RayClem's Blade Evaluations

I attempted to shave with the Personna Lab Blue. The first WTG stroke was very uncomfortable. Tried again, also a stroke on opposite cheek with same level of high discomfort. Second blade was no better. Looking back at RayClem's review, we shared the same initial experience. I am not ready to power through the coating to get to the sharp edge.

Replaced blade with the Super Max Blue Diamond in the Blackbird. The blade gave a much more comfortable shave by comparison. Initial impression is the Blue Diamond is a mid-level sharp blade that worked acceptably well for me. More thoughts to come after trying in a few other razors.

I attempted to shave with the Personna Lab Blue. The  first WTG stroke was very uncomfortable. Tried again, also a stroke on opposite cheek with same level of high discomfort. Second blade was no better. Looking back at RayClem's review, we shared the same initial experience. I am not ready to power through the coating to get to the sharp edge.

Replaced blade with the Super Max Blue Diamond in the Blackbird. The blade gave a much more comfortable shave by comparison. Initial impression is the Blue Diamond is a mid-level sharp blade that worked acceptably well for me. More thoughts to come after trying in a few other razors.

I really wanted to like the Personna Lab Blue blades since they are made in USA. After the 1st shave, they are pretty decent blades. I know some people will ""cork" the blades to make them more comfortable on the 1st shave; but to me, they are not worth the effort of doing that. I find the Personna Platinum Chrome blades to be good from the 1st stroke; thus I use them instead.

I was surprised at how much better the AccuThrive Prep blades were than the Lab Blues. I had always assumed that the difference between "Comfort Coated: and "For Hospital Use" was primarily some extra cleaning steps. However, the extra cleaning seems to make a difference in the quality of the shave. Unfortunately, since they are sold primarily to medical facilities, like most other medical items, the pricing is rather high.  I am glad I got a chance to experience a couple of the AccuThrive blades due to the generosity of an annomyous donor, but I doubt I will be adding them to my stash.

As part of the rebranding, AccuTec Blades will produce Personna Super blades aimed at the beauty/barber trade. I do not know if these are the same as "Lab Blues" or whether there have been some spec changes. I believe the "comfort coated" description has been replaced with "MicroCoat", but I do not know if there is a difference.

If anyone tries the Personna Super blades, please post a review.

For those who use Gem style single edge razors the Personna Gem blades have been rebranded to AccuTec Pro.

I know I must be annoying but  I just finished a 48th shave with my rex razor and jaguar blade and this is freaking me out how this blade is getting sharper and smoother,beyond BBS,after 4 hours no whiskers showing up,i’m using major pressure while finishing up ATG,not once was I thinking careful,careful,just slam bang aggressively shaving,so much so I knicked my ear lobe..lol..no burn with alcohol based aftershave,like splashing on cold water!This 5th blade from this tuck is either a one of a kind or who knows?i tossed the other 4 after around 20 shaves..

I attempted to shave with the Personna Lab Blue. The  first WTG stroke was very uncomfortable. Tried again, also a stroke on opposite cheek with same level of high discomfort. Second blade was no better. Looking back at RayClem's review, we shared the same initial experience. I am not ready to power through the coating to get to the sharp edge.

Replaced blade with the Super Max Blue Diamond in the Blackbird. The blade gave a much more comfortable shave by comparison. Initial impression is the Blue Diamond is a mid-level sharp blade that worked acceptably well for me. More thoughts to come after trying in a few other razors.

I really wanted to like the Personna Lab Blue blades since they are made in USA. After the 1st shave, they are pretty decent blades. I know some people will ""cork" the blades to make them more comfortable on the 1st shave; but to me, they are not worth the effort of doing that. I find the Personna Platinum Chrome blades to be good from the 1st stroke; thus I use them instead.

I was surprised at how much better the AccuThrive Prep blades were than the Lab Blues. I had always assumed that the difference between "Comfort Coated: and "For Hospital Use" was primarily some extra cleaning steps. However, the extra cleaning seems to make a difference in the quality of the shave. Unfortunately, since they are sold primarily to medical facilities, like most other medical items, the pricing is rather high.  I am glad I got a chance to experience a couple of the AccuThrive blades due to the generosity of an annomyous donor, but I doubt I will be adding them to my stash.

