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Any Artisan/Boutique Super Expensive Double Edge Blades?

This is why I moved to straight razors. It’s the only way I could find to spend hundreds (potentially thousands) on a single blade. How can you possibly expect to get anything decent for 20 cents these days?
Wise man!
Unfortunately I'm too lazy/clumsy for a SR.
As this route is closed to me at least it leaves me with funds for other follies ;)
 
It reminds me a lot of my work situation. My boss gets all the money and credit and I do all the work behind the scenes for peanuts.
 
I think Vintage blades are the way to go if you want to blow some cash. Light Brigades and Personna 74's fetch a lot more than modern blades. A whole lot more. light brigades are up to around $5 a blade now. You really have to scrounge to find any at even a dollar or two a blade now.

+1! Personna 74, Light Brigade and Polish Wizamet are the cream of the vintage crop IMO!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
Artist club blades are pretty expensive actually and you only get one shaving edge...

the feather blades are a bit more than others.
i especially like the guarded blades.
yes, only one edge per blade, but that edge is extraordinarily sharp and comfortable!

feather blades.jpg
 
Because making a better blade would require some real engineering, that’s why.

Any clown with a crockpot, clever packaging and marketing can make a shave soap, not one that I would use, but that many would because a real “artisan” made it. It just HAS to be better right? Sure, it’s your money!
 
the feather blades are a bit more than others.
i especially like the guarded blades.
yes, only one edge per blade, but that edge is extraordinarily sharp and comfortable!

View attachment 1244949
Yeah great blades. I’m normally a one and done guy with DE blades. The price of the Feather AC makes me reconsider that concept and I try to go longer.
 
Yeah great blades. I’m normally a one and done guy with DE blades. The price of the Feather AC makes me reconsider that concept and I try to go longer.

I'm getting 10 shaves per Feather Proguard, about 8 with Softguard.
And I could probably push those numbers a bit if needed.
But, I have a backlog supply to deal with!

colgate matador feather proguard penhaligon blenheim bouquet september 29 2017.jpg
 
R

romsitsa

Merkur and Timor blades are pretty pricey, for vintage ones British Wilkinsons fetch high prices.
 
R

romsitsa

Maybe it’s a German thing but I never heard a good word about the performance of Merkur and Timor blades. Are these the ones from Feintechnik?

I don’t know who makes them, only bought a tuck when I was in urgent need, but they were dull like a scraper blade. And iirc cost three times more than a “normal” blade.
 
What more, exactly, do you want from a razor blade?

Do you want one blade you can get 500 shaves with? And that you would pay $10 for?

You can already get 500 shaves from 100 blades for $10.

The problem is that the platinum coating would wear off after five or 10 shaves. Then you are down to bare stainless steel, which isn't very smooth.

I don't know how stainless compares to bare tungsten steel. Does anyone?

People who have tested Personna 74s report getting about 30 to 50 good shaves, from what I've seen.

I remember getting 10 to 20 good shaves from the first single blade Wilkinson cartridge back around 1970, and presumably you could get similar results from their DE blade. I got 10 to 15 shaves from the old Gillette-Wilkinson India blades made up until about 10 years ago, when P&G redesigned the blade, and they were cheap.

People talk about Swedish steel being superior, but there's a catch: Apparently, Sweden no longer makes their better grade of razor blade steel. You used to be able to find two grades of Swedish razor blade steel coils, and their chemical makeup, listed online. Now there is only one.

This raises the question whether other countries make better razor blade steel for sale? You can't very well make a superior razor blade without a steel foundry to make a higher grade of coil, can you? I don't know.

What I've been wondering is whether a thicker, stiffer razor blade, like the vintage blades, would make for a better shave? My guess is the razor blade manufacturers went to thinner and thinner blades because it was cheaper, for steel, and for sharpening. If the blade is thicker, would this allow for a longer taper on the bevel that would result in an edge that would stay sharp longer?

Are there any thicker razor blades on the market today?

I hear Kai has wider blades. Anyone else? I tried a Kai blade, and didn't think it was anything special.

The only other option I can think of is a harder, longer lasting coating to the blade edge. Titanium is hard. And Titanium nitride, which is a ceramic, is even harder, and adheres to steel very well. Now, if only you could find a razor blade coated with titanium.

Oh yeah, the Personna 74 tungsten steel blade edges were sputtered with titanium.

So are Bolzano titanium blades. As are Sharp Swiss Titanium blades. Bolzano blades are made in Germany and are among the most expensive, about 35 cents a blade. Sharps are apparently made in Bangladesh, and are relatively cheap. Both are very good blades.

One reason blades are so cheap, and still good, is we are buying blades made where labor costs are low.

I've gotten 30 shaves on a single Sharp Swiss Titanium blade, and only quit out of boredom. If you get 10 or maybe 15 excellent shaves on a reasonably priced blade, what more can you ask for?

Well, some people like refined, smooth blades. Some like super sharp, aggressive blades. The definition of "excellence" varies.

We already have available very smooth blades. And very sharp blades. And some that are smooth and sharp.

Is there a super smooth, super sharp, super long lasting blade? It seems to me that at some point sharpness becomes incompatible with smoothness. And if you have a very fine edge, how long can it be maintained?

From the posts I read, most people seem to toss blades before they are worn out. So it seems there is a very limited market for a super blade.

I think people would be willing to pay $50 or $100 for 100 razor blades. After all, when you add in how much we spend on trying new blades that don't work out, and how many cartons of blades sit unused in the closet, we actually spend $50 for the 100 blades we DO use. (Anyone here buy only ONE brand of blades for the past five or 10 years?)

But there might be a market for a stiff blade. If a stiffer blade would give a significantly better shave, then I think people would pay extra for it.

The old Gillette-Wilkinson India blades (not the current ones) were stiffer, as I recall. My guess is they were still using the old Wilkinson formula and the better grade of Swedish steel. They weren't the sharpest blade, but they provided a very nice shave.

What is the stiffest DE blade on the market now?
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
It takes 25 to 30 coils of steel to make 10 million shaving blades daily at Personna American Safety Razor’s Knoxville, TN, plant.

With only three operators from press through grinding and more than 400 blades per minute whizzing by on each line.

I can't imagine a way for an artisan to compete with this level of production. Hand made blades? Doesn't seem possible.
 

ERS4

My exploding razor knows secrets
It is the same as searching for "Artisan/Boutique Super Expensive Toilet Paper".

But I would say that from the standpoint of hygiene and minimum maintenance while taking into account comfort, cheap disposable consumables would be a good choice.

Don't forget, the important reason for the invention of disposable blades also includes avoiding blood infections.
 
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