Dorco blades? Thoughts, comments, etc.

[Rufust445]

I like the Prime Platinum STP301 a lot, and they are really cheap. I bought 600 of them for about 9 cents a blade and free shipping directly from DORCO USA.

I still have a pack of ST-301's left from my first 100 blade purchase some years ago. They were reasonable in price, and did
a good job while I was learning technique in vintage TTO razors.

My latest 100 lot purchase was 7 o'clock greens, shipped from India for $8.10. In the current design razors I use now, Dorco PL602
and Baili 171, they are shaving nirvana for me.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

@Rufust445

08.1 cents per blade is hard to beat!

I think I have enough blades to last a lifetime, but it sure is fun to score a deal!

I’ve spent money on worse things in my life.

 

[MerkurMan55]

The odd man out here, I prefer the Dorco ST-300 to the ST-301.

But no, I'm not crazy. I've got a reason: I like blade feel when I shave, and the 301 has less of it than the 300. I bet the 301 has a thicker teflon coating.

Likewise, I prefer the Rapira super stainless to both the Voskhod and platinum lux. I find the latter two too slippery on the face to be able to adequately feel what's going on.

I'm planning on doing an experiment in the near future: shave with a 301 and a 300 for a month or two, rotating blades each day. (My max days so far is 32 on a Treet Classic.) My hypothesis is that the two Dorcos will feel about the same after not too long into the experiment. They may, however, be different hones. Does anyone have info on that?

 

[SirPaulGerman]

Dorco Prime in my view better than Astra, nice blade

 

[JBlaze]

The odd man out here, I prefer the Dorco ST-300 to the ST-301.

But no, I'm not crazy. I've got a reason: I like blade feel when I shave, and the 301 has less of it than the 300. I bet the 301 has a thicker teflon coating.

Likewise, I prefer the Rapira super stainless to both the Voskhod and platinum lux. I find the latter two too slippery on the face to be able to adequately feel what's going on.

I'm planning on doing an experiment in the near future: shave with a 301 and a 300 for a month or two, rotating blades each day. (My max days so far is 32 on a Treet Classic.) My hypothesis is that the two Dorcos will feel about the same after not too long into the experiment. They may, however, be different hones. Does anyone have info on that?

I too am doing an experiment with the orange box dorco st300 HQ blades for 6-8 shaves then comparing it to the dorco stp300 platinum for 6-8 shaves in all of my razors.

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[RayClem]

The odd man out here, I prefer the Dorco ST-300 to the ST-301.

But no, I'm not crazy. I've got a reason: I like blade feel when I shave, and the 301 has less of it than the 300. I bet the 301 has a thicker teflon coating.

Likewise, I prefer the Rapira super stainless to both the Voskhod and platinum lux. I find the latter two too slippery on the face to be able to adequately feel what's going on.

I'm planning on doing an experiment in the near future: shave with a 301 and a 300 for a month or two, rotating blades each day. (My max days so far is 32 on a Treet Classic.) My hypothesis is that the two Dorcos will feel about the same after not too long into the experiment. They may, however, be different hones. Does anyone have info on that?

You may be the "odd man out" but that is OK. We are all different in our beard types, skin types, and preferences. I suspect that the blades you like so well would not be sharp enough for my beard., but if they work for you, that is wonderful.

 

[MerkurMan55]

You may be the "odd man out" but that is OK. We are all different in our beard types, skin types, and preferences. I suspect that the blades you like so well would not be sharp enough for my beard., but if they work for you, that is wonderful.

Many thanks for the comment, RayClem.

I've unfortunately not got leather skin, like some of my friends who almost never get irritation. If I shave for a week with, say, a Personna Blue, my skin feels raw. Close shaves for sure, but not worth the irritation. I've settled on steep angle shaving with aggressive razors (R41, Pearl OC, Fatip) and lower sharpness blades as working best for me.

 

[MerkurMan55]

I too am doing an experiment with the orange box dorco st300 HQ blades for 6-8 shaves then comparing it to the dorco stp300 platinum for 6-8 shaves in all of my razors.

Sent from my SM-J737P using Tapatalk

I'll be curious to see the result, JBlaze.

 

[fast shaver]

The odd man out here, I prefer the Dorco ST-300 to the ST-301.

But no, I'm not crazy. I've got a reason: I like blade feel when I shave, and the 301 has less of it than the 300. I bet the 301 has a thicker teflon coating.

Likewise, I prefer the Rapira super stainless to both the Voskhod and platinum lux. I find the latter two too slippery on the face to be able to adequately feel what's going on.

I'm planning on doing an experiment in the near future: shave with a 301 and a 300 for a month or two, rotating blades each day. (My max days so far is 32 on a Treet Classic.) My hypothesis is that the two Dorcos will feel about the same after not too long into the experiment. They may, however, be different hones. Does anyone have info on that?

Hmmm, The ST300 & the ST301 are the same blade according to Dorco. The ST301 come in a plastic dispenser is all.

 

[lancre]

Judging by the blades packaged with an MTO, the ST300s also come in a plastic case.

 

[fast shaver]

I contacted Dorco & they emailed that both blades were the same. I was not aware that the ST300 comes in a plastic dispenser also.

