Premium Safety Razor Blade Sampler - 55 Blades from Top Brands Feather, Personna, Permasharp.

Here's a blade-by-blade rundown of each brand in this sampler.First thing to note is that for the quality of blades in this sampler, this is a great price.Yes, there are three brands I wouldn't recommend, but you'll at least get one comfortable shave out of each of those blades. So it's worth putting up with the filler to get the other five, which are killer.Also - I've found out that the "two" types of Feathers in here are in fact the exact same blade. So you're getting 15 of them in this sampler, which is great.If you just want the reviews, skip down to THE REVIEWSBackstory:I had so much fun with my first sampler pack that I got this one too.There were 7 brands in the first sampler, and another 6 in this one that weren't in that one.Already familiar with and impressed by Feather and Astra, I was especially interested to try the Gillettes and Personas... but read on to find out the shocking plot twist!About Me:Figuring out what blade to use is HIGHLY subjective, so you should take any recommendation I make in light of what I need in a blade.I've been shaving with the same '60's Gillette Red Tip butterfly razor since my father gave it to me 25 years ago. (RIP Mountain Man)I was usually content with whatever Double-Edged Safety Razors the local shop / supermarket had.Right before the pandemic, I moved from a major city with no problem finding blades to a small college town.Between increasing scarcity and wearing a mask, I was down to shaving once a week by the time everything was opening back up from COVID restrictions. But I thought I'd give daily shaving a try again. It's been a lot of fun getting back in to it.My first sampler helped me find a couple blades I liked.So the fact that the only overlap between that sampler and this one was Astras and Feathers - both great brands - and I was keen to try the Gillette and Personna blades, I gave this one a go.I don't have any kind of special prep routine. In fact, for years I'd just use a nice lathery bar soap. I'm back to using Gillette shave creme out of a can. But I have started using a dash of skin lotion with some drops of cedar oil to lubricate my face a little extra beforehand, and the same with a splash of Isopropyl Alcohol added to see how much the shave abraded the skin in ways that I can't see afterward.The hair follicles on my face are spaced out, but each is quite thick. So with less sharp blades tugging is a huge problem and bumps and razor burn post-shave can be too. In other words, I need a sharp blade but can get decent life out of them.THE REVIEWSI'll go more or less in ascending order of quality.Not Recommended8. Vertice Euromax: While not as bad as the worst blade from the last sampler, these aren't good blades. They only last for one shave. Each time I try to use them a second time, it's razor burn and bump city. They'll get you through a shave, but don't be tempted to try a second one. Take it off, put it in your safe disposal container and put on a new blade. Just trust me.7. Sharp Hi Chromium: These actually start the first shave quite crisp and enjoyable. And it always lulled me into complacency. On the second shave suddenly they're mad at you and trying to rip your hair out... Maybe it has a decent first pass before the claws come out, but very single time this blade fooled me like this.6. Derby Premium: Despite the word "premium" in the name, these were actually worse than the Derby Extras from the previous sampler! They last one shave just fine - maybe two, but by the end of the second you're buffing heavily to knock down the tenacious weeds, and the feeling isn't particularly pleasant. I wouldn't recommend them, but at least they can get you smooth one and a half or two times. Again - of the Derby line, I found the Extras were better.Recommended5. / 4. Personna Platinum | Gillette Platinum (tie): Legions across the shaving message boards (yes, they exist and yes there are multiple) will curse me for saying this. These feel like the same blade. There, I said it. And - it's a good one. But they're not amazing. Are they smooth? 7/10. Do they feel particularly sharp? 6/10. Are they durable... yes, probably as durable as anything above them on this list. I'd say I average 4 comfortable shaves out of them (But not as durable as the Wilkinson Sword - which I usually only have to change because I'm bored with the 7th or 8th serviceable shave in a row. But I digress.) So while both blades rightfully have dyed-in-the wool believers, to me they're fine but not amazing. They're like driving a Toyota Corolla with an automatic transmission. But for your face.But for the purposes of this sampler, there's a STEEP step up from the Derby Premiums to these two.3. Astra Platinum: Before the first sampler I had heard of but never used these. They came highly recommended then and they do not disappoint. Nicely sharp and the shave experience was really great. They are quite smooth, yet sharp enough that most of the work is done in one pass. They were middle of the road in durability, I can reliably get 4 shaves out of a blade. But once they start to go, they'll let you know, and quick.OK, here's the shocking plot twist.2. Feather Hi Stainless | New Hi Stainless: SECOND best blade in the batch. Yes. SECOND. Read on. Everyone is crazy about them. And it's reflected in the price. I'm a big fan too. Reputed as the sharpest commonly available blade in the world, but quite smooth. A luxurious shave. Not quite as smooth as the Astras, but definitely much sharper. You can carve yourself up with them if you're not experienced. But if you are, the legend of the one-pass "BBS" shave is not far off. And they have good durability - on the order of 4-5 shaves...But they're also a known quantity, and quite pricey.1. Perma Sharp: The best blade in the batch. Yeah. I didn't see that coming either. I'm five blades in with these and every time I take the first swipe with them, I'm still almost -surprised- by how sharp they are. This is a very sharp blade. How sharp? I can do a two pass shave with one of the "Not Recommended" blades. Then come back with the Perma Sharp and it's able to cut my -whole face- closer. (Note: this parlor trick does also work with Feathers.) But it's still a very smooth and comfortable shave! And they're reasonably durable. As in - I can consistently get 4 good sharp comfortable shaves out of these. I have found that trying to push it to 5 or 6 or more is possible, but I don't know well enough when it's going to be uncomfortable enough mid shave that I switch blades. So I stick to 4 good shaves and move on.So here's why I put these at #1. This 4 good shave rule is the same life cycle as Feathers. The smoothness is as good or better. And the sharpness might even be more noticeable (but in a good way if you are okay with that like I am). And they're ONE THIRD the price. So for what I need out of a razor, the Perma Sharp does as well as the Feather and for so much less money that I had to rank it higher. In fact, I was convinced enough that I've already ordered and received my 100 pack of Perma Sharps..I wonder if these "hot takes" will generate some controversy among the extremely small subset of people who read Amazon product reviews for double-edged safety razor blades... but I'm being 100% completely earnest here.So there you go. I hope that helps someone find the right blade for them. Happy Hunting!

