RayClem's Blade Evaluations

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had seen some reports that the Matgicol blades are the same as the FlyDear blades. Jerry ( Gasman ) obtained a tuck of these blades with a razor he purchased from China. He graciously has offered to send me a couple of these blades for evaluation. If they arrive before the Gillette Super Thins from Vietnam, I will evaluate the Matgicol blade in a face-off shave with a fresh FlyDear blade. That is the best way to tell if they are the same blade, or just similar in performance. I still plan to use the FlyDear blade on its 3rd shave for tomorrow's shave.

Sunday Shave- FlyDear Platinum- 3rd and final use

The 2nd shave with the FlyDear Platinum blade was even better than the 1st. Thus, I wanted to see what the 3rd use might have to offer. the blade was still sharp and I was able to achieve a near-BBS shave, but with some discomfort. I got both a nick and a weeper on my chin. While the nick might have been operator error, I believe the weeper might have been due to a microchip in the blade. On one edge of the blade, even my cheek felt what seemed to be a microchip. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I got significant discomfort. Thus, while the blade remained sharp on its 3rd use, the smoothness deteriorated. Since I have only rated blades based on one-two uses, the blade rating remains at 4.25 sharpness, 4.25 smoothness and the spreadsheet has not been updated. However, the deteriorating smoothness level makes me reluctant to try the blade for another shave.

Gasman is sending me a couple of Matgicol blades which I have heard might be the same as the FlyDear blade. Later in the coming week, I will do a face-off shave between the two blades using two Karve C-plate razors.

The Gillette Super Thin blades from Vietnam contributed by ErkRusselReserve have arrived. For Tuesday's shave, I plan to do a face-off shave between the Gillette Super Thins from Vietnam contributed by ErkRusselReserve and the Gillette Super Thins from Thailand contributed by Gasman. It will be contest to determine which blade walks away with the crown for best Super Thin blade. I am anxious to see how the Gillette Super Thins produced in China compare to the Derby blades made in Pakistan. They are also thinner than standard DE blades. However, the Derby blades range from a somewhat dull Derby Extra to the very sharp Derby Usta, so thin blades are not necessarily sharper than standard blades. It all depends upon how they are ground, polished, and coated. Stay tuned for Tuesday's face--off shave.

Yes, and why I cork my blades after use. Not for burrs but it's very effectively removed all moisture and soap scum from the edge.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

4th shave with a feather blade in my Rex envoy…amazing blade..I took a piece of belt leather and glued to a piece of wood..grabbed a new feather blade and lightly stropped 4x each side,shaved,awesome sharpness,smooooooth,finished shaving,rinsed,blew away the moisture,next day lightly stropped,shaved,amazing- now this is a blade!..repeated same technic,4th shave,now we’re talking.
I don’t bother stropping after a shave cuz there’s moisture in the bathroom,so no point,just before works great.
I”’ll see how many shaves I get..then that horrible Kai blade is next…never again the tatara…nothing going to help that disaster,my cheek healed up after 2 days,but I noticed my Adam’s apple has a 1”scar!

Again, as much as I hate to say it, the Astra SP blade performed incredibly well today. I paired it up with my Karve brass CB with the SB-E plate. The efficiency was absolutely fantastic. After my third pass, I’m not sure I even needed to do any buffing or touchups as it already felt BBS. But, being on the compulsive side, I did do some light buffing/touchups, but nowhere near what I normally would’ve done when I was doing just the two passes. I don’t think my shave could be any closer than it is, it was very comfortable, and even the application of my alcohol based aftershave actually had very minimal to almost no feedback whatsoever. 

I’m feeling my face now about 10 to 15 minutes post shave and I can’t find hair or stubble anywhere. I’m thinking I could attribute this result to one or more of perhaps a couple things that I did with the shave. I’m hoping it’s a little bit more attention to detail in general, by being just more thorough and more consistent with my technique and paying more attention as I’m shaving. Also, I do believe the three passes is making a difference, as opposed to just doing a single WTG pass and then going against the grain. 

Also, the one variable this time around is that I did use a pre-shave which is not typical for me.  I did do a pre-shave face wash which I always do, but I used my PAA tube 2.0 for the wash and as a pre-shave. After I washed and rinsed my face, I did wet the tube 2.0 down and just applied a little bit going against the grain as I believe that’s the directions for it. Then I face lathered as usual and shaved. It did seem to add a fantastic slickness and smooth this to the shave, and a bit more of the residual slickness. So, I’m not sure how much of a role that might have played in the results or getting close.

Again, as much as I hate to say it, the Astra SP blade performed incredibly well today. I paired it up with my Karve brass CB with the SB-E plate. The efficiency was absolutely fantastic. After my third pass, I’m not sure I even needed to do any buffing or touchups as it already felt BBS. But, being on the compulsive side, I did do some light buffing/touchups, but nowhere near what I normally would’ve done when I was doing just the two passes. I don’t think my shave could be any closer than it is, it was very comfortable, and even the application of my alcohol based aftershave actually had very minimal to almost no feedback whatsoever. 