 

[MerkurMan55]

Rufust445 on 10/28/2009 in ‘Dorco, ST-301 vs ST-300’ Thread:

“The 300 and 301 are not the same blade. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that once out of the wrapper, they are impossible to tell apart without a microscope. The markings on the blade are identical, but the 301 has a different edge grind and hone, and is PTFE coated.

I'm not sure whether the 300 is PTFE coated. It's been over 18 months since I used my last one. The blade reviews over at SMF have covered these two blades extensively.

The ST-301 is the newer of the two, having been introduced in 2007. The 300 has been on the market longer.”

drandall in the same thread:

“Squire over on shavemyface.com reviews blades not only with personal experience, but by putting them under the microscope and snapping pictures of the blade grind. He says the 300 and 301 are different and my non-scientific tests agree. the 301 is sharper and in my experience, glides better than the blue-wrapper 300.”

 

[fast shaver]

Rufust445 on 10/28/2009 in ‘Dorco, ST-301 vs ST-300’ Thread:

“The 300 and 301 are not the same blade. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that once out of the wrapper, they are impossible to tell apart without a microscope. The markings on the blade are identical, but the 301 has a different edge grind and hone, and is PTFE coated.

I'm not sure whether the 300 is PTFE coated. It's been over 18 months since I used my last one. The blade reviews over at SMF have covered these two blades extensively.

The ST-301 is the newer of the two, having been introduced in 2007. The 300 has been on the market longer.”

drandall in the same thread:

“Squire over on shavemyface.com reviews blades not only with personal experience, but by putting them under the microscope and snapping pictures of the blade grind. He says the 300 and 301 are different and my non-scientific tests agree. the 301 is sharper and in my experience, glides better than the blue-wrapper 300.”

Thanks for the info.! I was just going by the email Dorco sent me.

 

[psfred]

The ST-300 has a different bevel grind than the ST-301. I've seen micrographs of them in several places, and they are definitely different. The email I saw states basically that all of their blades are good, not that they are identical.

I prefer the Prime over the ST-301 -- I'd have gotten more shaves out of it but I managed to crack the blade perpendicular to the edge while cleaning soap scum off, causing it to snag skin occasionally. Not very nice. Other than that user-induced problem, they are the equivalent of German Wilkinsons for me, nice and smooth and long lasting.

 

[RayClem]

The ST-300 has a different bevel grind than the ST-301. I've seen micrographs of them in several places, and they are definitely different. The email I saw states basically that all of their blades are good, not that they are identical.

I prefer the Prime over the ST-301 -- I'd have gotten more shaves out of it but I managed to crack the blade perpendicular to the edge while cleaning soap scum off, causing it to snag skin occasionally. Not very nice. Other than that user-induced problem, they are the equivalent of German Wilkinsons for me, nice and smooth and long lasting.

If they are close to the German Wilkies then they are worth trying.

 

[JBlaze]

I'm not sure if the orange box dorco are the Sam e as the blue or prime but on the fifth shave and it's very smooth unlike the previous non HQ blue st300 which dragged and pulled. Only downside for me is I wished it was a bit sharper like the supermax blue diamond.

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[johnwick]

The ST-300 has a different bevel grind than the ST-301. I've seen micrographs of them in several places, and they are definitely different. The email I saw states basically that all of their blades are good, not that they are identical.

I prefer the Prime over the ST-301 -- I'd have gotten more shaves out of it but I managed to crack the blade perpendicular to the edge while cleaning soap scum off, causing it to snag skin occasionally. Not very nice. Other than that user-induced problem, they are the equivalent of German Wilkinsons for me, nice and smooth and long lasting.

I wonder if Blades could have different bevel grinds from run to run? For example, could the grinding equipment change after a few weeks and a few million blades being run? Therefore, they could be the same blade, but not.

Could be, I certainly don’t know. Only speculating. This could be true of absolutely any brand.

 

[psfred]

One of them had a double bevel, the other a single bevel, I don't think you can get that by "misadjusted" equipment as it takes a second grinding stage to get the double bevel.

Modern razor blade manufacturing is very highly automated.

 

[CanuckShaver]

I find the ST-300 gives me a smooth and comfortable shave and I can use it for over a week and still feel smooth, the ST-301 not so much. The Dorco Prime gives me a rough shave but surprisingly I get no nicks or irritation and a good shave but just not comfortable while gliding across my face.

 

[RayClem]

I find the ST-300 gives me a smooth and comfortable shave and I can use it for over a week and still feel smooth, the ST-301 not so much. The Dorco Prime gives me a rough shave but surprisingly I get no nicks or irritation and a good shave but just not comfortable while gliding across my face.

Have you ever shaved with Feather, Nacet or BIC Chrome Platinum blades? If so, I wonder how they compare to the Dorco Prime and ST-301. It seems to me that you beard and face might lean more toward smooth blades than very sharp ones. I am always looking for blades that are sharp AND smooth as I need a sharp blade to cut my tough beard, but also need a smooth blade to avoid irritating my tender skin. For me, using a really good shaving soap is key to achieving a great shave, whether with a straight razor or DE razor.