Swedish G's

Price - Relatively expensive.

Quality - The blades in the pack were consistent.

Sharpness - The blades seemed sharp, but the shave was not smooth at all and I had to make many passes; more passes than with a Derby Extra.

Longevity - 3 shaves, which is normal for me.

Smoothness of Shave - For me, not smooth at all. As I said above I had to make many passes. Subsequently, it took longer to complete a shave. When finished I did have a pretty good shave with no nicks, but with some razor burn. Maybe I got bad batch of blades.

Packaging - Pretty convenient.

Overall -I was disappointed with this blade. Many people on this board like this blade, but I found them rather uncomfortable. It seems sharper than a Derby, but the Derby was much smoother - which seems contradictory. Maybe I am crazy, but the Swedish G seems very similar to a good American/Russian G. The problem with the A/R G is finding a good blade in the 10 pack. Tonight, I tried a Feather for the first time and it was incredibly sharp, smooth and irritation free - head and shoulders above the Swedish G. In fact, I would put the Derby above the Swedish G just on smoothness. But - this is just my opinion.

Price: I paid EUR 4.50 for 10 of these in Germany; the same as Merkur, I think, and a little more than local Wilkinson's. Gillette also make a plastic-coated variety called "Rotbart", which I didn't try, but retails at EUR 3.50.

The blade: Very sharp, but not a smooth or comfortable shave, even after three or four times.

Packaging: The dispenser is, to my mind, uncomfortable to use, and requires that the blades be coated in a thin layer of foul-smelling oil, which smells on your fingers and even sticks to your razor.

All in all, a bit of a disappointment.

OK, why the low score on packaging? because there is too bloody much packaging, that's why. Do I really need a giant case (about 40% larger)with every 5 blades I use (while any "regular pack" holds 10 wrapped blades)? No. Do I need them to be packed in their own retail cardboard backed retail display pack? No again. Do I need some funny industrial petroleum product to remove these blades from the elaborate case? Apparently, yes I do..

These irritate me. I get bumps and what not all over when using these, especially at the jaw line.

Sometimes I like a real sharp blade. When I need one, I will reach for a feather.

I put the quality high as my perception is that these are of a high quality. My perception also told me to "tight roll" my pants and have a mullet in 1986. See how worthless perception is?

As always, YMMV and this could very well be the blade for you. You need to try it to find out. Wasn't mine, and I am glad for it, considering I am not fond of the packaging nor the price. Pity the gent who needs this blade to have a decent shave. He pays 3X more than you do (or at least 2X), gets to unpack each and every 5 pack, and deal with weird lubricating grease on his blades. On the other hand, do try some of Gillette's other offerings (in SEA and Mainland China: the "Rubie" for example) available globally if you can.

These are my first choice. I started with Merkurs and they have good longevity and allowed me to work on my technique. Then, I ordered the LetterK sample pack. Derbys just don't work for me...gave me a lot of redness. IPs were good and, I thought, my choice...until. I tried the Swedes and gave me an incredibly smooth shave that seemed to last a long time. I also tried Feathers and they are sharper, but seem to be too much for my technique. My technique is good enough to get nearly BBS in two passes, but evidently not slow/careful enough for the sharpness of the Feathers. After a few Feather shaves, I ended up with problems along my neckline. No problemas con Swedes and despite not being as sharp as Feathers the Swede shave looks better (less shadow) in the evening than the Feather shave. That was the clincher that Swedes were my choice.

As far as the ratings:
Price: Can't get in bulk in the US, like IPs or Feathers. I order from theenglishshavingcompany.com
Quality: Evidence is the consistent level of shaves across all blades
Sharpness: 2nd to Feather...just right for my technique and face
Longevity: I can get 3 easy, and sometimes go for a 4th with little trouble
Smoothness: "It's got an 11" 10+, including right up to the next shave
Packaging: I didn't think much about the packaging, until I saw some vintage instructions posted here and on eBay about using the "thumb hole" to slide the blade out and drop onto a TTO Gillette razor. With the right technique you never have to touch the blade. Much better than losing your fingertips trying to get the wrapper of a Feather!

My favourite blade of everything in the sampler pack. The Feathers run a close second, but for sheer pampering of my face, nothing has beaten the Swedes yet. Price is expensive, until you think about cartridge refills. Availability is a larger problem, as I haven't seen any good source except Auravita. Packaging...kind of no frills, but on the other hand, I am fond of blades that come with their own built-in disposal unit.

In short, these things are smooth like silk for me and give me the closest shave ever. There will always be a place in my medicine cabinet for the Swedish Gillette!

These are far and away the best blades I have tried, and I have tried most of them. They are smooth, very sharp and stay sharp. I can get 4 shaves out of one blade , which is great as 3 is the most I can manage from any other due to the toughness of my beard. For me there is no need to try any other blade now as nothing is going to beat these.

I likes em. Very nice, smooth shave, but to me, not really noticably better than the Derby's, which are way less $. That said, if they price was right, I'd pick some up.

Steve

These are the best blades I have used yet. I don't know if I'll bother to try another blade. These are that good (IMHO).
I have used Gillette blue and stainless NOS, Schick stainless platinum, dorco, Wilkinson Sword, American Personna, Merkur .
I have gotten six shaves on one blade so far. I usually use a blade once and throw it away. Being able to use one blade multiple times makes the price worth it.

I found these blades ultra smooth and built to a very high quality. I can't comment on any comparisons with Feathers as I have yet to try any Feather blades (I wanted to get my DE skills up to a certain level before bringing on the Ninjas!! ). However, compared to Merkurs and Derbys there are my favourite blades so far.

