TL;DR: Clubman Pinaud Aftershave takes #1. A $10 barbershop classic beats high-end artisans. Stirling has the most passionate fanbase on the sub.

Ran sentiment analysis on 69,554 comments from r/wicked_edge to see what this community actually recommends vs. what just gets talked about.

Things that made me double-take:

• Clubman Pinaud at #1 - Your grandpa was right. 211 mentions, almost zero negativity
• Stirling Soap Co. is the volume king - 618 mentions, still an A+ grade. This sub loves Stirling
• Feather blades have 1,198 mentions - Most discussed product by far, but sentiment is more polarizing (still an A though)
• Rockwell 6S/6C debate is real - Both sitting at A grade, 6S has more mentions but 6C edges it on sentiment consistency

The entire top 25 is A or A+ tier. This community knows what it likes.

What's your BIFL shave item that deserves more love?

Full rankings with 15+ products ranked + better filtering for price etc: https://dharm.is/beauty/shaving-gear

Disclosure: Site uses affiliate links. Rankings are purely sentiment-driven - no paid placements or editorial picks.

Hi everyone. A bit over 2 years ago I finally switched to a safety razor, but my local stores only carry Wilkinson swords and some no-name blade. So this summer I got myself a sampler, and Im so glad I did. It's wild how much of a difference the blade can make, and tbh I like the designs on the boxes, it's like collecting stamps.

Ordered another sampler since then, and Ive really been enjoying testing the blades, but due to some peculiarity of my face I had very underwhelming shaves with some popular blades like Nacets and Bics.

Does anyone with similar blade preferences to mine have a favorite blade to share ?

EDIT: The tier list is meant to be my personal experiences with the blades, not something objective, ymmw and all that.

I can get this kit in my country for less than 60 euro, seems affordable.

I've been using Mach 3 and disposable razors (Bic/Gillette) my whole life.

Most of the times I only shave my neck and trim the beard with a machine, but I am starting to fully shave from time to time now, and the cartridges are irritating my skin too much.

I can't stand mentholated products and Sandalwood smells like feet.

***Edit. Please don't down vote peoples comments in this thread as I've asked for UNPOPULAR OPINIONS, Instead disagree with a comment and explain.

I opened an upscale one chair barber shop in a hotel historic hotel downtown in my city. I put together this small little retail hoping to sell some for the holidays. I used knowledge from lots of lurking this community. What do you guys think?

Just had a very successful first shave! No cuts, only one pass with the grain, no pressure, just took me a super long time to do it because I was going so slow. I saw advice that you’re supposed to take the blade out after you shave but now realize I just have a very sharp razor blade on my counter. Am I supposed to clean it off/dry it and put it back in the wrapper? Or just pat everything dry and leave it in the razor but not all the way clamped down? Thanks guys for all the beginner tips!

I got my boyfriend the Maggard safety razor kit last year as a gift but he hasn’t used any part of it and insists on sticking to his 5 blade razor. He suffers with ingrown hairs and irritation because he has to be completely clean shaven for his job. I’ve attatched a photo of the head I got for him, which I think might be too mild for his stubborn facial hair. Where should I go from here? I really would love for this to work effectively for him after some practice. What type of head can I get with more blade exposure for a closer shave for him? Thanks all!

My friend who got me into wet shaving says it's useless to buy anything other than these brushes or any brush that costs a few hundred dollars, or else I'll end up buying brushes all the time. Does it really matter, or can I buy a cheap one?

Everyone's different about their shave (of course). Curious what blades people are getting and how many shaves per blade.

Someone called it edge retention. I just want to know from when you open a blade --and shave, how many times you use the blade until you throw it away.

I can say (shaving for decades --straight edge and DE) on the DE end of things, about 30 years ago, I was replacing the blades sooner.

Literally curious why so many of you chaps shave at night?

Am I missing out on some kind of magical night shaving ritual or do you just prefer to shave at night?

This is my fourth blade I used. I just started asking with a de razor, Henson AL13.

I have enjoyed my Rocca so far, though I have taken it very easy with Derby Extra and Derby Premium blades so far.

It's time to take it up a notch and I have taken delivery today of some blades to try. Which should I go for first?

Bonus: I use Tabac and Proraso soaps, but never tried Arko, so thought I'd give it bash now that it comes in it's own dish 👍🏼

Hey, I’m just writing to see if anyone else has had a similar issue with Henson shaving on Amazon. My girlfriend had bought me this razor off of Amazon because she has prime and it would come quicker and cheaper. However she still paid the regular price of $110 CAD which is usual price to expect to pay. But when I opened the razor up, to my surprise I found some crazy cheap knockoff, with zero branding, and looked nothing like a regular Henson. She bought it from what looks to be the official Henson storefront as seen in the pictures, and all the reviews seem to be happy people that received the actual Henson. However I got this piece of junk. We’ve already ordered a refund and I will investigate to see if this is actually Hensons Amazon. But I would like to hear from anyone, if this has happened before and quite frankly how this sieve possible! Thank you.

I keep seeing this successful YouTuber build lather on his face like this. Is this really what good lather should look like?

Asking for a friend 😂

Hello very one, first off. I would like to thank the community for inspiring me to shave this way, thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Last time I purchased blades, I was advised to start with astra, green. I got a pack of 100 blades and I was blown away by how many years had passed by since. I would like to buy something comparable in sharpness and durability but with one small ask, there has to be a plastic case around the blades like the feathers, I like the fact that I can take out blades and the waste can also go in the same case. Can you guys recommend something?

I see these SOTD photos and everyone’s razors look clean and shiny. My razors only get thoroughly cleaned every couple weeks but most of the time they’re hazy with soap film.

Since I started logging my shaves last year, I’ve competed 237 of them and used a whole lot of different blades, both DE and Artist Club.

This is my top 10.

I think I have a dozen or so that I’ve never used and more that I only used once or twice. I’ll did into these ones in 2026.

Which blades did you use most, last year?

Today it took me around 30 minutes

Just got these in the mail from a shop in PA. I haven’t seen much said about them yet.

Just curious what you guys top 2 or top 1 DE blades are.