RayClem's Blade Evaluations

Sunday Shave- Gillette Super Nacet Platinum- Made in China for the Malaysian market

My favorite Gillette/PPI Russian blade was the Nacet. The Nacet was originally produced as a platinum coated blade, but later that platinum was dropped and only Nacet Stainless blades were available. While both are good blades, I had a slight preference for the Nacet Platinum as they tend to be slightly smoother. Fortunately, I have a few tucks of Nacet Platinum remaining and a bulk pack of Nacet Stainless. However, with Gillette blade production moving away from St Petersburg to either China or India, I have been trying to find a suitable replacement. Thus, I had high hopes for the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum blade made in China for the Malaysian market.

I started today's shave with the Gillette 365 blade in my Karve C-plate razor. While it was not quite as sharp as the Russian Nacets, it was an excellent blade. After a few strokes with the Gillette 365 in the razor, I replaced it with a fresh Super Nacet Platinum. I immediately noted a drop in sharpness as evidenced by significant blade resistance. However, by the second pass, the blade started to become sharper. By the 3rd pass, it was even sharper. I completed the shave with my clean-up pass featuring buffing strokes ATG and XTG. The result was a nice near-BBS shave. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I got more feedback that expected.

As a result of this shave, I am rating the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum as 4.5 sharpness and 4.25 smoothness. That makes the blade similar in performance to the Tatra Platinum and Tiger Platinum blades produced in Czech Rep. However, the Gillette blades cost 23 cents each when purchased in 120 blade bulk packs compared to 9 - 10 cents per blade for the Czech blades. Thus, the Czech blades are a better value.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated.

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

For Tuesday's shave I will be trying the King C Gillette blades made in China. I have previously tested the KCG blades made in Russia. I want to see if the Chinese blades now available on store shelves are as good as the ones from Russia.

Went for shave #2 on the Tiger Superior loaded in the Lupo 127. Excellent shave. It was close, no nicks and no irritation. No feedback from the alcohol based splash, with the exception of a quick little sting upon application, which was gone as quickly as it appeared.

      It seems perhaps the slightly less sharp blade could be the better choice for this razor although I did have very good results with the Wizamet. I’ll have to decide that or if perhaps the Lupo 127 is just too much in general for me which is odd. I have other razors with larger gaps, but maybe the geometry on the Lupo, or the design of it, the blade exposure, may add up to make it more aggressive than some of the other razors that do have larger gaps? I’m not sure. I’ll definitely have to have a variety of more shaves before I decide that with it.

Went for shave #2 on the Tiger Superior loaded in the Lupo 127. Excellent shave. It was close, no nicks and no irritation. No feedback from the alcohol based splash, with the exception of a quick little sting upon application, which was gone as quickly as it appeared.

      It seems perhaps the slightly less sharp blade could be the better choice for this razor although I did have very good results with the Wizamet. I’ll have to decide that or if perhaps the Lupo 127 is just too much in general for me which is odd. I have other razors with larger gaps, but maybe the geometry on the Lupo, or the design of it, the blade exposure, may add up to make it more aggressive than some of the other razors that do have larger gaps? I’m not sure. I’ll definitely have to have a variety of more shaves before I decide that with it.

Blade gap is only one parameter affecting aggression and efficiency. If the slightly less sharp Tiger Superior Stainless blade gives you a nice shave, then maybe it is a better option than sharper blades like the Wizamet in the Lupo.

I would ask you to try something, even if you only try it once as a favor to me. Shave WTG using the Lupo 127 using the Wizamet or an even sharper blade like a Nacet or 7 O'Clock black. Then finish off your shave using a less aggressive razor, but with a blade of similar sharpness. I know using multiple razors in the same shave might seem like overkill, but it is only a minor inconvenience. Ideally you need a high efficiency razor for the WTG pass. A high efficiency razor might be too aggressive for the ATG pass. Some people use adjustable razors and dial back the aggression for later passes, but you can also do that by change razors or changing blades. Since you have a variety of razors, try doing that and report your findings. You might be surprised by the results.

I cannot wait to complete this blade evaluation series and get back to my procedure of doing 4-pass shaves with 4 razors (although that might be overkill LOL).

Went for shave #2 on the Tiger Superior loaded in the Lupo 127. Excellent shave. It was close, no nicks and no irritation. No feedback from the alcohol based splash, with the exception of a quick little sting upon application, which was gone as quickly as it appeared.

      It seems perhaps the slightly less sharp blade could be the better choice for this razor although I did have very good results with the Wizamet. I’ll have to decide that or if perhaps the Lupo 127 is just too much in general for me which is odd. I have other razors with larger gaps, but maybe the geometry on the Lupo, or the design of it, the blade exposure, may add up to make it more aggressive than some of the other razors that do have larger gaps? I’m not sure. I’ll definitely have to have a variety of more shaves before I decide that with it.

