JiFULI blades - An Aliexpress Review

[ahnick]

Ever since my first (and only) post, I've been searching for that white whale, that blade that makes a BBS shave effortless.

I haven't found it yet, but I've gotten damn closer.

Meet the JiFULI DE blade from Aliexpress.

I bought a 50-pack for the princely sum of $0.50, or $0.02 a blade. Granted, this was on Aliexpress' infamous 11/11 sale, but their current price of $5 is certainly nothing for a cheapskate like me to sniff at!

As a background, my beard is rather coarse, but straight. I don't shave unless I'm going out, or my beard hits the 4-day mark where it's scratchy and uncomfortable.

As you could guess, sharper blades tend to fare better, but I do get irritated quite easily. Astra SP has always been go-to, with a little tug, while I've also made heavy use of Bic Platinums and the range of Gillette blades you'd expect.

I loaded this up with a MUHLE R89, and sweet baby Jesus am I astounded!

I'm maybe 8 blades in so far, and the QC has been great. Each blade feels identical, and they all perform as I've grown to expect. Normally I wouldn't mention this, but with these being sold on Aliexpress, I'm sure some would question their consistency.

To start, these blades have a weird feel. They bite W/XTG, but they certainly do not tug. ATG is somehow as smooth as butter. Besides the aforementioned "bite", I have absolutely ZERO irritation. I still apply aftershave, but I wouldn't complain if I'd somehow forgotten that step.

I should also mention these blades are surprisingly long-lasting. My current blade is on its sixth shave, and still going strong. If anything, it's gotten smoother, with that bite disappearing almost entirely.

I'm starting to sound like a mouthpiece for these guys, so I'll leave it here, but I'd absolutely urge you to give these blades a try. They're cheap, sharp but smooth, and long-lasting. What more could I want?

 

[phdezra]

What more could I want?

Easy: I would want 10,000 five star reviews as in many blades on Amazon.

But if it works for YOU, great! New customers may be hard to come by.

 

[Iridian]

Thanks for pointing them out! I am still working through my Voshkods, Rapiras and BICs, with the BIC Platinum being my personal favorite. The Voshkods still have a use for taming rather aggressive razors, the Rapiras are somewhere between the two. Not as cushioned as the Voshkod and not as sharp as the BICs.

Maybe I will get some during Chinese New Year. Probably together with the Mars SE head.

 

[Halfbeard]

Maybe I will get some during Chinese New Year. Probably together with the Mars SE head.

During Chinese New Year there is standstill nothing moves out of China. Loong wait !

Mars is mild according @Goblin. You who don't love mild ...

 

[Iridian]

During Chinese New Year there is standstill nothing moves out of China. Loong wait !

Thanks for the warning regarding the Mars! Regarding the SALE, I will buy in the upcoming SALE, during CNY they will close down for their usual week. Supposedly its the biggest thing in all of China. This year is a year of the Dragon, very nice. I am a Fire Dragon, I always found that really cool. My horoscope reads I will insult workmates by accident. Or by just being myself. Oh well... that's nothing new for me, actually.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting!! Especially for a guy who tends to order from the B&B vendors.

 

[Goblin]

Mars is mild according @Goblin. You who don't love mild ...

Not me, Sir. I think that @gpjoe may have been reviewing that one though. The only SE I bought recently was the Shield. I know you got the Stomper and I got the Avenger, although I haven't used it yet as my Tatara landed the same time.

 

[gpjoe]

During Chinese New Year there is standstill nothing moves out of China. Loong wait !

Mars is mild according @Goblin. You who don't love mild ...

Not me, Sir. I think that @gpjoe may have been reviewing that one though. The only SE I bought recently was the Shield. I know you got the Stomper and I got the Avenger, although I haven't used it yet as my Tatara landed the same time.

Yep I have one and it is very mild.

Been using it for head shaves, and I can get a very comfortable BBS head shave with a fresh blade and a bit of work...and it has never bitten me, even when I'm careless.

 

[nemo]

My math isn't what it used to be but 50 blades for fifty cents doesn't work out to $0.02 a blade.

 

[AshleyC]

Put a second use on a Jifuli this morning. First use was in a Fatboy two days ago and it was a good shave with no weepers and little to no "sting" when I applied alum, witch hazel, and AS. Today I put that blade in my "Vostoc" (Cyrillic cursive writing on its case), a Soviet copy of the Gillette Super Adjustable. I set it to "9".

Soap was RazoRock "What the Puck" Gold Label. A bit tuggy on the first pass, but fine for the next two. I didn't go for BBS, but I'm fine for the day.

 

[Bobovata]

Tried my first JiFuLi today (in an RR Game Changer 0.84-P, with 2 days of growth).

Nice shave, quite close and smooth, with only a single small weeper on the chin. Even did a good job on the divots either side of the Adam's apple. No complaints.

Remains to be seen how many shaves it can deliver, but at that price (AUD $8/100, inc. delivery) even if it's a one-and-done it is still decent value.

 

[Bobovata]

Second shave. Similar result.

 

[Umma2gumma]

I just tried one out of the tuck that was included with razor.

In a med-aggressive V3A, it's an ok blade... very "safe", no irritation or cuts, but also rather not sharp - just short of being dull and tuggy. Probably a good blade for a beginner, but it needs to be paired with an efficient razor.

Don't know what kind of longevity it has, but unless it improves with subsequent shaves like Astra does, it may end up being only good for a couple shaves.

 

[Juanmosey]

I like the way it looks and the packaging. My gut says, "Go for it."

 

[Jim in NZ]

I've been getting 2 consistently good shaves out of mine - and I'm now on my 5th blade. I've used them in a1950s Gillette Tech and King C. Gillette razor with good results
Both are quite mild razors. Jifuli blades seem to be mild-mannered and well behaved. They shave close enough without any razor rash, but my limited experience says this comes at the cost of durability. Still, at just over NZ$0.05 per shave, I think I can live with it.

 

[Umma2gumma]

I've been getting 2 consistently good shaves out of mine - and I'm now on my 5th blade. I've used them in a1950s Gillette Tech and King C. Gillette razor with good results
Both are quite mild razors. Jifuli blades seem to be mild-mannered and well behaved. They shave close enough without any razor rash, but my limited experience says this comes at the cost of durability. Still, at just over NZ$0.05 per shave, I think I can live with it.

So I don’t know what kind of pricing you have in NZ.

Here, Ali is selling Jifuli for $5.88/100.

Astra SP is $8.38/100 on Amazon.

Even though the Indian-made Astra doesn’t seem to be as long lasting as the Russian one was, it’s still good for 4-5 shaves. And it’s much sharper than Jufuli, while still being smooth.

So at only two shaves per blade, for me Jifuli would end up being at least 30% more expensive than Astra, which is a superior blade to begin with.

But if you are in the “one and done” camp, it’s certainly a worthwhile choice.

 

[Jim in NZ]

@Umma2gumma - I confess I got the blades very cheap on sale and with coins. If I had to pay full price, I'd have looked at other options.

The sustainability of DE shaving is somewhat important to me, and it leaves me feeling disappointed with myself to ditch a blade after only 2 shaves.