Razor Blades Club Double Edge Razor Blade Sample Pack (2x each)

Whether you are new to a double edge razor or have never explored the differences in shaves from different brands, I Highly recommend a sample pack and this one contains a good variety of the top, popular brands and and levels of aggressive cuts. I got this pack about 6 months after transitioning to a double-edged razor. I had been using disposable safety razors for almost 40 years and got a shaving set for a present. I didn't like the experience of shaving with a single blade double edged razor at first, the disposables really allow you to be sloppy with your technique where as the DE razor requires you to learn some finesse. Now I would never go back to a disposable and have found a some brands/styles that fit my beard and shaving technique. The pack comes with two of each brand/style and (particularly if new to DE razors) I would highly recommend trying each blade as a set before breaking out 2nd blades. My shaving style greatly improved over the course of trying out this pack so blades I may have liked or disliked during the first run through I had a completely different opinion of the 2nd time through. Also, push the blades to see how many shaves you can get out of a blade before the performance becomes unacceptable. Some blades I found gave a great smooth/close shave on the first shave but got dull quickly after just 2 or 3 shaves. A couple brands gave me a consistent shave for 4 or 5 shaves and even then could have been used for several more in a pinch. KEEP NOTES - you won't remember your experience after months of experimenting. A couple of experience from the 2nd blade were so different (probably from my technique improving) that I wouldn't have recognized my description as being of the same brand/style. Conclusion: All double edged razor blades are not the same and different beards and skin characteristics will affect your experience of each. Because of that I'm not going to sway your evaluation with my own experience (and there are great reviews of all of them on shaving sites). I can also tell you that if you are new to shaving with a double edge razor, going through this sample pack will really give you a good understanding for not just blades but also dialing in the perfect technique. I had a bunch of blades that I hated the first pass through the set, but by the time I got around to my 2nd run-through (with the 2nd blade) my technique had gotten so much better that I had a completely different experience and more positive opinion.

