RayClem's Blade Evaluations

RayClem’s DE Blade Evaluations Spreadsheet

I have prepared a spreadsheet summarizing the results of the DE razor blade evaluations completed at this time. You can download the spreadsheet from the public folder of my Dropbox account using the url below. You should be able to view the spreadsheet from the link, but if you wish to manipulate the data, please save it to your own computer as the file access is read only. It is a MS Excel file in xlsx format. It includes features to allow easy sorting by individual columns. Most spreadsheet software should be able to open the file.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/71ttt15wy...qo8eb&dl=0

Here are some notes applicable to the spreadsheet:

DE razor blades are one of the most YMMV aspects of traditional wet shaving. Not only does the performance of a blade depend upon the coarseness of your beard and the sensitivity of your skin, it also depends upon the razor in which the blades are used. I evaluated the blades using a Karve SS razor with SB C-Plate. That is a medium aggressive razor which should work with a wide variety of blades as long as shaving technique is good.

1. The ratings on sharpness range from 1-5 with 1 being dull and 5 being super sharp. Sharpness was rated based on two-day growth of my coarse, old-man, white beard. Shavers with fine beards such as teens might do just fine with a blade rated 2-3. Shavers with typical beards should do well with blades in the 3-4 range. Shavers with tough, heavy beards will likely prefer sharper blades in the 4.5-5 range as I do. In aggressive razors, sharper blades might be too sharp for comfort, especially if your technique is lacking
.
2. The rating on smoothness range from 1-5 with 1 being very rough and 5 being super smooth. Smoothness was rated based on the feel of the blade during the shave and the amount of feedback I received when applying witch hazel to my skin following the shave. Smoothness will be of greater importance to those with sensitive skin. Those with less sensitive skin might be able to use blades in the middle of the range with no issue.

3. The prices listed are the price per blade obtained from current prices on Amazon for 100 blade bulk lots. In a few instances, 100 blade packs were not available and are noted as such.

4. The “perceived value” is my best estimate of the value of the blades based on the sharpness and smoothness and the cost per blade. The higher the value, the higher the quality of blade for your money. While I love super sharp, super smooth blades and am willing to pay a premium for them, there is a limit. I like the performance of King C Gillette blades, but I am unwilling to purchase them in 10 blade tucks for 70 cents per blade. If they were available for 20-25 cents in bulk, they would be excellent value. Since I only evaluated blades for two shaves at most, I did not include blade durability in the value assessment. If a more expensive blade can provide additional shaves, it might be a better value than indicated.

5. Please note that all blades produced by Gillette in Russia at the PPI facility are no longer being produced. In many cases, blades are still in inventory at vendors and can be purchased. In some instances prices are rising as inventories are depleted. Some Russian brands are moving to India or China, but with the exception of King C Gillette blades from China, few have been seen in the market. Likewise, the revered Personna Platinum Chrome Israeli Reds are no longer available from Israel; they are now made in Germany. If you love the Israeli Reds, the German version appears to be a suitable replacement.

I will continue to update the spreadsheet as blades are added. However, you will need to download the spreadsheet again to get updates. Any personal notes you might have added will be lost.

RayClem’s DE Blade Evaluations Spreadsheet

I have prepared a spreadsheet summarizing the results of the DE razor blade evaluations completed at this time. You can download the spreadsheet from the public folder of my Dropbox account using the url below. You should be able to view the spreadsheet from the link, but if you wish to manipulate the data, please save it to your own computer as the file access is read only. It is a MS Excel file in xlsx format. It includes features to allow easy sorting by individual columns. Most spreadsheet software should be able to open the file.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/71ttt15wy...qo8eb&dl=0

Here are some notes applicable to the spreadsheet:

DE razor blades are one of the most YMMV aspects of traditional wet shaving. Not only does the performance of a blade depend upon the coarseness of your beard and the sensitivity of your skin, it also depends upon the razor in which the blades are used. I evaluated the blades using a Karve SS razor with SB C-Plate. That is a medium aggressive razor which should work with a wide variety of blades as long as shaving technique is good.

1. The ratings on sharpness range from 1-5 with 1 being dull and 5 being super sharp. Sharpness was rated based on two-day growth of my coarse, old-man, white beard. Shavers with fine beards such as teens might do just fine with a blade rated 2-3. Shavers with typical beards should do well with blades in the 3-4 range. Shavers with tough, heavy beards will likely prefer sharper blades in the 4.5-5 range as I do. In aggressive razors, sharper blades might be too sharp for comfort, especially if your technique is lacking
.
2. The rating on smoothness range from 1-5 with 1 being very rough and 5 being super smooth. Smoothness was rated based on the feel of the blade during the shave and the amount of feedback I received when applying witch hazel to my skin following the shave. Smoothness will be of greater importance to those with sensitive skin. Those with less sensitive skin might be able to use blades in the middle of the range with no issue.

3. The prices listed are the price per blade obtained from current prices on Amazon for 100 blade bulk lots. In a few instances, 100 blade packs were not available and are noted as such.

