Astra Superior Stainless

Day 1: I was excited to try this blade because of the fantastic experience I had with the last Astra. I was a little bit let down The save wasn't as smooth but, on the plus side no cuts and the shave was just as close. 85/100

Day 2: Today's shave was terrible. My face was covered in cuts and nicks. I would recommend this blade ever. If you want to buy Astra, buy the platinum. 40/100

Astra Superior Stainless

Day 1: I was excited to try this blade because of the fantastic experience I had with the last Astra. I was a little bit let down The save wasn't as smooth but, on the plus side no cuts and the shave was just as close. 85/100

Astra Superior Platinum

Day 1: Wow. I think I found a new favorite razor blade! Shave was smooth and super tight. I got a couple minor nicks but nothing significant. Overall fantastic balde. 98/100

Day 2: started a new job today so wanted to make sure I looked good but was on time. Still did a 3 pass shave but tried to do it quickly without rushing it. Did not cut myself at all and got a very close, smooth, comfortable shave. I absolutely love this blade and highly recomend at least giving it a try. 98/100

Day 3 & 4: been busy the last few days with a new job and moving so I haven't had time to post. Shave has been fantastic and the blade  seems like it will last a few more days. No cuts or irritation. 98/100

Day 5: This thing is just the little blade that could! 5 shaves of 3 passes and it feels as good as the day I opened it. I'm going to keep using it to see how many days of shaving I can get out of it but I've said pretty much all there is to say about this blade. Absolutely fantastic! 98/100

Day 6: Blade started feeling a little worn today so I decided to switch it out after the shave. I loved this blade. As it stands right now I'll be ordering some of these and some Big Ben. 98/100. Great blade, great shave!

Gillette Goal

Day 1: This is probably the most interesting packaging of the group of razors and I was somewhat looking forward to trying it. It was quite difficult to remove from the packaging and I was quite nervous about cutting myself on it. I can almost guarantee I would have gotten cut if my hands were wet. The issue is that the blade is double wrapped and then glued to the inside wrapper. I am not sure what the point of this is but I did not like it. The shave itself was rather mediocre. It was not super smooth like the Big Ben or Bic but neither was  it irritating like the Nacet. I didn't cut myself at all but I could definitely feel the blade on my face. It gave me a fairly close shave but nothing special. The rating may change over the next few uses but for now I am giving it an 60/100

Day 2: Another mediocre shave from this blade. No nicks or cuts but it is a somewhat uncomfortable shave but not enough to give me razor burn. Fairly close shave but not quite baby bottom smooth either. It's worth trying it out in a sampler pack but I wouldn't suggest buying it in bulk on a whim. 60/100

Day 3: Not much to say that I haven't said already. Not an awful blade not is it fantastic. Shave is "close enough" but it could be closer. The shave it provides is not very comfortable either. 60/100

Day 4: I noticed today while shaving that it feels like this blade probably has another 2 shaves in it at least which is very impressive since I've never had a blade last longer than 5 shaves for me. Other than that, however, this blade is still unimpressive. 60/100

Available on +Amazon.com 100 blades for $24.95 http://amzn.com/B006ROJON2

Bic Chrome Platinum

Day 1: This is what DE shaving is supposed to be like! It is so nice to get back to a good quality blade after the last few I've tried. The BIC seemed to glide across my skin. I felt no tugging or pulling on any of my passes, it effortlessly cut through the hair without any irritation. My skin feels incredibly smooth, almost polished. I cannot recommend this blade enough! It is absolutely fantastic. The only reason I'm not scorin it a perfect 100 is because I have not yet tried the Feather which I am told is another very high quality blade. 90/100

Day 2: I had a very busy day yesterday and didn't have time to shave so today's shave was with two days growth. I had another incredibly close shave. There was absolutely no tugging or scratching. again the shave was very smooth even with the extra days growth. What a fantastic blade! (Although reading some reviews on amazon lead me to believe that there may have been a bad batch of blade released around January 2014) 90/100

Day 3: This blade is absolutely fantastic. In 3 days (9 passes) the blade feels almost as good as it did the day I took it out of the wrapper. The shave was as close as ever and the only indication that this blade is not brand new is two minor nicks. I really hope that this blade keeps lasting because I don't want to get rid if it. 90/100

Day 4: Today was the last day I'll be using this blade. The first pass was great as usual but the second pass started feeling a little scratchy and the third pass was even worse. Overall the blade still performed quite well although it's life was a little shorter than I expected. 90/100

Availible on +Amazon.com $16.45 for 100 http://amzn.com/B0022RB080

Nacet Platinum

Day 1: A new day, a new blade. When I made my first pass WTG I thought I had found my new razor. It glided along my face with no pull or irritation. I couldn't even feel the blade. That all changed when I got to my second pass ATG. It was scratchy and irritating and I cut myself in several places I never have before. After this pass the shave wasn't even as close as I like it. Next pass I did XTG and it still wasn't as close as I like it so I did another pass ATG, and it finally felt right. Tomorrow I'm going to try a 3 pass but the 2nd pass XTG and see if the blade performs better. Because of the stark contrast in quality between passes I'm not sure how to rate the blade. I will update the rating tomorrow after I get a better feel for its performance but for now I'm giving it 50/100

Day 2: I am so glad this was not the first blade I tried in my razor. If it was I very well might have given up DE shaving. Even the first pass today felt scratchy and uncomfortable. I tried different blade angles, extra lather and everything else I could possibly think of. It did give me a very close shave but at the cost of a very uncomfortable, cut filled shave. Definitely avoid this blade. If you absolutely must try it first but a sampler pack that contains it. It also has a ridiculously high price point compared to much better quality blades. Final score for this blade is 20/100.

Available on +Amazon.com $25.95 for 100 http://amzn.com/B007Y0W192

Blade Bank

When I first started with DE shaving I was unsure of how to dispose of my blades. Searching the internet I came across many people on forums saying that the just throw them in the trash. I could not believe I was reading this! This puts your trash collectors as well as local children, pets and wildlife at an extremely high risk of cuts and potentially blood borne illnesses such as Hepatitis and HIV (If the shaver is infected) and even Tetanus. In my opinion the best solution to this is to make your own blade bank. Not only does this protect those around you from potential injuries and sickness but it can also be recycled which reduces your environmental impact.

A blade bank is very easy and inexpensive to make. Next time you're out grocery shopping, pick up a can of soup broth (it is important it is just broth and doesn't contain anything "chunky"). Take a well made chef's knife or other wide bladed knife and with the cutting edge facing the middle of the top can (and away from you) gently tap on the butt of the knife. After a couple of taps the knife should break through the top of the can. Continue to tap on the butt of the knife until the opening is wide enough to fit a blade in. Next empty the can down the sink, I would advise against eating it as it could now contain metal shavings. Rinse the can with some hot water to remove any remaining broth to prevent it from stinking. You could also fill the can with water and put it in a pot of water and boil it, this will ensure that the inside of the can is clean and will help remove the label and glue. Be careful handling after you boil as it will retain its heat for longer than you expect it to. To remove the rest of the glue from the can just use a cotton ball and some nail polish remover. If you want to decorate your blade bank i would suggest either spray paining it or finding an old Gillette advertisement on Google and printing it off and covering it with packing tape. Another option is to use the "Olde Time Boxer" meme and putting a joke on it (Razor blades? Oh you mean breakfast!) and printing that out and sticking it on the outside of your can. If you have any other tips for making a blade bank share them in the comments section below. Happy shaving.

Old Time Boxer Meme Generator: http://memegenerator.net/Old-Man-Boxer