As part of the rebranding, AccuTec Blades will produce Personna Super blades aimed at the beauty/barber trade. I do not know if these are the same as "Lab Blues" or whether there have been some spec changes. I believe the "comfort coated" description has been replaced with "MicroCoat", but I do not know if there is a difference.

If anyone tries the Personna Super blades, please post a review.

For those who use Gem style single edge razors the Personna Gem blades have been rebranded to AccuTec Pro.

I had grabbed ~800 of the Comfort coated blades, after trying a few, between 2019 and 2021. All at fair prices before they shot up in price (I believe they're now in the realm of $18-20 per 100?)

My first pack was awesome with sharp smooth blades. This is why I jumped in on so many. I then opened (I think) 300 into a Tupperware container to have them easier to grab. I've since gotten quite a few less than top quality blades. Not all completely horrible, but I can see the QC is lacking.

I've tried 3 or 4 of the Israeli/German reds. I agree wholeheartedly, the reds are waaaaay better. I'm now trying to use up a few hundred of these so I can justify a few hundred Reds. The rollercoaster truly never ends. Lol.

Fwiw, I am fairly certain these 'Made in the USA' blades are actually produced in Mexico. There are rules to production labels with NAFTA, but (I assume) a lot of loopholes, too. Of course, I could be wrong. If I'm not, at least we can feel a little bit better about skipping the (supposed) US blades and sourcing others from Germany/ Israel.

Regarding the supers ... I thought they were just different packaging for the Israeli blades? Personna may make blades, but they excel at producing confusion.

I find the Personna Platinum Chrome blades to be good from the 1st stroke; thus I use them instead.

For me the Personna Platinum Chrome is one of the smooooothest blades I have encountered so far. I was shocked by how different the lab blues behave on first shave. Perhaps I will give them another try with corking and palm stropping at a later date.

I know I must be annoying but  I just finished a 48th shave with my rex razor and jaguar blade and this is freaking me out how this blade is getting sharper and smoother,beyond BBS,after 4 hours no whiskers showing up,i’m using major pressure while finishing up ATG,not once was I thinking careful,careful,just slam bang aggressively shaving,so much so I knicked my ear lobe..lol..no burn with alcohol based aftershave,like splashing on cold water!This 5th blade from this tuck is either a one of a kind or who knows?i tossed the other 4 after around 20 shaves..

What your comments are telling me is that your beard is a lot less tough than mine and your skin is a lot less sensitive. There are guys who can get 100 shaves from an Astra SP blade; I have never gotten a single good shave from one. While the blade is probably the same, their beard and skin is quite different. 

I do tend to reject your advice about shaving "with pressure" as that goes against everything I have learned from others or experienced personally. 

The Jaguar blades are good blades. I found them to be similar in sharpness to many of my favorite blades. The only problem I have with Jaguar blades is that they are only available in 10 packs. I find that strange for a company that is marketing primarily to professional barbers and hair stylists. Professionals typically use a lot of blades and purchase blades in bulk. Since you can get 20 plus shaves from a single blade, a 10 pack will last you several months. That is wonderful. I typically get 3-4 good shaves from most blades before they start to deteriorate. so I prefer purchasing in bulk. For my usage, something like the Silver Star blades represent a better value. However, for you, it does not make much difference.

Friday Shave- Gillette 365- India

I had never heard of the Gillette 365 blade prior to a few weeks ago. However, I am glad to have made the acquaintance. I believe they have a platinum coating.

I started the shave with the Gillette Goal blade from the previous shave in the razor. The first few strokes were similar in performance to the previous shave, OK but nothing special. I then installed a fresh Gillette 365 bade in the razor. Wow, what a difference!. The blade was significantly sharper and significantly smoother. I could have stopped with a DFS shave after three passes, but I completed the shave with buffing strokes on my clean-up pass. I almost achieved a BBS shave. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I got essentially no feedback. This was an outstanding shave.