4. The “perceived value” is my best estimate of the value of the blades based on the sharpness and smoothness and the cost per blade. The higher the value, the higher the quality of blade for your money. While I love super sharp, super smooth blades and am willing to pay a premium for them, there is a limit. I like the performance of King C Gillette blades, but I am unwilling to purchase them in 10 blade tucks for 70 cents per blade. If they were available for 20-25 cents in bulk, they would be excellent value. Since I only evaluated blades for two shaves at most, I did not include blade durability in the value assessment. If a more expensive blade can provide additional shaves, it might be a better value than indicated.

5. Please note that all blades produced by Gillette in Russia at the PPI facility are no longer being produced. In many cases, blades are still in inventory at vendors and can be purchased. In some instances prices are rising as inventories are depleted. Some Russian brands are moving to India or China, but with the exception of King C Gillette blades from China, few have been seen in the market. Likewise, the revered Personna Platinum Chrome Israeli Reds are no longer available from Israel; they are now made in Germany. If you love the Israeli Reds, the German version appears to be a suitable replacement.

I will continue to update the spreadsheet as blades are added. However, you will need to download the spreadsheet again to get updates. Any personal notes you might have added will be lost.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

Since I have had a couple of instances when the first blade from a pack did not perform well, but the second one was significantly better, I plan to try Kai blades one more time. Of the 15 blades I evaluated, the Kai blades were the poorest performer and one of the more expensive blades. Thus, I want to make sure my rating in accurate. I plan to use it for my Sunday morning shave.

RC,

I am happily anxious to see how this blade works for you. I find them very sharp.

Conventional wisdom is that they improve greatly after shaves 2 and 3, and many gents use them for 5+ shaves. .

Even though I find them sharp, I haven't used them due to their cost.

Good luck!



Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

RC,

I am happily anxious to see how this blade works for you. I find them very sharp.

Conventional wisdom is that they improve greatly after shaves 2 and 3, and many gents use them for 5+ shaves. .

Even though I find them sharp, I haven't used them due to their cost.

Good luck!



Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

I bought some Kai blades and I believe I used one and haven't reached for them since. I honestly don't remember why. I'm guessing for the cost, I would have preferred Feather blades over the Kai. But I could be wrong it has been some time since I used either, but still have them. I do remember being impressed by the sharpness of the Feather. I kind of remember thinking "Wow, that's what he hype is about." I don't recall having any kind of real reaction to the Kai one way or the other. Plus, there are just other less expensive blades out there that are plenty sharp and do the job.

Kai blades seem to get highly mixed reviews. Some love them and some hate them. It might well be that the performance of the blade is highly dependent upon the razor in which it is used. Since the blade is reported to be 22.2mm in width vs 22.0mm for most other blades, the blade exposure will be approximately 0.1 mm greater on each side of the head. The Kai blades might perform better in mild razors, perhaps even with neutral or negative blade exposure. I might test that hypothesis later, but for now I am sticking with my Karve C-plate.

I have also seen some reports that Kai blades are popular with barbers. Perhaps they are using them in cut-throat style razors that use half DE blades. Since the barber can control the shave angle and pressure of the razor against skin, they might work well in that situation.

Kai Stainless- Take 2!

The Kai blades were the first blade that I evaluated in this series. The results were less than successful. To determine if the early evaluation was due to either a bad blade or something in my procedure, I decided to try another blade from the same tuck. As is normally the case, I had two days of beard growth.

I started with the Kai blade in the Karve C-plate razor I have used for the other evaluations. During the 1st pass WTG, there was significant resistance to the blade, but no tugging. This is similar to my earlier experience. There was significant blade feel and I had to be super careful using the razor.

On subsequent passes, XTG, ATG and clean-up with buffing, I decided to try the blade in my Timeless 0.68 razor that has neutral blade exposure. The blade was far more comfortable to use in that razor. I was able to complete all passes, including using buffing strokes. I was able to get a DFS, but it was not as close as I normally expect. Nevertheless, when I applied witch hazel, I still got significant feedback indicating the shave was not as comfortable as I would hope.

Based on the confirmation provided by this second shave, I believe the results of the first shave were valid. The blade is rated Sharpness 3, Smoothness 3. It is a blade that I could use, but it is not a blade that I would enjoy using. Because these blades are relatively expensive compared to most blades, I cannot recommend Kai blades. There are many blades that cost less and yet will provide a closer, more comfortable shave.

If you own a razor that you consider to be too mild, using Kai blades might make it feel more aggressive, but because the blades are not sharp enough, I still cannot recommend them, even for mild razors.

This concludes my evaluation of blades that I have not tried previously. I found some great blades to add to my collection such as Lord Silver Star, Gillette Minora, and Wizamet Super Iridium. Although I did not add them to my collection, there were some pleasant surprises such as Treet Platinum and SuperMax Super Stainless that are inexpensive, yet excellent blades.

Beginning with my Tuesday shave, I will start evaluating blades that I have used previously, both superb and not. Rather than using the blades for two shaves to see how they change after the first shave, I will use the blades for one shave only and then use my previous experience with the blades to indicate how they perform in subsequent shaves. That way I can get through more blades in a shorter time. I think there are are two dozen additional blades to review.

