Gillette Silver Blue Blade Today

This morning was my fourth shave with the current Gillette Silver Blue blade.

A few days ago I finally called it quits with the Bluebird blade after its 26th shave. Its last shave was comfortable, but I wasn't getting a close shave; I was working too hard for too little results. When I saw that the blade on deck was the Silver Blue, I was a little concerned.

I recalled that on my face the Silver Blue blade was harsh. So I started by putting it in my mildest first-pass razor, the Merkur 33C Classic. I then finished that first shave's second (which was also the final) pass with my Weishi 9306-F -- my usual finishing razor. That shave and the two day's shaves that followed were irritating and produced weepers, even though I was careful and continued to use mild razors: the 33C or the Lord L.6. Same results: harsh.

After each shave I have performed my usual oiled-palm stropping. My hope is that the repeated attention to the edge will make it performance more mellow on my mug.

So with renewed hope and optimism this morning, I resolved to take a standard shave with this same blade -- that is, one pass, with grain -- using my c.'48 Tech. After I completed that first pass, I had a couple of weepers on my chin, and the shave was not close enough under my jaw line. So I took a few against-grain strokes in that area, which, sadly, opened a few more weepers and fanned the flames of irritation, which I still feel as I type these words.

I really don't like this blade, and it appears it doesn't like me either. Nonetheless, after the shave I gave the blade its due care and put it back into the Tech.

I'm going to take a true standard shave tomorrow. My intention is to give this blade more time to see if it becomes more suited to my face after a break-in period. Even if it does get better with time, I will not use another one because the wounds and irritation from its early shaves are just not worth it. So I add this to the short list of blades that are currently on my don't-use list:

• Feather
• Derby Extra
• Gillette Silver Blue
• Gillette 7 O'Clock Black (India-made)

Happy shaving (better than mine, I hope)!