RayClem's Blade Evaluations

Next up Gillette Minora Stainless.

I was aware of the existence of the Minora blades, but I had never seen many reviews. I believe they were made in Russia based on the wax dots on the blade wrappers. Of course, since Gillette has parted ways with their Russian partner, I do not know what the future of the Minora brand will be in the future.

After a few less than stellar shaves with Kai, BIC Astor and Timor blades, I was hoping for a great shave. I picked the Minora hoping that it would be more like a Nacet than an Astra SP. Fortunately, I was rewarded with a great shave. I found the blades on their first use to be plenty sharp enough to tackle my two-day beard. I was able to get a reasonably close shave with zero irritation. So far so good. they seem to be similar in performance to the Nacet Stainless. For those who like sharp blades, that is a good thing.

I will update this post on Saturday with my second use of the blade. Hopefully, the performance will be consistent. If so,, I plan to purchase a 100 blade pack.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was hoping to include microphotographs of the edge of each blade. I did examine several blades, but I did not find the photos to be helpful. My USB camera has only 5 MP resolution. That just is not sufficient to provide the level of detail required. Thus, I do not plan to continue that part of the evaluation.

Gillette Minora Stainless is one I've not tried but now I'm thinking I should.

Update on Gillette Minora.

This afternoon I shaved with the Minora blade on its second use. I had slightly over two days of beard growth. I achieved another fine shave. I perceived that the blade was slightly sharper that the 1st shave, but slightly less smooth. This is quite typical of a PTFE coated stainless blade as the coating wears off. I got a near BBS shave, but there was minor irritation after the shave when I splashed on witch hazel.

Despite the minor irritation, I consider the Minora blade to be acceptable for my use. I have added 100 Minora blades to my shopping cart for purchase the next time I place an order.

My next shave is scheduled for Monday. I am planning to try the Tiger Superior Stainless blades from the Czech Republic for that shave. I have never used blades from that country. so I have no idea of what to expect.

RayClem like TommyCarioca said I'd like to see Personna Red comparisons. I have 2 different packs of Crystal blades that are Israeli made that seem to be considered Reds in different packaging. I'd be happy to supply some if you have ever used the Israeli Reds and have a memory of them. I recently had the German ones and I found these to be as good.

RayClem like TommyCarioca said I'd like to see Personna Red comparisons. I have 2 different packs of Crystal blades that are Israeli made that seem to be considered Reds in different packaging. I'd be happy to supply some if you have ever used the Israeli Reds and have a memory of them. I recently had the German ones and I found these to be as good.

Plenty of Israeli Reds here if needed for the trial.  

I know Crystals and the German blades well but I’ll refrain from my opinion.

I have a stash of Israeli Reds from a few years ago. WHen I evaluate the Personna Platinum blades from Germany, I will compare them to the Israeli made blades. Hopefully, I can answer the question: are the German blades the same as the Israeli blades.


I also have some Israeli Crystal blades, sometimes known as Israeli Personnas. The Israeli reds have a Platinum Chrome coating. The Crystals are platinum only. Both are good blades, but I have a slight preference for the Platinum Chrome.

I have a stash of Israeli Reds from a few years ago. WHen I evaluate the Personna Platinum blades from Germany, I will compare them to the Israeli made blades. Hopefully, I can answer the question: are the German blades the same as the Israeli blades.


I also have some Israeli Crystal blades, sometimes known as Israeli Personnas. The Israeli reds have a Platinum Chrome coating. The Crystals are platinum only. Both are good blades, but I have a slight preference for the Platinum Chrome.

So there is a difference between the Crystals and the genuine Personna Israeli blades. Do you know if the German blades are just Platinum coated also? I am currently out of those.

Germany still produces Platinum Chrome blades. While the blades feature Platinum on the packaging, they are stamped Platinum Chrome on the individual blades.

Interestingly, BIC markets their blades as Chrome Platinum.

Be careful when purchasing Personna blades. They are currently marketing blades in red packaging similar to the former Israeli Reds, but the packaging indicates that these are stainless steel blades. Some vendors indicate that these are platinum chrome blades similar to the former Israeli reds, but I did not know if that is an accurate statement as I have not tried these blades. If they were platinum chrome blades, I would expect the packaging to state that clearly.

Next up is the Tiger Super Stainless made in the Czech Republic by Czech Blades. If you are interested in these blade, please be aware that there are three blades sold under the Tiger brand. One is the Tiger carbon blade which has a blue (presumably silicone) coating reminiscent of the Super Blue blades of the early 1960s. Then there are the Superior Stainless blades evaluated here. Finally, there are Tiger Platinum blades. Czech Blades also sells blades under the Tatra brand.

The Tiger stainless blades are laser etched with Tiger and Superior on both sides of the blade.

Since I had never used Tiger blades before, I had no idea what to expect. On the first use, I found the blades to be barely sharp enough to cut my 2 day old beard. There was some slight tugging, but not enough to be painful. The blades were smooth and I was able to get a decent shave without significant irritation. I did not push for near-BBS as I normally do. Thus, while these are not blades that I would enjoy using on their 1st use, at least not in the Karve C-plate razor, they might be satisfactory in a more aggressive razor. For those who like blades such as Astra Superior Platinum (green), they might be a great alternative.

I am looking forward to the 2nd use with these blades. Some blades become significantly sharper as the coating wears off. I am not a fan of 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (black), Wilkinson Sword Classic (Germany), or Personna Lab Blues on their first shave, but they become significantly sharper by the 2nd shave. I am hoping the Tiger Superior Stainess blades perform in a similar manner. If so, I might enjoy using them.