DE blades and their YMMV status

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.

I, for one, will look forward to your results.

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.

it'd be neat to compile another test. maybe in the future we'll look into putting something together!

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.

it'd be neat to compile another test.  maybe in the future we'll look into putting something together!

It would be interesting for sure.

I tested a bunch of blades, at least in the high 30s, maybe as many as 40 different types by the time I finally finished. After it all I was burnt out with it all, but that's another story.

I truly didn't care what the wrapper said on it, my goal was to find blades that I liked. Very quickly I found that for me to like it it had to be both sharp and smooth.

The worst were the Dorcos one was a hair better than the other, but with one I pulled it out of the razor after just one stroke, the other made it a bit longer. My notes at time state that I would rather shave with an axe head. Smooth they were since they cut almost nothing and were just a blood letting waiting to happen.

There were some surprises. Blades that I thought would be good weren't and some that I thought would be bad were excellent. The SuperMax blades being of the latter sort. Too, it pretty much didn't matter what I'd read online. Some blades that others loved I thought were absolute junk. Others, like the MedPreps and 7 O'clock Yellows got their rep's by being excellent, and sure enough I thought so too. In fact the 2nd blades that I tried were the Yellows and it was a EUREKA! moment. I was absolutely blown away by the performance and feel of it.

What a shame we can't come into this as noobs, knowing what sort of blade we like. :-)

I don't know why we like the blades we do but I strongly suspect lather plays a big part in it. Too, we have our individual faces and technique.

I tested a bunch of blades, at least in the high 30s, maybe as many as 40 different types by the time I finally finished. After it all I was burnt out with it all, but that's another story.

I truly didn't care what the wrapper said on it, my goal was to find blades that I liked. Very quickly I found that for me to like it it had to be both sharp and smooth.

The worst were the Dorcos one was a hair better than the other, but with one I pulled it out of the razor after just one stroke, the other made it a bit longer. My notes at time state that I would rather shave with an axe head. Smooth they were since they cut almost nothing and were just a blood letting waiting to happen.

There were some surprises. Blades that I thought would be good weren't and some that I thought would be bad were excellent. The SuperMax blades being of the latter sort. Too, it pretty much didn't matter what I'd read online. Some blades that others loved I thought were absolute junk. Others, like the MedPreps and 7 O'clock Yellows got their rep's by being excellent, and sure enough I thought so too. In fact the 2nd blades that I tried were the Yellows and it was a EUREKA! moment. I was absolutely blown away by the performance and feel of it.

What a shame we can't come into this as noobs, knowing what sort of blade we like. :-)

I don't know why we like the blades we do but I strongly suspect lather plays a big part in it. Too, we have our individual faces and technique.

Talk about YMMV!  Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellows rank right up there with Dorco blades as some of my least favorite.  Go figure.

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.

Same with me, a lot of people hate Dorcos but it surprisingly gives me very good shaves.

I have found that I can use pretty much any DE blade and get a great shave out of them. None of them cut my face up, give me tons of irritation or weepers, etc. The only time I experience any of that is if I make a technique mistake(too much pressure, too much buffing, etc) or if I try to push a blade past it's useful life.
That last part is the biggest difference for me RE different blades. Some of them hold an edge longer, and i get more shaves from them. Some of them are only good for one or two shaves.
To be clear, there are differences in the way blades feel on my face, and also some blades that shave cleaner and closer than others. I think this is the biggest motivator for people when it comes to blade preference. It's logical to choose the blade(s) that feels the best on your skin.
But I have several different brands of blades in my den. Some of them are blades that get negative feedback from a vast majority of wetshavers. I get great shaves with all of them.
But again, YMMV.

Shark super chromes on my head as they are cheap and pretty forgiving yet effective on my chrome dome... Plus, I can use a new blade every other day and it's not cost prohibitive.  On my face I use feather blades they just give me the best and most consistent shave and moreover, just like certain guns like some ammunition and others don't like that same ammunition, all my razors seem my to like feather blades

I think a lot has to do with proficiency with your razor too.

I started with Derby's 4 months ago and thought they were great, I have tried every blade I can get my hand on.  I went back to the Derby the other day and I didn't think it was that great. So, what has changed...well my technique, my face has adapted to wet shaving, and there are definitely sharper blades than the Derby as I found out.  But if you asked me when I started I would have said Derby was great. 

What I want to try now that I have some miles on my face is to pick one blade (PolSilver, Astra SP, etc.) and use it for a month or more regardless of the quality of my shave and then switch blades.  I feel that you can tweek your angle or technique enough to get a decent shave out of any blade.  It's all a matter of how much money and energy are you willing to commit.

I can get a good shave with most blades but there are a few which tip the scales either way.

Supermax (Blue Diamond or Super Stainless) are great for me and shave smoothly and closely. Given that they're absolutely dirt cheap as well it's still economical to chuck after one or two shaves compared to getting 3 or 4 from a more expensive blade.

Feathers are excellently sharp blades but are just not forgiving of any slight mistakes in my experience - and I'm going to make the odd little mistake from time to time. Combine that with the high price and while not loathsome they aren't great for me personally.

The only truly loathsome blade I've used is an Indian one called Laser - it dragged and pulled on the first pass. I figured it may be a duff blade it was that bad and tried a couple from both the same pack and a different pack. Exactly the same. Horrible blades.