Persona Blues

Wanting to pick up a 100 pack of blades and want to try something new in the process. These will be used by myself but mostly to be given to others for starter kits etc.. I've heard many good things about Persona Blues but also want to get an idea of where they fall on the Smooth-Sharp scale. Would this be a good choice for something like that or should I go with Astra SPs or Voskhods which I've tried and personally feel are a good happy medium of Smooth & Sharp.

I know you posted this a week ago, but the Blue Labs are pretty good all around blades at a reasonable price. They seem to be sharp and smooth. YMMV and all that, of course. Why don't you pick up a sampler pack to try a different variety of blades?

tryablade.com is great for that. I'd agree that Personna blues are a decent middle of the road blade at a good price. For me, I think Polsilver Super Iridiums get the highest marks for being both sharp and smooth (out of the blades I've tried anyway). Unfortunately not as cheap though...

+1 for tryablade.com

This is a great way to try different blades without a lot of investment. Flat rate shipping, too.

Try Gillette Silver Blues at shaving.ie.
100s for about $20.  Super blade.

Don't know if the OP is still looking for opinions, but I like Lab Blues a lot. They're pretty darn sharp, and quite smooth, too. I think they're slightly sharper than Astras. I didn't really care for Voskhods. They were OK, but didn't seem sharp enough for me, if I recall correctly.

I like Lab Blues too. It took a while to figure them out - longer than any other blade - but when I finally got the hang of them they worked great. Not sure why, but (for me) the "right" angle with these is different than any other blade. But now I absolutely like 'em and they're firmly ensconced in my rotation.

I didn't really care for Voskhods.  They were OK, but didn't seem sharp enough for me, if I recall correctly.

My experience as well- they work for many but not great for my beard and didn't seem either particularly sharp or smooth. PIF'd the rest of mine to a friend and he absolutely loves them though.