Hi! I’ve been extremely tired this week and nearly forgot that I was hosting one so I’m writing this last minute! I couldn’t think of anything so I’m going to write about one of my hamsters who is not Biggs; Meredith

Meredith was another hamster of mine from a few years ago during the early days of COVID, and she was the absolute sweetest little creature I had ever met. Very friendly, very gentle. She loved exploring anywhere I put her into and never bit me okay she did once ever. She was an absolute sweetheart and bundle of love and was with me during some of the rougher parts of my life

She unfortunately died very suddenly out of the blue one day at a terribly young age showing no symptoms of anything wrong with her prior, which breaks my heart to this very day

I never had her as long as any other hamster of mine but I don’t think I had any other hamster touch my heart in quite the same way. I miss you, girl


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  • AntifaSuperWombat [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    15 hours ago

    My overall favourites are Perma-Sharps. They’re really sharp but also smooth.

    For my R41 I tend to go with Feathers, because I like the danger. catgirl-smug I’ve also had nice shaves with smoother blades, but I still have to experiment some more with them.

    And I’m also using random blades from my sampler packs sometimes to mix things up.

    • shallot [they/them, she/her]@hexbear.net
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      14 hours ago

      Thanks! I’ve used feathers before, but never perma-sharps; I’ll have to check those out. I ordered a bazillion pack of feathers like 10+ years ago and have only had to buy one single small pack of van der hagens since then lol (because that’s what was available locally).

      Edit: wait no they were derby, not feather.

      • AntifaSuperWombat [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        13 hours ago

        Feathers are by far the sharpest blades available. You might want to be a bit careful when you’re used to dull blades like Derbies. My first time using them ended in a bloodbath. Not to frighten you or anything, but just saying.

        I would highly recommend you do the same thing as me and just start out with sampler packs, because razor blades are a very individual thing, where one blade might work for me but not for you. So it’s important to just try out a bunch before dedicating yourself to a 100 pack.

            • Morbid [she/her]@hexbear.net
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              7 hours ago

              I’ve only ever used Astra ever since I bought a pack of 100 years ago, how good are they compared to the other brands that you’ve tried? Also how important is the quality of the shaving soap? I don’t want to spend around $18-$30 on a bar of soap

              • AntifaSuperWombat [she/her]@hexbear.net
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                6 hours ago

                The vast majority of blades are very mediocre, Astra included. Because I’ve used them for so long, they’re pretty much what I use as a comparison to other blades.

                Those are the blades that I felt were better than the Astras in my Mühle Companion:

                • Perma-Sharp - My favourites, very sharp but still smooth
                • Feather - Sharpest blades you can buy, can be pretty rough and the edge doesn’t last very long
                • Derby Extra - On the duller side, but very comfortable due to its really thick coating
                • 7 O’clock Super Stainless - Similar to Astras but more comfortable
                • Wilkinson Sword (German) - Sharp, nice shave, but not the smoothest
                • 7 O’clock Sharpedge - Very sharp, but a bit less enjoyable than the Perma-Sharps
                • Gillette Platinum - Very nice blade, but not outstanding in any aspect
                • Mühle - Similar to the Wilkies but a bit smoother
                • Kai - Excellent steel quality like the Feathers but not as sharp, a bit wider than other blades which makes them more aggressive
                • Astra Stainless Steel - Almost the same as the Platinums but a little bit sharper

                And now to the soaps:

                The quality of the lather really matters. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference it made to me when I switched over to proper soaps. But you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money on artisan soaps. While yes, they do perform quite a bit better than more commercial ones, you’ll be perfectly fine with a puck of Cella or an Arko stick, which are way more affordable.