[crdb]

I've tried probably a dozen brands. Counter-intuitively, I found that the sharpest were the ones least likely to cut, because you apply so little pressure (and maybe because they notch the hair immediately, instead of sliding down to the skin). Feathers are easily the best at least in my experience, beating even the "premium" offerings from Gillette and Wilkinson and making it easily worth the (rather large) premium; not only are they sharp but they stay sharp almost forever - I've occasionally had several weeks' use on a single Feather.

I cut myself all the time with the cheap no-name Israeli blades (rebranded Personna?), so called it a false economy. Not impressed with Astra either. YMMV - softer hair doesn't require as much cutting.

[jdmichal]

> Counter-intuitively, I found that the sharpest were the ones least likely to cut...

This is actually a pretty common phenomenon among pretty much any kind of blade. The logic is that (supposedly) the majority of knife accidents are caused by losing control of the knife through applied pressure. When something unexpected happens, the knife has a lot of force behind it and travels quickly to places it isn't supposed to be, like inside you. A well-sharpened kitchen knife will cut through vegetables with barely more pressure than the weight of the blade, so unexpected forceful interactions are very rare.