These are the fabled Lab Blue Personna?

True to his word, a replacement box of the etched variety blades arrived from huizamx today.     I may be under the radar for a few days, but I will report back.

My replacement blades came yesterday with the etching. First use this morning in a Ti WR1 .94SB was very nice. I did hand strop it to get the coating even. With only one use, I think these may be different blades as today's shave seemed a little bit smoother and sharper as well. Zero tugging. Zero glue dots. And 250 of them should last quite a while.

So, as it seems, I'm glad I went to the trouble to get a replacement. I must admit I struggle with leaving the seller in a negative position. He paid $4.60 worth of postage on the second set. I've asked what to do with the original blades but he's not responded. I assume he will say "keep them" because adding more shipping costs on his end doesn't seem wise from my chair. So...he's sent $36 worth of blades, shipped separately, consumed his valuable time, and gotten $18 for his efforts....perhaps the reason for the $2 increase in price.

Hi everyone.  Just a brief update here.  I had my first shave with an etched Lab Blue, and it was a fine shave indeed - a couple of "microdots" that stopped bleeding before the post, no irritation, and a BBS shave.  This is also only my second go with MWF, and I Freakin Love the MWF! 

One shave is never definitive, and my dance card is a bit full right now, but I'll be in touch.  I will say this: Thanks Lipripper660!  If this shave is any indication, these etched  blades definitely beat the kindergartner Lab Blues.


[font=Courier New]......PRE:....Hot Water, CeraVe SA Cleanser
......BRUSH:..Zenith Manchurian Two Band (28mm)
......SOAP:...Mitchell's Wool Fat
......RAZOR:..Game Changer .84, Wizamet Iridium Super
......POST:...CeraVe SA Cream[/font]

Wow am I glad you cats are having the same experience as me. I really would like to know if they got new equipment, refurbed the old equipment, or hired the dude that made the equipment in the old Polish Wizamet plant run. At any rate I had been wondering if my experience was a single solitary blade that wound up perfect. It looks like you fellas are having the same luck, thus maybe not luck at all. When I started I really wanted to "buy American" which in the case of razors (at the time) was a vintage-only game. Soaps were easier but premium brands were all off-shore. And although the lab blues were around AND pretty nice and sharp, there were a few other blades I liked better. Personna seems to have stepped up that final rung in the ladder and I hope this is an on-going thing. I'm back off the road so will start with a fresh lazier etched lab blue this morning.

Started a new Lab Blue blade this morning/ as expected the first pass was not as smooth as the subsequent two. blade breaking in i suppose. at any rate i got a super close shave which was much appreciated after a week on the road with a Gillette Guard. Home-based gear is the best. and in honor of the holiday season I broke out the vintage Williams/Currier & Ives. no scent left, and the finish is not what modern soaps offer, but man that is some good slick lather.

Started a new Lab Blue blade this morning/ as expected the first pass was not as smooth as the subsequent two. blade breaking in i suppose. at any rate i got a super close shave which was much appreciated after a week on the road with a Gillette Guard. Home-based gear is the best. and in honor of the holiday season I broke out the vintage Williams/Currier & Ives. no scent left, and the finish is not what modern soaps offer, but man that is some good slick lather.

Based on the info BPman posted about the patent, there is something to hand stropping them for the first use.

My second use today in a WR1 80OC was very good. It was GSB smooth for me. I'm digging the etched blade.

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Based on the info BPman posted about the patent, there is something to hand stropping them for the first use...

Edgewell is doing it chemically and I would never ever in a million years recommend hand stropping any modern stainless coated blade as more often than not it does more damage than good. It's the PTFE type coating that imparts the smoothness and not the sharpness of the blade.

Based on the info BPman posted about the patent, there is something to hand stropping them for the first use...

Edgewell is doing it chemically and I would never ever in a million years recommend hand stropping any modern stainless coated blade as more often than not it does more damage than good. It's the PTFE type coating that imparts the smoothness and not the sharpness of the blade.

How would hand or towel stopping differ from actual use, other than direction? Or is that your point? If I recall the coating is what gets "peeled" to an even thickness during first use. Maybe my understanding is severely lacking here. Tell me how stropping damages a DE blade, please. It sure seems to work on Feathers in particular.

Edit: I've read about corking a DE blade. No bueno? Is there anything one can do to remove first use blade discomfort?

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In 2015 Personna (actually Edgewell Personal Care Brands) applied for a patent that is interesting:

It is known from the art, for instance from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,743,551 and 3,838,512, that the shaving properties of a razor blade can be improved by applying a polymer outer surface coating (e.g., polytetrafluoroethylene—“PTFE”). Typically, polymer coatings of this type are applied to create a relatively thin layer (e.g., equal to or less than 500 nm) on at least the tip of the blade. The layer can be applied using a variety of different techniques; e.g., spray application, bath dipping, etc. Since no application process will apply a perfectly uniform layer thickness across the entire desired surface, the thickness of the initially applied layer is typically chosen to ensure adequate layer thickness given an expected thickness variation. Although this “relatively” thin layer ensures adequate layer thickness, it is not optimum for shaving; e.g., it is too thick. During the first few strokes of use of a new coated blade, a portion of the polymer coating (if left at the initial thickness) will be removed from the tip during the shaving process by the user of the blade. This process of moving the surface coating by the user of the blade via contact is sometimes referred to as “push back” or “peel back” of the coating. After the excess polymer coating is “pushed back” by the user, a much thinner layer of polymer coating (a layer that can be one polymer molecule thick) typically remains on the blade edge throughout the useful life of the blade. Until the initial thickness of the polymer coating is “pushed back,” however, the user can experience some amount of discomfort. 

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,985,459 and 7,247,249 disclose treating a razor blade cutting edge having an adherent polyfluorocarbon coating with a solvent to partially remove some of the coating, apparently to potentially avoid the aforesaid discomfort associated with the excessively thick coating. Using a solvent can significantly add to the manufacturing cost, and in some instances add additional manufacturing steps. For example, the '459 Patent discloses that in some instances a post-solvent treatment step can be used to remove any excess solvent...

https://patents.justia.com/patent/9943879

In essence, they are via technology doing for a DE blade what the first shave actually did, i.e., breaking it in. Is it worth it? Not to me. YMMV.

Boy...I totally missed your point here. Duh.

My questions from the prior post still stands. If you would indulge.

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Is there anything one can do to remove first use blade discomfort?

Short of letting your butler use it for a few swipes, no. Good grief, it's not as if the first few passes on a new blade are some sort of torture. 

Is there anything one can do to remove first use blade discomfort?

Short of letting your butler use it for a few swipes, no. Good grief, it's not as if the first few passes on a new blade are some sort of torture. 

Perspective. I get it. And...consistent with your first post re:worth. And sans butler, I guess I'm armed with the tools needed to figure it out on my own. I'll answer my own questions. Carry on.