RayClem's Blade Evaluations

I recently met some Swedes. One guys says he can’t shave due to irritation issues, but the Arabic barbers in Sweden can give him a great shave with a straight. So I got to thinking, why not give him a DE?  And I did. My travel Yaqi Mellon is now in his possession loaded with Japanese steel Super Thins. He seems quite happy with it!  He also got a grab bag of good blade tucks.


Another chap still has his dad’s old DE so I gave him a couple tucks of fine blades as well.

Seeding the clouds!

You were quite generous in your gift to your Swedish friend. I have not tried a Yaqi Mellon razor, but it does look interesting. My Timeless Ti razors have scalloped caps which allow for improved lather lubrication, but the double comb design might even improve on that. I have been very impressed with the Gillette Super Thins from Vietnam, so they seem to have been a good choice for them as well.

Perhaps, after I get a chance to thoroughly evaluate the Timeless TI 0.68 and d0.95 razors along with the Parker SoloEdge razor that I have added to my den, but have not been able to evaluate, I might consider adding the Yaqi Mellon.

Thank you Ray. FYI my Ebay seller is working on getting some Strangelets. Thanks for the tip on the Filoso.

Thursday Shave- Continued use of the Gillette Super Thin Vietnam and No Name generic blade

Once again, with one day of beard growth, I pulled out the two razors from the previous day's shave. The Vietnam Super Thin is now on its 8th use, but it will is starting its 5th full shave. The generic blade is starting its 6th use, but today will be completing its 3rd full shave.

Once again, both blades provided a enjoyable shave. I felt some loss of sharpness and some slight blade roughness on both blades. I was easily able to achieve a DEF shave, I did not quite get a near-BBS shave with either blade If anything, the generic blade side was slightly closer. . When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I received moderate feedback which is good for blades in use this long.

Since I am now well beyond the normal evaluation range, no changes to the ratings will be made. Now that the Gillette Super Thin Vietnam blade has successfully made it half-way through its 5th shave, it should make it through tomorrow's shave, but I am not so sure it will be quite up to a 6th shave. I am pleasantly surprised the generic blade has been able to make it this far.

Gasman The no name blade in the white wrapper makes up for the poor experience with the Gillette Super Thins from Thailand. Who would ever believe that a generic blade could outperform a Gillette blade by such a significant margin? The DE blade marketplace is certainly strange.

I still plan to use both blades for tomorrow's shave. Whether either is suitable for Saturday's shave is yet to be determined.

Good to hear I made up for the junk blades I sent you. Id say I was worried about it but ...

It is very odd that a generic anything would do so well. Thanks for giving it a serious workout/test.

Friday Shave- Continued use of the Gillette Super Thin Vietnam and No Name generic blade

Once again, with one day of beard growth, I pulled out the two razors from the previous day's shave. The Vietnam Super Thin is now on its 9th use, but it will be completing its 5th full shave. The generic blade is starting its 7th use, but today will be starting its 4th full shave.

Once again, both blades provided a decent shave. I felt some loss of sharpness and some slight blade roughness on both blades. I was easily able to achieve a DFS shave, I did not quite get a near-BBS shave with either blade If anything, the generic blade side was slightly closer. . When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I received significant feedback which is expected for blades in use this long.

Since I am now well beyond the normal evaluation range, no changes to the ratings will be made. The Gillette Super Thin Vietnam blade has successfully made it through its 5th shave, something that very few blades do. However, it has reached a point that I am not so sure it is suitable for a 6th shave. Thus, I have decided to terminate this longevity trial.

The generic blade is likely capable of completing the 4th shave, but I plan to cease use of that one as well.

I do not plan to shave tomorrow. That will allow me to do a face-off shave between the Matgicol and FlyDear blades on Easter Sunday morning with a little more than 1 1/2 days of beard growth. I hope both are capable of delivering a near BBS shaved for the occasion.

     I have to say the 7th shave was still good. Paired it with my Lupo 95OC. Closeness was good, BBS perhaps just a smidge less. I did experience a little feedback with the alcohol based aftershave on my jawline just near my ears. Again, not an uncommon spot for me. A decent burn, but it faded quickly. Maybe it has 8 shaves in it? Do I quit when closeness no longer satisfies? When discomfort becomes too much? I'm thinking discomfort. So far, I can't complain about the comfort. Earlier shaves were a little better comfort wise, but so far nothing objectionable for me. I can't say I would likely push this blade this far next time I use one, but it is good to know I can go past 3 easily. The things we do for science!!!

"From what I have seen on various forums, I get the impression that Chinese blade production has come a long way in recent years. Thus, the blade you purchased a few years ago might not be the same blade that PAA is selling today."

RayClem My PAA blades were purchased when they were released in 2021.

"From what I have seen on various forums, I get the impression that Chinese blade production has come a long way in recent years. Thus, the blade you purchased a few years ago might not be the same blade that PAA is selling today."

RayClem My PAA blades were purchased when they were released in 2021.

Are you using PAA Strangelets?

"From what I have seen on various forums, I get the impression that Chinese blade production has come a long way in recent years. Thus, the blade you purchased a few years ago might not be the same blade that PAA is selling today."

RayClem My PAA blades were purchased when they were released in 2021.

Are you using PAA Strangelets?

I have them but have not used one since September of '23. I got bit every time I used them. I want to try them again.

"From what I have seen on various forums, I get the impression that Chinese blade production has come a long way in recent years. Thus, the blade you purchased a few years ago might not be the same blade that PAA is selling today."

RayClem My PAA blades were purchased when they were released in 2021.

Are you using PAA Strangelets?

I have them but have not used one since September of '23. I got bit every time I used them. I want to try them again.

I believe you have razors ranging over a wide variety of aggression levels. Perhaps you were just trying to use them in too aggressive a razor. Try the Strangelet blade in a less aggressive razor and see if you still get bit. If you do , the blades might have a rough edge, sort of like trying to shave with a serrated knife.