Bolzanos, Souplex

[Drubbing]

Thought I would try a few different blades and the Bolzanos seemed well regarded.

Pretty meh for me. A tad sharper than Reds and pretty smooth. Nowhere near as sharp as any reviewers make out - such is the ymmv with blades. Souplex seem to be a bit sharper still, but neither approach the sharpness of Astras. Quite usable blades, but not what I'm looking for, which is something as smooth as Astras, but sharper.

The Timors are next, but being a Soligen blade like the others, I'm expecting more of the same.

 

[$qwuzzy]

I'm using Bolzanos at the moment. Lovely them! I've found them a great combination of smooth and sharp.
In fact slipped one into my brand new Muhle r41 - lovely. Found it easier/closer and had less cuts than I've had while using my Merkur barber poll. Although only the first shave this morning, so will have to keep going this week.

So you prefer the Persona Israeli Reds?
'Cause I've got some on the way!!!!

 

[Drubbing]

Don't really prefer Reds, they're comfy, but not very sharp for me, I use them in the Futur, which has a bit of weight behind it. They're popular though.

 

[$qwuzzy]

Well the reds arrived today. Should be interesting to try.

So any opinions on the Bolzanos on second go?
I should go back and retry the Astras - haven't used them in a long time. Much better technique now (well - the fact I have some at all is a change!).

 

[Drubbing]

So any opinions on the Bolzanos on second go?
I should go back and retry the Astras - haven't used them in a long time. Much better technique now (well - the fact I have some at all is a change!).

Nope Bolz are average for me. Tried the Timors and they have some potential. Needs to run a few shaves with them, but these might be pretty good.

 

[Pjotr]

They all seem pretty much of a muchness to me. Personally I don't think I'd be able to tell which blade I've got in there. I'd probably pick a Feather but the rest..... If like me you throw'm after two shaves I'm sure even the Mongolian sweatshop specials should be OK. Unlike SE blades. Some do 10 or more shaves with them. I'm aiming for 6.

 

[JugV2]

I'm noticing the difference between blades. I notice it on things like the jawline and chin. Some blades do well there and others are crap.

I'm using a Personna medical at the moment. First shave with it today was really smooth, but it felt like it wanted a bit of pressure applied.

 

[Drubbing]

They all seem pretty much of a muchness to me. Personally I don't think I'd be able to tell which blade I've got in there. I'd probably pick a Feather but the rest..... If like me you throw'm after two shaves I'm sure even the Mongolian sweatshop specials should be OK. Unlike SE blades. Some do 10 or more shaves with them. I'm aiming for 6.

The problem is you're spending so much time reknotting 13.5mm loft boars you've no time left to work on your lather, which clearly sucks.

It really depends on what blades you've tried - some are quite samey. I find a clear difference between Reds and Astras. Reds aren't particularly sharp, but are comfy and you can work them hard. Astras noticeably sharper. Feathers are easily pickable as ultra sharp. That, and the blood and raw face...

I'm liking these Timors a lot. 3 shaves and no sign of any slowing down; still sharp, still very smooth. A couple more and I'll be like Kramer whooping it up in the demo car on a test drive, and seeing how far he can get before it runs out of fuel.

I'm not fussed on saving blades, but if a blade is going to be good for 5 shaves, more often than not, I'll use it that long. Only the Reds go that far for me, and by the third shave I want something sharper, so toss them. Besides, if I get more of these they'll have to come from Ireland, so they'd want to last a while.

 

[Pjotr]

.........Besides, if I get more of these they'll have to come from Ireland.......

Postage from Ireland? That's two months at least. You'll be a quivering wreck by the time those turn up. Let me see, what have I shaved with to date. Feathers, Merkur, Personna Platinum, Iridium Super, Crystal and Wilkinson Sword. And more and more with GEM single edge blades. It's got for "Industrial Use Only" written on the box. Hmmmmm let me see, shall I scrape the windows or that patch of paint I spilt on the floorboards? No, I'll seriously run these suckers across my face at a 20 degree angle at least three times and see what happens. It's wicked.

