RayClem's Blade Evaluations

For those interested in photos of various DE blade packaging or even purchasing various blades for evaluation, please refer to the The Razor Blade Club website.

The front page of their web site has photos of nearly every blade I tested and quite a few I have not tested.

https://www.razorbladesclub.com/


There are a couple of exceptions. The photo on the main page shows Gillette Minora Platinum in the hot pink packaging. I tested the Minora Stainless in yellow packaging. RBC sells both blades. It might well be that the Minora Platinum, like the Nacet platinum, has been discontinued.

For those interested in testing a variety of blades Razor Blades Club sells a variety of sampler packs.

Ahhh. On it. Btw, tried the tatra this week per your review/commentary.... and what a great blade.

Thanks for your efforts

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

For those interested in photos of various DE blade packaging or even purchasing various blades for evaluation, please refer to the The Razor Blade Club website.

The front page of their web site has photos of nearly every blade I tested and quite a few I have not tested.

https://www.razorbladesclub.com/


There are a couple of exceptions. The photo on the main page shows Gillette Minora Platinum in the hot pink packaging. I tested the Minora Stainless in yellow packaging. RBC sells both blades. It might well be that the Minora Platinum, like the Nacet platinum, has been discontinued.

For those interested in testing a variety of blades Razor Blades Club sells a variety of sampler packs.

Ahhh. On it. Btw, tried the tatra this week per your review/commentary.... and what a great blade.

Thanks for your efforts

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the feedback. I am glad the Tatra blades are working for you. The certainly seem to be a good value, very sharp, reasonably smooth and relatively inexpensive.

This is exactly why I am doing the evaluations. Tatra is not a blade that I ever would have tried without someone recommending I try it. Because I liked the Tatra, I also plan to review the Tiger Platinum by the same company. It's even less expensive than the Tatra. 

I had never considered using Treet blades, but had a positive experience with the Treet Platinum blades, so I am going to try a couple of other Treet brands, including one carbon steel blade. You never know what surprises are lurking. 

While I obviously have some favorite blades, I am trying to be as unbiased as possible in the evaluations. I have added some new blades to my own stash based on favorable test results. When the evaluations are completed, I will have some blades to PIF to those who might enjoy using them more so that I would.

Finally made it through the thread. Thanks Ray for your time and effort. I ordered the Silver Star blades (100) and found them a serious contender to my favorites. Nacet, Gillette Perma-sharp (Gold), Feather and Bic.
I have so many blades that I too cant imagine using them all but I may have to pick up a couple more 100 packs before this is all over.

BTW, I have the Krave CB with  B, D and F plates. But I wanted to test along with you in the same manor so I've been using a Rockwell on the #6 side. I think its close to the same. I've also ordered the C plate for my Krave. For the price I guess I can pick up another razor part. LOL. And if the wife asks, yes I needed a new part.

Finally made it through the thread. Thanks Ray for your time and effort. I ordered the Silver Star blades (100) and found them a serious contender to my favorites. Nacet, Gillette Perma-sharp (Gold), Feather and Bic.
I have so many blades that I too cant imagine using them all but I may have to pick up a couple more 100 packs before this is all over.

BTW, I have the Krave CB with  B, D and F plates. But I wanted to test along with you in the same manor so I've been using a Rockwell on the #6 side. I think its close to the same. I've also ordered the C plate for my Krave. For the price I guess I can pick up another razor part. LOL. And if the wife asks, yes I needed a new part.

You are missing the C and E plates. It's alphabetically inconsistent. I would be happy to provide a signed and notarized affidavit for the wife. I used to work in a guitar shop and we actually used to give some of the customers what we would call a "wife receipt". It falls into the line of the joke that I hope my wife doesn't sell my guitars for what I told her I paid for them! But, seriously, I bought the Silver Star blades on a whim and immediately became one of my favorites. And I also have the Karve C & E plates as well as the F & G open combs. I love their stuff.

Today's shave- Rapira Platinum Lux

There are two major blade manufacturers in Russia. Petersburg Products International is a joint venture between P&G Gillette and Russian partners. . The second company is JSC Mostochlegmash which produces blades in Moscow. Due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, sanctions have been placed on exports of Russian products to Nato countries. As a result, blades produced in Moscow are becoming scarce and prices are rising. While Gillette has started producing some of the PPI products in other countries, I am not aware of Mostochlegmash doing so.

