Gillette 7 O'clock Sharp Edge

To make a long story short, these are what I consider the modern day version of the Gillette Super Stainless "Spoiler" blades of the late 1960s to early 1980s.

They're a tad sharper than the Spoilers, and a tad less smooth (not a bad attribute), and boy can they shave! Lasted for 5 complete 3 pass full shave days. My usual is no more than 3 with any other current production blade.

This goes to show that the Gillette empire can produce good rather than evil in this modern day and age.

Going through many different blades right now. And these are the best of the lot along with Bluebirds and to a lesser degree Iridium Super. Feather and Kai sharp..but with less irritation. I find with my tough beard type I need sharp. So, blades like Derby, Lords, Wilkinson's, Bolzano and Personna Reds didn't do it for me at all. The Feather, and Kai while sharp were too rough on my face. The 7 o'clock Yellows, Iridium Super and the Bluebirds are the only ones where I got 3 days of comfortable shaves and the shave lasted many hours until stubble re-appeared. Feathers and the other Gillette 7 o'clock varieties (which BTW I liked for their sharpness and smoothness) only lasted 2 days for me though.

To be constant I used the same prep methods and shave cream (AOS Unscented) and EJ 89L razor while testing all the blades.

Did I say YMMV?

Like the Iridium Super, this blade is not smooth. The smoother the blade, the higher the quality and the more shaves it'll provide.
My favorite blade is the Persona (Red Pack) because it is smooth and sharp. The Gillette Yellow has some loyal followers which once again proves YMMV!

I only use two blades; Feather and Gillette 7 O'clock sharp edge. Not as sharp as Feathers, but close. Also smooth. Recommended.

Price - Pretty average price

Quality - The wax spots are really annoying.

Sharpness - Sharp blade, but could be better.

Longevity - Around 3 or 4 shaves, average.

Smoothness of Shave - Harsh blade, it seemed to hack my face

Packaging - Ordinary blade plastic box

Conclusion - These blades should only be used by experienced users

These are great blades in the Merkur Vision. They are sharp, but will not hack-up your face. I get a BBS shave with these blades!

People seem to find these to be very sharp. The first time I used one, I noticed immediately that it dragged significantly more than my Derby's. Gentle blades, but I had fairly long whiskers after I was done shaving.
Give them a shot though. There must be a reason people like them.

I'm currently going through a sample pack from (a great company that I'm not being allowed to name here for some reason) and the Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellows are top candidate for my go-to blade (razor: Merkur 38c, creams: Barbus, Proraso green tube, or Nivea Milde).

These blades shave my face (coarse beard, sensitive skin) as close as Feathers, but are far more forgiving - after a Feather shave, my alum block or AS tends to sting my cheeks slightly and leave me a little red. Not so with the Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellows - in fact, five shaves with these following seven Feather shaves seemed to clear up the redness.

I find that three passes (2 WTG, 1 XTG) with these blades is more than enough for a shave that is between DFS and BBS (closer to BBS). I got five such shaves from one blade, and probably could have gotten more, but I figure five gives me my money's worth.

I'm seriously tempted to stop my testing now and just invest in a year or two's worth of these wonderful blades. But Derbys, Crystals, and Iridium Supers have been pretty kind to me as well, I just need to test their longevity on my beard. Come to think of it, no matter how those three perform, I'm probably going to make that investment anyway

I was a fan of Polsilvers and Iridiums before they were discontinued. A lot of folks recommended Russian Yellows because they were supposedly made in the same plant. I am not one to trace blade genealogy, I just know what I like. These are my Go-To blades. Super sharp and super smooth. They last a decent number of shaves and give an excellent result.

I find Russian Yellows to be smooth out of the wrapper. Where other blades take a pass to break-in the Yellows need very little of that. They are very sharp and work well in my razors of choice which are relatively mild ('50s Flare-tips). Some people find them almost too sharp. I find them a step below Feathers and very similar to Swedes, perhaps a touch less sharp.

The blades also last a good number of shaves which brings the price-per-shave down to a reasonable amount. Swedes are awesome blades but @ 90 cents a blade it is hard to get your money's worth.

My only beef is the glue spots on the blades which can sometimes be massive. It ends up being extra gunk to clean out of your razor. But I have not found an adequate substitute for these wonderful blades (at least not one that is readily available).

