Today’s Shave: Gilllete Platinum made in Russia
There are several versions of the Gillette Platinum blade. The version I have is from several years ago. The package is printed in dark blue and the blade has black printing on the blade. I understand that some more recent versions have a lighter blue printing on the package and laser etching on the blade. Do not confuse the blue color with the light blue packaging of the Gillette Silver Blue blades. I understand that some Gillette Platinum blades are manufactured in China, but mine specifically state they are made by PPI in St. Petersburg.
I started the shave with the Astra Super Stainless blade in the razor. After a few strokes, I replace the blade with a Gillette Platinum. The Astra remained very sharp and very smooth on its 2nd use. The Gillette Platinum blade did exhibit some blade resistance. I was hoping that the blade would become sharper during the shave, but there was still resistance during my XTG and ATG passes. Even with the clean-up pass using buffing strokes, I could not achieve a near-BBS shave. A DFS was the best I could do.
After my shave, I applied witch hazel. There was moderate feedback, indicating there was some irritation during the shave.
I rated the blades as 4 sharpness and 4 smoothness making them a mid-sharp blade similar to quite a few other blades I evaluated. I know that Gillette Platinum is a favorite blade of many shavers. I suspect those that have an average beard and average skin sensitivity would find shaving daily with this blade to be enjoyable. For my two-day beard and sensitive skin, the blade is neither sharp enough or smooth enough. It might work well for me in a more aggressive razor.
As the Gillette Platinum blades are no longer being manufactured in Russia, the price of remaining stock is rising. The current price is $24/100 blades. Thus, unless these blades are ideal for your beard, skin and razor, you can find better value elsewhere.
If anyone has used Gillette Platinum blades made in China, feel free to comment on their performance.
The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated. You can find it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/71ttt15wy...qo8eb&dl=0
Next up is the 7 O’Clock SharpEdge (yellow). I usually find this platinum coated blade to be super smooth, so it is my blade of choice on those rare occasions when I try to shave with my Muhle R41. The blades I typically use in less aggressive razors are too sharp for use in the R41.
There are several versions of the Gillette Platinum blade. The version I have is from several years ago. The package is printed in dark blue and the blade has black printing on the blade. I understand that some more recent versions have a lighter blue printing on the package and laser etching on the blade. Do not confuse the blue color with the light blue packaging of the Gillette Silver Blue blades. I understand that some Gillette Platinum blades are manufactured in China, but mine specifically state they are made by PPI in St. Petersburg.
I started the shave with the Astra Super Stainless blade in the razor. After a few strokes, I replace the blade with a Gillette Platinum. The Astra remained very sharp and very smooth on its 2nd use. The Gillette Platinum blade did exhibit some blade resistance. I was hoping that the blade would become sharper during the shave, but there was still resistance during my XTG and ATG passes. Even with the clean-up pass using buffing strokes, I could not achieve a near-BBS shave. A DFS was the best I could do.
After my shave, I applied witch hazel. There was moderate feedback, indicating there was some irritation during the shave.
I rated the blades as 4 sharpness and 4 smoothness making them a mid-sharp blade similar to quite a few other blades I evaluated. I know that Gillette Platinum is a favorite blade of many shavers. I suspect those that have an average beard and average skin sensitivity would find shaving daily with this blade to be enjoyable. For my two-day beard and sensitive skin, the blade is neither sharp enough or smooth enough. It might work well for me in a more aggressive razor.
As the Gillette Platinum blades are no longer being manufactured in Russia, the price of remaining stock is rising. The current price is $24/100 blades. Thus, unless these blades are ideal for your beard, skin and razor, you can find better value elsewhere.
If anyone has used Gillette Platinum blades made in China, feel free to comment on their performance.
The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated. You can find it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/71ttt15wy...qo8eb&dl=0
Next up is the 7 O’Clock SharpEdge (yellow). I usually find this platinum coated blade to be super smooth, so it is my blade of choice on those rare occasions when I try to shave with my Muhle R41. The blades I typically use in less aggressive razors are too sharp for use in the R41.