Dorco ST-301 Platinum Blades

A year in I am revisiting some of the stuff I tried, and gave up on, early in my DE shaving adventure. This was one of the first blades I bought due to price. I had a bit of a problem buying things sight unseen when I first started out. That may work for the Whipped Dog but it doesn't work out too well when you are first starting out. I panned this as an awful blade at that time after discovering Derby blades and went on from there. I bought a pack of these again just to give them a FAIR judgement now that my technique is such that I can do a fair review. I was completely wrong about this blade. I have never, probably never will, used a Feather blade so I will not use that as a comparison. I use Astra and Bluebird blades in all of my razors. The ST-301 compared well with these blades. While not quite as sharp as the birds, it was plenty sharp to do the job. Was a super smooth shaver, right on par with the Astra. One thing I really enjoyed was not having to combat glue spots. This blade made it to 3 shaves and that is all that I require, especially at .10 a pop. Overall it is a very good blade. No irritation, no nicks and very easy on the wallet. Good deal all around.

Price - Part of a sampler

Quality - The shaves were consistant, but I did find that second shaves were a bit superior to the first and third

Sharpness - Not the sharpest blades, but this is made up for by the smoothness. They are sharp enough

Longevity - I only use them for a week, max four shaves, and they wre fine

Smoothness - Nice shave. It's near impossible to screw this shave up. Well, not impossible - I pulled it off, but it took some effort

Packaging - nice solid plastic case, blade holder in the back, Well made.

I picked these up at a beauty supply store and the price was outstanding. I hadn't heard many good things, but was pleasantly surprised at the smooth shave. After about three uses I noticed some tugging. I'm a head shaver and it's usually in the back where I notice this most and I actually nicked myself behind my left ear. So I'd say three uses tops, but they are so inexpensive I can't complain.

I've long argued that choosing a DE blade is extremely personal - to the point that I take the gaggle of reviews I read, here and elsewhere, with a necessary pinch of salt. So many guys swear by Feather blades, but try as I might, they don't do it for me - I find them aggressive as hell, no matter my prep nor light touch in use. Really, it's a horses-for-courses thing.

Dorco is another golden example. Lots of people here slag the ST-300 almost six ways to Sunday. Me? They've been my go-to blade going on a decade, with only the no-longer-available (AFAIK) Israeli "no-name" Personnas for an alternate. Many of those trashing the 300 point to the 301 as the better blade, and not by a small margin. I finally managed to snag a pack of them some months back, figuring, hey, if the 300s are so good, these <i>could</i> be better, which of course would be amazing.

Alas, no. As I mentioned in my review of the ST-300, my shave routine is what I call 2-1/2-pass (WTG/ATG for face/neck/chin, XTG for neck only). The kindest thing I can say about the 301 is that it's pretty good WTG, just okay XTG, but extremely dodgy ATG, pulling and nicking worse than I recall Feathers doing. The 300 almost <i>never</i> does this, using either my gold Gillette Aristocrat or my '72 Super Adjustable. (My silver "Brit-ocrat" is a tad rougher, which I chalk up to a more aggressive blade gap than the American 'crat.) I just tried a 301 in the SA one more time (about the 7th time now) to see if there was <i>some</i> way to make the blades behave, but no dice - the nicks were so bad I had to finish up with the gold Aristocrat with an "old" 300 loaded in it.

So...does this mean the ST-301 outright sucks? No. I can see it working for others, and indeed others here have said as much, and I believe them. But the 300 is light-years ahead when it comes to pampering <i>my</i> puss, and that's really all that counts here. And I'm now just into my second box of of ten-packs, so it'll be a while before I have to stock up again. Read the reviews, but grab a sample-pack to be sure. Aloha.

This garbage makes the Merkur look good, and that is a universally panned blade. I have over 2000 blades and have tried them all, and this one is flat terrible.

These blades aren't the sharpest nor the smoothest. They are better suited for those with light beards.

Quality control also seems to be a little inconsistent.

I found these blades to be quite sharp, mowing down hairs with ease. They were also one of the most forgiving blades I have used. You should not be using any pressure with a DE, but with these blades you can make mistakes and still not get cut.

At 8 cents per blade when bought in bulk, these are some of the cheapest blades you can buy. My only complaint was that they only lasted 3 shaves, but at that price it's reasonable. After 3 shaves they're too dull to do much.

The blades are packaged 10 to a plastic dispenser, each individually wrapped in paper. No messy oil or glue spots on these, I thought it was first rate packaging.

Would I buy these blades again? No -- but only because I have blades that last twice as long (also twice the price), and I don't like changing the blade so often. If you don't mind it, these are decent blades.

