Gollnick
Musical Director
- Joined
- Mar 22, 1999
- Messages
- 29,258
I have just completed twenty shaves over twenty days with five Astra Superior Platinum blades. Five shaves used Wars shaving cream. Five uses Classic Shaving Soap. And five used soap from The Gentleman's Quarter. All twenty used a Merkur Futur razor. I've read several very favorable reviews of these blades and was eager to try them. Some reviewers have compared them favorably to the legendary Feather.
I started out with the Futur set on two and varied the setting at first but found that 2.5 was right.
Using five blades for twenty shaves gives a good perspective on a blade type.
Astra blades showed a definite preference for soap over cream but seemed to do equally well with Classic and Gentleman's Quarter.
Seven of the ten edges on my five blades were quite good, the sort of shave where you wonder if, maybe, you got the angle completely wrong or even forgot to put a blade in because you encounter no resistance at all. But then, when you rub your hand over your face, you realize that you did, indeed, have a blade in the razor and got the right angle; the blade just cut away the beard with no effort at all.
BUT, the other three edges were not so good. One was so bad that I abandoned it mid-shave. The other two I completed a few shaves with each, but had to force myself to endure. One shouldn't have to do either of those things. It felt as if these bad edges were somewhat serrated. They caught up and bound and stuck and even cut me.
I also didn't like the fact that the corners on Astra blades seem less rounded than others. That sharp corner can be a source of cuts too.
After my last Astra shave, I reverted to a Bic Chrome Platinum and my conclusions about the Astras were immediately confirmed: not as good as Bic. About one-in-ten Bic edges will, in my experience, be sub-par. But that's much better consistency than Astra. And the best Astra edge is inferior to a good Bic edge.
So, I'm sticking with Bic as my number-one pick.
I started out with the Futur set on two and varied the setting at first but found that 2.5 was right.
Using five blades for twenty shaves gives a good perspective on a blade type.
Astra blades showed a definite preference for soap over cream but seemed to do equally well with Classic and Gentleman's Quarter.
Seven of the ten edges on my five blades were quite good, the sort of shave where you wonder if, maybe, you got the angle completely wrong or even forgot to put a blade in because you encounter no resistance at all. But then, when you rub your hand over your face, you realize that you did, indeed, have a blade in the razor and got the right angle; the blade just cut away the beard with no effort at all.
BUT, the other three edges were not so good. One was so bad that I abandoned it mid-shave. The other two I completed a few shaves with each, but had to force myself to endure. One shouldn't have to do either of those things. It felt as if these bad edges were somewhat serrated. They caught up and bound and stuck and even cut me.
I also didn't like the fact that the corners on Astra blades seem less rounded than others. That sharp corner can be a source of cuts too.
After my last Astra shave, I reverted to a Bic Chrome Platinum and my conclusions about the Astras were immediately confirmed: not as good as Bic. About one-in-ten Bic edges will, in my experience, be sub-par. But that's much better consistency than Astra. And the best Astra edge is inferior to a good Bic edge.
So, I'm sticking with Bic as my number-one pick.
