 Merkur Super
|
TL;DR:
- RK Shaving Stainless DE Razor Blades, balanced and from a good company (check out their razor handles!)
- Dorco Prime Double Edge Razor Blades, value yet great quality
-
Merkur Super, unmatched quality and very forgiving but expensive. Highly recommended for beginners.
–
Problem: Can I get more value for my blades?
- Do I pay too much for blades?
- Are there better blades for sensitive skin or unskilled use?
-
Are there blades which are more durable, granting more uses?
Intro ∞
For people who use a traditional safety razor, there are a lot of blade choices. Just as different handles exist, different blades exist. They have differences in material and sharpness, giving different shave experiences.
Since each person has unique skin, hair, and skill, perception of sharpness will be individual.
How forgiving a blade is against sensitive or blemished skin, how effective it is against different hair coarseness or length, and for how many shaves a blade lasts are all things each person has to discover for themselves.
Things can get pretty strange. I can imagine subtleties like different shaving creams, how a person treats or stores their blade after shaving, and water hardness being influences on how many uses one can get out of a blade.
Different lubricants will impact a shave, and may also impact a blade’s sharpness from use-to-use. Razors are steel and hair is soft in comparison. It’s generally not the blade going dull but the water or residue that most impacts a blade between shaves.
Furthermore, different handles will have different shaves! My tests were with a Merkur razor handle (model unknown).
What I’m like ∞
I have sensitive skin, but it is not oily or blemished. My hair doesn’t seem all that rough and it doesn’t grow back all that quickly.
For these reviews, I’m using nothing more than a bar of soap for my lather, and doing absolutely nothing to prepare myself before shaving or do anything after shaving.
The initial review shaves were done in the most absolutely brutal way possible. I bled for this.
Notable blades ∞
[value] – Gilette Silver Blue ∞
-
2020-05-22 — These have been my go-to for my face, but they would be too sharp for a scalp. Excellent performance, but only for three shaves at most.
- These are the best value so far.
- NOTE! – The company is explicitly anti-male.
 Gilette Silver Blue
|
https://www.fendrihan.ca/products/10-gillette-silver-blue-double-edge-blades
Experience: I’ve used a few blades and took the below notes. I’ve used this a bunch of times since then, but didn’t take additional notes.
Uses: Four would be pushing it, with the later uses requiring more skill. More testing is needed, so I can pay closer attention and take notes. I have a lot of blades to go through, so I ought to be getting some good experience with these.
Lubricants: I’ve only tried this with quality shaving cream. I’ll be switching back to simple soap to get a good opinion, or at least an opinion consistent with that of the others.
Showering: It doesn’t seem important to shower for this blade to do its job. More testing is needed.
Opinion: Requires more testing. So far this is moderately-recommended, and that post-shower shave makes me question all opinions of all blades. At half the price of the Merkur Super, with a bit of expertise I think this would be a better choice, especially if that 10 rating holds true and it gets 3-4 good uses.
These were on sale for a lot of 100. The complete package may be just paper, but it is notably well-designed. The individual boxes are paper, so disposing of blades is a concern.
[forgiving, expensive] – Merkur Super ∞
Beware; they are not all manufactured in Germany any more, and people have poor experiences with those.
 Merkur Super
|
- https://www.lehmans.com/product/double-edged-blades-for-safety-shaving-razor/
-
https://www.fendrihan.com/collections/shaving/products/10-merkur-double-edge-safety-razor-blades
Experience: I’ve used this blade for years.
Uses: Easily four uses for me. It fades gently into dullness without ever becoming dangerous.
Lubricants: Even poor lubricants (hand-soap, shampoo) work just fine.
Showering: Shaving either before or after showering has never mattered.
Opinion: This is by far the most strongly-recommended blade, especially for beginners.
I have significant experience with this blade.
[forgiving, expensive] – Erbe Solingen Fresh ∞
https://www.becker-solingen.de/
 Fresh
|
https://www.fendrihan.ca/products/10-erbe-solingen-fresh-tradition-double-edge-safety-razor-blades
Experience: I’ve used only a couple of blades.