Are there sharper blades out there? Yes, but they're also not as forgiving for new wetshavers who may not have their technique down pat.

Regards.

J

I found a local vendor for these blades at $2 for ten. Not as cheap as some on-line vendors, but shipping to Canada from US stores moves the price point up a bit.... anyway...

I tried an ST301 about 8 months ago and ripped my face up - I think I was using a 1958 Superspeed from Ray (Thirdeye) and my technique was horrible and I blamed the blade.

i decided to give them another go and I have been using them in my Merkur HD for a week, and I must say that these are equal to Red Pack Personnas and Derby Extras for sharpness, smoothness and longevity.

I use a blade for three days and toss it - I have not tried to go past three days, I fugure at 6 cents per day, I can afford it.

Overall, these are a goood blade, and affordable.

thumbs up!

These blades puzzle me. While the other reviews describe them as being relatively sharp, I was downright supprised at how much these things seem to pull, even from the first shave. I almost changed blades in the middle of the first use because it felt dull, but none the less, it gave a close shave, so I gave it a second shot. I'm not entirely sure what is going on for me or with the blades--I'm getting close, smooth shaves. Despite this, I'd put them behind Crystals, Gillette Yellows, and Wallmart American Personas in terms of the sensation of sharpness--the ease of the cut. Longevity for me seems to be on par, or a little worse than the American Persona blades--two to three shaves seems about all they're good for. I get a good shave, but I don't plan on buying any more, just because of the tugging when I've used them

These blades were my first bulk purchase, after starting back to DE shaving with a NOS UK Wilkinson and a few ST-300's from a sampler pack. The vendor on eBay at first sent me ST-300's then tried to tell me they were the same as 301's which they are not. He made good on his error by accepting my return and throwing in some extra packs of the 301's, making a great deal even better.

When it comes to sharpness, I'm not capable of splitting hairs (sic). I'd rate them comparable to a Treet Platinum or a Crystal, which for most people is plenty good. I went through nearly two 10-packs of these blades before discovering the Treet Classic, with no bad blades, so quality is not a problem.

I get as many shaves from these as most other blades that I've tried and liked, 5 in a week, 6 if I push it. They're so cheap, why push it?

They are as smooth as any blade I've tried except the Treet Classics, yet sharp enough to get BBS.

Packaging is the best I've seen, like the old Wilkinson UK blades. Single wrapped, with no glue spots to deal with, and they slide out of the plastic container as easily as the Gillette, Schick, and Personna dispensers, if not better.

I still use these blades in travel situations, but I've found I like the Treet Classics a bit better.

I really wanted to like these blades. At about $9 / 100, delivered, and since I am such a tightwad, I was really looking forward to trying them.

Awful, for me. I've tried about 8-10 differnt brands of blades in the 2 months of using DE's and the Dorco 301 were by far the worst.

When I get some time, I'm going to PIF the remaining 4 packs of 10 that I still have.

Addicted to buying every new blade I can there was a pack of these (as well as the st-300) waiting for me in the drawer.
First shave resulted in not too smooth a shave with a lot of razorburn. I don't use a balm too often but I was really glad I had a few to choose from after this shave.
On the second shave (with a second blade; I guessed the first was the non-starter of the pack) I noticed that only one edge was ok at the start and tossed the blade after the first pass. Completed the shave with the next blade but I thought I could feel the blade getting worse every stroke. Result; not very smooth and again a lot of razorburn.
This was going nowhere; the next two weeks I used my nicest blades just to get the fun back and to give my neck a chance to recover.
I decided to do my next (and final?) attempt differently; I would only go for three passes (WTG, XTG and ATG) without touch ups and change the blade midshave whenever I noticed the smallest increase of tugging or pulling of the blade.
I started with an "extended" prep; proraso pre with a hot and damp towel, removing the proraso after it started stinging and taking a second wet towel. Took one of my nicest soaps and built a lather that made me proud.
One of my easiest going razors was loaded with the first ST-301 and off I went.
I used 4 (four!) blades and yes, you do feel them deteriorating during one stroke. Some edges kept up for a few but as many were gone after just one or two strokes. I did manage however to keep the razorburn under control this time.
Presentable (but sandpaper feel) result for a premium price...
I hope to find the courage to try out the ST-300 blades sometime this year...

These blades start out with a nice feel and sharpness but the edge is falling apart in a couple of strokes. They might be ok when your beart is easier to cut than mine but for me these are somewhere at the bottom of the drawer containing the rejects...

Well, these are a definite improvement over the 300's. While they're very sharp for the first shave, the quality slips significantly during the second and third. I wouldn't even try to squeeze a 4th shave for two reasons: It wouldn't be sharp enough, and the blades are pretty cheap. You can get 100 for $12, four dollars more than the 300's. If you only shave every so often, and don't want to break the bank, go this route.

