Family Dollar DE Blades

I had to delete my original review in order to update. Family Dollar contracts out of course. The last time it was Korean blades and they were very dull. This time I noticed Gillette and Vietnam in fine print on the package so I decided to spend a dollar. I was very pleased. They were sharp, not sure if they were as sharp as the Yellow Russian Sharp Edge version but close anyway. I got 4 shaves out of my first blade and was happy that my dollar store did something right. Make sure you verify who is making the blades and stay away from the Korean version.

Being the only blade available within walking distance of my home, of course this had to be tried, out of sheer curiousity.

No markings, comes in a plastic dispenser, marked "Made in Korea," so presumably these are Dorco Stainless Steel.

I got three very nice, close shaves, from the blade. Forgiving, no irritation. By the end of the third shave, performance started to degrade, as is typical for me and most blades.

I like this product. In a day and age when you can order bulk blades on line for far cheaper, there is no particular reason to go to DG and buy these unless you are traveling and in a pinch, in which case I wouldn't hesitate.

Update: July 2015. Purchased another tuck of these for vacation, this time specifically to have the blade bank for disposal. I did not wish to expose hotel cleaning staff to potential cuts from used blade.

The store had blades made in both Vietnam and in Korea. I once again purchased the Korean version.

I'm getting FOUR very close, irritation free shaves from these blades before I notice a degradation in shave quality. These are not the smoothest blades but there are rougher blades and the ultimately quality of the shaves I'm getting from these blades is as good as you could ask for.

A very good product, and an outstanding value.

I saw these and thought they couldn't be too bad being made in S.Korea (thinking they likely were Dorcos). I was dead wrong! They shave nothing like Dorcos (which IMO is not a terrible blade). They shave more like a 70 year old used Gillette Blue Blade that has been shaved with 50 times. Dull, dull, dull. Draggy, chuggy, and did I say DULL. Could not even get through the first shave. Horrible experience! Never again.

At one point these blades were Israeli made, and quite good. Mine were made in Korea, which means they are likely Dorcos.

I found these blades to be quite dull, and not at all smooth: the least smooth blade I have tried to date. I could feel the blade the whole time.

The Wal-Mart Personna are a much better quality blade, and for even a little less money, so I would use those instead.

These blades are indeed sharp and priced right. The razor blades worked great considering the dispenser allows them to rub one another when dispensing.
They worked great on a variety of DE handles. I cannot say that for another company with a fancier razor blade dispenser.
I have shaved two times so far WTG and once AGT and shaved BBS. Barbasol Original in a can worked great with these blades compared to an inexpensive soap that caused burning.
Do to variables and number of passes to get a BBS shave I have yet to find any DE razor blade that works great beyond 2 shaves without ripping my face apart.
I noticed a antique crank type stropping device for old and modern DE blades and the instructions said to strop before each and every shave.
I really don't mind tossing a blade after a super close shave that leaves me feeling good.

I was visiting in-laws recently and ran across these in the Family Dollary store. Thery were $1 for a 5-pack. I figured that I couldn't go wrong for a dollar; I was right! The thing that caught my eye was the small "Made in Israel" sticker on the back of the pack. A closer examination showed an American Safety Razor trademark. The blades have nothing on them except the dispense direction arrows.

Today, I had my fourth shave with the first blade. I find the blade to be sharp and smooth. I today's shave was BBS with no irritation. It may not be the same blade as the ones with blue writing on the wrapper, but they are very close. These blades are good enough to put in regular rotation along side my Derby and other Israeli blades.

At .20 each, they cost a few more cents than the ASR blades sold at Wal-mart, but they are much better! The next time I visit the in-laws, I'm going to stock up!

Discussion thread is here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=356074#post356074