As others have done, I'll update this after I try each blade. I've used Merkur blades almost exclusively for the last year, since Iwas able to find them on sale, but I bought a razor set for my brother and wanted to give him a few blades to try, so I ordered this pack, figuring with two of each blade, I can keep one of each and still have plenty to send. Seller was fine and product arrived as advertised, so no issues there. I will update this weekly and detail my experience with each blade I find value packs of different products to be really beneficial, which allows you to see which suits your needs the best, hence the 5 stars, but I might amend at a later date. Razor is a Merkur 38C, a Parker semi-slant, or a Game Changer 0.84, and soaps are whatever I use that day, but mostly Proraso menthol and eucalyptus, Pre de Provence 63, or some other soap that has goat milk and shea butter (I really like it, but I received it as a gift and I have no idea who made it) Astra: I used the Astra with my Parker Semi-slant and If I were grading the Astra, I'd give it a D (I admit it could be the blade, the razor, or the combination of the two). In all my time using the Merkur blades, I've never nicked my face. Swap to the Astra and I've bled more in the last 3 days than I ever have shaving in the last 25+ years. I don't know if it's me suddenly using bad form, or if the Astra blades are more aggressive than the Merkur, but it has butchered my face and left me with a lot of irritation. Perhaps I received a bad blade, but all 3 shaves with the Astra were unpleasant. On my third shave, the blade felt a bit dull. It handled fine stubble well, but I felt like I had a bit more drag and pull. After only 3 shaves, I expected the blade to hold its edge better, since I can typically get 5 out of a Merkur before I replace the blade. I know the reviews are generally very positive on the Astra, but it didn't do it for me. Feather: Not my first time shaving with Feather blades and, as always, I had a fantastic shave. No drag. No pull. Very little irritation. Cuts through three days of growth with ease. If my past experience is any indication, I can expect to get about five to six shaves with the Feather, and sure enough, the Feather got me six good shaves! I've always paired it with my Merkur and saw no reason to change that this week I actually went two weeks with the Feather and it performed flawlessly! A+ Voskhod: This was my first time using these, but I had seen overwhelmingly positive reviews on them. Now I see why! I used these with my Merkur. First pass left me feeling like I could stop right there! I touched my face and was impressed by how smooth my face was, and that was with 3 days off beard growth! Second pass took care of anything I missed the first time and left me with that "baby butt smooth" shave we're all looking for. I will be definitely be buying these in the future! A+ so far. I'll report back on longevity. Edit: I just finished my fourth shave with the Voskhod blade and I think I could possibly get one more shave out of it, but that's it. I started to feel some pull. First pass wasn't nearly as smooth as my previous shaves, so you end up taking more passes to clean up, which results in irritation. I think these are excellent the first time or two. Very good for the third shave, but by the fourth, it's losing its edge. This is all dependent on your beard, of course. Still a great blade, in my opinion, and for the price (I just bought 100 for $8!!), I wouldn't mind swapping them out every two or three shaves. Personna - No. Just no. It felt like I was dragging a rusty lawnmower blade across my face. New blade, three days of growth, and I swear, a spoon would've been sharper. I felt irritation after my first pass. After two passes, my face was on fire. It felt like I was yanking my facial hair out instead of shaving. Edit: Here's what's funny; shaves two and three got progressively better than the first. I still experience more irritation with Personna than any other blade, but it really felt better yesterday and today than it did the first shave. I've heard other people say the same about other blades, that the first shave wasn't good, but subsequent shaves got noticeably better. I just never experienced that until now. I still wouldn't buy them, but the Persona isn't as bas as I originally thought it was. Dorco - Today was the first time I had used this blade and I was pleasantly surprised. I paired this with my Game Changer .84 razor and attacked four days of growth. The Dorco cut through the growth with ease. There was no pulling, no tugging, nothing. I had to make three passes to get everything and I was left with a bit of irritation, mostly on my neck, but overall a pleasant shave. I didn't feel any burning until I used my alum block. I'll see how the edge holds up over the next few days, but I was really impressed... until I just finished my third shave with the Dorco and I haven't butchered my face this badly since using the Astra blade. First shave was ok. Second was ok. Third? More irritation than all the other blades combined and more small nicks