These are about as unremarkable a blade I have come across. They are cheap but I wouldn't call them a bargain. And god the name is aweful. DORCO = DOngyang Razor CO or something like that. The white packaging looks clean to me. Besides the name I really can't knock these blades. Oh, and they only last 1 day. They'll give a good shave, but not a great one. Like I said they are completely unremarkable.

I've been using these for quite some time.

These are certainly smoother shaving than the ST-300, the first Dorco blade I used. I'd read reports that the two were the same thing in different packaging, but reviews here and elsewhere, as well as use, have convinced me that these are different blades, and I prefer the ST-301, even though I got decent results with the ST-300

No glue, and a cheap but effective plastic blade bank is included.

They are available at the lower end of the price spectrum.

I get very good shaves with them in a variety of vintage Gillette razors. They are sharp enough, and seem to be forgiving. ATG over the upper lip sometimes skips, but if I adjust the angle of stroke slightly, no problem. The end result is either a DFS or BBS if I do my part and touch up properly.

Longevity? Not a strong point, if you consider three or four three pass shaves a short life. At the price, I chuck them after three or four shaves.
If I try to go over four, I can tell it's time for a new blade.

I don't have a barbed wire beard, but I don't grow peach-fuzz, either. I'm probably pretty average in this respect, so heavy bearded shavers may have very different results. I do tend to emphasize my prep, so that might be helping these little Korean buggers out quite a bit.

So, now that my stock is low, will I be re-ordering the ST-301?

Nope, too many blades out there to try. Next up are some Egyptian Sharks, and a dabble with the fabled Feather.

They have served me well, and I would order them again. In fact, if I don't find another blade that knocks my socks off, then this might be one I stock up on, in case the cartridge conglomerates get legislation passed that outlaws DE blades.

Until then, I'll continue to blade graze, but I'd not hesitate to use an ST-301 again.

Funky name, though.

heap blades that tore up my face. If i could compare it to something, it would be like wet sanding my face with 600 grit paper. First strokes great, after the coating wears of the tip of the cutting edge after the first stroke or two, all hell's warth was unleashed on my face. Absolutely horrible every time i come back to them, with every razor. Corking and stropping barely give me one acceptable shave. I get some of my best shaves from a blade that costs me less.

About the only thing they did right with these is the packaging. Plastic container and wax paper.

After my bad experience using the Dorco 300s I reluctantly gave the 301s a try.

Big improvement over the 300s!

Some folks say the 301s are the same as the 300s. If so my technique must of improved by light years. Regardless, the 301s are now part of my rotation.

Using my Tech, SuperSpeed and Merkur HD I got DFS to BBS shaves with these blades.

PRICE: 10 / Was getting them from a local supplier for $16 per 100 then I found another at $10 per 100. 10 cents a blade is a 10 for me.

QUALITY: 8 / Improvement over the 300s. Not great but certainly above average.

SHARPNESS: 8 / Once again, not great but above average.

LONGEVITY: 8 / I get three good shaves. Even if I could get more I replace all blades after three shaves.

SMOOTHNESS OF SHAVE: 8 / Glides across my face with little or no pulling action.

PACKAGING: 10 / Typical paper wrap and plastic container.

I know that some shavers have a love-hate relationship with DORCO.

Give them (301s) a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Came in a sampler pack and just finished using them and found that the 2 razors i used them in the both shaves tugged on my face and went blunt after 2 shaves, if they came in a sample pack again i would use them but dont think i would buy them in bulk.

The Dorco ST301 was included in a Sampler Pack I purchased from West Coast. These blades are available for about $10/100 blades are are packaged in a plastic container with the capability to retain used blades. I tested these blades in three razors; a 1948 Superspeed, a 1965 Superspeed and a 1955 Red Tip. Three blades were used for each razor and each blade was good for four shaves when I changed them. The 1965 Superspeed liked the blade and it provided a very smooth shave with no cuts or abrasions. An excellent shave was obtained with 2 passes and a touch up. A slightly better shave was obtained with the 1948 Superspeed and I thought the 1948 just handled better. Again no cuts or abrasions. Another excellent shave. With the Red Tip the best shaves were obtained. The differences between the razors was not that significant and the blade performance was very consistent. I feel the ST301 works fine for me and would not hesitate recommending it.

The first time I used one I these a couple of months ago I was left a little disappointed. Fast forward to now. I gave them another run and for some reason I've gotten great shaves out these blades. They are very smooth and forgiving. They work for me, but as always YMMV.