ASCO Super Stainless

Cliff Notes version: A very nice blade that is sharp, but it's real feature is it's incredible smoothness.

While rummaging around in my blade wild-card box (single tucks of razors that I picked up with an order or traded with other member), I came across Asco Super Stainless (Orange Box) blades.

Its important to know that there are at least three different packages for Asco Super Stainless blades - Orange, Red and Blue with Red end. The red box Asco's do not get the same acclaim that the Orange and Blue/Red end get.

As I recalled reading positive reviews about the Asco orange blades, I thought that I would give them a whirl.

Price - I scored 10, as they were part of a blade trade with a friend.

Quality - I've used 4 blades so far and the quality it consistent with each blade having the same face feel and quality of shaving.

Sharpness - I'm generally of the "3-4 uses and replace" school of blade use. Asco oranges happen to fit my pattern perfectly. It particularly shined in a Merkur 34 HD.

Smoothness of Shave - The incredible smoothness of the Asco SS is where this blade really shines. My first shave with this was in a 62 Gillette Slim (set at 7) and really had concentrate to feel this blade on my face. In the Cadet TP-26, a more aggressive razor with lots more blade exposure, the smoothness really stands out.

Packaging - comes in a plain cardboard box, double wrapped. I'm a fan of minimal packaging - so it's a 10 for me.

Conclusion -

This is one of my favorite blades. For me it has a very nice blend of sharpness and smoothness. I find feathers to be too harsh, and prefer Gillette 7 o'clock SharpEdge (yellows as my sharp blade), but generally prefer milder blades such as Astra SP's and SS's, Personna Reds and Voskhods.

I will be ordering this blade in bulk. They are currently available at Shoe Box shaving and Connaught.

There are something like 15 different sorts of blades manufactured by Lord of Egypt. It is difficult to believe they actually make that many unique products, and easier to believe that they market the same products under different labels and boxes.

At any rate, most of these blades work fine for me, the only exception being the Shark Super Chromes.

This ASCO blade merely has "ASCO" and "Super Stainless" printed upon it, and it came in a single, orange, waxed wrapper. No glue.

This blade was a very pleasant surprise. It managed to hit that "sweet spot" between sharpness and smoothness. It took a bit more work to get a BBS than one could with a Med Prep, but it certainly came through.

It delivered three very very nice shaves, and laboured a bit to finish up a fourth.

Certainly worth a try when they are on sale.

I got these as part of a sampler pack and had been using the Racer blades from the same stable. I gave these a try and I have to say I think they are an exceptionally smooth and very comfortable blade.

Price : was part of a samlper pack that cost me £7.20 for 75 blades

Quality : I really like these. They have a smoothness that allows me to have a comfortable shave and yet manages to also give me a nice close shave as well. Usind in an R41 this marries very well to it's aggressiveness and I get a great shave

Sharpness : I rate Feathers as a 10 and they aren't that sharp, however I do get a close shave and they are quite forgiving of mistakes.

Longevity : I only use blades for 3 3 pass shaves then theyget binned. these still felt comfortable after the end of the 3rd shave so they just get an average mark.

smothness : very smooth, very comfortable, no burn, no irritation. Can't ask for more than that.

Packaging : cardboard outer case and double wrapped blades. Just as most blades out there.

These are £12 for 200 in the UK and I'd happily spend that on them.

Overall, I'd say these are great blades. I bought the "red and blue" ones in quantity, which come in a mostly blue box with red trim and white lettering, and a few of the Orange packaged ones for comparison.

I think that the blades themselves are the same, however the orange boxed blades are only single wrapped. They might be identical to the other "Super Stainless" blades sold under the other Lord brands.

At $9 for a carton of 100, they're priced quite well. I was able to find blades for less, but these are fairly economical.

I give them high marks for quality. I consider quality to be a measurement of both the overall merits of a product, and the ability of the producer to keep this consistent so that no "dud" blades are in the mix. So far they're all great shaving blades, and I haven't hit any duds.

These blades are, I would say, fairly sharp. They cut through the hairs with little effort, but aren't as sharp as a feather. This might be a good thing, as feathers seem to slice me up.

Longevity might be the one failing point of these blades. I get one great shave out of every one I try. I get a second quite good shave when I try for two shaves. I tried one blade for three shaves and it seemed as if it had definitely lost it's edge. However, I still give them a rating of "3" as I have tried other brands that last only one shave.

So far, all of my shaves, with the exception of the time I tried to push the blade for three, have been perfectly smooth and free of irritation.

I give packaging an 8. The "red and blue" blades come double wrapped in paper, in card boxes. The lack of space to put spent blades, as is provided in a plastic or metal dispenser, doesn't bother me. Having said that, the orange boxed blades are only single wrapped, and I wonder if this might not offer the same protection to the blades as a double wrapping.

All in all, I would have to recommend these as a great economical blade, particularly for those who like to use a blade once or twice and toss it rather than trying to eek every shave out of the blade.

I'm astounded by the quality for money gotten in this blade. These hold a spot in my top 5, beaten by very few. They shave smooth and last as long as significantly more expensive blades, getting 3-4 shaves per side myself. I would definitely recommend these blades to anybody!

As I'd read other reviews of these blades here I had high hopes for these but was pretty disappointed.

The price of these can't be beat but the quality just isn't there for me.

They are as sharp as Wilkies and as smooth I suppose but I dislike those also.

Longevity was good as I got four shaves out of them but not once did I get even close to a DFS from these.
ATG was horrible and the blade felt like it was flexing inside the razor it was weird.

I love the Lord platinum but these SS blades were awful for me.
I'm now trying Crown from another Egyptian company and although they feel very similar to these Ascos they give me a much smoother shave IE. a DFS.

All in all not as bad as Mekur and at a third of the price one can't complain.

Received some of these in a large sampler pack. A smooth, quality product with outstanding longevity. Today had my 12th shave with the same blade. I have never had a double edge blade go that long without even a hint of degradation. Made in Egypt for LORD.

Who did you get the blades from? Where can I buy a hunderd blades?

I can get these at the supermarket around the corner at 10 Dinars ($7.50) a hundred. In my humble opinion they are as good as English Wilkies; smooth and sharp enough for a week's shaves. This may not be surprising as I believe the LORD factory was set up by Wilkinsons Sword back in the 70s.

If you can get hold of some, well worth a try

Picked up 50 of these on ebay. Hoping they'd be more aggressive than my Derby's and a lot less aggressive than Feather's. I got what I wanted! I would say it's above the middle of the pack in sharpness and delivers a smooth shave. The blade lasts several shaves. I usually get 3 or 4 out of my Shark SC's and I could have 5 or 6 out of these.