across my face and neck than I've had lately. I guess if I were to swap out the blades after every shave or every other shave I'd be ok, but to me, it's not worth it when some blades can go four to six shaves for not much more cost. Wilkinson Sword - I was pleasantly surprised! My first shave was really nice. My second shave was really equally close. Very little irritation. No nicks. I'll update with the longevity after a couple more shaves, but so far, this wasn't bad! I used the Sword for 4 shaves. The first three were pretty good. The fourth wasn't as good, but still not terrible. I did nick myself on shaves 3 and 4 and I felt like I had to go over the same part of my face an extra pass or two, which added to the irritation, but overall it wasn't terrible. Shark - Meh. First shave: Merkur razor, three days of growth, and the blade grabbed and pulled more than it cut. It felt like a hundred little hands tugging at my whiskers, but what was odd is I was surprisingly smooth with very little irritation, in spite of needing three passes to feel smooth. Second shave, same thing. It's weird that I'm satisfied with the outcome, but the process leaves much to be desired. I wouldn't buy these again, but at the same time I think if you have a fine beard, you might enjoy these. Gillette Silver Blue - Wow! First shave was impressive! No tugging, surprisingly sharp. It cut through three days of growth with ease. After two passes, most of my face was smooth with just some minor "sandpaper feel", for lack of a better term, under my jaw line, which is normal for me. A quick third pass along the jaw line took care of it and I was left with a close, smooth shave with local irritation. If these blades can give me a week's worth of shaves, which for me is 4 shaves, I'd look into picking up a pack! And it did give me a week's worth of shaves. It was still really sharp at the end and it would be a fine blade to include in my rotation if it weren't for the cost. I picked up a pack of 100 Voskhod blades for $8. 100 of the Gillette Silver Blue would be over twice that amount ($18/100). Stil far better than any cartridge razors and shaving for about a year for $18 is still really inexpensive, but if I find an equally impressive blade for less, that's where I'm looking. Derby - Wow!! I was VERY impressed with the Derby! I took Wednesday off, so the blade was tackling four days of growth. The Derby cut through it like nothing! Even better was I only needed two passes to get that "baby butt smooth" shave. Very minimal razor burn/irritation when I was done. I'm hoping they last a few more shaves. They also sell for $9 for 100, so you're getting a fantastic blade for a great price! Gillette Platinum - I took a week off, didn't shave once, and I thought I'd give the Gillette Platinum a try. I was VERY impressed!Very minor irritation. Super sharp blade. No tugging or pulling. It cut through about ten days of growth with ease. The only downside is they're more expensive than the other blades I've used. Treet - Surprisingly good! A little tugging, a little pulling, but nothing terrible. I had to make a couple of extra passes under my jawline to get rid of the "sandpaper", but running an alum block on my face and neck gave new very minor stinging. They aren't in the same category as the Feather, but they're not as expensive. They aren't as good as the Gillettes, but again, not in the same price range. I think the Voskhod were better, as were the Derby, but these would be in the same price range. If I hadn't liked there Voskhod so much, I would've gladly bought a bunch of Treet razors. Super Iridium - I'm fairly certain these are Polisilver. The blade is simply marked "Super Iridium Extra Stainless" and they're VERY good!! They're pricey, though (again, assuming Polsilver). Very nice shave with absolutely no irritation and just a slight pull or two on 3 days of growth. If they weren't so pricey (about $0.70 a blade), I'd buy a bunch! If you find a great deal on them, try then out. They worked very well for me! Super-Max - I believe there brand is Vidvut and these are the Super-Max stainless blades. They were pretty nice. The first shave was decent, but not great. It didn't handle 3 days of growth as well as it did the second, third, or fourth shave. That first shave had a lot of pulling and tugging, but the second and third shaves were significantly better since I wasn't cutting through longer scruff. The fourth shave was still good, but I could tell the blade was getting dull. Very minor irritation after all the shaves and it did give me a pretty close shave everyday. Bic - Aside from a Merkur blade, the Bic was the last in my sample pack. I won't review the Merkur because it's been my go-to blade for years. The Bic? No. Just, no! It seemed to do well during the first shave, albeit with only two days of growth, but it left me with more irritation than I'd felt lately. The second shave butchered my face. Ii was bleeding out of five or six nicks and I felt like my face was on fire. I didn't even try a third shave. You might've had a better shave with their cheap single blade disposables.