Blade gap is only one parameter affecting aggression and efficiency. If the slightly less sharp Tiger Superior Stainless blade gives you a nice shave, then maybe it is a better option than sharper blades like the Wizamet in the Lupo.

I would ask you to try something, even if you only try it once as a favor to me. Shave WTG using the Lupo 127 using the Wizamet or an even sharper blade like a Nacet or 7 O'Clock black. Then finish off your shave using a less aggressive razor, but with a blade of similar sharpness. I know using multiple razors in the same shave might seem like overkill, but it is only a minor inconvenience. Ideally you need a high efficiency razor for the WTG pass. A high efficiency razor might be too aggressive for the ATG pass. Some people use adjustable razors and dial back the aggression for later passes, but you can also do that by change razors or changing blades. Since you have a variety of razors, try doing that and report your findings. You might be surprised by the results.

I cannot wait to complete this blade evaluation series and get back to my procedure of doing 4-pass shaves with 4 razors (although that might be overkill LOL).

Yes, I am aware of blade gap is just one parameter. That's why I'm adding in the possibility of the exposure and just the geometry of the head as well I know can affect how a razor shaves. I do have a variety of razors to try that experiment with. I do have the Nacet blades, but I do not have the Gillette Blacks. I am currently thinking this experiment out and about to write out some notes on what I would use for it as I am responding to this. That's one of the few benefits of a brain like mine that never shuts off I'm really good at multitasking sometimes. I am also considering at least returning to the three pass shave. With some of these really efficient razors, I've been doing my WTG and then just ATG with buffing and touchups so maybe I haven't quite reduced my beard enough before the ATG pass.

Yes, I am aware of blade gap is just one parameter. That's why I'm adding in the possibility of the exposure and just the geometry of the head as well I know can affect how a razor shaves. I do have a variety of razors to try that experiment with. I do have the Nacet blades, but I do not have the Gillette Blacks. I am currently thinking this experiment out and about to write out some notes on what I would use for it as I am responding to this. That's one of the few benefits of a brain like mine that never shuts off I'm really good at multitasking sometimes. I am also considering at least returning to the three pass shave. With some of these really efficient razors, I've been doing my WTG and then just ATG with buffing and touchups so maybe I haven't quite reduced my beard enough before the ATG pass.

With the Lupo and something like a Nacet blade for your WTG pass, you might be able to reduce your beard enough that a ATG pass with a less aggressive razor might get you where you want to be without any irritation. That would be great.

Mr Clem there’s someone using your handle in a DM sent my way…rambling about lubrication in auto engine gears,transmission lubes,bearing grease,rear differential grease…something about blades being 0.1mm or 100 microns,apexes,cross sections3.8x10 minus 3 power,razor weights of 100 grams x applying 150 grams and on and on…guys seems pretty out of it…also the guy said he doesn’t believe I have a tough beard that’s sensitive,there’s a lot more nonsense but I’ll stop,don’t want to antagonize the guy..just a heads up.

Mr Clem there’s someone using your handle in a DM sent my way…rambling about lubrication in auto engine gears,transmission lubes,bearing grease,rear differential grease…something about blades being 0.1mm or 100 microns,apexes,cross sections3.8x10 minus 3 power,razor weights of 100 grams x applying 150 grams and on and on…guys seems pretty out of it…also the guy said he doesn’t believe I have a tough beard that’s sensitive,there’s a lot more nonsense but I’ll stop,don’t want to antagonize the guy..just a heads up.

Your post does not even deserve a response. I attempted to show you some respect by sending you a private message. You chose to respond to that private message publically which is inappropriate. Any further posts from you will be blocked using the forum's "ignore" function. If you respond to this message, I will never see your response. 

Since you do not believe I have anything worthy of value to say to you, I ask that you go to my profile page and click on the "ignore" button so you won't ever see any of my posts going forward.

Tuesday's Shave- King C Gillette Platinum blade made in China but packaged in the USA.

The King C Gillette blade made in Russia was a superb blade. I rated it 4.5 sharpness and 5. smoothness. It provided a very close shave with zero irritation. Production of these blades has moved to Shanghai, China with packaging in the States for blades sold here. How does the Chinese blade compare to the Russian version.