Great blades, the new EJ/Muhle head and these are a dream team. I've had great luck with these, the only drawback is the packaging. They've got lots of glue on them, and no disposal slot in the box. Neither issue is a deal breaker though, I'm completely satisfied.

I gotta start by saying OW. Yeah ow my face hurts! I wasn't impressed with the quality of these blades even though they have beautiful packaging and expensive side price. Shaved well first use, next uses the blade just gave up on me. The shave wasn't smooth nor close, I left home with greyish face looking like homer simpson. Have to comment I've used many other blades but these weren't particularly good imo. You can get better blades for the price, and my recommendation is to switch to another blade but again thats imo. I wasn't satisfied with neither smoothness, close nor longevity of the blade.

These blades have given me some incredible results. I thought the Feather blades were great, but the 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge blades gave me a noticeably smoother shave - maybe not quite as sharp, but definitely smoother. I am using them with a Merkur 38C and Col. Conk's Almond soap.

I guess that everyone's face is quite different. I have a pretty "mild" beard, but my face makes up for it by having plenty of deep acne scarring, making shaving like running an obstacle course. I wish I had marked when I started using my current blade, but it has been several weeks ago. I shave every morning and almost always try to get the smoothest possible shave (as close as one can get given the scarring), so it's not as if the blade isn't used enough. Although I can tell a difference in the blade, it is still giving me very smooth shaves and it has been several days since I had even the mildest of nicks. The blade is removed and blotted with a towel after each use, along with the razor.

I just placed an order for a bunch of them since I see no reason to look any farther.

These blades are what kept me from swearing off DE shaving forever. I tried them 3 weeks into my new habit, after using all the other usual suspects (except Feathers, which I look forward to trying shortly). They immediately struck me with their smooth, relatively effortless results. No tugging, skipping, etc. Just for comparison, after 6 weeks of using these on a regular basis, I went back to the first blade I ever tried - Derbys - and gave up after one pass! I threw the Derby away, switched in a new 7, and went back to shaving nirvana. While others say they switch out blades after three uses or so, I can almost get a week's worth of shaving (with 2.5 passes per shave) out of one blade before they start tugging.

I have been using this blade for 8 motnhs now and only have 2 areas of minor concerns:

PRICE: Close to Feathers in cost; I had purchased a 100 pack long before West Coast stocked them and there is no getting around it-expensive(but worth it!)

QUALITY: glue spots,glue spots,glue spots,glue spots! Otherwise excellent.

Sharpness: here is where these blades shine; most blades are good to excellent when shaving w/ the grain. The SharpEdges do a great job when shaving XTG and ATG. No pulling or dragging noted for the first 3-4 shaves( I toss most blades after the 4th shave). 2 passes and done w/ no burnig or irritation and BBSness all a round.

Longevity: Great for the first 3 shaves and just good for the 4th.

Smoothness of Shave: another area where the Sharpedges absolutely shine! There are times when I believe I actually have not cut anything and have to check the sink to make sure. Hot knife through butta' smooth.

Packaging: paper all the way around(package and both wrappers on blade) makes for easy recycling-dispersal in trash.

Just think- if these blades were $5-$7 cheaper, there would be no reason to purchase any other blades. being priced about the same as Super Iridiums for a 100 pack makes your choice very hard indeed. If the Feather(wicked sharpness) isn't the blade for you and you want the next best, then this is your blade.


marty

I started out with Derby's and used them for quite a while. I next tried Gillette Black's and thought them to be sharper but not quite as smooth as Derby's-then I finally saw the Yellow's for the first time on this forum then eBay. Once I tried them I decided this was the perfect blade for my medium blade. SMOOTH, sharp enough, and forgiving. It is the perfect blade for me. Too bad this blade is most affordable from England.

I like these.

Can't really comment on price, mine were PIFd.

It's nice to get a great shave from a blade that says "Gillette".

I could shave with these forevermore and be well pleased. I can't say they are going to be my one and only, but they are obviously a quality blade, well worth trying and a pleasure to use.

Sharp, smooth and I seem to get about four shaves out of one.