I didn't want to like these blades so much because I liked the idea of using a non-Gillette product. Frankly, I also liked the idea of using a Derby from Turkey or a Crystal from Isreal as they seemed more exotic. But these are really smooth, sharp good quality blades. The most surprising quality is how long they last, which makes them worth considering despite their extra cost compared to other DEs. I will probably consider switching to these after using up my large inventory of Derbys.

This is my favorite blade. I do not use it for all razors, but it easily gives me the best shave of any blade I have tried. It is not ridiculously sharp as the feather, but still very sharp. I gave it a 10 because it is sharp enough. The only knock is the price which is anywhere from $0.75 to $1.00 a blade. Given the quality, I still think this is a bit high.

The blade lasts quite a while, I can get around 10 good shaves from one. I would highly recommend this blade to all but the newest shavers.

The so-called "Swedish" Gillette (Gillette won't let slip where they are made, but my own guess is France) is a good solid blade and there is not much wrong with it.

Except that they are getting more difficult to find, even in the UK where they used to be widely available, and that they are made by Gillette. Don't get me wrong, being made by Gillette doesn't make it a worse blade, but frankly, I try to avoid products of a company that has bombarded me for the better part of my 55 years with elaborate marketing hype and constantly unveils newer, more expensive shaving options without really improving the quality of the shave much over what was available when I was born.

Now, since I got that off my chest, let's talk about the blade.

The quality is excellent, I never had a blade that was below-standard.
Consistently, this blade gives good shaves. If anything, the blade feels a bit stiffer than a Feather blade, which makes the blade somewhat less smooth in comparison, but which may explain why people with a exceptionally strong beards often seem to prefer this Gillette.

The shave is close, and even if not quite as sharp as a Feather blade, the blade is sharp enough. The blade lasts me easily a week and longevity is one of the strenghts of this blade.

Blades are not individually wrapped and come in a 5-blade container. Because of the absence of oil-paper, they are coated with a thin film of protecting oil. The dispenser has a slot to store discarded blades.

Being a Gillette, the company skims the market for what it is worth and the blades, sold only in 5 blade quantities, are fairly expensive. Gillette does not appear to be interested in making these blades more widely available, undoubtedly since the company's other products are more profitable and fit better into their marketing strategies, and I found them increasingly difficult to source.

Not a big problem for me; as far as smoothness and sharpness is concerned, I prefer Feathers, as far as value for money is concerned it's hard to beat Derbys.

What can I say. Best blades I've ever used. Smooth, sharp, a solid performer. Never a skin problem. They are my favorite and only used blades rotated with derby's. Could be a tad cheaper but hé, you get what you pay for and I'm sure there's a reason they are more expensive compared to other blades. Quality and superiority has a price.

My favorite blades in terms of smoothness. High quality sharp goodness, only the Feather seemed sharper...but the swedes seem to last twice as long as Feathers.

That being said, they are pricey...which I would say is my only gripe.

I'm sorry to have to say this but these blades were a big dissapointment. I had heard good things about them and once my feather was 'blunt', I thought I would give the swedes a go.

The sharpness was poor, and although I haven't used a Merkur blade in a while, this unfortunately reminded me of their dullness. I have to say that these are not even close to feathers in my honest opinion.

This ultimately lead to a poor shave and and the smoothness was not so good.

Swede, shmeed, I'm am totally unimpressed with theese blades, they are very sharp but they give me razor burn & I can't get more than 3 shaves out of them. All in all I would rather use Merkur, Wilkinson, Crystal, Sharp & most of all Derby, I've found blades to be the ultimate YMMV topic & my views tend to fly in the face of others.

Yes, they are pricey but some of that is offset by the fact that they last longer than any other blade I've tried. Sharpness is second only to the Feather, but it's a smoother, more forgiving blade. They have worked well in Merkur razors as well as vintage Gillettes. Packaging is just OK. I would prefer something more along the lines of Feather or Derby packaging with a wrapper.

after going through a myriad of sampler packs and blades, no blade comes close. There are many other brands(Astras. dorcos, Feathers) that I may use from time to time, but when I really want to treat myself..I reach for the Swedish. IMHO I don't see how anyone can complain about this blade and rave about a derby or merkur

Almost every store here in Finland have only these blades available. Price is around 5 EUR for a pack of five blades and this is only packet size available.

I shave daily with cheap Derby blades which I ordered from UK, but occasionally buy these from local store because they are just great. Smoothness is best on the second or third day of shaving.

Great blade for beginner to get that first great shave with safety razor. I just wish that there were larger and cheaper packs of these available.

The Swede G's are by far the favorite blade in my early wet shaving experience (three-plus intense months). Sharp and smooth as silk on my heavy and coarse beard when used with creams. They've gotten more enjoyable as my technique has improved both shortening the time it takes me to prep my bad self in the morning, as well as the quality of said prepping. The price is tough, but in relative terms to mainstream Gillette shaving products, the Swede G's are a bargain like most eveything in the traditional shaving world. Which brings me to my problem.

One of the great items of appeal about embarking on the wet shaving journey was the notion of no longer being a slave to the big men's toiletries players. Despite the fact that G was HQd in my hometown before it was consumed by an even bigger corporate behemoth, it galled me to dole out an ever-increasing amount of coin every time I needed to re-up my supplies of glop in a can and 17-blade vibro-cartridge monsters.

When I hit the WSC sampler, I was overjoyed at the little United Nations of razor blades convened in the bottom of the box and not a single one from a manufacturer I'd heard of. Many of them are very good -- some excellent -- but none, so far, is as good as the Swede G's. So, I'll live with continuing to line P&G's pockets, if at a less alrming rate, in exchange for a great shaving experience each day. And I can't say I won't feel good about it, either...because I love these blades, dammit!