I started today's shave with the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum blade in the Karve C-plate razor. The first few strokes with the Super Nacet revealed that the blades were still very sharp and ready for another shave. After a few strokes, I replaced it with a fresh King C Gillette Chinese blade. Initially, the KCG blade was similar in sharpness to the Super Nacet, but after a few strokes, it became even sharper, This reached the sharpness level of BIC Chrome Platinum, Permasharp Super and treet Durasharp. While the Chinese blades are sharper than the Russian KCG blades, the Russian blades are smoother. During the shave I got three weepers on my chin, which is extremely rare. With such as sharp blade, I was easily able to achieve a near-BBS shaved, but at the expense of the weepers and some irritation. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, there was some stinging.

Based on the results of this shave, I am currently rating this blade as 5 sharpness, but only 3.5 smoothness. However, I plan to use this same blade again on Thursday to see how it performs on its second use. I am hoping it smooths out. The ratings will be revised if warranted based on the second shave. Because this blade is currently available only in 10 packs for $7, the blades are not a great value.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated.

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

Tuesday's Shave- King C Gillette Platinum blade made in China but packaged in the USA.

The King C Gillette blade made in Russia was a superb blade. I rated it 4.5 sharpness and 5. smoothness. It provided a very close shave with zero irritation. Production of these blades has moved to Shanghai, China with packaging in the States for blades sold here. How does the Chinese blade compare to the Russian version.

I started today's shave with the Gillette Super Nacet Platinum blade in the Karve C-plate razor. The first few strokes with the Super Nacet revealed that the blades were still very sharp and ready for another shave. After a few strokes, I replaced it with a fresh King C Gillette Chinese blade. Initially, the KCG blade was similar in sharpness to the Super Nacet, but after a few strokes, it became even sharper, This reached the sharpness level of BIC Chrome Platinum, Permasharp Super and treet Durasharp. While the Chinese blades are sharper than the Russian KCG blades, the Russian blades are smoother. During the shave I got three weepers on my chin, which is extremely rare. With such as sharp blade, I was easily able to achieve a near-BBS shaved, but at the expense of the weepers and some irritation. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, there was some stinging.

Based on the results of this shave, I am currently rating this blade as 5 sharpness, but only 3.5 smoothness. However, I plan to use this same blade again on Thursday to see how it performs on its second use. I am hoping it smooths out. The ratings will be revised if warranted based on the second shave. Because this blade is currently available only in 10 packs for $7, the blades are not a great value.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated.

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

Interesting trade off. A slight increase in sharpness for a reasonable drop off in smoothness. Not sure it’s a fair trade! I still have plenty of the KCG blades and will further experiment in less aggressive razors. However, once they’re gone, at the current price they will not likely be replaced.

Based on the results of this shave, I am currently rating this blade as 5 sharpness, but only 3.5 smoothness. However, I plan to use this same blade again on Thursday to see how it performs on its second use. I am hoping it smooths out. The ratings will be revised if warranted based on the second shave. Because this blade is currently available only in 10 packs for $7, the blades are not a great value.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated.

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

Interesting trade off. A slight increase in sharpness for a reasonable drop off in smoothness. Not sure it’s a fair trade! I still have plenty of the KCG blades and will further experiment in less aggressive razors. However, once they’re gone, at the current price they will not likely be replaced.

The issue is that extremely sharp blades can be fragile depending upon how they are sharpened, the type of steel used, and how they are heat treated. I do not use Japanese kitchen knives because they are too easily damaged in use and storage unless you are quite careful. In my kitchen, they would get damaged.

For someone with a tough beard, but skin that is not super sensitive, the Chinese KCG blades might be seen as an improvement. For someone with super sensitive skin like mine, I would rather see a smoother blade, even if it not quite as sharp. I followed my usual shave procedure of using the Karve C-plate razor for four passes (WTG, XTG, ATG, and cleanup with buffing). If I had stopped after three passes, the shave might not have been quite as close and I might not have gotten the same irritation, but I am trying to keep things as constant as possible. For someone whose skin can tolerate it, a one-pass shave with the KCG blade might be a possibility in an efficient razor.

Also, while I might not enjoy using the blade for a four pass shave, I might be able to use it in a slightly less aggressive razor such as my Timeless TI 0.68 for the ATG and clean-up passes with no irritation.  

For all these reasons, I am not saying any blade is "better" than another. I am just reporting comparative sharpness and smoothness ratings. There are just too many variables in shaving to state that one blade is best and another is not. 

The same thing can be said of shaving soap evaluations. While I have sensitive, dry skin and appreciate the moisturizing and conditioning properties of artisan soaps, some shavers have oily skin that is less sensitive. They might not enjoy artisan soaps at all. I do not enjoy Italian shaving soaps, but they might be perfect for those who live in Italy and other countries near the Mediterranean. No two shavers are identical.