RayClem's Blade Evaluations

     So, the 6th shave with the Astra SP Green was nice. I switched up soaps and I didn't detect any drag. I paired it with the Lupo 127 based on the aggressive razor/less sharp blade theory since this was the 6th use. Great audible feedback, smooth, efficient. I was able to achieve pretty much or damn near a BBS before a light buffing/touchup. I did the touchup out of habit and compulsion. A slight burn with the alcohol based A/S, but nothing overwhelming to me and it faded right out. I Think it was a better shave than the fifth use. Then again, the Lupo 127 is quite a bit more aggressive than the Timeless 95OC is. Overall, a great shave with no complaints!

That is a great demonstration on how a less sharp blade can work in a more aggressive razor. 

I am glad you were the one to receive the PIF of the Astra SP blades as it looks like you will be able to make much better use of them that I ever would.

It really has worked well in the mix of razors I used it in so far. I never expected it to work so well based on my prior experience, or to last this long and still perform. It looks like I will HAVE to go for shave #7!!! I remember when I first got into this, some of the blades I was able to get 8 to 9 shaves out of. Being that was around 14 years ago I can't recall how good the shaves were, but they couldn't have been that bad, because I definitely would've stopped using them at that point.

You have ranked the White Label Blade higher than I did, Ray. But I only gave it one try. I guess if someone want to try these the best bet is Temu as they came with razors. Somewhere must be a way to buy just the blade. I dont have an account but the wife does so I wont be looking for them.
Do you feel these are about the same as the flydear blades? or maybe the same as the Madgicol just different wrapper?

That is a great demonstration on how a less sharp blade can work in a more aggressive razor. 

I am glad you were the one to receive the PIF of the Astra SP blades as it looks like you will be able to make much better use of them that I ever would.

It really has worked well in the mix of razors I used it in so far. I never expected it to work so well based on my prior experience, or to last this long and still perform. It looks like I will HAVE to go for shave #7!!! I remember when I first got into this, some of the blades I was able to get 8 to 9 shaves out of. Being that was around 14 years ago I can't recall how good the shaves were, but they couldn't have been that bad, because I definitely would've stopped using them at that point.

Over the past 14 years, your beard and skin have aged, likely making shaving more difficult. However, your collection of razors has expanded and I suspect your collection of shave soaps has as well. Over that period, you have collected 14 years worth of knowledge and experience about shaving. The shaving soaps available 14 years ago were no where near as good as the best artisan soaps are today. Your shaves today are better today in spite of the aging of your beard and skin because your shaving hardware, software, and technique are superior to what they were. You probably considered your shaves to be good back then because you did not know any better. 

In the 19th century, they thought candles and oil lamps were wonderful as it was better than being in the dark. In the 20th century, they thought incandescent and fluorescent lighting was wonderful as it was a huge improvement over candles and oil lamps. In the 21st century, we have LED lighting over which we can control the color. Will there be an even better technology in years to come? We judge technology based on the past because we cannot predict the future.

Wednesday 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 7th use, but it will complete its 4th full shave. The generic blade is starting its 5th use, but today will be starting its 3rd full shave.

Once again, both blades provided a enjoyable shave. Although I felt some slight blade roughness on the Vietnam Super Thin blade, it did not affect shave quality. I am starting to feel some loss of sharpness in the generic blade, but not enough to affect shave quality. I was easily able to achieve a near-BBS shave on both sides of my face. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, i received moderate feedback.

Since I am now beyond the normal evaluation range, no changes to the ratings will be made. Now that the Gillette Super Thin Vietnam blade has successfully completed its 4th full shave, I am interested in seeing if it can complete yet another shave. I rarely use any blade more than 4 shaves, but the Vietnam Super Thin is still performing well. This is one of the best blades made by Gillette.

At this point, the generic blade is performing similar to the FlyDear blade as Gasman speculated. I have not used the Matgicol blade, so I do not know how it compares. There are so many Chinese blade manufacturers who make such as wide variety of custom label blades, that it is difficulty to know exactly which blade this generic might be. For those who are interested in the generic blades, purchasing the FlyDear blades might be a good option as they are readily available and reasonably priced.

Ray where can I find your chart? Have you ever used the PAA Strangelet blade?

Ray where can I find your chart? Have you ever used the PAA Strangelet blade?

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

Ray where can I find your chart? Have you ever used the PAA Strangelet blade?

John

metal_shavings provided the link. 

I usually post the link any time I update a rating. Since I did not update the rating this shave, I did not post the link. You cannot modify the posted spreadsheet, but you can save it to your own computer and then manipulate it any way you wish. I set it up so it can easily be sorted by columns.  

I have used the Filoso Barbers Blade which is made in China and claims to be made of Swedish steel. Normally if real Swedish steel is used, the specific manufacturer and/or steel type is noted. I have a chefs knife made of 14C28N steel, which is made by Sandvik in Sweden. Many people speculate that when the term Swedish steel is used, they are really talking about a Chinese steel with similar specifications to Swedish steel. China is the world's largest producer of steel, where as Swedish production is quite small.  

The Filoso blade was exceptional rating 4.5 sharpness and 5 smoothness. They sell for $13 per 100 blades. Filoso is a small business out of Las Vegas, so they are just contracting with a Chinese manufacturer to produce blades with their logo and packaging. I suspect PAA is doing something similar. 