 

[Drubbing]

You know Merkurs suck? Personnas are MOR, Crystals are probably the same thing, and Wilks, say no more. I know the blades are personal experiences, but I don't think you tried enough. Iridiums are supposed to be super duper - you could pick that one couldn't you?

 

[Monsta_AU]

I'm liking these Timors a lot. 3 shaves and no sign of any slowing down; still sharp, still very smooth. A couple more and I'll be like Kramer whooping it up in the demo car on a test drive, and seeing how far he can get before it runs out of fuel.

I'm not fussed on saving blades, but if a blade is going to be good for 5 shaves, more often than not, I'll use it that long. Only the Reds go that far for me, and by the third shave I want something sharper, so toss them. Besides, if I get more of these they'll have to come from Ireland, so they'd want to last a while.

Glad you are enjoying the suggestion of the Timors. Would you say that my "almost as sharp as a Feather but much smoother" review was about on the money? I only used one blade and really liked it. I've got 200 here, so if you need some in a hurry let me know. You can swap me the Bolz for a pack

Postage from Ireland? That's two months at least. You'll be a quivering wreck by the time those turn up.

9 business days. Chris is awesome.

Let me see, what have I shaved with to date. Feathers, Merkur, Personna Platinum, Iridium Super, Crystal and Wilkinson Sword. And more and more with GEM single edge blades. It's got for "Industrial Use Only" written on the box. Hmmmmm let me see, shall I scrape the windows or that patch of paint I spilt on the floorboards? No, I'll seriously run these suckers across my face at a 20 degree angle at least three times and see what happens. It's wicked.

Which Wilks did you try? Noth the Brazillian crap they sell here I hope. They only just beat the Merkurs and cost double! The Personna Red/Platinum are reasonable performers for me but they certainly don't excite. The Crystals are better for me, but only 10% better.

Think you need to try some Gillettes, there's GBE's and Yellows in your future I feel.

I know the blades are personal experiences, but I don't think you tried enough.

Absolutely, I am still trying to get through some of mine. Shark SS have not been used yet plus a bunch of others. I have Barber and Medical Personnas I want to try but I won't get to those for another 6 weeks at least!

 

[Drubbing]

Glad you are enjoying the suggestion of the Timors. Would you say that my "almost as sharp as a Feather but much smoother" review was about on the money? I only used one blade and really liked it. I've got 200 here, so if you need some in a hurry let me know. You can swap me the Bolz for a pack

So far, I think I can agree with the review. We'll see how shave 4 goes.

Done. The Bolz were ok, but take or leave for me. Only used one. I'll toss in a mystery freebie or more, as the bolz come in 5s I think...

Wouldn't mind trying a pack of GBE and Gillete blacks if you can spare... Happy to trade, but I don't have much - Greens, Crystals, Treets,

 

[Pjotr]

I've still got Derby, Dorco, Lord and Astra to try. I thought the Iridiums were good but then I wasn't sure if this was because everybody raves about them. They're double wrapped and they've got dobs of glue on them to hold the wrapping in place. Unwrapping them is worthy of a little youtube video! Didn't appreciate the glue though. Why do I get the feeling that the objectivity in the assessment of blades, like many other consumer products, is challenged by factors such as price and availablity. For instance Merkurs are very expensive and easily available so therefore they're almost universally condemned. Iridiums are not commercially available, have become almost collectors items and are therefore excellent blades. Dorcos, aside from the unfortunate name, are very cheap and available so they're crap. Just thought I'd throw this in to the mix to get a bit of lively discussion happening.

SE is really so much easier. Three blades to choose from of which one is carbon steel and really not worth the effort as they rust during a shave. Two, maybe three brands of razors with possibly a dozen models and that's it.

 

[Drubbing]

I've not tried Iridiums but most blades I have tried are as freely available as Merkur's. I tried a Merk a few weeks ago to see if it was a bad as I thought it was. It wasn't, but my last shave with it was during learning. Still not a good blade, reasonably sharp, but rough and scratchy. No way deserving of their cost.