The primary Mostochlegmash brands are Rapira, with several blades produced in that line, Voskhod and Ladas. The only two I have used and plan to evaluate are Rapira Platinum Lux and Voskhod.

I started todays shave with the Gillette Perma-Sharp Super (gold) blade in the razor on its 2nd use. As expected, the blade was still super sharp and there was almost no blade resistance. After a few strokes, I replaced the Perma-Sharp blade with the Rapira PL. Initially, the blade was only mid-sharp, so there was significant blade resistance. Although the blade did become slightly sharper during the shave, it never got quite sharp enough for me to achieve a near-BBS shave. I had to settle for a DFS, despite buffing strokes.

After the shave, when applying witch hazel, I got moderate feedback indicating some irritation.

Based on the results of this shave, I rate this Rapira Platinum Lux ad sharpness 4, smoothness 4. This makes it similar in performance to the Gillette Platinum (old version) and Gillette Silver Blue. Unfortunately, due to scarcity, the blades have become somewhat expensive compared to some non-Russian blades, so I find it difficult to recommend.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated. You can find it here:

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

Saturday, I will evaluate Voskhod, the polymer-coated sibling of the Rapira Platinum Lux.

Today's Shave: Face-off between Tiger Platinum and Tatara Platinum

For those of you anticipating the review of Voskhod blades, I must offer my sincere apology. I have not used Voskhod blades in quite some time. Although I am certain I still have a few blades, I could not locate them when it was time for my shave. Thus, I skipped the Voskhod and did a face-off shave between the Tiger Platinum and Tatara Platinum blade, both manufactured by Czech Blades. I previously reviewed the Tatra Platinum and Tatara Platinum blades.

I began the shave with the Rapira Platinum Lux blade in the Karve stainless razor from the previous shave. That blade was noticeably sharper than at the beginning of the 1st shave with that blade. I replaced that blade with the Tiger Platinum. I placed a fresh Tatara Platinum blade in my Karve brass razor. Both razors had the C-plate SB. I used the stainless razor with the Tiger blade to shave the right side of my face and the brass razor with the Tatara blade to shave the left side. The initial strokes with the Tiger blade seemed to be slightly smoother than the Tatara blade. As the shave progressed, both blades were sharp enough to achieve a near BBS shave, but the Tiger side was slightly closer. When applying witch hazel after the shave, the Tiger side had slightly more feedback. While these two blades were very close in performance, they were not identical.

I rated the two blades as follows: The Tiger Platinum blade was slightly sharper, so I rated it 4.5 sharpness vs 4.25 sharpness for the Tatara. The Tiger Platinum blade was slightly less smooth, so I rated it 4.25 smoothness vs 4.5 for the Tatara. In doing so, the Tiger Platinum blade received the same ratings as the Tatra Platinum blade tested previously.
This testing of a second Tatara Platinum blade resulted in a 0.25 point improvement in smoothness vs the previous shave. This is within the margin of error for the testing. Had I not been doing the face-off between two blades, distinguishing differences would have been quite difficult.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated with results for both blades.

I plan to do my Christmas Day shave using the Topaz Platinum blade. If I cannot locate my Voskhod blades, I will order a few for testing later in the evaluation.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas!

Today's Shave:  Face-off between Tiger Platinum and Tatara Platinum

For those of you anticipating the review of Voskhod blades, I must offer my sincere apology. I have not used Voskhod blades in quite some time. Although I am certain I still have a few blades, I could not locate them when it was time for my shave. Thus, I skipped the Voskhod and did a face-off shave between the Tiger Platinum and Tatara Platinum blade, both  manufactured by Czech Blades. I previously reviewed the Tatra Platinum and Tatara Platinum blades.

I began the shave with the Rapira Platinum Lux blade in the Karve stainless razor from the previous shave. That blade was noticeably sharper than at the beginning of the 1st shave with that blade. I replaced that blade with the Tiger Platinum. I placed a fresh Tatara Platinum blade in my Karve brass razor. Both razors had the C-plate SB. I used the stainless razor with the Tiger blade to shave the right side of my face and the brass razor with the Tatara blade to shave the left side.  The initial strokes with the Tiger blade seemed to be slightly smoother than the Tatara blade. As the shave progressed, both blades were sharp enough to achieve a near BBS shave, but the Tiger side was slightly closer. When applying witch hazel after the shave, the Tiger side had  slightly more feedback. While these two blades were very close in performance, they were not identical.

