AC blades worth it?

I hear a lot of good things about single edge blades and wanted to try them out.  I bought a few Feather/Kai clones and acquired a Razorock Black Hawk V2.  I had some Feather Pro blades from Try A Blade, but from what I could tell, the blades were dull; lots of tugging and just horrible shaves I couldn't finish.  I've heard this happens since they are not wrapped in paper like a DE blade, making sending them individually a crap shoot.  Before I buy a whole pack of blades, I want to know if the shave is any better than with a slant using a Nacet blade.  I have the Razorock G37 and it's a wonderful shave for me.  However, there are spots (on my head) that even the G37 requires more than several passes to cut the hair to a BBS shave.  Will the AC blades reduce the need for the 5 or 6 passes in these areas?  Also, how many shaves can I get out of a typical AC blade (including a head shave)?  I typically use a DE blade twice, once per side, before it becomes a little too tuggy for my taste.  I know this varies, but I just want a general idea to weigh the cost of the blade compared to DE blades.  Thanks.

If you already have the Hawk then it makes sense to me to spend the $12-15 and buy a pack of Pros on Amazon and find out. Nobody can tell you if AC blades will be best for your face and your shaving style.

Question: Is the Hawk aluminum? If so, there’s a good chance that what you perceive as dull blades is actually just the razor skipping. If it’s aluminum, it’s really light and that means you need to add pressure. Otherwise the razor will just bounce off stubble and you’ll perceive that as a dull blade. If your Hawk is steel then you can disregard this.

Never had an issue with Feather Pro Super’s or Schick Proline’s and I can’t even count the number of head and face shaves I’ve gotten on one blade in my Vector. Make sure you’re hydrating the soap enough, not enough water can cause some tugging for me.

If you already have the Hawk then it makes sense to me to spend the $12-15 and buy a pack of Pros on Amazon and find out. Nobody can tell you if AC blades will be best for your face and your shaving style.

Question: Is the Hawk aluminum? If so, there’s a good chance that what you perceive as dull blades is actually just the razor skipping. If it’s aluminum, it’s really light and that means you need to add pressure. Otherwise the razor will just bounce off stubble and you’ll perceive that as a dull blade. If your Hawk is steel then you can disregard this.

I do have the aluminum Hawk.  It's very light, but I've heard a light touch is needed with such a sharp blade like the Feather.  The thing is, it doesn't feel like chatter (I think that's the correct term - kind of a bumpy, skipping feeling), but more like tugging.  Perhaps it's the same thing, so I don't know.

Never had an issue with Feather Pro Super’s or Schick Proline’s and I can’t even count the number of head and face shaves I’ve gotten on one blade in my Vector. Make sure you’re hydrating the soap enough, not enough water can cause some tugging for me.

That sounds quite encouraging.  It would definitely make me want to use it more often.  I mean, I can get 200 shaves from a Nacet for the same price of 20 Feather Pros.  If I use an AC blade 5 times per blade, then that's still only 100 shaves.  However, if the shave is that much better than my slant, I can live with that.

Single edge blades just don’t work for me.
I’ve owned and shaved with...a Vintage Gem, RR Hawk SS, Blackland Sabre, Occam’s Razor, Classic Cobra.
Sold all of them.
Tried all the Feather AC blades and most of the Gem blades.
Nothing even came close to the shaves that I get from the army of DE razors that I own.

What did I not understand?
What did I do wrong?

If you already have the Hawk then it makes sense to me to spend the $12-15 and buy a pack of Pros on Amazon and find out. Nobody can tell you if AC blades will be best for your face and your shaving style.

Question: Is the Hawk aluminum? If so, there’s a good chance that what you perceive as dull blades is actually just the razor skipping. If it’s aluminum, it’s really light and that means you need to add pressure. Otherwise the razor will just bounce off stubble and you’ll perceive that as a dull blade. If your Hawk is steel then you can disregard this.

I do have the aluminum Hawk.  It's very light, but I've heard a light touch is needed with such a sharp blade like the Feather.  The thing is, it doesn't feel like chatter (I think that's the correct term - kind of a bumpy, skipping feeling), but more like tugging.  Perhaps it's the same thing, so I don't know.

Yep. Definitely need to add some pressure. You have to replicate the force of gravity acting on a heavier razor. That tugging is because you don’t have enough force to get through the hair. It’s just stopping when it hits the hair and that feels like tugging.

If you already have the Hawk then it makes sense to me to spend the $12-15 and buy a pack of Pros on Amazon and find out. Nobody can tell you if AC blades will be best for your face and your shaving style.

Question: Is the Hawk aluminum? If so, there’s a good chance that what you perceive as dull blades is actually just the razor skipping. If it’s aluminum, it’s really light and that means you need to add pressure. Otherwise the razor will just bounce off stubble and you’ll perceive that as a dull blade. If your Hawk is steel then you can disregard this.

I do have the aluminum Hawk.  It's very light, but I've heard a light touch is needed with such a sharp blade like the Feather.  The thing is, it doesn't feel like chatter (I think that's the correct term - kind of a bumpy, skipping feeling), but more like tugging.  Perhaps it's the same thing, so I don't know.

Yep. Definitely need to add some pressure. You have to replicate the force of gravity acting on a heavier razor. That tugging is because you don’t have enough force to get through the hair. It’s just stopping when it hits the hair and that feels like tugging.

Thanks for the heads-up.  I never would have thought about having too light a touch. I figured I'd shave the same way I do with my slant that is, admittedly, a lot heavier.

I do have the aluminum Hawk.  It's very light, but I've heard a light touch is needed with such a sharp blade like the Feather.  The thing is, it doesn't feel like chatter (I think that's the correct term - kind of a bumpy, skipping feeling), but more like tugging.  Perhaps it's the same thing, so I don't know.

Yep. Definitely need to add some pressure. You have to replicate the force of gravity acting on a heavier razor. That tugging is because you don’t have enough force to get through the hair. It’s just stopping when it hits the hair and that feels like tugging.

Thanks for the heads-up.  I never would have thought about having too light a touch. I figured I'd shave the same way I do with my slant that is, admittedly, a lot heavier.

Definitely. Just remember that weight is simply natural pressure from gravity. Lacking that, you have to add it back in to basically replicate that weight.

I never could get an AC razor to work well for me, so I just stopped trying and moved on!

Single edge blades just don’t work for me.
I’ve owned and shaved with...a Vintage Gem, RR Hawk SS, Blackland Sabre, Occam’s Razor, Classic Cobra.
Sold all of them.
Tried all the Feather AC blades and most of the Gem blades.
Nothing even came close to the shaves that I get from the army of DE razors that I own.

What did I not understand?
What did I do wrong?

I never could get an AC razor to work well for me, so I just stopped trying and moved on!

May I ask what you've used?  I'm trying to see if it's the blade, razor, or something else.  Theoretically, it should work as well or better than a DE; well, at least with the right technique, especially true if using a kamisori style razor.  I am not questioning your technique, it's probably way better than mine, but I would like to determine if it's flaws in the hardware.  Both of you mentioned can't seem to get it to work for you.  I would assume, probably wrongly, that a seasoned shaver could shave with almost anything of a similar style, so then there has to be another factor.