Nice variety pack to try different brands, Fare price, fast ship, only complaint at all is the packaging is a bit weak. They are just in a small zip bag, if that were too tare they would have been all over the place. would prefer a bit stronger package for safety, I mean they are razor blades.

Last Update - 9/25/2019 BACKGROUND: So, as another user did, I plan to share my experience with each and every brand of razor in this sample pack. ***DISCLAIMER*** I am new to DE Safety Razors so still learning, but I want to find the 'one for me'. THE PLAN: Use each razor blade for one 3-pass shave then move on to the next. I am not testing longevity, just quality of shave (# nicks, irritation, tugging, etc). Currently I am using a Weishi nostalgic butterfly razor which was ~$16 here on amazon, shave after my shower, and use pre-shave oil/shaving cream/synthetic brush. 1. Bic = 1/10. No pulling. After all 3 passes it is a very close shave. The first pass was good, but that's where it ends. After completing the 2nd pass I had almost a dozen nicks along my jawline, and after the 3rd pass I also had dozens of them scattered over half my neck and mustache area. Currently my irritation is minimal, but I just cannot use this one due to all the nicks. AWFUL. 2. Treet = 5/10. In all honesty, MUCH better than the BIC. No pulling. First pass left lots of stubble on my neck, but after all 3 I’m like 95% Baby-butt smooth. So maybe not the best if you only have time for one pass. Currently very minimal irritation, and only about half a dozen nicks in total. From what I hear there are better blades out there, so for now this sits comfortably in the middle. 3. Voskhod = (4/10) No pulling. Still stubble on my neck after three passes. Minimal irritation. A dozen nicks across chin, neck, and around my mouth leading to lots of unsightly red bumps that are turning into ingrown hairs. Nothing to write home about. I need to wait a few days for the cuts to heal before doing next blade. 4. PolSilver = (5/10) Basically same similar to the Treet for me. Almost no irritation, smooth after three passes, but half a dozen nicks on the neck. No pulling. 5. Dorco = (2/10). Simply put... JUST AS BAD AS BIC. Ended up with dozens and DOZENS of cuts, but just not as many as BIC. Felt some tugging when I shaved. First pass was good, but 2nd and 3rd were very reminiscent of the BIC. I had the gentlest touch but could just FEEL the blade catching on my skin and cutting anything that wasn’t perfectly flat skin...Can’t recommend this due to the number of cuts. I actually have irritation with this one and still have stubble. AWFUL! 6. Derby = (6/10). So i had only a FEW nicks in total which is the fewest I’ve had to date!!! The shaving didn’t “glide”, slight slight tugging, but the 3-pass shave ended up getting very close. Some irritation. 7. Gillette Blue Silver = (7.5/10). No tugging, only a FEW nicks, minor irritation, and a baby butt smooth shave after the three pass. What set this above the derby was the closer shave while still only having like 4 nicks in total. Much more pleasant shave compared to all previous blades. Excited for the “top performers” that are coming. 8. Gillette Platinum = (9/10). At this point in time.... simply a great shave :). Basically all the same points as the Gillette Silver blue, but with only like 2 nicks post-shave. 9. Wilkinson = (9.5/10) A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Smooth. No tugging except for a teeny bit against grain on 3rd pass. NO irritation. One teeny nick that was trying to bleed, but I put on stypic pencil anyways. Baby butt smooth. Honestly idk how it gets better than this. But I hear there are still plenty more GREAT ones to come. Maybe I’ve gotten better with the technique? If not, then all I can say is this blade is forgiving. Respect the blade and it’ll respect you. I’ve really been focusing on that these last three blades and I think that’s part why my shaves (and their ratings) have been better. Also started using Taylor Of Old Bondstreet. Having a good cream is just as important as the blade. 10. Supermax = (5/10) Kind of disappointed as it seemed I was on an upslope with last three blades. half dozen nicks, some irritation, tugging, and still feel some stubble. This time I didn’t use the TOBS, but rather a pre shave oil, cream, and post shave lotion all from an Art Of Shaving kit... maybe that’s the culprit :/? Gonna keep using the TOBS here on out. 11. Feather = (6/10). Similar to derby. Close shave... half dozen nicks is just too many nicks for me though. Used TOBS too. 12. Shark = (6.5/10) I really wanted to love these because of price point, but got half dozen nicks so no good for me. Really close shave, no tugging, no irritation, felt sharp, it just kept catching and cutting me. Maybe I could have gone just a little slower, and the score may have been higher?... I might try these again down the road. 13. Astra = (8.5/10) Similar to Gillette platinum: VERY comfortable shave, no tugging, baby smooth after 3, but I have half a dozen nicks along jaw and neck :/. Im going to keep this scored high and in the ring due to how comfortable and effortless it all was. Astras are known for great quality and ~$8 for 100ct. Will re-try with my 1965 Slim boy soon. 14. Persona = (8/10) only a few nicks, felt some tugging on my neck that I didn’t feel with the astras, good blade but slight irritation. 15. Merkur = (?/10) I will only buy my blades off amazon, and at this time I only can find 30 merkur blades for $20. That price is just too steep for me even if I were to LOVE these. Maybe at a later date I will review this blade. Ok I now have my top 3: #1 Wilkinson Sword, #2 Gillette Platinum, #3 Astra). Next, I will be re-reviewing them with my 1965 Slim Boy Gillette Adjustable razor. After that I will place my order for 100 blades. Also, I will try to check longevity as well as the typical pros/cons. Thanks for taking the time to read. Hope it helped. Took me about a month to get through these. Best of luck. Remember go slow and let razor weight do the work.

