RayClem's Blade Evaluations

Just filling in some of the missing in Rays Line-up. I'm finding I enjoy a step back from the top of Rays choices. 4.25 sharpness and 4.5 comfort is nice for me. I could go 4/4. This opens up the line-up for me even more. Don't get me wrong as I like a 5/5. And a Feather will work for me too. The Wisamet blade I got a solid 5 shaves out of it. Not that I need more than that from a blade but I bet I could have gotten 6 or even 7. 3 or 4 is plenty for me. My moneys worth in my opinion.

I did get some King C Gillettes from Amazon. Too spendy but I had to have some. I have not tried therm yet.

Check the packaging on the KCG blades to see if they come from Russia or China. I am still looking for blades from China to see how they compare to the Russian blades. I am afraid if I order from Amazon, they might be PPI blades. My order from TRC is supposed to arrive this afternoon. There are a couple of Gillette Chinese blades in the lot that I am hoping will be similar to the KCG blades. 

The very sharpest blades are too sharp for some users in some razors. While I love BIC CP blades in milder razors, they would be too sharp in more aggressive razors, especially for ATG passes and buffing strokes. I have a variety of razors varying in aggressiveness. That is why I like having a variety of blades available to pair with the razors.

keto 

I have never seen any reference to the Gillette Nacet Platinum blades from Malaysia. The Malaysian facility operates as a joint venture. I do not know whether they manufacture there or just do distribution. The blades might be made in either Russia or China and packaged in Malaysia, but they might have been made in Malaysia. Either way, they might be a good purchase if they are not too expensive. 

The Razor Blade Club no longer has Nacet Platinum blades. They do have Minora Platinum blades that they say are from Russia, but they sell for $3.99 for 5 blades. Since they sell 100 Minora non-platinum blades for $17.95 and Nacets non-platinum for $14.95, they. While I do have a slight preference for the Nacet Platinum and would probably also like the Minora platinum, the difference is not large enough to pay a premium for the platinum blades.  

If you do pick up some of the Nacet Platinum blades, please let us know how they perform for you.

This is the back of the Vietnam Gillette Super Thin Platinums (with a Japanese flag).  According to Google Translate it says made in China.  Interestingly, the materials are listed as stainless steel, CR and PTFE. No platinum.

The packaging is quite confusing, even when translated into English. The first statement indicates that they are sold by Gillette Vietnam, but then they turn around and say the blades are made in China and packaged by Gillette Shanghai Limited.

I have also heard there is a version of these blade from Thailand. Perhaps they are made in China and packaged for sale in Thailand. 

I am not a big fan of "thin" blades. While such blades might be sharp, they are not as stiff as thicker blades and chatter more in the razor. That can lead to increased irritation. I wonder how the thickness of the "Super Thin" blades compares to the Derby blades. 

I suspect that the quantity of platinum use to sputter the blades is so small that it is not required to be shown on the label. Platinum is about half the price of gold. One kilo of platinum is about $30,000 so you know there cannot be much platinum in a razor blade that sells for 10-20 cents.

keto 

I have never seen any reference to the Gillette Nacet Platinum blades from Malaysia. The Malaysian facility operates as a joint venture. I do not know whether they manufacture there or just do distribution. The blades might be made in either Russia or China and packaged in Malaysia, but they might have been made in Malaysia. Either way, they might be a good purchase if they are not too expensive. 

The Razor Blade Club no longer has Nacet Platinum blades. They do have Minora Platinum blades that they say are from Russia, but they sell for $3.99 for 5 blades. Since they sell 100 Minora non-platinum blades for $17.95 and Nacets non-platinum for $14.95, they. While I do have a slight preference for the Nacet Platinum and would probably also like the Minora platinum, the difference is not large enough to pay a premium for the platinum blades.  

If you do pick up some of the Nacet Platinum blades, please let us know how they perform for you

Those five packs kind of make them expensive per blade so let's see if I can get a little bit of a deal. 
   And I hear you on the little bit of preference but at a premium.
 Appreciate the thoughts.

These Super Thin blades are real legit. Might be the Japanese steel that pushes them over. Next time I am stateside I will send you a tuck. I don’t know if they are any thinner than standard bkades. It might just be branding.

These Super Thin blades are real legit. Might be the Japanese steel that pushes them over. Next time I am stateside I will send you a tuck.  I don’t know if they are any thinner than standard bkades. It might just be branding.