I’m feeling my face now about 10 to 15 minutes post shave and I can’t find hair or stubble anywhere. I’m thinking I could attribute this result to one or more of perhaps a couple things that I did with the shave. I’m hoping it’s a little bit more attention to detail in general, by being just more thorough and more consistent with my technique and paying more attention as I’m shaving. Also, I do believe the three passes is making a difference, as opposed to just doing a single WTG pass and then going against the grain. 

Also, the one variable this time around is that I did use a pre-shave which is not typical for me.  I did do a pre-shave face wash which I always do, but I used my PAA tube 2.0 for the wash and as a pre-shave. After I washed and rinsed my face, I did wet the tube 2.0 down and just applied a little bit going against the grain as I believe that’s the directions for it. Then I face lathered as usual and shaved. It did seem to add a fantastic slickness and smooth this to the shave, and a bit more of the residual slickness. So, I’m not sure how much of a role that might have played in the results or getting close.

If the Astra SP blade worked for you, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Millions of shaver love the blade. I am in a small minority of shavers who do not like it, but I know my needs are unusual and my shave criteria stringent. 

Your experience with hairs retracting below the skin surface is not unusual. Many people have that experience. Shaving ATG, especially with buffing strokes can slice the stubble below the skin line. At the end of the shave, you might still feel the tips of the stubble, but they withdraw below the surface sometime after the shave. This is likely the cause of ingrown hairs in many men, especially men of certain ethnic groups. Thus, some men have to forego the ATG pass in order to avoid ingrown hairs. 

As for preshave products, they are a matter of preference. Typically I do not use them as I use very high quality shave soaps from such artisans as Ariana & Evans, Barrister & Mann, Declaration Grooming, Ethos Grooming, Gentleman's Nod, Grooming Dept/Aion Skincare, Murphy & McNeil, Noble Otter and Zingari Man. When using these soaps, I do not need to use a preshave. I like to shower before I shave, but many times I use hot, damp towels and a prelather from these soaps as my shave prep. These soaps produce a slick lather, both primary and residual after the visible lather has been removed. If I use lesser quality soaps, a preshave product might be beneficial.

Again, as much as I hate to say it, the Astra SP blade performed incredibly well today. I paired it up with my Karve brass CB with the SB-E plate. The efficiency was absolutely fantastic. After my third pass, I’m not sure I even needed to do any buffing or touchups as it already felt BBS. But, being on the compulsive side, I did do some light buffing/touchups, but nowhere near what I normally would’ve done when I was doing just the two passes. I don’t think my shave could be any closer than it is, it was very comfortable, and even the application of my alcohol based aftershave actually had very minimal to almost no feedback whatsoever. 

I’m feeling my face now about 10 to 15 minutes post shave and I can’t find hair or stubble anywhere. I’m thinking I could attribute this result to one or more of perhaps a couple things that I did with the shave. I’m hoping it’s a little bit more attention to detail in general, by being just more thorough and more consistent with my technique and paying more attention as I’m shaving. Also, I do believe the three passes is making a difference, as opposed to just doing a single WTG pass and then going against the grain. 

Also, the one variable this time around is that I did use a pre-shave which is not typical for me.  I did do a pre-shave face wash which I always do, but I used my PAA tube 2.0 for the wash and as a pre-shave. After I washed and rinsed my face, I did wet the tube 2.0 down and just applied a little bit going against the grain as I believe that’s the directions for it. Then I face lathered as usual and shaved. It did seem to add a fantastic slickness and smooth this to the shave, and a bit more of the residual slickness. So, I’m not sure how much of a role that might have played in the results or getting close.

If the Astra SP blade worked for you, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Millions of shaver love the blade. I am in a small minority of shavers who do not like it, but I know my needs are unusual and my shave criteria stringent. 

Your experience with hairs retracting below the skin surface is not unusual. Many people have that experience. Shaving ATG, especially with buffing strokes can slice the stubble below the skin line. At the end of the shave, you might still feel the tips of the stubble, but they withdraw below the surface sometime after the shave. This is likely the cause of ingrown hairs in many men, especially men of certain ethnic groups. Thus, some men have to forego the ATG pass in order to avoid ingrown hairs. 

As for preshave products, they are a matter of preference. Typically I do not use them as I use very high quality shave soaps from such artisans as Ariana & Evans, Barrister & Mann, Declaration Grooming, Ethos Grooming, Gentleman's Nod, Grooming Dept/Aion Skincare, Murphy & McNeil, Noble Otter and Zingari Man. When using these soaps, I do not need to use a preshave. I like to shower before I shave, but many times I use hot, damp towels and a prelather from these soaps as my shave prep. These soaps produce a slick lather, both primary and residual after the visible lather has been removed. If I use lesser quality soaps, a preshave product might be beneficial.

