Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsIdeal for finding blades you'll like
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2019
As others have done, I'll update this after I try each blade. I've used Merkur blades almost exclusively for the last year, since Iwas able to find them on sale, but I bought a razor set for my brother and wanted to give him a few blades to try, so I ordered this pack, figuring with two of each blade, I can keep one of each and still have plenty to send. Seller was fine and product arrived as advertised, so no issues there. I will update this weekly and detail my experience with each blade I find value packs of different products to be really beneficial, which allows you to see which suits your needs the best, hence the 5 stars, but I might amend at a later date. Razor is a Merkur 38C, a Parker semi-slant, or a Game Changer 0.84, and soaps are whatever I use that day, but mostly Proraso menthol and eucalyptus, Pre de Provence 63, or some other soap that has goat milk and shea butter (I really like it, but I received it as a gift and I have no idea who made it)
Astra: I used the Astra with my Parker Semi-slant and If I were grading the Astra, I'd give it a D (I admit it could be the blade, the razor, or the combination of the two). In all my time using the Merkur blades, I've never nicked my face. Swap to the Astra and I've bled more in the last 3 days than I ever have shaving in the last 25+ years. I don't know if it's me suddenly using bad form, or if the Astra blades are more aggressive than the Merkur, but it has butchered my face and left me with a lot of irritation. Perhaps I received a bad blade, but all 3 shaves with the Astra were unpleasant. On my third shave, the blade felt a bit dull. It handled fine stubble well, but I felt like I had a bit more drag and pull. After only 3 shaves, I expected the blade to hold its edge better, since I can typically get 5 out of a Merkur before I replace the blade. I know the reviews are generally very positive on the Astra, but it didn't do it for me.
Feather: Not my first time shaving with Feather blades and, as always, I had a fantastic shave. No drag. No pull. Very little irritation. Cuts through three days of growth with ease. If my past experience is any indication, I can expect to get about five to six shaves with the Feather, and sure enough, the Feather got me six good shaves! I've always paired it with my Merkur and saw no reason to change that this week I actually went two weeks with the Feather and it performed flawlessly! A+
Voskhod: This was my first time using these, but I had seen overwhelmingly positive reviews on them. Now I see why! I used these with my Merkur. First pass left me feeling like I could stop right there! I touched my face and was impressed by how smooth my face was, and that was with 3 days off beard growth! Second pass took care of anything I missed the first time and left me with that "baby butt smooth" shave we're all looking for. I will be definitely be buying these in the future! A+ so far. I'll report back on longevity. Edit: I just finished my fourth shave with the Voskhod blade and I think I could possibly get one more shave out of it, but that's it. I started to feel some pull. First pass wasn't nearly as smooth as my previous shaves, so you end up taking more passes to clean up, which results in irritation. I think these are excellent the first time or two. Very good for the third shave, but by the fourth, it's losing its edge. This is all dependent on your beard, of course. Still a great blade, in my opinion, and for the price (I just bought 100 for $8!!), I wouldn't mind swapping them out every two or three shaves.
Personna - No. Just no. It felt like I was dragging a rusty lawnmower blade across my face. New blade, three days of growth, and I swear, a spoon would've been sharper. I felt irritation after my first pass. After two passes, my face was on fire. It felt like I was yanking my facial hair out instead of shaving. Edit: Here's what's funny; shaves two and three got progressively better than the first. I still experience more irritation with Personna than any other blade, but it really felt better yesterday and today than it did the first shave. I've heard other people say the same about other blades, that the first shave wasn't good, but subsequent shaves got noticeably better. I just never experienced that until now. I still wouldn't buy them, but the Persona isn't as bas as I originally thought it was.
Dorco - Today was the first time I had used this blade and I was pleasantly surprised. I paired this with my Game Changer .84 razor and attacked four days of growth. The Dorco cut through the growth with ease. There was no pulling, no tugging, nothing. I had to make three passes to get everything and I was left with a bit of irritation, mostly on my neck, but overall a pleasant shave. I didn't feel any burning until I used my alum block. I'll see how the edge holds up over the next few days, but I was really impressed... until I just finished my third shave with the Dorco and I haven't butchered my face this badly since using the Astra blade. First shave was ok. Second was ok. Third? More irritation than all the other blades combined and more small nicks across my face and neck than I've had lately. I guess if I were to swap out the blades after every shave or every other shave I'd be ok, but to me, it's not worth it when some blades can go four to six shaves for not much more cost.
