Review on 🪒 Enhance Your Shaving Experience with Double Edge Razor Blade Sample Pack (3x Each) by Sara Reyes

I never thought I'd be the guy to review a safety razor sampler set. But here we are. I've been shaving with the same 1960's Gillette Red Tip butterfly razor since my dad gave it to me 25 years ago. (RIP Mountain Man) I used to settle for these double edged safety razors I had at my local store/supermarket. Just before the pandemic, I moved from a big city where I could easily find blades to a small college town. Shaving frequency dropped to about every three days over the years, then COVID kicked in and I shaved less once a week. So the fact that the Blades were becoming increasingly difficult to find was mitigated by the fact that they needed to be found less and less. Eventually, the local Kroger, the last survivor, stopped wielding Double Edge blades altogether. Cannot switch to disposable. I use them when I travel and they are so so so bad. I see the amount of dead skin that comes off when I use my safety razor and I know I get a free scrub thanks to the deal ;) With everything reopening due to COVID restrictions I figured I would give daily shave it again. It was a lot of fun being with him again. I wanted to find a good brand or two to use before buying a large batch and I found this sampler interesting - with a few brands I was familiar with and many I wasn't. I have no special training. In fact, I only used good soaps for many years. I'm using Gillette shaving cream from the jar again. But I started using a drop of skin lotion with a few drops of cedar oil to lube my face a little beforehand and a drop of isopropyl alcohol to see how badly the shave had scratched the skin in a way I didn't afterwards could see. The hair follicles on my face are spaced apart, but each one is quite thick. So, with less sharp blades, twitching becomes a big problem, and bumps and razor burn can also be a problem. In other words, I need a sharp blade, but I can make a decent living with it. I will use more or less in ascending order of quality. Vidyut Supermax: The worst blade I've ever used. Don't use them. Simply not. Give them to the friend you want to lose. They even feel cheap coming out of the newspaper. They cut so miserably that I have to do a lot of buffing to get a decent cut, which means razor burn and bumps afterwards. . I have found that this is not the case! Derby Premium sucks. Supplements will help you in a pinch. Not particularly sharp and definitely not durable, but they didn't cause any problems. They weren't impressive and only lasted a few shaves. I wouldn't recommend them, but at least they can smooth you out a few times. Shark Super Stainless: Shark was one of the brands I didn't know about. The first blade really impressed me. But the following were slightly better than average. I don't know why, but the first blade felt very sharp. It was an outlier. This is a definite step up from the Derby and I would say I usually shave three times with them and they still cut well when I smash them. Nothing special, but decently sharp, decently durable. Not a particularly "smooth" blade if that's your thing. It's not mine, so I was probably more tolerant of her aggressiveness than most people. This blade isn't for everyone, but there's probably someone who loves it, and rightly so. Dorco St301: I've heard of Dorco but never worked with it. On the contrary, Sharks' first blade SUCKS, not much better than Vidyut's. But the 2nd and 3rd places were a nice step back! Durability is the same as Sharks - 3 shaves, 4 if you're lucky. But they are both smoother and more efficient than the Sharks. I ended up liking the Dorcos and if that was all I got to use I wouldn't feel cheated. We're starting to move into "good shave” territory. Wilkinson Sword: I've used them before and always liked them. Clean shave. Like Dorcos, it doesn't look aggressive, but it does an equally good job of "sharpness" - maybe two or three passes and some polish needed for a really close shave. What sets swords apart, however, is that they are the strongest blade in the bunch. I think I got 6 maybe 7 shaves from what I used from this pack. After that week they still had a bit of life without grinding or burning - and I changed the same amount because it was a known amount and I wanted to try different ones. If you are looking for an above average shave and a long lifespan, this is the blade for you. Astra Platinum: As with Dorcos, I've heard of it but never used it. They have also become more recommendable. And they were not disappointed. For me these were the second sharpest blades in the group behind Feathers and the shaving experience was really great. They're fairly smooth, but sharp enough to do most of the work in one pass. They were average in terms of durability, I can shave 4 times reliably with the blade. But once they start working, they'll let you know, and fast. Feather New Hi Stainless: Considered the world's sharpest publicly available blade. And that's for sure. If you are not an experienced razor, you can cut yourself with it. There really is a big gap between the next sharper blade in this set and the nib. For more experienced shavers, the legend of the BBS one-pass shave is just around the corner. And it also made "shaving" more comfortable. They were definitely not as "smooth" as the asters, you could feel the sharpness. They lasted me 4-5 shaves. I could probably increase that by 1 or 2 if I wanted to, but they definitely didn't have the toughness of Wilkinson swords. So you go I hope this helps someone find the right blade for them.