As someone new to using a safety razor, I wanted to try a bunch of different blades to see which would be best for me. I have a very coarse beard and my Edwin Jagger DE89 came with a set of 5 Derby Extra blades, which I found to be decent without providing me with a top quality shave. In this review I will write my opinion of each of the blades as and when I use them for the first time, and for one shave only. I will do a standard 3 pass shave with all the blades, and am as interested in how much irritation and how many nicks I get as well as the quality of the shave. 1. Feather - I had read about these blades being very sharp and so I thought I'd start with them. They definitely provided a better quality shave for me than the Derby Extra, although it's true that they aren't as sharp as I had expected and left a little irritation and several nicks. 7/10. 2. Treet - I read about these being poor quality and even after a 3 pass shave with a new blade, I still had noticeable stubble! Not recommended, especially for more than 2 days of stubble. 3/10. 3. Shark - Again not as sharp as I had expected, but still provided a good quality shave with only a few nicks. I would say these are slightly better than Feather because they did not cause any irritation and very few nicks. 7.5/10 4. Voskhod - Pleasantly surprised with this teflon coated blade at first. However once I was done with 3 passes, some stubble on the neck remained and there was a considerable amount of irritation and a few small nicks. 4/10. 5. Personna - No nicks or irritation produced with this razor blade. Also produced a high quality close shave. Highly recommended for those of you with coarse stubble and/or sensitive skin. I even used the blade a second time with 4 day stubble and I had no nicks or irritation, as well as a very close shave. These may be the best for me going forward. 9/10. 6. Gillette Platinum - Provided a fairly close shave but also a few nicks and a good amount of irritation. They may be one of the big players but for me they do nothing to stand out above the likes of Derby. 5/10. 7. Wilkinson Sword - Seriously could not tell any difference between these and Gillette Platinum! I can't recommend either of them. 5/10. 8. BIC - My dad used BIC single blade disposable razors which I tried when I first needed to shave - even then I found them way too blunt for me. Using this blade, what started out smoothly soon turned to a nightmare! These blades seemed to do a decent job on the first pass, but during the 2nd and 3rd passes proceeded to cut my neck and chin to pieces! God awful. 1/10. 9. Derby - For comparison I tried the Derby's again. They are not really suited to coarse stubble, even after 3 passes gliding over too much of it, and yet still providing a small amount of irritation. 5/10. 10. Gillette Silver Blue - Well, they're better than Gillette Platinum in terms of the shave quality. But they did nick the hell out of my chin and irritated my face so overall are about the same. 5/10. 11. Super Max - This blade produced a very similar shave to the Feather blade. Seemed fairly dull initially but at the end I was left with a fairly close shave. However, this also came with a moderate amount of irritation and a few nicks. 6.5/10. 12. Astra - I'm sure many of you reading this will have heard that Astra blades are among the best available. Having used these I can honestly say that they were the best I have tried so far, even more so than the Personna. They even produced a very close shave with just a 2 pass (skipping the across the grain pass). Amazingly with such a close shave I also had absolutely zero nicks and barely any irritation. Awesome stuff. 9.5/10. 13. Pol Silver - After using the Astra blade I figured it would be hard to reach those standards again. This blade certainly is nowhere near up to Astra's standard. Even after a 3 pass shave with 2 days of stubble, there was still noticeable stubble left behind. Only a couple of small nicks but an uncomfortable level of irritation means I'd have to rank these near the bottom of the pile. 4/10. 14. Merkur - For some the undisputed king of razors. Personally I decided to go with Edwin Jagger for my first DE razor instead of Merkur, and so far I am happy with that decision. However the quality of this blade has perhaps influenced me that my next razor should be a Merkur product. Nice and sharp without causing too many nicks, this blade is definitely on a par with the Personna in terms of shave quality, just a little irritation stops it from being as good as the Astra for me though. 9/10. 15. Dorco - And so I reach the final blade. It's better than the Pol Silver, but that's about all I can say in it's favor. 5/10. In conclusion: - First place goes to Astra, - Second place is shared by Personna and Merkur. - Forget any of the others, they all have their faults. - I will buy a 100 pack of the Astras for $9.99 and go from there. 6 MONTHS LATER: As I pondered in my review, I decided to purchase a Merkur 23C razor, as my giant hands struggled with the short handle of the DE89. I'm still using the Astra blades which continue to be excellent, but I am also going to purchase some Merkur blades very soon. FYI if anyone is new to DE razor shaving I also use and recommend the following products: Taylor of Old Bond Street Coconut Shaving Cream: https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Old-Bond-Street-Sandalwood/dp/B008YDXM28/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1534171019&sr=1-4 Perfector Badger Hair Shaving Brush: https://www.amazon.com/Perfecto-Shaving-Brush-Black-Engineered-Straight/dp/B00VF1NI5M/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1534171134&sr=1-5 Perfecto Razor and Brush Stand: https://www.amazon.com/Perfecto-Deluxe-Chrome-Razor-Brush/dp/B00KO46CTA/ref=pd_sim_121_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00KO46CTA&pd_rd_r=a3117387-9f06-11e8-aae5-4d17ba778b12&pd_rd_w=Hjtdw&pd_rd_wg=jRXdH&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=2610440344683357453&pf_rd_r=BTPQ1Z6Z2NZ92BZTAFD9&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=BTPQ1Z6Z2NZ92BZTAFD9 Feather Razor Disposal Case: https://www.amazon.com/Feather-Styling-Razor-Disposal-Case/dp/B00DWGEY1K/ref=pd_nav_hcs_rp_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00DWGEY1K&pd_rd_r=130691b3-5ee2-431b-a438-595e0b7770f8&pd_rd_w=SX3si&pd_rd_wg=IdEEp&pf_rd_i=nav-high-confidence-slot&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3041442047518082386&pf_rd_r=9NJJTYABBM7FZK09K393&pf_rd_s=nav-high-confidence-slot&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=9NJJTYABBM7FZK09K393 American Shaving Pre Shave Oil: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072KHXMVG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1 Stainless Steel Shaving Bowl: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GUROJOY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