Based on the results of this shave, I am rating the blade 4.5 sharpness and 5 smoothness. That make it one of best blades I have evaluated. I can understand why they named it Gillette 365. I could easily use this blade as a daily driver. What surprises me even more than the quality of the shave is the price. Razor Blades Club offers the blades for $1.39 for a five blade tuck and $15 per 100 blades. This makes these blade a great value.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated with the results from this shave.

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

The next blade to be evaluated is the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum. I still have a few Gillette Nacet Platinum blades from PPI Russia. They are among my favorite blades, but they were discontinued some time ago. I am hoping these Chinese blades will be a suitable replacement. If the Super Nacets perform as well as the Gillette 365, I will be happy, even if they are more expensive.

I attempted to shave with the Personna Lab Blue. The  first WTG stroke was very uncomfortable. Tried again, also a stroke on opposite cheek with same level of high discomfort. Second blade was no better. Looking back at RayClem's review, we shared the same initial experience. I am not ready to power through the coating to get to the sharp edge.

Replaced blade with the Super Max Blue Diamond in the Blackbird. The blade gave a much more comfortable shave by comparison. Initial impression is the Blue Diamond is a mid-level sharp blade that worked acceptably well for me. More thoughts to come after trying in a few other razors.

I really wanted to like the Personna Lab Blue blades since they are made in USA. After the 1st shave, they are pretty decent blades. I know some people will ""cork" the blades to make them more comfortable on the 1st shave; but to me, they are not worth the effort of doing that. I find the Personna Platinum Chrome blades to be good from the 1st stroke; thus I use them instead.

I was surprised at how much better the AccuThrive Prep blades were than the Lab Blues. I had always assumed that the difference between "Comfort Coated: and "For Hospital Use" was primarily some extra cleaning steps. However, the extra cleaning seems to make a difference in the quality of the shave. Unfortunately, since they are sold primarily to medical facilities, like most other medical items, the pricing is rather high.  I am glad I got a chance to experience a couple of the AccuThrive blades due to the generosity of an annomyous donor, but I doubt I will be adding them to my stash.

As part of the rebranding, AccuTec Blades will produce Personna Super blades aimed at the beauty/barber trade. I do not know if these are the same as "Lab Blues" or whether there have been some spec changes. I believe the "comfort coated" description has been replaced with "MicroCoat", but I do not know if there is a difference.

If anyone tries the Personna Super blades, please post a review.

For those who use Gem style single edge razors the Personna Gem blades have been rebranded to AccuTec Pro.

I had grabbed ~800 of the Comfort coated blades, after trying a few, between 2019 and 2021. All at fair prices before they shot up in price (I believe they're now in the realm of $18-20 per 100?)

My first pack was awesome with sharp smooth blades. This is why I jumped in on so many. I then opened (I think) 300 into a Tupperware container to have them easier to grab. I've since gotten quite a few less than top quality blades. Not all completely horrible, but I can see the QC is lacking.

I've tried 3 or 4 of the Israeli/German reds. I agree wholeheartedly, the reds are waaaaay better. I'm now trying to use up a few hundred of these so I can justify a few hundred Reds. The rollercoaster truly never ends. Lol.

Fwiw, I am fairly certain these 'Made in the USA' blades are actually produced in Mexico. There are rules to production labels with NAFTA, but (I assume) a lot of loopholes, too. Of course, I could be wrong. If I'm not, at least we can feel a little bit better about skipping the (supposed) US blades and sourcing others from Germany/ Israel.

Regarding the supers ... I thought they were just different packaging for the Israeli blades? Personna may make blades, but they excel at producing confusion.

The AccuTec blades are made Verona, VA, but there is a packaging facility in Mexico that might have be packaged the blades you received. Packaging and distribution is often more labor intensive than production, so there are labor cost advantages to packaging in Mexico. AFAIK, there are no blade production facilities there.

ewk
TommyCarioca
metal_shavings

Thanks for your feedback on various blades in various razors. I never intended my blade evaluations to be "reference standards", but only comparative guidelines in helping others find the best blades for their razors. You are confirming that the guidelines are helpful in doing that.

Different razors often work best with particular blades while some razors can be used with nearly any blade. I love the Parker 24C OC razor when equipped with a smooth blade and used at a shallow blade angle. However, it can cause irritation if used with too sharp a blade or too steep an angle.