First, the product itself: I bought this set from Helix Retail for $14.99, and while it's a great collection overall and has lots of good blades, it was quite a bit more expensive than other options. It was still worth it for the good variety and the fact that it has a lot of high quality blades, and would be a no-brainer if the price was comparable to other options. As it was I would check other options before buying again.Below is a review of each blade, which I'll try to keep brief, but first, for context, my beard is average thickness but the individual hairs are pretty tough. This means they're a little harder to cut than average and dull blades a little faster. With that said:All ratings are from 1 (low) to 10 (high)Euromax: Sharpness: 4, Durability: 4, Overall: 4, Buy again?: NoSharp: Sharpness: 3, Durability: 2, Overall: 3, Buy again?: NoDerby Premium: Sharpness: 1, Durability: 2, Overall: 1, Buy again?: Absolutely notPersonna: Sharpness: 7, Durability: 6, Overall: 6, Buy again?: YesGillette Platinum: Sharpness: 5, Durability: 4, Overall: 5, Buy again?: NoAstra: Sharpness: 8, Durability: 4, Overall: 5, Buy again?: NoFeather Hi-Stainless: Sharpness: 10, Durability: 4, Overall: 8, Buy again?: YesFeather New High-Stainless: Sharpness: 10, Durability: 5, Overall: 8, Buy again?: YesGillette Perma-Sharp: Sharpness: 5, Durability: 6, Overall: 6, Buy again?: MaybeBonus Review (the blade I was using before buying this): Shark: Sharpness: 6, Durability: 7, Overall: 7, Buy again?: YesJust a few more quick notes might be helpful. I was breaking the blades in half to use in my Parker folding razor, which is great because I get 2 half blades from each double blade. I also bought this sampler in part to try the Derby Premium blades, and they were awful. So dull that they nicked my face up badly, and have been relegated to using for scoring bread before baking. Maybe Derby Extra is better, but I'm not that curious to find out. The Sharp blades were, ironically, not particularly sharp. Any blade mentioned here with a low rating was likely to cause some nicks, but beware that the Feather blades will do the same because they're so darned sharp. Use them with a shallower cutting angle (flatter against your face) then you would use other blades to avoid the nicks and to get better life out of them. They seem to be meant for one use, amd I wasn't able to get more than two good uses from a single blade, but they do provide a very nice close shave. I had high expectations from the Gillette Pera-Sharp blades, but they seem to be on average a little duller and less durable than my old Shark blades, but not bad overall. Might work better for a softer beard.

Bought this pack last July and reordering today. As I’m down to last few blades. Lasted nearly 1 year, using each blade 4-5 times each. (My preference as some use less or more from a blade)I’m Navy so gotta shave (week) daily, and $14 for a year of shaving is unreal savings.

I bought this pack to test various manufacturers blades, which I think everyone should do if they want to get into double edge safety razor shaving. As with all blades they all have various strengths and weakness' which are accentuated by other factors such as razor, oils, soaps/lathers, and most importantly your beard type. Do not just randomly think that each blade has the same effect because of these conditions. I found the Featherlites very flexible, but tended to cause excessive nicks. The Azmusbat blades tend to pull my beard more than shave it, but I have a lot less nicks. The first pack of Gillete blades I used tended to fall in the middle. I only have 7 more packs to try, and will update later on, as I use them. Each blades so far has lasted about 3 days overall. I bought them in July and have used about 25 so far, so you do the math. At this rate a pack sample pack like this should last me till next July at least. I don't shave on the weekends or long holiday weekends too.

Awesome way to test different brands to find the right one for you. Great value.

Got this 6 months ago when I got my first safety razor and it has been amazing! The variety and change in each razor is cool as it has helped me find a couple brands I would buy again. It also gives 5 of each blade so each pack will last you over a month if you find one you like and makes Shaving so much cheaper and leaves you with less guilt when switching out a blade after a few shaves.