I rated the two blades as follows:  The Tiger Platinum blade was slightly sharper, so I rated it 4.5 sharpness vs 4.25 sharpness for the Tatara. The Tiger Platinum blade was slightly less smooth, so I rated it 4.25 smoothness vs 4.5 for the Tatara. In doing so, the Tiger Platinum blade received the same ratings as the Tatra Platinum blade tested previously.
This testing of a second Tatara Platinum blade resulted in a 0.25 point improvement in smoothness vs the previous shave. This is within the margin of error for the testing. Had I not been doing the face-off between two blades, distinguishing differences would have been quite difficult.

The evaluation spreadsheet has been updated with results for both blades.

I plan to do my Christmas Day shave using the Topaz Platinum  blade. If I cannot locate my Voskhod blades, I will order a few for testing later in the evaluation.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas!

I can send you a Tuck of Voskhod if you want. Just pm me shipping info

Dave in KY 

Thanks for the offer, but I already placed an order for a few Voskhods. They will arrive in a week - 10 days.

I suspect that will be a guarantee that I will find my older blades in the coming week. LOL.

UPDATE:

As anticipated, I have already located the missing Voskhods. Fortunately, I found them in time to cancel my order for replacements.

I did, however, leave my order for a few tucks of Derby Extra. They have never worked for me, but I reasoned no evaluation can be complete without including these ubiquitous blades. Like Astra SP, Shark Super Stainless, and Shark Super Chrome blades, the Derby greens are often packaged with starter razor kits.

I still plan to use the Topaz Platinum blades on Christmas Day. I will insert the Voskhods back into the lineup for Wednesday's shave.

I have also received samples of AccuThrive prep blades. I will plan to use them Friday in a face-off shave between the prep blades and some Personna lab blues. Both blades are produced by Accutec Blades.

Dave in KY 

Thanks for the offer, but I already placed an order for a few Voskhods. They will arrive in a week - 10 days.

I suspect that will be a guarantee that I will find my older blades in the coming week. LOL.

UPDATE:

As anticipated, I have already located the missing Voskhods. Fortunately, I found them in time to cancel my order for replacements.

I did, however, leave my order for a few tucks of Derby Extra. They have never worked for me, but I reasoned no evaluation can be complete without including these ubiquitous blades. Like Astra SP, Shark Super Stainless, and Shark Super Chrome blades, the Derby greens are often packaged with starter razor kits.

I still plan to use the Topaz Platinum blades on Christmas Day. I will insert the Voskhods back into the lineup for Wednesday's shave.

I have also received samples of AccuThrive prep blades. I will plan to use them Friday in a face-off shave between the prep blades and some Personna lab blues. Both blades are produced by Accutec Blades.

Good news especially being able to cancel the order too

Christmas Day Shave- Topaz Platinum

First of all, Merry Christmas to all, wherever you live.

Prior to beginning this series of razor blade evaluations, I had never heard of Malhotra Shaving in India, nor the blades produced under the Laser and Topaz brands. However, I am glad I encountered these blades. The Laser Ultra triple coated blade rated 4 sharpness and 4.5 smoothness. Based on that blade, I decided to test the Topaz Platinum blade by the same manufacturer.

I began today's shave with the Tiger Platinum blade in the razor. There was minor blade resistance on the first few passes; that blade was still very sharp. I then loaded the Topaz Platinum blade into my Karve C-plate razor and continued the shave. Initially, the Topaz blade had slightly greater resistance than the Tiger blade on its 2nd use, but the Topaz blade quickly became sharper during the shave such that I was able to get a near-BBS shave using buffing strokes during my clean-up pass.

When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I got minimal feedback. Thus, this was a shave worthy of Christmas Day.

Based on the results of this shave, I am rating the Topaz Platinum blade 4.5 on sharpness, which is similar to the Tiger Platinum and a slight improvement over the Laser Ultra. Because there was minimal irritation during the shave, the Topaz Platinum blade receives a smoothness rating of 4.5 . For a blade that costs only $12 per 100, this is an excellent value proposition. I plan to add more of these blades to my den.

Having located my Voskhod blades, I will return them to the schedule for Wednesday's shave.