Our own blade sampler

This thread was prompted by a discussion in another thread.

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-what-s-...ablade-com

And the idea behind Try A Blade was to allow the buyer to purchase single blades instead of tucks of 5 or 10, or dispensers of 15 or 20. I believe blades were shipped in envelopes, but I could be wrong. It now seems that Try A Blade is not in business at the moment.

My thinking is that many of us have hundreds of blades. And most if not all of us tend to be giving and sharing individuals. What if we came up with a way to lend some blades to one another?

What I have in mind is that a guy posts here that he'd like to try Blade A. Any of us that have a stash of Blade A can PM the Original Poster and arrange to mail them a blade or two.

Double edge blades are easily mailed in small numbers. I have done it by taping the blade, in its wrapper, to a note card, and then tape another note card over it and mail it in a standard envelope with 1 US stamp.

Single edge blades will be trickier, as they have to be "loose," not having a wrapper. I imagine one could tape the spine to the card, and tape another card on top. Placing a reminder on the top card to warn the recipient that an exposed blade is under the card would be helpful. I suggest this as I did order 5 different AC-style blades from Try A Blade, and each came loose in a paperboard sleeve. But some were really bad, and my theory is that the blades could have moved around to much and been dulled as the met up with the edges of the sleeve.

My other thought would be that we could list what blades we have, but that may be more cumbersome. Personally, I would rather post what I was looking for than look through a long thread to see if anyone has the blade I am interested in trying out.

What do you think? And Marko, andrewjs18,  Freddy, and Dave in KY, do you mods and admin think this is ok?

That sounds like a great idea MaineYooper. Basically the price of a postage stamp. Maybe that’s why Tryablade.com went out of business?  
I think we can come up with a safe way to send SE AC blades. I wouldn’t tape them directly to card stock as the tape might take off any coatings. “Do Not Wipe “. Maybe wrap the blade in wax paper then tape it to card stock?

Eric, my only thought about this is that if someone has some blades he's willing to send someone who would like to try them, wouldn't it be easier to PIF even four than messing with PayPal for no more than $1.00-$2.00?  Even if a particular blade is no longer in production, how many would be willing to pay an overinflated price for a razor blade?  Just my 2 cents.

Eric, my only thought about this is that if someone has some blades he's willing to send someone who would like to try them, wouldn't it be easier to PIF even four than messing with PayPal for no more than $1.00-$2.00?  Even if a particular blade is no longer in production, how many would be willing to pay an overinflated price for a razor blade?  Just my 2 cents.

Sorry I didn't make it clear. No money changes hands, so it is a PIF of sorts. My thought was many of us have sent blades in with a BST sale, and I have had guys lend me a razor, so I was thinking of this as a Try Before You Buy.

Eric, my only thought about this is that if someone has some blades he's willing to send someone who would like to try them, wouldn't it be easier to PIF even four than messing with PayPal for no more than $1.00-$2.00?  Even if a particular blade is no longer in production, how many would be willing to pay an overinflated price for a razor blade?  Just my 2 cents.

Sorry I didn't make it clear. No money changes hands, so it is a PIF of sorts. My thought was many of us have sent blades in with a BST sale, and I have had guys lend me a razor, so I was thinking of this as a Try Before You Buy.

Ah, okay, sorry for the misunderstanding.  It sounds good.

This thread was prompted by a discussion in another thread.

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-what-s-...ablade-com

And the idea behind Try A Blade was to allow the buyer to purchase single blades instead of tucks of 5 or 10, or dispensers of 15 or 20. I believe blades were shipped in envelopes, but I could be wrong. It now seems that Try A Blade is not in business at the moment.

My thinking is that many of us have hundreds of blades. And most if not all of us tend to be giving and sharing individuals. What if we came up with a way to lend some blades to one another?

What I have in mind is that a guy posts here that he'd like to try Blade A. Any of us that have a stash of Blade A can PM the Original Poster and arrange to mail them a blade or two.

Double edge blades are easily mailed in small numbers. I have done it by taping the blade, in its wrapper, to a note card, and then tape another note card over it and mail it in a standard envelope with 1 US stamp.

Single edge blades will be trickier, as they have to be "loose," not having a wrapper. I imagine one could tape the spine to the card, and tape another card on top. Placing a reminder on the top card to warn the recipient that an exposed blade is under the card would be helpful. I suggest this as I did order 5 different AC-style blades from Try A Blade, and each came loose in a paperboard sleeve. But some were really bad, and my theory is that the blades could have moved around to much and been dulled as the met up with the edges of the sleeve.

My other thought would be that we could list what blades we have, but that may be more cumbersome. Personally, I would rather post what I was looking for than look through a long thread to see if anyone has the blade I am interested in trying out.

What do you think? And Marko, andrewjs18,  Freddy, and Dave in KY, do you mods and admin think this is ok?

Am 100% fully on board Eric. Let me know how to help

Sounds like a great idea, I've got tons of blades I'll never touch, this could be a way to get some use out of them

It worked very well for me and will contribute in the future