The blade that will be used for Tuesday's shave will be the Astra Super Platinum which is one of the best known blades in the wet shaving world. I will be trying some newly purchased blades.

Just curious my guess is you're not an AC blade user?

Just curious my guess is you're not an AC blade user?

My extensive collection of shaving hardware includes a variety of straight razors, DE razors, SE razors and cartridge razors as well as a Phillips Norelco 9000 Prestige electric shaver. The cartridge razors or rotary shaver are for emergency use only when I need a socially acceptable shave in a hurry. If I have to travel by air, carrying a DE or straight is difficult, so I would rely on cartridges. 

I have only two SE razors. One is a Schick Type L injector. When I was a teenager, I obtained a Type L, but my teen acne was so bad, that the only razor I could use was a Norelco rotary. Somewhere over the years, the Schick razor was lost. A few years ago, I had an opportunity to pick up a NOS Type L in original packaging and jumped at the chance. The purchase came with some vintage Schick blades, including some dual blades. The vintage blades were not sharp enough for my beard, but I purchased some Chinese Schick injector blades and they do the job for me. I keep that injector razor in the shower for trimming the back of my neck. If I am in a hurry, I can use it to shave my face in the shower, but I prefer shaving at the sink with DE razors or straight razors. 

I do have an ATT SE-1 razor that uses AC blades. I doubt I would have ever purchased the razor, but won it in a raffle at a Maggard Meet-up. The razor had some cosmetic defects, which is why it ended up in the raffle, but they do not affect the shave. I use it with Feather Artist Club Professional blades. The are sharp and long lasting. However, I am not a fan of the extra length of the blade. One day I might purchase a Feather SR or DX shavette as I would not mind the longer length blade in that type of razor as an alternative to straights. I have tried half-DE blade shavettes and do not like them. They are too short. Go figure.

When I was a teen, my father had a GEM style razor, among others. I tried it when learning to shave, but did not really like it. I was not a fan of the spring-loaded cap. I realize that there are a variety of head designs today for GEM style blades, but I have not entertained using them.

The Chinese Schick and Feather AC blades are some of the sharpest, most durable blades available. They compare to BIC Chrome Platinum and Gillette Nacet DE blades in sharpness and smoothness, but last considerably longer. Since injector blades are more expensive than DE blades, it is a good thing they last far longer.

Astra Superior Platinum (green)

I purchased these blades recently from Amazon as the listing said they were made in India. When I received the blades, the outer wrap on the package said “New”, but the container in which the blades were packaged said “Made in Russia”. The printing on the packaging and tucks looked like some Astra blades I purchased a few years ago. However, the blade did look different and had a different font and much sharper print quality. I was under the impression that recent PPI blades had laser etching, so I am not certain when or where these blades were made.

I was not sure what to expect from the “new” Astra SP blade. I have used Astra blades in the past from various sources, but I never found one that I enjoyed using. While I could use the blades, they were never sharp enough nor smooth enough for an enjoyable shave. I always considered Astra SP to be the minimum quality blade I could use. However, I realize that the blade has been one of the best selling DE blades on Amazon and at many shaving vendors. My beard and face needs sharper, smoother blades. I began the shave hoping that the “new” blades might be an improvement on those I have tried in the past.

As usual, I had two days of beard growth. I started by loading one of my older pack of Astra SP blades into my Karve C-plate razor and used it for the WTG pass on the right side of my face. The sharpness and blade feel were what I have come to expect from Astra SP blades. There was some resistance to the beard, but no tugging. There was some minor irritation.
I then replaced the older Astra blade with the “new” blade I received recently and used it to complete the shave. When I first started to use the blade on the left side of my face, there was some tugging; not enough to be painful, but enough to be noticeable. Thus, the new blade was not even as sharp as the older one, but there was not enough difference to be an issue.
Although I did notice some roughness with the blade, I was able to complete the four-pass shave including ATG and light buffing strokes during my clean-up pass. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I got moderate feedback, even less than I did with the Kai blade. The shave was not as close as I normally expect, but it would have passed as a DFS.

Thus, based on this shave and my previous experience with Astra Superior Platinum blades, I am going to rate these blades Sharpness 3 / Smoothness 3.5. They are a blade I could use, but not a blade I would enjoy using. Considering that these blades sell for $9-10 per 100 blades on Amazon, they are a far better value than Kai blades which sell for more than three times as much. Thus, I can see why these blades tend to be popular among those who do not need sharper blades. Still, there are sharper, smoother blades in the same price range. If you like the price of Astra blades, but would like a sharper, smoother blade, I suggest you consider the Astra Superior Stainless (blue) blade. They are almost as sharp and smooth as Personna Platinum, but still sell for under $10 for 100 blades.

I plan to follow this same procedure in evaluating other blades. Thus, on Thursday’s shave I will start out with the Astra SP blade in the razor and shave the right size of my face WTG. Then I will switch to the next blade, which in this instance will be a Durablade 7 a.m. Plus Hi Platinum blade made by the same company that produces the Sharp line of blades.