RayClem's Blade Evaluations

Well Ray, You had brought up the super thins and I had some. I didn't get a good shave from them either but wanted you to have something to compare the other super thins against. At first I thought these blades were just too thin and floppy so I tried them in a razor that pinched the blade closer to the edge. Still no good. Now with your comments I know for sure they are just not worth keeping. I tried them twice as you did. Fail was my conclusion about them. They came from a guy I bought razors from in Canada. So they have been passed around and nobody likes them.

The Matgicol blade I found to be a nice blade. BUT...
I couldn't get a third comfortable shave from them. The edge didn't hold up well IMO. Could have just been me so I'm interested in your opinion on them. I plan on trying another blade from the pack to see if it holds up better. If I cant get 4 shaves from a blade its really not worth the effort in my mind. Unless the name is Feather. Those I will always have. But they are "one and done" in my book. Great for travel.

No more different blades in my stash to send ya. I still plan on buying 3 more brands to put in the collection. But they will come from your spreadsheet.

Not have much luck finding the Filoso Barber Blades.

Don't worry, I still count you as a friend.   

Even if you had warned me about the Super Thins, I still would have tried them. It is all part of experimentation. You win some and you lose some.
ErkRusselReserve did warn me that he Thailand blades were not as good as the ones from Vietnam, but I cannot believe that Gillette would make blades that are that bad. I am not fond of Gillette Rubie Plus and Astra Superior Platinum, but at least they are sharp enough to shave. 

If others have tried using the Gillette Super Thins from Thailand,  I would be most interested in knowing their experience. Perhaps these were counterfeit blades, or perhaps it was a bad batch that slipped through QC. Maybe folks in Thailand have very fine beards and the blades are sharp enough for them. I am perplexed. 

Your experience with the Matgicol blades sounds like my experience with FlyDear. The first shave was nice; the second one was OK; the third one was marginal. I would not risk a 4th shave with them. Perhaps the Matgicol and FlyDear blades are the same blade in different wrappers.   

As for the Filoso Barber Blades, shortly after I gave them a glowing recommendation, I noticed that they were sold out on Amazon. However, I don't think my recommendation had anything to do with the shortage. I think you can find some at the same price directly from the Filoso web site.

https://filosobarberbrand.com/products/f...zor-blades

The price is $13 per 100 blades, which is what I paid on Amazon. However, if you purchase directly from the web site, you will need to pay $4.95 for 1st class USPS shipping. Even with shipping, the blades are still a good value considering that many blades cost $20 or more without shipping.

The Filoso blades do seem to be a tad bit elusive. I remember the first time I saw them I was curious, then they seem to vanish on me. I'm still trying to try some of the newer blades I have and also want to revisit some I haven't used in a while before I move onto picking up more blades. I'm trying to avoid it for the moment! Then, there's always that moment where you need like $1.82 more to get that free shipping! Looking on Amazon, I came across these blades. They would appear to be another private label so to speak of Derby blades. I'm guessing because they have the same coating and they're made in Turkey.

Of note the Vietnam Super Thins are explicitly marked as using Japanese Steel with the Japanese flag. This may make them different than previous Vietnam Super Thins w/o the Japanese flag. I have no idea, but the Japanese flag ones are indeed very good. Just shaved with one in a Zamac Mellon. Great hotel shave!

I checked into that. Shipping is 7.56 for UPS ground. Still, Its not a bad price 21.00 for 100 but I have so many now. I will hold off and see what happens in the future. I did order some of the Gillette 365's and some more Wisamet blades. Still have a couple more slots open in my storage containers though.

Thanks for not kicking me to the curb for not warning you about those blades. I wanted a real report on them and I got it. They are Sh...!
Counterfeit Blades? Possible I guess.

metal_shavings

Based on the coating used on the L3VEL3 blades, I suspect you are correct about themabeing made by Derby. The question is, which Derby blade dot they resemble most closely. `Are they like the less sharp Derby Extra? Are they like the very sharp Derby Premium? Are they like the even sharper Usta blades made by Derby? My suspicion is that they might be similar to the Parker Premium Platinum blades made by Derby. I rated them just a little less sharp than Derby Premium . As long as the blades are not the equivalent of Derby Extra, they are well priced. If you do decide to purchase some of the L3VEL3 blades, if you send me a couple, I will evaluate them, but I have already evaluated so many Derby blades, I am not anxious to try them unless they are the equivalent of Derby Usta. In that case, keep 'em comin'.