All blades are NOT equal! Different blades on different faces yield different results! That’s why using a sampler pack like this is GREAT! So, I have been shaving with a DE razor for about 4 months. I started out with Feather blades and quickly switched to the Viking line before getting this pack. I started out just doing one blade at a time, but changed to a “versus” technique where I would shave one side with one blade and the other with another. Here are the results. Feather- way too sharp for my skin. Multiple nicks, especially on neck area. Bolzano Superinox vs Vidyut Super-Max Bolzano Superinox- no nicks. Smoother shave every where else. Winner of the two. Rank this up by the Personna Vidyut Super-Max- a couple of nicks under the jaw line and neck. Smooth shave on cheeks, but a little rough on the chin and neck. Razor burn there. Shark- good shave. Not good AS good, Mostly under the jaw line, but that may have been because of shaving style. Van Dee Hagen Walmart German-Better shave than the Shark, but only slightly. Felt like the blade “snags” a little. Like it is not sharp enough. Tried two days in a row once on each side, and the second day I had shorter hair and it felt like it snagged a little more. Personna- definitely sharper than the Walmart brand. Very clean shave on all areas. No nicks. Best so far. Voskhod Bocxo vs Wilkinson Sword Voskhod Bocxo-Felt like it was sharper, but it didn’t shave as close. Little razor burn near the Adam’s apple. Wilkinson Sword-cleaner shave than above. Left a few small razor burns on jawline and neck. Worth testing again to see if I get the same results. Treet Platinum vs Derby Extra (L) Really not a good shave on either. Treet Platinum was the smoother of the two. It did feel like it was “shaving more”. Both had razor burn on the neck, but the Treet had a little more. Initially thought the shave was pretty good and worth another try, but the presence of redness from razor burn has me thinking not. Viking Blades. Came with my razor nice shave. Very smooth. Definitely felt like it was cutting. Small nick on the jawline. Slight razor burn down by the Adam’s apple. Gillette Platinum vs Gillette Silver Blue Actually surprised with this one. The Platinum felt like it was shaving more. No nicks and a pretty close shave. Would like to try this again vs the Personna. The Silver Blue gave me a few nicks on the neckline and re-opened another cut from the previous days shave. Wouldn’t try the Silver Blue again. BIC vs Dorco Once again, very surprised. Was expecting a bad shaving experience. Both blades shaved equally well. The BIC did leave a little more redness on the neck. I would actually try the BIC again to see if it stays in the running with Dorco vs Personna vs Gillette Platinum

About a year ago, I decided to take shaving seriously. I have mostly shaved with cartridges, but got exhausted going from 2 blades to 3 to 4 and them getting more and more expensive and had a backlog of handles and many unused cartridges, but none of the handles were compatible. I couldn't shave without investing more money in either compatible handles or more blades. Most "in the know" shavers recommended a safety razor for the cleanest and most satisfying shave, so I got these blades to find out which were best for me. Frankly, I don't find the safety razor to be a good a cartridges and the differences between blades is negligible. However I did find that using coconut oil (real coconut oil) was the "ultimate" in shave conditioner or foam. Water corrodes any blade but coconut oil preserves them, lubricates the whiskers, is therapy for my skin and smells great I am now using a rotary electric razor, shave every three or five days. It works great, just different, but, I'm happy to have arrived here after all my experimenting. I still shave with a blade from time to time, just as a "clean up" after shaving with an electric with a 5 day beard. I'm having lots of fun with it. Every time I shave I am grateful for having watched my father shave with a "straight razor" and longing for the day when I could shave and be like him. I am still that boy, hoping to someday be as Noble and wise and Loving as my Father.

Whether you are new to wet shaving or testing a new razor with different characteristics, this sample pack is a solid choice and a great value. There are so many variables to a good shave: blade sharpness, razor aggressiveness, coarseness of hair, glide and cushion of your shave soap, quality of your brush (to name a few). I first got this pack after acquiring a fairly mild butterfly razor, and identified my favorites as Astra, Derby, Personna and Voskhod. Now I'm using a more aggressive slant razor, and bought a second pack to test with it. Now I find I'm more inclined toward the sharper blades like the Feather and Merkur to go with the more aggressive hardware. Wherever your preferences lie on comfort and closeness of shave, you'll find 2 or 3 brands that work best for you before committing to a larger package of your one favorite blade.