But what you're suggesting does happen. But as usual, it's the yanks that are guilty. Witness the Cade frenzy of 2010. A L'Occitane shop assistant tells a cade customer the soap is being discontinued, and people start emailing head office, HO says, er, no we're still going to sell it. Email is posted on the frenzy thread on B&B. Bah! they say, that's what they all say just before they stop making it. The thread grows, people hear about Cade for the first time. Ye Gods! I haven't even got to try this yet and it's finished. I must get out and empty my local store of all their stock. One guy is hoarding about 10 or more pucks.

The same happened when the Cade AS was actually discontinued. The fans emptied their local stores, and the groupies wept in their Lilac Veg that the bastards didn't leave any for them. I tell you, for a friendly forum, you can tell a lot of them are the sorts of people that would throw the women and children behind them in the New Years sales. So long as you call every one a Gentleman, apparently, that'd be ok.

 

[Pjotr]

I've not tried Iridiums but most blades I have tried are as freely available as Merkur's. I tried a Merk a few weeks ago to see if it was a bad as I thought it was. It wasn't, but my last shave with it was during learning. No way deserving of their cost..........

That's half my problem. Most of the time I was happy if I didn't have to reach for the blood serum bag. There's this poster on B&B who very kindly offers his you beaut excel spreadsheet for evaluating blades to all newcomers. Well meant but a daft idea. Blade sample packs are good if you know how to shave. But really of no value until you're a few months in.

I'm tending towards shaving every other day now, having got over the initial wet shaving re-discovery excitement. My skin loves it by the way and if you want a real cure for those persistent little "nick spots" this is it. With my modest stash of 100 SE blades and my woeful, pathetic collection of 50 odd DE blades I've still got enough to last for years. Say 6 shaves/SE and 2 shaves/DE and 200 shaves a year so QED, I've got enough to last 4 years. I'm not exactly in a hurry. Same with soaps/creams. My appalling little collection of readily available gear will last me years. I think that's what people in this "hobby" are scared of. The prospect of using one soap/blade for the next two years when there is so much out there to choose from just encourages you towards either hording loads of different gear or a constant and equally expensive cycle of buying and selling. Throw in a bit of collectability and possible discontinuation of "desirable" products and it can get very sad very quickly. I'm resisting the urge to order a stick of Speick from Menzbiz. Doesn't cost much. Nor did that badger knot I ordered just yesterday. That Vulfix brush I got the day before yesterday was a real investment not an expense. 100 SE blades? 27c/blade is just pure and simple economics........

 

[Drubbing]

Well, you're rambling a bit there, so I can't help you, but you do tend to do that.

If you're still getting cut and nicks I'd suggest investing a bit of time in lathering practice - look for that glossy, yogurty slickness with minimal or fine bubbles. I'm all for minimalism (even if only in a lapsed idealist kind of way...), but I think the Speick is an excellent investment to do this with. If I were honest - and most of the time I can be - I think my lathering ability has really only got really good the last few months. That's a worrying thought for those just starting out, so I don't mention it much. I may be a slow learner, or just picky.

What I mean is though - I could get a good lather before, but it seems to have got so much better of late. I think boars have made me look more carefully at how its done. They hold more water, so if you get your ratios wrong, so you can make some crap stuff. I'm not badger bashing, but they make it pretty easy, and I can safely say I never loaded mine enough. Because of the copious production of the Rooney, I'd only load the soap for maybe 6 swirls? Enough to make a lot of lather that looks good, but not enough to make a slick lather that needs plenty of water.

I even got a ridicuously slick lather from Cade thing morning (coincidentally, given this chat), and I had pretty much consigned that to the meh bin. I haven't used it for months. No matter what I did, the Rooney seemed to make it too fluffy, and the boars just didn't get it where I wanted it. Other soaps did without the effort, so I didn't bother with it.

I know I'm being picky. But what I'm saying in my rambling Pjotr-like way, is that if the lather is good, I can get a blood free result from any blade, even if the blade doesn't return the closeness I like for the effort used.