I definitely use your valuations as a reference. It gives me a rough idea where the blade would be and I can decide what razor it may work well with. It's hard in this hobby for anything to really be the "standard" as it is a tremendously YMMV venture. While I had a more enjoyable shave and like the the Derby greens whereas you didn't, I am in agreeance on your rating of the Zorrik blades you sent me. They were rated at a 3.5 for sharpness and a four for smoothness. They definitely are not the sharpest blades out there and I found them, quite literally, to be a drag. At some point I will attempt the second shave with it in a different razor, but I definitely don't see it as it go to blade at all.

Onto the Parker 24C. My experience this time with the Tiger Superior blade wasn't bad. From my experience, and what I've seen in a few videos on the Parker, the angle is incredibly important with his razor for it to be comfortable. I did find myself kind of fiddling with it a bit as I was shaving. Generally with anything, I find that if I have to spend too much time fiddling to make it satisfactory, it never will be. And it must go. Not to say a little experimenting to get it right is it necessary, but it was just a constant battle of angles during the shade for me. The results were good, she was smooth, comfortable, no irritation, no feedback from the alcohol-based splash, and reasonably close with a little extra touchup. But, even based on this more recent outing, I don't see the 24C as being any kind of a go to razor for me. I'm not by any means saying it's a bad razor or not good for somebody else, but for me, there's so many other razors that I'm likely to reach for before this one. And it's just strictly about ease of use and the enjoyment of the shave. Price has no play in this decision at all. One of the best shaves I ever got last year was a Pearl razor that I paid just under $18 for. Still not sure if I should be happy about that or angry!!!

I do look forward to trying the blade again and some other razors. It seems like it could be a solid choice for a more aggressive razor. Also in my sites for that purpose are the Gillette 7 o'clock greens. While you rated the Tiger at a 4 for both sharpness and smoothness, the Gillette greens got a 4 for sharpness and a 4.5 for smoothness.

I know I must be annoying but  I just finished a 48th shave with my rex razor and jaguar blade and this is freaking me out how this blade is getting sharper and smoother,beyond BBS,after 4 hours no whiskers showing up,i’m using major pressure while finishing up ATG,not once was I thinking careful,careful,just slam bang aggressively shaving,so much so I knicked my ear lobe..lol..no burn with alcohol based aftershave,like splashing on cold water!This 5th blade from this tuck is either a one of a kind or who knows?i tossed the other 4 after around 20 shaves..

What your comments are telling me is that your beard is a lot less tough than mine and your skin is a lot less sensitive. There are guys who can get 100 shaves from an Astra SP blade; I have never gotten a single good shave from one. While the blade is probably the same, their beard and skin is quite different. 

I do tend to reject your advice about shaving "with pressure" as that goes against everything I have learned from others or experienced personally. 

The Jaguar blades are good blades. I found them to be similar in sharpness to many of my favorite blades. The only problem I have with Jaguar blades is that they are only available in 10 packs. I find that strange for a company that is marketing primarily to professional barbers and hair stylists. Professionals typically use a lot of blades and purchase blades in bulk. Since you can get 20 plus shaves from a single blade, a 10 pack will last you several months. That is wonderful. I typically get 3-4 good shaves from most blades before they start to deteriorate. so I prefer purchasing in bulk. For my usage, something like the Silver Star blades represent a better value. However, for you, it does not make much difference.

Well I’m pretty sure my beard is quite tough and my skin is about as sensitive as can be…don’t understand how anyone can tell anything about a blade with one and then a quarter shave,just the fact that the quality control is atrocious,from a tuck you get 1 good blade or 2…then some blades like the Personna platinum need 2-3 shaves before they even approach something passable and then start gouging on the 6th - 7th shave…horrible quality,I had 100’s of the old Personna blades 100’ of shicks from the 80’s that I used up,make these new steel blades feel like they taking us for a ride.and then got rid of 2 used up Gillette 
fat boys,started stocking up on new blades and felt there’s something wrong with the steels their using,almost grew a beard and gave up.These jags are getting so good that I press extra hard within reason,say 3x the weight of the razor,can’t explain,may 4x….eh whatever.