Wilkinson Sword - I was pleasantly surprised! My first shave was really nice. My second shave was really equally close. Very little irritation. No nicks. I'll update with the longevity after a couple more shaves, but so far, this wasn't bad! I used the Sword for 4 shaves. The first three were pretty good. The fourth wasn't as good, but still not terrible. I did nick myself on shaves 3 and 4 and I felt like I had to go over the same part of my face an extra pass or two, which added to the irritation, but overall it wasn't terrible.
Shark - Meh. First shave: Merkur razor, three days of growth, and the blade grabbed and pulled more than it cut. It felt like a hundred little hands tugging at my whiskers, but what was odd is I was surprisingly smooth with very little irritation, in spite of needing three passes to feel smooth. Second shave, same thing. It's weird that I'm satisfied with the outcome, but the process leaves much to be desired. I wouldn't buy these again, but at the same time I think if you have a fine beard, you might enjoy these.
Gillette Silver Blue - Wow! First shave was impressive! No tugging, surprisingly sharp. It cut through three days of growth with ease. After two passes, most of my face was smooth with just some minor "sandpaper feel", for lack of a better term, under my jaw line, which is normal for me. A quick third pass along the jaw line took care of it and I was left with a close, smooth shave with local irritation. If these blades can give me a week's worth of shaves, which for me is 4 shaves, I'd look into picking up a pack! And it did give me a week's worth of shaves. It was still really sharp at the end and it would be a fine blade to include in my rotation if it weren't for the cost. I picked up a pack of 100 Voskhod blades for $8. 100 of the Gillette Silver Blue would be over twice that amount ($18/100). Stil far better than any cartridge razors and shaving for about a year for $18 is still really inexpensive, but if I find an equally impressive blade for less, that's where I'm looking.
Derby - Wow!! I was VERY impressed with the Derby! I took Wednesday off, so the blade was tackling four days of growth. The Derby cut through it like nothing! Even better was I only needed two passes to get that "baby butt smooth" shave. Very minimal razor burn/irritation when I was done. I'm hoping they last a few more shaves. They also sell for $9 for 100, so you're getting a fantastic blade for a great price!
Gillette Platinum - I took a week off, didn't shave once, and I thought I'd give the Gillette Platinum a try. I was VERY impressed!Very minor irritation. Super sharp blade. No tugging or pulling. It cut through about ten days of growth with ease. The only downside is they're more expensive than the other blades I've used.
Treet - Surprisingly good! A little tugging, a little pulling, but nothing terrible. I had to make a couple of extra passes under my jawline to get rid of the "sandpaper", but running an alum block on my face and neck gave new very minor stinging. They aren't in the same category as the Feather, but they're not as expensive. They aren't as good as the Gillettes, but again, not in the same price range. I think the Voskhod were better, as were the Derby, but these would be in the same price range. If I hadn't liked there Voskhod so much, I would've gladly bought a bunch of Treet razors.
Super Iridium - I'm fairly certain these are Polisilver. The blade is simply marked "Super Iridium Extra Stainless" and they're VERY good!! They're pricey, though (again, assuming Polsilver). Very nice shave with absolutely no irritation and just a slight pull or two on 3 days of growth. If they weren't so pricey (about $0.70 a blade), I'd buy a bunch! If you find a great deal on them, try then out. They worked very well for me!
Super-Max - I believe there brand is Vidvut and these are the Super-Max stainless blades. They were pretty nice. The first shave was decent, but not great. It didn't handle 3 days of growth as well as it did the second, third, or fourth shave. That first shave had a lot of pulling and tugging, but the second and third shaves were significantly better since I wasn't cutting through longer scruff. The fourth shave was still good, but I could tell the blade was getting dull. Very minor irritation after all the shaves and it did give me a pretty close shave everyday.
Bic - Aside from a Merkur blade, the Bic was the last in my sample pack. I won't review the Merkur because it's been my go-to blade for years. The Bic? No. Just, no! It seemed to do well during the first shave, albeit with only two days of growth, but it left me with more irritation than I'd felt lately. The second shave butchered my face. Ii was bleeding out of five or six nicks and I felt like my face was on fire. I didn't even try a third shave. You might've had a better shave with their cheap single blade disposables.
