DE blades and their YMMV status

Finally, some blades, such as Dorco, are almost universally reviled, but why?  

I tried a Dorco st301 last week, and was surprised to find it worked really well for me. Performed very similar to a Voskhod to me. I've heard some say the 301s are much better than the 300s, and since say they are identical, so who knows.

There are plenty of blades that feel "sharp" to me, but few that feel really, really smooth, too, so that is what I'm always on the lookout for. What that means objectively, I really don't know.

I have heard the same. I found both versions pretty bad.

I will toss my hat into the arena!

Merkur blades are the absolute worst.  Not sure if they have any coating on them, but 10 out of 10 times I use them, I will have the worst shave ever.  They are rough on the skin and tug all the time.

My go to razor blade is probably the polsilver.  More forgiving then the feather, very sharp, smooth but a little more expensive than the average blade pack.  Lastly, they can go the distance on 4 shaves.  The fifth is where you start to get the tugging.

In addition to skin type, I find blades feel different from one razor to another. Voskhods work great for me in my iKon DLC OC, but are awful in my Gillette New SC. For the New, I can use GSBs, Rapira Plat Lux, and Astra SPs. I can use those for the iKon, as well ... but Voskhods feel more comfortable in that razor.
Perhaps it's a balance of razor aggression and blade sharpness for me.


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I will toss my hat into the arena!

Merkur blades are the absolute worst.  Not sure if they have any coating on them, but 10 out of 10 times I use them, I will have the worst shave ever.  They are rough on the skin and tug all the time.

My go to razor blade is probably the polsilver.  More forgiving then the feather, very sharp, smooth but a little more expensive than the average blade pack.  Lastly, they can go the distance on 4 shaves.  The fifth is where you start to get the tugging.

I have never been a fan of Merkur blades, either. I received a couple when I purchased my Merkur Slant several years ago. Love the razor but, after using the sample blades, I never kept them in my den.

Totally agree on the Merkur blades. Hate them.

I agree on Polsilver. Here in Europe they are cheap (I can get 100 for 14 Euros). They are very sharp and forgiving.
Actually quite the same shave for me are the Personna blue, but they are a little more expensive for me since they are US made. But since I have 100 now, that is what I use mostly at the moment.

Feather are great, but they irritate my skin much more and are hugely expensive.

Rapira stainless and swedish are good but not up with my top 2.

I hate Derby with a fiery passion.

Personna red are OK for me too, just a tad worse than the blues.

Lord are OKish.

BIC super chrome are quite good actually, just more expensive than others.

Wilkinson are OKish but expensive.

I did not like any Gilette in particular. None were as bad as the Merkurs, but also none were as good as a Polsilver or even the BIC.

Hmm that are the ones that come to mind now, I am sure I have at least 10 others around...

I agree with a lot of what is said but I will go bit further when another theory. I think some of it quite frankly in the heads of people. If blades were not labeled it would be interesting to see how folks would react to them. I have a feeling some people think they don't like certain blades due to perception

When I started I bought lots of different blades, Astras (Green), Perma Sharp, Voskhod, Polsilver, Lab Blue, Rapira, Swedish SuperSteel, Feather. I wanted to try and find 'the' blade for my skin and beard type. I got given as a thrown-in from a trade a Derby. I had read via several posts they were the pits. I tried it, the blade lasted three or four strokes of the razor. It tugged and nipped. Never again. Most seemed okay for my beard type. Polsilvers and Swedish SuperSteel were the best. Sharp and smooth. No irritation or nips and tugs. In the end rather than have multiple blades to pick from I cut mine down to just three. Polsilvers, Lab Blues (blue wrappers not white) and Swedish Super Steel. I know Polsilvers are super expensive in the USA. I can pick up 100 for £13 including shipping, which is a bargain.

I agree with a lot of what is said but I will go bit further when another theory.  I think some of it quite frankly in the heads of people.  If blades were not labeled it would be interesting to see how folks would react to them.  I have a feeling some people think they don't like certain blades due to perception

Gary over on TSN did a test with this a few years back. I think he sent out a few blades to whoever wanted to be involved and had the user's spouse load the blade for them so they wouldn't have any bias towards the blades.

Been using Gillette silver blues for years but also like the Astra greens. My son has been using Polsilvers, might get a blade or two from him an give them a try.

This I will investigate
I will simply let my better half load blades in all my razors randomly and write down which blade is where without telling me and then shave with a different razor every day and jot down my opinion which blade it may have been and what are my thoughts on it.