I disagree a sampler is only for the practiced - you're suggesting the differences are minimal and only eeked out with good, consistent technique. I think there's some truth in that, but you need to find a blade that does what you want, without any negatives. Blades and soap are really small outlays, It's the hardware that can cost silly money.

 

[Pjotr]

Rambling? Let me remind you, sir, who put me on to this addictive passtime. I think I've just developed a few razor bumps which tend to dissapear if you decrease shaving frequency. No more nicks now. Also find that the end product is a lot better after a day's break. Almost forget to put aftershave on and when I do there's not much in the way of the usual burning sensation which is a good sign. I don't think I've got problems with lather. I use my face as the bowl so with soaps in particular it's a bit hit and miss how much you put on. I just rub the stick all over my face and just keep adding water in the brush until it's the right consistency. I think if somebody gave me one of those pucks I'd take it out of it's bowl and rub it on my face like a shave stick. Or if that's not possible stick my chin in the bowl. I've been getting the offers of razors for the cost of shipping. It's easy to accumulate lots of hardware if you want.

 

[~Spyne~]

I've also been trying out the Bolz from Monsta's super-sampler and as with many of the other guys, i'm finding them pretty 'meh'.
Not as sharp, and not as smooth as the Astras i started DE shaving with.
I've also been through some 7O'Clock Greens, both the Indian and Russian and really didn't like them.
The 7O'Clock Yellows were OK. Got better after the first shave.

Might have to try the 7O'Clock Black next and then a Personna Red perhaps. Then back to an Astra and see if my memory of them is still accurate.

 

[pablo_h]

If you are trying them all in the same razor, odds are some will just not work, some 'meh' some perfect.
I did buy a heap of blades when first starting out. Heaps of sampler packs, and a few in bulk.
After trying a lot I bought in bulk the red pack personnas, the astras, feathers and israeli super platinum personnas/crystals.

The red pack personnas aren't the sharpest, they are smooth though. They need a bit of weight and effort behind them, perfect for the vintage gillette adjustable, not bad in a red tip super speed. Should be OK in a mdedium to light aggressive razor with some weight behind them. I never expect a BBS shave from them, just a quick, cut free rushed morning shave before work.
The israelis wouldn't work in anything but a vintage open comb, but they work awesome in that case, maybe the best combo ever.
Feathers I only use in mild solid safety bar razors, open comb would be a disaster IMO, but a vintage tech, regular superspeed, aristocrat or a mild modern razor would suit them well if you have tough skin and a wiry beard.

The astras impressed me the most and work in nearly everything. For the price and availability you can't go wrong. I haven't tried every blade, but I've tried every modern gillette available (some good, some bad, but price and availability puts me of even the good ones). Don't like dorco or derby. BICs are OK, but not cheap enough to care about them. KAIs are OK, but like feathers, don't use the mild solid safety bar razor enough to want heaps of them. Tried an iridium, wasn't that impressed. Tried german WS, not impressed for the price.
I haven't tried the multitudes of indian/asian/flavour of the month medical blades though, and I feel I don't need to.
I base my purchases on price and easy availability, there's not point hunting further.

If you have a heavy razor with medium aggressiveness, try the red pack personna
If you have an open comb, give the israeli platinum/crystal a shot
If you are using a non aggressive razor like a solid safety bar TTO or vintage Gillette Tech or clone, try feather and KAI./ Gillette Yellows are about as good, but even harder to buy than these, but is a smoother blade and almost as sharp. edit: I'd say the astras are about here, a budget gillette yellow I think they are made in the same factory?
If you have a medium razor (for weight/aggressiveness) Astra are the best bet (some might be better, like some gillettes, but they cost more and aren't as readily available)

That's just my experience based on razors alone, on top of that everyones own preference is different! But at the end of the day, best to stick with what you can easily, cheaply, and quickly just order or buy anyway, rather than sample every blade out there that may have stocks drying up, pricing going up, have to order from overseas or ebay only etc.