Schick Double Edge

It has been quite some time since I have seen these around, but when I began wet shaving in 2003, these were conveniently available at Wal-Mart. My first DE, a Merkur Slant, came with a single Merkur Blade. At that time there was little variety in blade choices for double edge razors; Gillettes were obscenely expensive (part of the reason I switched anyway), and generics looked a bit suspicious. I believe I paid about 1.50 USD for a ten pack of Schick Double Edge Blades, and while I was still learning to use a DE, I quickly began to get very good shaves with these blades. But W-M ceased to stock them, and I moved on to Wilkinson Sword Classic (which I believe to be the same blade).

Since then there has been a huge increase in choices for DE blades, though one must usually order then online. I have since discovered Feather and Sharp blades and use them pretty exclusively (I stocked up!), but I would like to try these again and see if they work as well for me as they once did.

I recently discovered these blades at a local drug store and decided to try them. So far, my only experience with them was in my '72 Gillette Super Adjustable. The shave was reasonably close, but took a good deal more work to get there, and with more razor burn than I'd have liked. They aren't awful, but for my face they place a not-so-close third to my "no-name" IPs and Dorcos.


- Barrett

I wish that these were still locally available to me. During the 80's and 90's it seems that it was either Schicks or Gillettes. The Gillettes were god awful and something like twice as expensive, by comparison the cheaper Schick shaves were close, smooth, and comfortable. Occasionally, I would succumb to the fancy words and such describing the Gillettes and buy them, use one blade, one time, and throw out the rest the package. The Schick blades had virtually no description or features on their package, except maybe triple coating .. .triple coating of what, I don't know. Maybe I'll buy these online to try them again. Thanks for the review.

I've been wetshaving for almost two months now. I have listened to the advice of many good people here at B&B who've recommended to remove variables when comparing items for review. I've kept the same steps for all my shaves, CO Bigelow (proraso) as pre-shave, hot shower, 3pass shave with 1940's SuperSpeed WTG, XTG, ATG. I finish with nivea sensitive skin aftershave balm. The only variable that has changed are blades...oh the blades. I must say that I thought the rest of the B&B members were crazy! A blade is a blade right? I now can say that I'm glad I never voiced that opinion on the forums.
On to the review, I can only compare these Schick DE blades to Dorco, Merkur, Personna's, Feathers, and Lord Super Stainless.
I would say that I am not fond of the Merkurs, and the personnas are so-so. The feather is a tremendous blade, absolutely fabulous (even the first shave that tends to be too sharp.)
These Schick blades are reasonably priced, at $1.89 for 5 blades $.38/blade at my local Thrifty Way. The packaging is standard with the usual blade dispenser/used blade vault. When I shaved with the blades, they were different in that they felt like there was no blade in the razor at all. Very smooth, very sharp, not as sharp as feathers, but sharp enough to scrape your face to draw blood if your technique gets sloppy. My face wasn't irritated after the shave, I was impressed. The longevity of these blades are pretty good. I have a very course beard, and I average 2-3 shaves per blade, with some blades (feathers) giving me 4-5 shaves. I was able to get 4 shaves out of the Schick's and I could probably have squeaked a 5th out of it. Overall, I was impressed with them, and will keep some in my rotation. To me, I would say they are a pretty good everyday blade for a smooth shave, average cost, and long lasting blade. Please keep in mind that I am reviewing these blades using a 1940's Gillette Super Speed. As the "crazy" members of B&B say, a blade that is great in my superspeed might be horrible in a Merkur HD. I will be reviewing my sampler pack of Lord Super Stainless 5's in the very near future and I think some people will be surprised at how well I thought those blades performed, especially considering their price.
Cheers!