% [ 15 ]
Sputnik
Good 26% [ 4 ]
So-so 13% [ 2 ]
Bad 60% [ 9 ]
Merkur
Good 16% [ 14 ]
So-so 30% [ 26 ]
Bad 52% [ 44 ]
hyperwarp said,
3 March 2008 at 1:37 pm
LOL, tho I do have to agree with the Merkur coming in dead last.
I think this represents opinion based “over-exposure” to left-coast
sampler & “under-exposure” to the numerous right-coast samplers.
So the poll is extremely biased in that regard.
My Alter Ego said,
5 March 2008 at 7:33 am
For me, the Merkurs are very good, whereas the Gillette Platinums, Feathers, and Derbys are not. So there you go.
LeisureGuy said,
5 March 2008 at 8:55 am
Exactly! That’s a great example of how much the experience of a particular brand of blade varies by shaver, which is exactly why the sampler pack and experimentation is necessary. Many thanks. In fact, you’ve prompted me to do a post on finding the brand of blade that takes your shave to a whole new level.
Dr. Mike said,
1 July 2008 at 8:00 am
This was interesting to see. I happened upon wetshaving through Badger & Blade, and was biased towards the blades available through Westcoastshaving (the Crystal is my preferred blade). I didn’t give any thought to blades sold by “banned” sites. But I finally ventured out and ordered a couple brands from Giovanni at Razor and Brush. I am glad I did. The Astra Superior Platinums have been giving me great shaves, and do well in all my razors (Gillette Super Adjustable, Merkur Slant, Gillette Milord, Slim), whereas the Crystals were variable from razor to razor.
LeisureGuy said,
1 July 2008 at 8:53 am
Giovanni’s site offers the greatest range of brands and, in general, the best prices. One interesting thing is that Procter & Gamble’s acquisition of Russian blade manufacturers resulted in a sudden and significant improvement in blade quality, presumably through better equipment, better training, and better process control. The Russian blades are now among the best—though the Treet and Trig brands from Pakistan also are well worth trying.
One pleasant exploration is to get Giovanni’s largest sampler pack and work through it over several months. Many blades of interest.
It’s hard for me to take the B&B bans as having any real justification—I also am banned from B&B, mainly for not toeing the party line (which seems to require slamming products sold by Giovanni, for example).
Sam said,
30 October 2008 at 2:06 pm
It’s amazing how you still won’t admit to why you were banned, which has nothing to do with razor blades.
LeisureGuy said,
30 October 2008 at 2:48 pm
Well, Sam, you are easily amazed. I already blogged about being banned from B&B, though I suspect that’s of little interest to most people. I still don’t understand exactly why I was banned, though I was offered a whole set of reasons: Joel emailed me that the moderators simply didn’t like me. I suspect that’s it. They also disliked my mentioning how much I liked various blades available from Razor and Brush. And he said that they thought that I would eventually tire of shaving and drift away from the board (though certainly that’s a peculiar reason for banning). They didn’t like my posting so often.
I figured that the real reason was simply that I rubbed some members (and notably, some moderators) the wrong way.
I did quote some short passages from members’ posts (though always after getting permission from the member in question, and the passages always accompanied by links). Apparently this violates the Terms of Agreement. I did remove the quotes from the book, though I think under the Fair Use doctrine I was not at fault. Still, you won’t find those in the book now.
Perhaps you have some insight you could share?
Ronald said,
16 November 2008 at 4:27 pm
Personally I found the poll, above, to be pretty much in line with my experiences. Would there be any way this poll could be added to without the blade makers getting onboard and making the poll lop-sided?
LeisureGuy said,
17 November 2008 at 7:02 am
The poll is on-going on the ShaveMyFace forum. I doubt that blade makers are totally unaware of (and uninterested) in this poll. And currently blade manufacturers are not in English-speaking countries. In any event, the poll seems to show that you will have to rely on your own experience in any case.