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Chicago Suburbs
This is old news. Gillette announced they would be leaving the PPI facility at least six months ago. Razor Emporium is just advertising that they have Russian Gillette blades in stock and are hoping to sell them to those who are convinced that they are the best blades available. Presumably, the PPI facility will still make blades for within the Russian Federation and their allies, but not for export to NATO countries. P&G also makes a variety of household products consumed by Russian consumers.
It looks like some of the blade brands will be relocating to India and others will move to China. I understand King C Gillette blades are now being made in China. I have heard that Astra SP blades are now being made in India, but when I tried purchasing some of the new blades from India, I received older Russian blades. I know when Personna closed the blade making facility in Israel, that it took a few years to deplete inventory in the supply chain. As inventory reserves were depleted, prices escalated. That is likely to happen with PPI blades as well. Thus, if you are convinced that only PPI blades are good enough for your face, then stock up sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, there are numerous blademakers worldwide that make blades comparable in quality with PPI blades. For the past couple of months, I have been reviewing/evaluating various DE blades to provide information that might be helpful to those looking for blades made elsewhere. You can find that thread at:
https://damnfineshave.com/thread-rayclem...valuations
I have prepared a spreadsheet to summarize the results of my evaluation. It can be found in my Dropbox public folder at:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/71ttt15wy...qo8eb&dl=0
Although I have not used the 7 O'Clock Super Stainless Russian green blades in a while, I found them to be mid-sharp and reasonably smooth. For alternatives that will be similar in performance, look for blades that have a sharpness rating of 4 in my spreadsheet and a smoothness rating of 4- 4.5. There are several listed with those characteristics that you might find to be suitable replacements for the Russian greens.
My evaluations continue as I work my way through the remaining blade brands in my inventory. I am saving some of my PPI blades for the end as I am trying to showcase non-PPI blades for those who are looking for alternatives. The Russian greens I had were part of a sample pack, so I am not certain if I still have any to test. I did test a few PPI blades as reference points for those familiar with the blades.
It looks like some of the blade brands will be relocating to India and others will move to China. I understand King C Gillette blades are now being made in China. I have heard that Astra SP blades are now being made in India, but when I tried purchasing some of the new blades from India, I received older Russian blades. I know when Personna closed the blade making facility in Israel, that it took a few years to deplete inventory in the supply chain. As inventory reserves were depleted, prices escalated. That is likely to happen with PPI blades as well. Thus, if you are convinced that only PPI blades are good enough for your face, then stock up sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, there are numerous blademakers worldwide that make blades comparable in quality with PPI blades. For the past couple of months, I have been reviewing/evaluating various DE blades to provide information that might be helpful to those looking for blades made elsewhere. You can find that thread at:
https://damnfineshave.com/thread-rayclem...valuations
I have prepared a spreadsheet to summarize the results of my evaluation. It can be found in my Dropbox public folder at:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/71ttt15wy...qo8eb&dl=0
Although I have not used the 7 O'Clock Super Stainless Russian green blades in a while, I found them to be mid-sharp and reasonably smooth. For alternatives that will be similar in performance, look for blades that have a sharpness rating of 4 in my spreadsheet and a smoothness rating of 4- 4.5. There are several listed with those characteristics that you might find to be suitable replacements for the Russian greens.
My evaluations continue as I work my way through the remaining blade brands in my inventory. I am saving some of my PPI blades for the end as I am trying to showcase non-PPI blades for those who are looking for alternatives. The Russian greens I had were part of a sample pack, so I am not certain if I still have any to test. I did test a few PPI blades as reference points for those familiar with the blades.
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