I checked into that. Shipping is 7.56 for UPS ground. Still, Its not a bad price 21.00 for 100 but I have so many now. I will hold off and see what happens in the future. I did order some of the Gillette 365's and some more Wisamet blades. Still have a couple more slots open in my storage containers though.

Thanks for not kicking me to the curb for not warning you about those blades. I wanted a real report on them and I got it. They are Sh...!
Counterfeit Blades? Possible I guess.

Jerry, it was not my intention to "kick you to the curb".  It was intended as a gentle nudge in the ribs to a friend who lives too far away to actually do that. If you considered it to be too harsh, I apologize. 

As far as the Filoso shipping, the price I posted came directly from the FAQ page of the filosobarberbrand web site. They quoted $4.95 for standard shipping and $7.95 for priority shipping. I presume the $4.95 cost is for something like UPS ShurePost where UPS ground delivers the package to your local post office and the mail carrier delivers it to your mail box. Of course, it is quite possible that their shipping costs have increased due to inflation and they failed to update their web site. I suspect they will return to Amazon one day and Prime members can get free shipping.

Thursday morning shave- Gillette Super Thin Vietnam- 2nd use

While the Thailand version of this blade did not make it through the 1st pass of the 1st pass of the 1st shave, the Vietnam version easily made it to the 2nd shave. I am pleased to report that I got another great shave with this blade. The blade seemed to be slightly sharper on the 1st use. I had gotten to the point that after the 2nd pass XTG, the stubble was short enough that I decided to combine my ATG and clean-up passes. I did the third pass ATG with buffing and did not need a separate clean-up pass to achieve near-BBS level. However, the trade-off was that I received minor feedback when applying witch hazel after the shave. Thus, the sharpness improved, but the smoothness declined.

Based on the results of this shave, I am adjusting the rating of the Super Thin Vietnam blade slightly upward to 4.75 sharpness and the smoothness slightly downward to 4.75. The combination of sharpness plus smoothness remained the same. This gives these blades a rating similar to the Nacet Stainless and the King C Gillette Platinum blades.

I want to thank ErkRusselReserve for introducing me to these blades. They are not regarded as one of my favorites. Razor Blades Club has 100 blades for $14.95. However, the packaging is different and I am not certain they are the same blades, but I will take the risk.

I am going to continue to use the Super Thin Vietnam blade for daily shaves until it no longer provides a great shave. I hope it will last for 4 shaves and maybe even a 5th.

I can take it Ray. You still good in my book.

Now if we lived closer together I'd have to watch out for your shenanigans.

I can take it Ray. You still good in my book.

Now if we lived closer together I'd have to watch out for your shenanigans.

Haha !

4.75 on both would seem a fair assessment. They are a touch less than BIC CP, but still quite excellent and a fun change of pace. 

I am curious if the Vietnam Super Thins without the Japanese Flag are indeed the same thing. Or are they closer to the Thai?  Does Japanese steel make such a difference? 

Also, are you aware of the dates on your Wizamets?  It seems June 2020 is a change of blade quality date. The after blades are less sharp than the pre.

4.75 on both would seem a fair assessment. They are a touch less than BIC CP, but still quite excellent and a fun change of pace. 

I am curious if the Vietnam Super Thins without the Japanese Flag are indeed the same thing. Or are they closer to the Thai?  Does Japanese steel make such a difference? 

Also, are you aware of the dates on your Wizamets?  It seems June 2020 is a change of blade quality date. The after blades are less sharp than the pre.

I agree with you. The BIC chrome platinum seem to be sharpest. But I could use the Vietnam Super Thins any day. 

Japanese steel is interesting. Of course, as will all steel, the heat treatment is critical. Feather blades are super sharp, but I find them to be quite brittle. Kai blades are made of Japanese steel, but they do not work for me. I have heard that rather than grinding and polishing the edges that they compress the edges as you might sharpen a Katana. The Faco'n blade is also supposed to be Japanese steel. It is another very nice blade, but perhaps not quite up to the standards of the Vietnam Super Thins. 

I purchased the Wizamets in the past few months. Thus, I presume that they are post 2020, but I do not know for sure. Here in the States, there are only two vendors of Wizamet blades. I do not know when they purchased their stocks.