This little variety bundle of razors is good, but two of the brands are missing - Wilkinson Sword and Feather. They happen to be two I was greatly looking forward to.

I ordered the 15x2 sampler, rather than the Silver sampler, which are both mostly the same. I expected that I might not receive the exact list of blades based upon several other reviews, and that did not worry me. I am looking for a new blade for my Rockwell razor, after finally using the blades which came with the razor, so I just wanted a variety to choose from (and I now have a nice mixture of higher and lower quality blades). I have used a detailed review from another purchaser (David Michaels) who ranked all their blades, as an initial order to try the blades. I have also done a bit of other research on the blades (looking at individual Amazon reviews, etc. I now have a testing order for the blades, and placed them in 3 categories (Expected Best, Expected Medium, and Expected Worst), and will likely at some point stop testing and just order the one I feel is best for me and my razor. For information, and not a complaint, what I received in my 15x2 kit included: Astra Superior Platinum Bic Chrome Platinum Dėrby Extra Feather New HiStainless GiIIette Platinum GiIIette Silver Blue Personna Platinum Shark Super Stainless SuperMax Super Stainless Treet Platinum WiIkinson Sword (Germany) What was missing were. Dorco St301 Stainless Merkur Super Platinum Bolzano Super Inox Astra Stainless The alternate blades I received were: Super-Max Platinum Perma Sharp Stainless Lord Platinum Voskhod - Actually in the Silver level kit. If you compared my received list to the Silver set, then I was missing these 3 blades. Dorco - ST-301 Stainless Mẹrkur - Super Platinum Polsilver - Super Iridium I am happy with the variety, as I said, I was interested in testing a variety of blades, and had no specific list of blades to try or compare. The set includes several blades that have good reviews (when directly looking up those blades on Amazon), and those are the ones I will likely be deciding between. I have tested my first shave with the Expected Best blades (Personna Platinum), and it was close and comfortable. I plan to run through one of each blade, and then go through the ones I liked the best for the second blade in the pack. Already I am pretty happy with the first blade.

Super nice being able to sample several brands before biting the bullet on a 100 pack of blades

Great to sample blades, but you don't necessarily get the exact same items seen in the photo. Still good tho.

So, overall, great. Exactly what it's supposed to be. But there's about 5 or so of these blades that are just not worth the time. The best ones are (as put in order by my experience with them in this lack): Persona (my favourite that I tried) Astra premium platinum (a very close second, maybe tied) Bic (surprisingly good) Feather Gillette platinum Astra Superior (maybe tied with Gillette platinum) Gillette Silver Blue Derby And after that it starts to be... Meh or worse. Shark, Wilkinson, merker, and treet I decided against pretty quickly Dorco, Bolzano, and supermax I'm now too apprehensive to try based on reviews. Those seem like they'll be more of the bottom group or worse. I wish some of those had been traced out for a Derby premium. I'd have traded the bottom 7 for adding that one. For those curious, I also tried RK (which came with my Henson) but I put that in the bottom tier, and I tried looking c Gillette, which I put around Gillette platinum... Maybe higher. I'm still doing second round for the top contenders. With trying, though. Lots day that the RK blades are the mildest and yet I found them really irritating. Personna and Astra Superior Platinum were the best for me, but I'm not sure exactly which types they are, because the manufacturing has moved around. Astra platinum got moved to India and is supposedly like a totally different blade (possibly closer to the BIC for sharpness, which might increase the irritation), while the Personna platinum was moved from Israel to Germany, but there's a comfort coated one made in the US. It would be great to have more information on each blade, etc. For those curious about how I handle the shave, I start with a hot was cloth, then pre shave cream (poraso white), then use either peraso white soap, Nivea cream, Nivea gel or Gillette fusion gel, or ginger sensitive skin foam (I'm going through and trying them all). After the shave, I use an alum block (which is a great way of detecting the extent of the irritation), and then Nivea after shave balm. Whether gel, foam, cream, or soap, I use a basic shave brush (synthetic). The foam I use a metal shave bowl that came with the stand I got (I later added the Henson stand so the water leaves it better), but for cream and gel I use a granite bowl with tiny grooves all on the inside to help with lathering (the granite also retains great better). For the soap, I just lather it in the dish container it comes in. Works fine