Any experiences with Shaverboy blades

[homh]

I was looking through Ebay and came upon a listing for Shaverboy razor blades. Not knowing anything about them, I came back here to search what B+B had on them. Nothing showed up. Has anyone here any experience with them or know anything about the company. Cute graphics on the tucks. The seller is located in Montreal, Quebec.

 

[fast shaver]

If its the same guy in Montreal I buy from he is an A-1 guy. Everyone has likes & dislikes as far as blades go so, its hard to say how you will like the blades. I would guess the blades are from somewhere in Asia.? You can get known blades for around the same price shipped e.g. Indian Wilki, Sharks from Egypt etc...

 

[Joe blow]

I came upon their website by chance sometime ago but found there was zero information on who actually produced the blades so I passed on the deal, package graphics are cool though

 

[imcndn]

I just bought some on ebay. I couldn't pass them up.

I'll post a review when I get them.

imcndn

 

[homh]

Thanks [MENTION=86461]imcndn[/MENTION]. I also have some on order. Will be looking for your review.

 

[BigJ]

These are new to me. Will be interesting to see what you and the guys here think of them.

 

[homh]

The Shaverboy razor blades arrived a few days ago by Canadian Post - Air Mail. Very well packaged. However, upon opening the first tuck I discovered it only contained three blades, rather than the stated five. I opened three more tucks and they all contained five blades each.
Not a good start.

So went for my first shave with one of these razor blades. Using my Blade and Badger Boar brush and Mitchell Wool Fat shaving soap I made my lather and put a blade into a Gillette NEW LC. First sensation was how smooth the blade was. I hardly felt anything. It was very comfortable and the shave progressed with no problems. The blade was on the mild side but it shaved well. I did four passes and felt no irritation. A good shave.

I am satisfied with it. The 100 blades cost me $10.50 USD including postage and money-exchange fees. The package holding the tucks says “Shaverboy Canada. Made in China”

 

[fast shaver]

The only Chinese blade that shaves like that I have tried is the Yingjili blade. It gave me 5 nice shaves.

 

[Kreator82]

The only Chinese blade that shaves like that I have tried is the Yingjili blade. It gave me 5 nice shaves.

I got one of those blades when I bought a Yingjili razor on Ebay, but I didn't use it because I assumed it was trash.

 

[imcndn]

My ShaverBoy blades arrived on Friday. I've only had ne shave with them, but it was smooth. I used my Merkur Progress on 2...always a very smooth shave and these blades were no different.

The only thing I noticed (or thought I did) was there seemed to be more audible feedback than with other blades. Maybe the blades are thinner? Maybe I was paying closer attention than I normally do.

In the end I had a very nice shave with no weepers or irritation. I'm going to use this blades a few more times I'm my Progress. Then I think I'll try them in my iKon 102. Bot so far so good..

imcndn

 

[pogonophic]

100 blades shipped for $7.95 Canadian – I couldn’t resist. But are they worth it? Read on.

The well packed order arrived within a few days from Montréal. Excellent service. The 20 cardboard tucks of 5 blades were each tightly cellophane wrapped. The tucks were well constructed with unique graphics. There was an oily smell to the cardboard. Inside, the blades were double wrapped with the inner wrapping appearing to be some type of waxed or VCI paper (also oily smelling). The actual blade was oily smelling. The blade had wax dots but they were minor and were not near the blade edges.

I loaded the first blade into my Wunderbar slant. The Shaverboy blade alignment holes were of normal size and, as such, there was no crunching noise when tightening the razor. (The crunching noise one sometimes hears with blades is not related to the blade torquing but to the smaller diameter of the blade’s centre hole and its rubbing against the centre post of the razor head). On heating the razor head under hot water I immediately caught an oily smell wafting up.

I used PdP shaving soap for the first use. The WTG pass wasn’t just right with no real pulling but some resistance around the chin. Both XTG passes had a bit of pulling. The ATG pass had pulling at the chin and was difficult in the lip area. I also perceived some pulling on the cleanup pass. The overall after shave feel had a touch of irritation but I did not need an alum block.

I used Arko shaving soap for the next day’s unhappy use. Sharpness had declined rapidly and got my first sight of blood on the WTG pass. The remaining passes had pulling and roughness. I required an alum block with a rather high ouch result.

I tried a new Shaverboy blade the next day in my Merkur Progress using KMF soap and got improved results but was still greeted with the initial oily blade smell. There was some blade resistance in the tougher areas (under nose and chin) and minimal neck irritation but no pulling. The overall result was ok but the under the nose, chin/jaw line and sideburn areas had low level stubble. The blade did perform better in the Progress than the Wunderbar.

I used J.M. Fraser’s for the second shave with the same blade in the Progress. Lots of tugging on WTG and ATG passes. Blood was drawn in two spots due to the decline in blade sharpness. I applied an alum bar and was surprised with burning only where the bleeding was. Overall shave left some close stubble under nose, chin/jaw line and sideburns. The final result was a tolerable DFS.

