Astra SP - Possibly Dangerous Manufacturing Defect?

[JRL]

I'm a big fan of Astra SP blades. I rarely use anything else. This morning, I was surprised when my fingertip caught on a very sharp corner on the tab at the end of one of the blades. I've included an image to show what I found. The right end (2) is normal. Both corners of the tab on the left (1) are very sharp. The lower one is more like a tiny hook. Since all of my razors leave the blade ends exposed, I decided not to shave with this blade. I use about 100 SPs a year, and have never noticed this before. But just in case it might affect others, I thought I'd post a "heads up." FWIW, this blade came from a 100-pack purchased from Amazon in April 2015.

 

[cheeks]

Thanks for the post. I purchased 400 last summer and will keep an eye out. Like you, they are my go - to blade, perfect for me.

 

[rabidus]

Definitely a defect. Are all the blades in that pack that way?

If they are all that way, you could load it up in the razor and file it smooth. Or you can send the remaining blades to me for proper disposal.

 

[BSAGuy]

Looks like a very slight mis-alignment of the blade separator knife. Good eye.

 

[Grundi]

Big thank you for the heads up. I have a couple of Astras in my sampler pack so I'll be careful.

 

[NesOne]

I got cut too when pushing the blade into my blade bank. I'm going to check my blades and if they are all this way, I will make sure to handle the 'smoother' side. Thanks for the post!

 

[SteveWY]

Good catch. Please let us know if this is the only one with that defect.

 

[joost]

Thanks for showing this defect. Something to pay attention to from now on.

Astra's(both the SP and the SS) are among my favorite blades and one of their strong points for me has always been their consistency from blade to blade. Because of that this is very surprising to me.

 

[GoneRetroInOH]

There should not be that defect, obviously. However, if you are fond of the blades there is a simple work-around.
It happens that those end-tabs, which I will call "wings", also become a nuisance or a hazard when working with half-blades. Sometimes, like from a Rocnel, the wings of the split half-blade stick out from the razor in an awkward manner. Likewise they can get thorny with some shavettes.
You can trim off a little bit of the wing with highly durable scissors. To make half-blades from whole ones, or trim half-blades, I use electrician's snips. Hopefully they are not so sharp or thorny after a slight trim.

 

[Daveho]

Wouldn't have that problem with a GSB hehe just kidding, nice catch though.

 

[adamchur]

Well spotted

 

[GordyN]

Wouldn't have that problem with a GSB hehe just kidding, nice catch though.

Made in the same factory so very possible.

 

[rabidus]

Wouldn't have that problem with a GSB hehe just kidding, nice catch though.

You pay twice as much for the GSBs to get smoother edges. They definitely don't perform better! [emoji41]

 

[opsimath]

As far as the "wings" of the blade protruding from the sides of the shaving head, for many razors (i.e. Fatip) manually truing up the blade while tightening the handle is absolutely necessary. The trim on your blade in the photo is obviously off -- I can easily visualize getting "stung" under the nose while shaving with such a blade. Easy enough to avoid, if you're mindful.

It's interesting to note that some high-end razors still have these wings protrude slightly (ATT), while others offer only razor heads that completely cover the entire razorblade (iKon/Shavecraft).

 

[JRL]

I'm back with a quick follow up. Thanks to all who took the time to provide feedback -- much appreciated.

The defective blade came from a box of 5 -- it contained 1 other similarly defective blade and 3 normal blades. Out of curiosity, I looked at blades from 5 other boxes and found no problems with those 25 blades.

In any case, Astra SPs remain my favorites. I may look at each new blade a little more carefully for a while, but I have no plans to change products.

 

[rabidus]

I'm back with a quick follow up. Thanks to all who took the time to provide feedback -- much appreciated.

The defective blade came from a box of 5 -- it contained 1 other similarly defective blade and 3 normal blades. Out of curiosity, I looked at blades from 5 other boxes and found no problems with those 25 blades.

In any case, Astra SPs remain my favorites. I may look at each new blade a little more carefully for a while, but I have no plans to change products.

Awe shucks...thought I had some Astra SP blades coming to me... [emoji22]

Glad it was only 2 bad blades!

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

 

[docjude]

I have never run into this issue with Astra SPs, but did get a scratch on my ear from a Dorco blade with that little point. I suppose it's easy to trim off.

 

[Orlando_The_Axe]

Don't do this to me!!! I just tried my first Astra SP and had my best shave ever. I'm instantly hooked.