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Has the Quality of Personna Lab Blue Blades Gone Down?

i have my box from a few years ago, and the inking is all mucked up too. This is not a new thing. They are good, and razor dependant. They are not good in my PAA AES, but they are good in my vintage Gillettes. YMMV
 
I may have to revise my initial bad review of the Personnas. I was using Proraso red and have since experienced bad shaves using different blades and different razors + Proraso red. I have noticed that the Proraso red in the hard tub does not provide enough protection, slickness and cushion. So the Proraso Red may be the problem, rather than the Personnas.

The shave I had with Proraso Red yesterday + Shark super stainless left my neck raw with razor burn (Extreme) so I cant blame it all on the Personnas.
 
The amount of labor in razor blades is so small it's impossible to quantify, it only takes a handful of people to run a production line that produces an enormous number of blades. Even if they are running old, non-computerized equipment it doesn't take many people.

Most companies that complain about labor costs have 15 times or more of the management staff of Japanese companies......
too true
 
I confirm my earlier retraction. Personna Lab Blue are good blades. Just shaved on Day 4 of a Personna Blue and got a great shave.

As long as its paired up with the proper razor these blades are great.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I just started using Personna blades this year and find them to be just fine. I had been using Feather but since I toss blades after three or four shaves I didn't think Feathers were worth the cost. i used a Trac III for a couple of years and stretched the shaves per cart well beyond the comfort level because of their absurd cost. Because of that I returned to DE shaving and refuse to accept uncomfortable shaves any longer, therefore, I don't experiment to see how long I can use a blade. I'm shaving with a Gillette New LC and Williams and getting wonderful shaves and don't intend to change a thing as things stand now. See the look on my dog's face? He worries that I'm going to start shaving him.
 
Personna blues have been and continue to be a good blade in my den. It doesn’t really matter what razor or soap I use. If the razor or soap make a big difference, your technique may be suspect. A good blade is a good blade. I just got a 100 pack in January. They seem fine. They don’t even cost that much.
 
I just started using Personna blades this year and find them to be just fine. I had been using Feather but since I toss blades after three or four shaves I didn't think Feathers were worth the cost. i used a Trac III for a couple of years and stretched the shaves per cart well beyond the comfort level because of their absurd cost. Because of that I returned to DE shaving and refuse to accept uncomfortable shaves any longer, therefore, I don't experiment to see how long I can use a blade. I'm shaving with a Gillette New LC and Williams and getting wonderful shaves and don't intend to change a thing as things stand now. See the look on my dog's face? He worries that I'm going to start shaving him.
That’s funny! Nice dog.
 
I just had a pack arrive to me in the mail today. Worst ink job I have ever seen on a blade. They would have been better off to not put any ink at all. If this brand did not have such a good reputation and I saw a blade like that in a sampler pack I would not even dare to shave with it. I have read that the brand was purchased by the company that owns Shick and Edge. Apparently the new ownership is cutting costs (hence the plain white paper wrapping with no logo). But as far as I know the blades are the same quality as ever before but since I have never shaved with the old version I cant compare. In fact tomorrow will be my very first shave EVER with a Personna blade. I normally use Astra SP and Dorco ST-301

Regarding the manufacturing being sent overseas you can see why it is happening, because of the Labor Unions in USA make the cost of doing business too high. And since the blades are made by giant machines it doesnt matter so much which country the machine is located in. Its sad that USA is losing jobs but it is the fault of the greedy Labor Unions and their unreasonable requests. They have completely destroyed the manufacturing industries of the USA.
While I have no desire to get into an argument here, I would like to point out two things. One, it would NOT be in a unions interest to make things so expensive that the members would lose their jobs. So that is a falsehood. Second, I, and I think most folks, come here to discuss shaving as a hobby and a pleasurable way to start a day. NOT to get into political left and right arguments. SHAVE ON MCDUFF! :)
 
I have the blades in the new packaging with the fuzzy printing and these are good blades for me no matter what razor I throw them in, from Gillette New, Fatboy, Slim, Parker Variant, EJ DE89, and Muhle r41. I always manage to get 6-7 days worth of fine shaves.
 