Once you get a sufficient number of posts to qualify for use of the private messaging system, if you wish to mail me a couple of the PAA blades, I will be glad to evaluate them. I have more than enough blades to last me until I reach the age of 100, so I have no plans to purchase more. I have never been a fan of the marketing gimmicks of PAA. There are some significant controversies surrounding the company and its owner. Thus, I choose not to deal with the company. There are plenty of reputable alternatives.

Ray where can I find your chart? Have you ever used the PAA Strangelet blade?

John

metal_shavings provided the link. 

I usually post the link any time I update a rating. Since I did not update the rating this shave, I did not post the link. You cannot modify the posted spreadsheet, but you can save it to your own computer and then manipulate it any way you wish. I set it up so it can easily be sorted by columns.  

I have used the Filoso Barbers Blade which is made in China and claims to be made of Swedish steel. Normally if real Swedish steel is used, the specific manufacturer and/or steel type is noted. I have a chefs knife made of 14C28N steel, which is made by Sandvik in Sweden. Many people speculate that when the term Swedish steel is used, they are really talking about a Chinese steel with similar specifications to Swedish steel. China is the world's largest producer of steel, where as Swedish production is quite small.  

The Filoso blade was exceptional rating 4.5 sharpness and 5 smoothness. They sell for $13 per 100 blades. Filoso is a small business out of Las Vegas, so they are just contracting with a Chinese manufacturer to produce blades with their logo and packaging. I suspect PAA is doing something similar. 

Once you get a sufficient number of posts to qualify for use of the private messaging system, if you wish to mail me a couple of the PAA blades, I will be glad to evaluate them. I have more than enough blades to last me until I reach the age of 100, so I have no plans to purchase more. I have never been a fan of the marketing gimmicks of PAA. There are some significant controversies surrounding the company and its owner. Thus, I choose not to deal with the company. There are plenty of reputable alternatives.

I do believe you are correct with the PAA blades. I remember he was talking about them when they were just out or about to come out and mention that there's really only one company that produces blades in the United States and I'm guessing they probably wouldn't deal with the company as small as he likely is, even if he is a larger boutique company. If johnfly is unable to get any of those blades you for any reason, I do still have some PAA blades here that I've had for a while. They kind of fell into the category like the Astra SP greens for me in the fact that the couple times that I used them I got nicked every time so I haven't touched them in a while. That's another blade I need to likely try again in perhaps less aggressive razors, and see how they work for me.

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!

Ray where can I find your chart? Have you ever used the PAA Strangelet blade?

John

metal_shavings provided the link. 

I usually post the link any time I update a rating. Since I did not update the rating this shave, I did not post the link. You cannot modify the posted spreadsheet, but you can save it to your own computer and then manipulate it any way you wish. I set it up so it can easily be sorted by columns.  

I have used the Filoso Barbers Blade which is made in China and claims to be made of Swedish steel. Normally if real Swedish steel is used, the specific manufacturer and/or steel type is noted. I have a chefs knife made of 14C28N steel, which is made by Sandvik in Sweden. Many people speculate that when the term Swedish steel is used, they are really talking about a Chinese steel with similar specifications to Swedish steel. China is the world's largest producer of steel, where as Swedish production is quite small.  

The Filoso blade was exceptional rating 4.5 sharpness and 5 smoothness. They sell for $13 per 100 blades. Filoso is a small business out of Las Vegas, so they are just contracting with a Chinese manufacturer to produce blades with their logo and packaging. I suspect PAA is doing something similar. 

Once you get a sufficient number of posts to qualify for use of the private messaging system, if you wish to mail me a couple of the PAA blades, I will be glad to evaluate them. I have more than enough blades to last me until I reach the age of 100, so I have no plans to purchase more. I have never been a fan of the marketing gimmicks of PAA. There are some significant controversies surrounding the company and its owner. Thus, I choose not to deal with the company. There are plenty of reputable alternatives.

I do believe you are correct with the PAA blades. I remember he was talking about them when they were just out or about to come out and mention that there's really only one company that produces blades in the United States and I'm guessing they probably wouldn't deal with the company as small as he likely is, even if he is a larger boutique company. If johnfly is unable to get any of those blades you for any reason, I do still have some PAA blades here that I've had for a while. They kind of fell into the category like the Astra SP greens for me in the fact that the couple times that I used them I got nicked every time so I haven't touched them in a while. That's another blade I need to likely try again in perhaps less aggressive razors, and see how they work for me.

The only razor blades manufacturer in the USA is AccuTec. They were once part of the American Razor Company that produced Personna, Gem, and other blades. They make a wide variety of blades both under their own brand (now AccuTec and AccuThrive), but they also make blades for a number of other companies such as Stanley utility knives. They have been known to produce blades for large pharmacy chains, but I doubt they would make blades for PAA.

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.  Most of the Chinese blades I have tried have been in the 4- 4.25 sharpness range which is suitable for most shavers. However, a few were even sharper and suit me just fine.

Do a comparison between the Astra SP and the PAA blades you have. If you find the PAA blade to be sharper, send me a couple for evaluation.