The reason for blade assortments

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Last evening, it was time to make a blade change in my trusty Merkur 23C.

I’ve been getting absolutely great results with Derby blades, but Giovanni at Barbieria Italiana had sent me a small blade assortment, so I looked through the offerings. I spied a Zorrick blade, which I know some have had really good luck with, so I popped that into the razor.

I was using a tried and true Mama Bear soap, so the only variable was the Zorrick blade.

And I ended up with poor results. The Zorrick was not doing nearly as well as the Derby with stubble reduction and the repeated passes netted me a case of razor burn. As well as a nick.

Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m sure looking forward to getting back to a Derby blade this evening.

You’ve doubtless heard the old saw about different horses for different courses. This is a case of different blades for different faces.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with all the shaving variables, as that is how you will learn what works best for you. And, as last night’s result shows, you will also learn what doesn’t work for you.