I agree with a lot that's been said, a great blade imho, it just doesn't last long enough, I only got two shaves out of a blade, whereas a feather can give me 3-4, and many others give a decent shave for 3-4, pity as I really like these blades.

Very smooth shave for me at least, and if they lasted longer would be an equal for my feather :-(

Tom

Ok.. I'm really, really dissapointed about these blades I read good reviews here about them so I expected Feather like blades. I got 5 of them in a WestCoastShaving sample pack and tried them right away.

Man.. the shave was so painful! Shaving itself never was painful to me. Just the aftershave splash and maybe some razor burn or other irritation afterwards. But these blades... maybe I tried a flawed blade but still I don't see myself using these again. The blade was pulling hairs and really scratching my face

Price (3): $34 for 100 blades at WestCoastShaving. Derbys are only $20 and are lot less painful. Still not that sharp, but at least they don't pull and scratch.

Quality (4): well... they're not even shaving. What to say else?

Sharpness (3): worst I ever had. I'm better off using tweezers. That's less painful and a lot cheaper.

Longevity (N/A): only used 1 so I don't know. I'm not sure if they can get any worse than they are when new... Red pack personnas after 10 uses are more useable than new Sharp Edges.

Smoothness of shave (3): I didn't finish the shave with this blade. Only did a WTG pass and it didn't cut a lot of hair... Worst WTG pass in my life. I get smoother shaves with a clamshell.

Packaging (10): the best I ever saw. I don't like plastic containers like that of Feather, Derby, Astra and the like for environmental reasons. The Sharp Edge cardboard box has a little flap that makes it easy to open the cardboard box and close it for later use.

I have not submitted my overall to the system, because I think it screws up the rating to much. I'd give these blades about a 4. Maybe I just got a flawed blade, but right now I'm just so pissed off that I'm thinking I'll never use these blades again and they at least one honest negative review

I used to be a Derby man, but after trying out a pack of the yellow Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge, these has now become ny new go-to blades.

Pirce:
These blades can be found very cheap, but even when paying "standard" price I consider them a bargain compared to brands like Feather and Merkur

Quality:
Very high, nice to see that Gillette is still capable of making a high quality product

Sharpness:
Quite sharp, not as sharp as Feather or Gillette Platinum (Swedish G's) though

Longevity:
I get my usual three shaves from these blades, that is ok with me

Smoothness of Shave:
This is where this blades out-match any other blade I have tried!

Packaging:
The simple cardboard box is ok, but the double wrapping and the massive glue spots are a bit of a hassle

This blade is often overlooked when sampeling for blades - a shame really.


Regards.

Jakob

Just finished the week shaving with one, just one, Gillette Sharp edge yellow pack blade.. And I think I could still get another decent shave out of it.

I'm still quite new the DE shaving and have been trying to find the best performing bargain blade I can. I've tried Merkur (not bad), Feather (very good), Astra SP (good blade), Wallmart Personna (not so good) and one other I'm not recollecting at the moment. But none have lasted like this and shaved as well after 3-4 shaves. The Feather defiantly didn't last me as long w/o feeling like it was dragging, tore me up more and maybe not as smooth. I'll have to go back to it next for a direct comparo. But they cost more than I'd like to spend regularly.

Just got a bunch of Derbys for a deal (and some Kias on the way) and will give them a go, but don't hold out much hope they'll compare from general consensus on this site, which got me to give the Gs a go. Thanks guys. Wife's satisfied with them (Derby) shaving her legs, and goes through them fast with that much real estate to shave.
Also has learned to love her Lady Gillette BTW.

I'm a 2 pass with a bit of touch up guy, a pretty heavy beard and sensitive skin (drat), hence a lack of ATG action. Still I get shaves consistently closer that I did prior to DE. Of course I spend more time at it now too, but it is entertaining.

BTW, I used the blade first in a 38C, twice in a Fat Boy, three times in a red tip and once in a 40s SS. All good. I dry them (blow) and the razor between shaves.

Best bang for the buck so far. Hope they keep making them.
Would like to know of more places to source them.

I'm still into the equipment stage this hobby and no doubt will explore more soaps a creams in the future. Doubt I'll ever pony up 30-50 bucks for some of the high price spreads though. But who knows.

Cheers

Greg