So after two years of wet shaving, feeling that I had completely mastered the Gillette Slim, and after getting a job that allows me the ability to splurge, I finally gave into the temptation to try a slant. I went thru a phase of about a year where getting new razors didn’t really excite me, and I wasn’t making wet shaving the adventure that it can be.
Getting slightly off topic, isn’t it great how we can do something that needs to be done (shave) and have the ability to literally make every shave of every day a brand new experience if we felt even the slightest inclindation to do so?
So anyway, I purchased a slant to rekindle the adventure of shaving. I’d always wanted to try the sledge, and I sprang for the Merkur 39C from amazon.
Coincidentally, I also began to run out of blades at the exact same time. So I headed on over to tryablade.com and, after spotless and prompt service by Jason, I purchased two of each of the following blades to be tried, side by side, in both the Slim and the Sledgehammer:
Feather Hi-Stainless
Personna Blue (lab) aka Med-prep
Voshkod teflon coated
Personna Reds (Isreali)
Following, I will give the account of my journey thru comparing blades as they are between the Slim and the Sledge. First a word on the razors and my impression of them.
Gillette Slim: To me, Perfection incarnate. This is the razor I have used pretty much exclusively for the past year. I’ve learned to use it at a setting of 9 and I just keep it there all the time. Nicks have long become a thing of the past.
Merkur 39C Sledgehammer: Sexy looking thing with it’s chrome body, this is an interesting razor to look at and to use. Using it with my remaining astra blades, this is a mild shaver and capable of delivering just as good a shave as the Slim. However, it has some tolerance issues that cause the blade alignment to be a bit of an issue, something that would come up during the course of my test drive and somewhat tarnish the experience.
At the end, you will read a different story from above though.
Let’s get to the blades.
Feather Hi-Stainless: What can I say here? Wow. That is what I said when I used one for the first time in my Slim. I never understood how much sharper these blades are than other blades. If you haven’t tried them yet, believe the hype.
In the Slim: Feather blades in this razor give me a shave like nothing I’ve experienced before. First off it gave me pause to consider what I was doing with the razor set all the way to 9. It shaves so efficiently, yet with the amount of pressure I’m used to using when I shave, I got some bad irritation before I learned how little pressure you can use with these blades without paying the price. My first two shaves also ended up with some blood being shed. However what stands out about the blade is how it can continue to give 2 pass BBS shaves even after it’s 4 shaves in.
In the Sledge: As I mentioned, blade alignment in the Sledge is a bit of a bad point of the razor. With a properly aligned blade the Sledge is every bit as smooth as the Slim. However I don’t feel like the Slant is doing anything special that makes the Slim feel inferior. If the blade alignment is out, the combination of the Sledge and the Feather blade make this a bloodthirsty beast, or a great source of irritation if that is your thing. Even so, with the care that is required to use a Slant when you are new to it, I can achieve perfect BBS shaves in 2-3 passes. I did have the misfortune of coming across a Feather blade that had one edge that dulled way too fast, so while one side of the razor shaved like a dream, the other side tugged and cut poorly. Still, the good side of the blade delivers great shaves.
Overall, the Feather blades are probably something I will buy to have around. I may or may not run them in the Sledge, but they are the perfect blade for the Slim. That is unless the continued test drive of the other blades shows a better candidate for my next bulk buy.
Voskhod: Going off of reputation, I expected these blades to be nice in some ways, possibly more than one. Like giving a close shave or being smooth. Overall these blades are a resounding Meh. They are in a class far below Astra SPs. Nowhere near as bad as a Merkur or a Lord blade, but soundly in the middle. And understand that Astra SPs, to me, are on the cusp between the very good and the excellent. So Voskhods are mediocre.
In the Slim: these performed slightly worse than the Astra SP, I think that overall these blades just aren’t that sharp. They make a lot of noise and but they aren’t smooth. I trashed the blade after two shaves with it. It wasn’t shaving badly, but I knew it wasn’t going to be that good if the second shave on the blade was still noisy and tuggy. Even brand new out of the paper when it first hit my skin it was a big tuggy.
In the Slant: This blade makes the Slant just plain suck. I felt like I was always hunting for the right angle with this blade. Even when you get the angle right, it’s still harsh. In hindsight - writing this bit after just having finished a shave with the next blade on the list, the Personna Blue AKA Med Prep - This blade feels almost as bad as a Merkur blade in terms of harshness, it justwon’t turn your face to hamburger like a Merkur will.
Personna Blue AKA Med Prep: Oh boy… what a blade. And what a surprise! This is the first time I’ve come across a blade that was so heavy biased towards one razor and not another. I can say - not without self-loating for the pun - that this blade was slanted towards the Slant. Get it?? Moving on. It perfoms extremely smoothly, sharp like a Feather, yet smooth as silk without exception, BUT… well read on. To make this easier to read, I’ll start with the slant first
In the Slant: WOW.Just that, WOW.
This is a match made in heaven. With 2 to 3 days growth this combo feels like I’m shaving on an already shaven face. There is zero pulling, I can barely even tell that hairs are being cut going with the grain, it only really gives feedback on the upper lip. Across the grain is even smoother, and against is noticeable. But the shave it gives is BBS every time and it lasts about 12 hours. I may have found the ultimate razor/blade combo.
In the Slim: After the experience with the Slant, I was excited to try this in the Slim, but what a surprise it turned out to be. This blade is sharp, but in the slim it was a lot less efficient, the final ATG pass felt rough and sloppy. I ended up with a shave that had me scratching my face for about 6 hours afterward because it had somehow irrititated my face so badly. I barely dared shave with it a second time, not even the crappiest of blades I’ve used cause that kind of irritation. This remains true when I’ve re-visited the slim with this blade some time later.
Personna Red aka Isrealis:
Overall this is a solid blade, it doesn’t have the amazing performance of the Med Prep, but it just delivers.
In the Slant: This blade feels slightly better in the Slant. It cuts with ease and doesn’t drag. I got 6 shaves from the blade, all of them were comfortable with almost no bloodletting of any kind. These blades aren’t as silky smooth as the Personna Blues, but what they lack in smoothness they make up for in kindness towards your skin. It’s remarkable really that a blade can be so smooth and yet so docile, it’s rare to find both.
In the Slim: Solid. That’s the word for it. I would compare it about equally with the Astra SPs. There is a slightly different experience, the Personna blade is a bit smoother and the quality and comfort of the shave it delivers is better overall as it’s used for subsequent shaves.
For the price, these are worth the money. I would buy them again and they would have been the winner of the blade comparison if I hadn’t bought the Personna Blues, they really are good.
I would buy them again, except for the fact that I’ve found the perfect Razor and Blade combo. And that’s Slant and Blue.
Epilogue: This was written a few months ago. I ended up buying a 100 pack of Personna blue blades for use with the Slant, and I no longer use any other razor for any length of time. The efficiency of the shave with this combo just can’t be matched..
Try a Blade, it’s a great site and a great idea. For just a few bucks I found exactly what works for my face. I can’t recommend the experience enough
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Blade comparison in TTO vs Slant. (long read)
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