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What blade should I try next in my new Red Tip?

JayDee

JayDee

Member
The story so far... I've got a Slim that just works great for me set on about 5 when using a Spoiler or a vintage Schick. For absolutely no reason at all, I grabbed a Red Tip off Mark a couple of weeks ago. According to the specs I'd seen on this Interwebz thingy, it should have provided a similar aggressiveness to a Slim on about 4 or 5. Nah, for some reason it shaves (with a Spoiler loaded) like a Slim on 7 or 8 which is a bit aggressive for me. As I want the Red Tip to be used, it's time to find the right tool for the job.

So I replaced the Spoiler with an Astra SP. A match made in heaven! Just enough lack of sharpness to negate the aggressive Red Tip yet still provide a mighty nice shave. The Astra was my first DE blade so I've always used it as my benchmark yet it wasn't a great blade in the Slim, whatever the setting. Horses for courses I guess. Last shave I loaded a Swede in the Red Tip and thought it was an inferior blade. I won't be scouring Ebay looking for NOS of them!

What I'm looking for is any suggestions regarding blades that might work well with the Red Tip (for me). I guess I could just buy a heap of Astras and be happy but being somewhat OCD like most people here, I'm looking for that something that is 1% better! :weird: I've got at least one of the following modern blades, so which one will be that 1% better?

Shark - it has it fans here but was crappy in my Slim
Red IP
Crystal
Derby
Feather - Maybe in the Slim on 2!!
Polsilver
Merkur
53 year old carbon steel Gillette Thin - think I'll save that for removing my rego sticker!

Thoughts?
 
As a fellow Red Tip fan (and Astra SP fan), I would try the Derby and the Polsilver next.

The Feather works, but I didn't find it to be a great match with the Red Tip. I can't remember if I've tried a Shark in it- that would be...interesting. The others I have no experience with.

I can also recommend Rapiras as a good match (sort of a cheaper version of Astras in some ways). Do you have any of these? If not, I would be happy to PIF a few your way.
 
Thanks for the kind offer mr626 but I'll pass on the Rapiras if they are Astra wannabees. I was thinking of the Red IPs next as they are supposed to be fairly mild and smooth.
 
In my view it is very much a case of a blade/razor combo working together.

Some of my blades work well in some razors and not in others.

There is no rhyme or reason that I can tell but it is obviously down to exposure and head design although subtle things like weight and balance would also play a part as they impact on technique.

Just try a few and if you want to be CDO (Compulsive Disorder - Obsessive, OCD re-arranged into alphabetical order) keep a shave journal with the results!
 
Mark, I think I should copy and paste your last post to a friend of mine who is a Shrink... He'll get rich and famous writing a thesis about people who are so OCD that they cant even stand the arrangement of the letters... And you'll still have OCD... or maybe CDO.. or maybe BYO.. or maybe LOL... :omg:
 
JayDee said:
Mark, I think I should copy and paste your last post to a friend of mine who is a Shrink... He'll get rich and famous writing a thesis about people who are so OCD that they cant even stand the arrangement of the letters... And you'll still have OCD... or maybe CDO.. or maybe BYO.. or maybe LOL... :omg:
Click to expand...

LOL - reminds me of when I was doing my masters and the sociology lecturer was talking about perceptions and ways of thinking. He used the old, some people describe the glass as half full others as half empty thing.

I piped up and suggested that alternatively you just had more glass than was necessary.

He stopped mid sentence for what seemed like hours then just said 'good point' and moved to a completely different topic. He kept raising the 'more glass' notion at odd times for the rest of the semester. He was clearly flummoxed! :P
 
Gave a Red IP a whirl this morning and was quite pleased with it. Wouldn't say it was better than the Astra but definitely not worse.
 
JayDee said:
Mark, I think I should copy and paste your last post to a friend of mine who is a Shrink... He'll get rich and famous writing a thesis about people who are so OCD that they cant even stand the arrangement of the letters... And you'll still have OCD... or maybe CDO.. or maybe BYO.. or maybe LOL... :omg:
Click to expand...

I would have thought with Mark and the way he spends on his compulsions it should be COD :)
 
Q "What blade should I try next in my new Red Tip?"
A: All of them, and journal entries as Mark suggested.

We're all interested in reading reviews of blade/razor combo's.
 
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