It's not really a matter of being ashamed, I'm just aggravated as I have to find a new blade to hate now! I had just been so unsuccessful with it a couple times that I used it, it was just very easy to list it as one of my least favorite blades. But it's been years, things are different, and I'm sure I've gotten better at what I do so it just seems to be working out now. Like we both have said, millions of people really do like the blade, I just never understood why. But right now, it's working for me. Just have to add into my notes what razors I've used it with that I really liked it with, so I know how to pair it up when I do use it.

Pre-shaves have previously been something I really tried a few times I've never really used. I just decided to try it again with this particular cream because sometimes I do feel it falls a little bit short sometimes in residual slickness between passes. Also, sometimes I'm not sure if it is the products or if just maybe I'm a little bit slacking in my preshave and not doing it properly or being thorough enough. Though I will say, with this blade, razor, cream, and the pre-shave, today was quite an enjoyable shave!

Hi RayClem!  Loving your project and I found your blade evaluation spreadsheet very helpful. Do you think something like a durability column to factor into the perceived calculation would be something relevant and worth considering?

Also, your DM to me had no content. I think we broke the message length!

Thank you

Hi RayClem!  Loving your project and I found your blade evaluation spreadsheet very helpful. Do you think something like a durability column to factor into the perceived calculation would be something relevant and worth considering?

Zantetsuken 

I am delighted you are finding the spreadsheet useful. I started this project 7 months ago to answer the question many were asking:  "What do I do when I run out of my favorite blades made in Russia?" Hopefully, the results will allow people to find a suitable alternative to meet their needs.

You are correct that adding a durability factor to the calculation for "perceived value" would be an improvement. Unfortunately, I am sorry doing so is not feasible. 

I have evaluated 75 different blades over the past 7 months. Typically, I get 3-4 shaves per blade. Thus, if I had to repeat the evaluation of the blades, it would take me another 17 months. Over the past 7 months I have had to completely disrupt my normal shaving routine to shave with two days growth and use the same razor for each shave (except when I do a face-off shave and use two Karve razors, both equipped with the same baseplate).  Typically, I shave every day and a half and use four different razor and blade combinations during the shave, one for each pass. This method allows me to get a near-BBS shave with zero irritation 95% of the time. During the shave evaluations, I achieved this type of ideal shave only about 10% of the time. That does not mean the other 90% of the shaves were bad.  About 25% of the shaves were either uncomfortable or failed to achieve a near-BBS shave. Thus, my face is anxious for the evaluation to conclude by the end of March so I can get back to my normal shave routine. Because I use 4 blades per shave, evaluation of blade life is impossible. The blade I use for my WTG pass might last 5 - 6 shaves. The blade I use for my clean-up pass might last 20 shaves or longer.

During the evaluations, I have added three new razors to my collection. Due to the evaluations, I have not had an opportunity to use these razor for more than 1-2 shaves. I have not used the most recent acquisition at all. I am looking forward to exploring these new additions to my den.

Also, I no longer have many blades in my inventory. If a blade failed to give me a decent shave, I donated it to other shavers or to the sharps container.

I know that the question "How many shaves do you get per blade?" is one of the most asked on the shave forums. However, I consider it to be one of the least relevant. Some folks are like me and only get 3-4 good shaves per blade. Some folks can us a single blade for 100 shaves. There are just too many factors involved such as the toughness of your beard, the sensitivity of your skin, the type of shave soap you use, and how good your lathering technique. and perhaps even the hardness of your water.   It might also depend upon how you clean, dry and store your blade between shaves. Some people also "cork" their blades or strop them. Thus, the number of uses you get out of a blade might not correlate will with my experience. That is why I did not include a durability column.

The spreadsheet that I posted is in standard Excel .xlsx format. While the spreadsheet I posted is protected so that only I can alter the data, you can save the spreadsheet to your own computer and then add another column to the spreadsheet using Excel or some other spreadsheet program. Nearly all spreadsheet software, including free ones such as the one in Libre Office and Open Office, can open and edit the file. You can use this altered spreadsheet to keep track of your experience with various blades, including durability. 

There are a couple of blades that I have used for more than 2 shaves during the valuation. Comments on those blade are included in the thread. However, those blades lasted 3-4 shaves which is typical foir me. I do plan to do a durability trial on the Wizamet blade after concluding the scheduled evaluations. I find that blade to be very sharp and extremely smooth. Due to its Iridium coating, it might be a blade that will allow me to get beyond the 4 shaves I now get with my best blades. The results of that experience will be posted here. With the exception of the Wizamet, I do not see any blade lasting me beyond 4 shaves.

When determining the "perceived value", I subconsciously factored in that blades with a total sharpness plus smoothness score of 9 or above are likely to last me 4 shaves while those between 8-9 are likely to last 3 shaves. Thus, the value is not strictly calculated from the price and performance data. For normal shaving use, I would never select a blade with an overall score below 8, so I would get 0 shaves from them.  For me, those blades would have zero value. That is why I eliminated them from my inventory. However, I realize that some shavers find these blades to be ideal for their use. That is why I included them in the evaluation, even though I did not get ideal shaves when using them.

ErkRusselReserve 

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