The blades you have might well be legit. However, I have seen several reports of counterfeit Gillette Thins. so buying from a trusted source is important.

I tried to see if I could send you a PM with my contact info so you could mail me a couple of blades when you visit the States. However, you have only 10 posts and I believe you need a minimum of 20 to be eligible to use Private Messaging. You can always comment on posts in this thread. However, there are plenty of threads that make it easy to meet the 20 post requirement. For example there are:

a. What soap/cream did you use today?
b. Which SB (shaving brush) did you use today?
c. Which razor did you use today?
d. Which blade did you use today?


If you post to  these threads, it will only take a few days to meet the minimum. 

I have found that the least expensive way to ship blades is to tape a couple of blades inside a folded piece of cardstock and mail it in a standard envelope using a 1st class postage stamp (currently $0.68). If you try to ship an entire tuck, the package will be too thick to go through the mail sorting machines so it will cost more to mail. A couple of blades will be sufficient for evaluation. I have sent and received blades many times. It has always worked well.

If you will be arriving by air, be sure to put razor blades in your checked baggage. Security personnel do not take kindly to razor blades in carry-on luggage.

The KCG Blades I got I tossed the packaging except for the two tucks. And nothing on the tucks or blades say where they came from. I thought it was China but I cant be sure. Sorry.

Thank you for the advice. I bought the Vietnam Super Thins from a Gillette Display in the middle of nowhere Vietnam. Another batch I ordered directly from Vietnam. Does that make them legit? I don't know, but there was no variance in packaging between the batches and the blades (so far) have shaved very well. The fake Bics I once had were very similar in appearance to legit ones, but close inspection revealed many differences and the shave was awful, even trying various tucks in different boxes.

FWIW...
I just tried the KCG. Compared it to a Personna Red. Yep, I still have a few of the old reds left.
IMO, I found the Personna sharper (5.0). It went though the whiskers just a tad bit easier. Like knife though butter. The KCG was sharp(4.5) and damn near as sharp as the Personna. But not quite. In the smoothness I put them both on the same level. 4.5. But not too smooth. Too smooth to me can take away from a shave. If I wasn't testing both blades at the same time I'd of had a hard time feeling a difference. BTW, I use a nice creamy S.V. Soap and the Parker 24C that I hadn't tried out. Ha.

The Clubman I splashed on afterwards felt the same on both side of my face so no difference in that part of it. A Great shave that was BBS with 4 passes.

JMO.

FWIW...
I just tried the KCG. Compared it to a Personna Red. Yep, I still have a few of the old reds left.
IMO, I found the Personna sharper (5.0). It went though the whiskers just a tad bit easier. Like knife though butter. The KCG was sharp(4.5) and damn near as sharp as the Personna. But not quite. In the smoothness I put them both on the same level. 4.5. But not too smooth. Too smooth to me can take away from a shave.  If I wasn't testing both blades at the same time I'd of had a hard time feeling a difference. BTW, I use a nice creamy S.V. Soap and the Parker 24C that I hadn't tried out. Ha.

The Clubman I splashed on afterwards felt the same on both side of my face so no difference in that part of it. A Great shave that was BBS with 4 passes.

JMO.

In my Karve C-plate, I found the King C Gillette to be just a little smoother than the Personna Platinum from Germany. However, this was not a face-off comparison using two identical razors. Although I do still have some Personna Israeli Reds in my collection, I did not evaluate them as they have not been made since 2019 and are no longer available for purchase. Had I compared the King C Gillette in a face-off shave with the Israeli Reds, the Personna bllades might well have "edged" out the competition. 

For my tough beard, I do not put the Personna Israeli Reds in the same sharpness category as BIC Chrome Platinum, Permasharp Super, and Treet Durasharp. These were the only three blades I rated as 5 sharpness. Even Feather Hi Stainless, 7 O'Clock Super Platinum black, and the two Nacets only rated 4.75 over two shaves. While I rated the German Personna as 4.5 sharpness, the Israeli red might have made it to the 4.75 level.    

Sharpness evaluations depend not only on the toughness of your beard, but also on the number of days growth. I rated blades with two days of beard growth. Had I rated based on only one day of growth, several blades might have been rated slightly higher.\

Either way, the Personna Platinums and the King C Gillette (Russia) are great blades. I hope to be able to evaluate the KCG blades from China as well.