Sharpness: Medium Low. Slightly above a Rockwell and considerably below a Gillette Wilkinson.
Smoothness: No real scratching but just not there. Comparable to a Rockwell.
Longevity: One 4 pass with cleanup pass shave and it’s finished. One meh use. There is a rapid decline in performance for the second use.
Closest similar blade: Rockwell (of unknown country manufacture; where is that blade really made?).

Due to the price point, I expected the performance to be on par with the inexpensive Indian Gillette Wilkinson. I was disappointed. I can get two good and relatively comfortable shaves with the blades from India but only one meh shave with the Shaverboy. Strangely, these are the only blades I have that perform better in the Progress than in the Wunderbar slant.

Of course YMMV but these blades just aren’t sharp and smooth enough for me to reorder. If you need a mild blade that is cheaper than a Rockwell, this may well be the one for you. For me, the Shaverboys will find their way to the island of lost blades where the Dorco ST300’s and Rockwell’s live out their lives (the Voskhod are currently in limbo) and rarely escape only to be swallowed by a passing DE razor and excreted into the blade bank after a single hopeful use.

 

[fast shaver]

Yipes.! I get X10 smooth shaves with the Voskhod & X6 smooth shaves with the Dorco Vietnam ST300 blades. Just shows that YMMV.

 

[pogonophic]

Yup. Those blades just don't work very well for me and my tough old scruff. Astra and Feather are great while GSBs are sharp but not a happy fit for me. As for the Dorcos, I started with 24 blades and have 21 left after 2 1/2 years. It is so true that YMMV and that's what makes the hobby interesting - perhaps the grail blade is waiting just over the horizon.

 

[fast shaver]

I don't want to grow a beard so, its not a Hobby for me... its just another daily chore.!

 

[pogonophic]

It was a daily chore with the electric razor. It is now something I have time for and anticipate. Each day I risk the wrath of warm sharpened steel against my delicate visage and usually emerge new mowed and bloodless.

 

[Ricksplace]

I'm a newbie. I have a dense, soft beard. The first blades I bought were German walmart wilkies that shredded my face. Based on recommendations I read on this board, I bought derbies and astras next. First shave with a derby was smooth and painless, so I stayed with derbies while I worked on technique. I'm at the point where a two pass shave gives me a dfs, better than I ever got with a cartridge. My face tends to complain with three passes. So next I tried the astras. Way sharper than the derbies and just as smooth. My first thought was "why did I wait so long?" So long derbies, thanks for teaching me to ride the cap rather than the bar.
I have been using a Fatboy on 4 with an Astra sp. I substituted a shaverboy in the Fatboy and did my usual prep. (Post shower, boar brush, bowl lather, Nivea sensitive cream with Williams for a superlather, Nivea sensitive balm after). The first stroke was so noisy I stopped to see if I had the Fatboy loose. Nope, all tightened up. It would be easy to dismiss the blade as poor since it sounded like I was mowing gravel, but there was no pull, and it felt smooth. I finished the shave and found it closer overall than the shave from the Astra sp. No irritation, no nicks, cuts or weepers.
Next I tried an Astra in my '66 slim on 4 and got an expected two pass dfs. As a comparison, I did the same thing as I did with the Fatboy and subbed a shaverboy in the slim this morning. Same results! The slim sounded like I was mowing gravel too, but delivered a superior shave to the Astra sp using the same technique. I even got real brave and splashed on some alcohol based after shave. I expected some pain. There was absolutely nothing. At $8 cdn/100 delivered, I ordered another 100.
I can't comment on the longevity of any blade since I use a new blade every shave until my technique becomes consistent. (Once again, following the excellent advice I received on this site).
Just one newbie's observations. I hope someone finds it useful. YMMV.

PS. I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but the blades are individually double-wrapped. No glue on the blades. Sides are numbered. Tucks are wrapped.

 

[pogonophic]

Great to hear you are getting good results. Yes the Shaverboy are a little noiser than some others.

Although there is no glue on the blades, there are definitely four light wax dots on the ones I have.

After my run in with the Shaverboy blades, I just finished using a Feather with no pulling for 5 comfortable shaves; after 5 the sharpness declines too much. Unfortunately for me, the Shaverboy's longevity is one shave on this shaver's grey, tough and not soft stubble.

The Shaverboy blades may be more suited to those who have softer whiskers but of course YMMV.

 

[Ricksplace]

I was lucky. When my hair turned grey (was blonde) it got softer, as did my beard. If it had turned into that titanium wire that grows out of some guy's faces, I'd probably grow a beard.

 

[Ricksplace]

As pogonophic mentioned, I noticed the oil smell when I unwrapped a fresh blade this morning. I missed it the first few blades. The older I get, the more I'm not smelling so good...

 

[Mark Szorady]

Thanks for all these reviews and info, gentlemen. Ebay emailed me a flyer with blade offers and Shaverboy was among them. After reading comments, I'll pass for now.