It's not only the cost of wages that presents a problem but the additional payroll costs, regulations, taxes, etc. that companies have in the U.S. in contrast to companies in certain countries. Some years ago I represented a company that had two clothing factories in the U.S. They found the cost of producing the identical garments with the same quality of workmanship and materials was 30% cheaper in foreign factories even with extra shipping costs. After five years they closed both U.S. factories.

Yeah, and I bet if you dig a little deeper the 30% savings is derived from being able to dump manufacturing waste products/toxins into the surrounding environment. We try to limit this type of manufacturing cost savings here in the US. Just saying.

Tim
 
A few years ago when I first got into wet shaving with a DE razor I tried several different brands of blade. I settled upon the Personna Super "Prep" blades packaged in the blue wrappers with an ink stamp indicating they are for hospital use.

Very pleased with them and I recently picked up a box of 250 from Robbins Instruments. These will last me a long time, however now that I am more accomplished at shaving without nicks I have been thinking about trying out a slightly more aggressive blade to get a closer shave.

Any suggestions for what I might try that is more aggressive than the Personna Prep blades?

Tim
 
Yeah, and I bet if you dig a little deeper the 30% savings is derived from being able to dump manufacturing waste products/toxins into the surrounding environment. We try to limit this type of manufacturing cost savings here in the US. Just saying.

Tim

Your assumptions were incorrect. There are no waste products or toxins in making garments. Nothing was dumped that would harm the environment. Any scraps of material that remained were sold and recycled.

The company was located in MA where taxes and other costs went up significantly. The payroll taxes, health care costs, pension costs, workers compensation costs, costs associated with OSHA compliance (they had to hire two full-time personnel just to complete and maintain records to comply with OSHA), etc. were some of the costs involved. In addition, for political reasons, certain factories in the area had their utility costs go up significantly while homeowners did not face that burden. Similarly, to maintain stable real estate taxes for homeowners (and voters) the tax burden was placed on the factories.

As an example, the factory had some workers who were constantly out on workers compensation claims. At that time the workers' compensation board would constantly grant claims. The employees would go to a friendly chiropractor who would certify that they had a back injury. One individual in the course of a year was out on workers compensation claims more than he worked in the factory. On his return from one leave, he was given an office job. On the second day there he managed to staple his hand and filed another claim. The claims experience resulted in huge increases in insurance costs.

So, the 30% savings came from costs having nothing to do with dumping waste products or toxins.
 
A few years ago when I first got into wet shaving with a DE razor I tried several different brands of blade. I settled upon the Personna Super "Prep" blades packaged in the blue wrappers with an ink stamp indicating they are for hospital use.

Very pleased with them and I recently picked up a box of 250 from Robbins Instruments. These will last me a long time, however now that I am more accomplished at shaving without nicks I have been thinking about trying out a slightly more aggressive blade to get a closer shave.

Any suggestions for what I might try that is more aggressive than the Personna Prep blades?

Tim

Have you tried Feather blades? I don't think you can get any sharper than Feathers.
 
OK, Feather, Gillette Nacet, and Bic Platinum are some of the blades I will look into as I chase after a closer shave.

Tim
 
I recently got a tuck from Amazon because my last 100 of Astra SP blades was running out. Like some others have noted, they were not smooth, were very tuggy, and caused me some irratation in my 37c slant. I contacted Amazon and eventhough they weren't returnable I got Amazon to refund me. They told me to keep them, so I tried one more blade in my Rockwell 6c..same awful results. I'm going through some samples to find a new favorite and the Lab Blues are worse that Feather, Astra SP, Gillette Silver Blue, and Astra SS (but not by much). I'm going to try a Personna Red next....or Polsilver. The Lab Blues went into the bin.
 
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