Uses: Four would be pushing it, with the later uses requiring more skill.
Lubricants: I’ve only tried this with quality shaving cream.
Showering: Spectacular after a shower. This blade made me question all my testing for all other blades.
Opinion: Requires more testing. So far this is moderately-recommended, and that post-shower shave makes me question all opinions of all blades. At half the price of the Merkur Super, with a bit of expertise I think this would be a better choice, especially if that 10 rating holds true and it gets 3-4 good uses.
2020-05-22 – I went looking to buy more of these and I can’t find them in more than very-expensive 10 packs. I don’t even see a reference to this blade on their website, although blades are pictured alongside a safety razor.
[maybe] – Astra Platinum ∞
This seems to have good hope. More testing is being done.
[garbage] – Wilkinson Sword ∞
This is garbage, from the first shave to the last. It’s dull.
Soap and shaving cream make no difference at all. This would be a good razor for shaving a head, not a face.
2022-12-25 ∞
 Dorco 100 Piece Prime Double Edge Razor Blades
|
 RK Shaving Stainless DE Razor Blades
|
 RK Shaving Stainless DE Razor Blades – 100pk
|
 Shaving Revolution Safety Razor Blades
|
-
Dorco Prime Double Edge Razor Blades
-
RK Shaving Stainless DE Razor Blades
-
Shaving Revolution Safety Razor Blades
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q1JNPRH/
- These are absolute garbage.
2017-08-06 ∞
I tried CLOUD Plastic + Stainless Steel Manual Shaver Razor – Black and its blade. The blade vibrates while I’m shaving, probably exaggerated by the bluntness of the blade. It scraped the skin off of my face, leaving it but I didn’t bleed.
While I wouldn’t recommend the blade, the handle is cheap enough that I’ll keep a spare or two around for beginners who are interested in trying out this sort of shave.
The second set of reviews ∞
I was uncertain of some of the results, and made a second pass. I was still trying the blades from the fendrihan.com sampler pack.
| Brand | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Derby Extra | 1h=3 dull, unforgiving | |
| Feather High Stainless | 1m=3 dull | |
| Feather New High Stainless | 1h=5 dull, but workable if moderately careful. | |
| Fresh | 1h=9 dull, somehow great · 2m=8 still great, somehow less dull · 3h=8 great, a tidge rough on the skin · 4h=7 still workable | |
| Astra Stainless | 1m=7 rough · 2m=6 workable, but definitely not great | Shit packaging. |
| Astra Platinum | 1m=6 kinda shit, but I wasn’t careful · 1m=6 still shit | Shit packaging. |
| Fresh | 1m=6 ugh · 1h=9 after a shower, how odd! | |
| Gilette Silver Blue | 1h=9 | Not enough testing done. Shit packaging. |
The first set of reviews ∞
I bought a huge sample pack from fendrihan.com to try various different blades. I knew there would be cheap and poor blades. I knew there would be too-sharp blades that would ruin my skin. I hoped to find a balance between effectiveness and gentleness, and between the price and number of shaves.
key:
- The number is the use.
1is the first use,2is the second, etc. -
The letter is the amount of hair.
lis light,mis medium,his heavy.
| Brand | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Merkur Super / MK-911 | 1h=9 · 2h=8 · 3m=7 · 4h=7 | Forgiving. |
| Flying Eagle | 1=0 absolutely terribly dull | |
| Astra Stainless | Quite sharp, but doesn’t survive past a single heavy shave. | Shit packaging. |
| Astra Platinum | 1=10 · 2h=10 · 1h=9 | Shit packaging. |
| Derby Extra | 1h=4 | |
| Feather Hi-Stainless | 1m=4 | |
| Feather New Hi-Stainless | 1m=4 | |
| Fresh | 1m=5 | |
| Dorco Platinum st-301 | 1h=9 · 2l=6 | |
| Wilkinson Sword | 1m=7 · 2h=5 |
poked
I have my top three and can close this project.