@ivan_101 What are the sharpest blades for you?! your 3 favorites?
Astra Superior Platinum Russian vs Indian
- Thread starter ivan_101
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- #22
I won't tell. You are asking two questions that I don't like being asked.
Sharpness isn't everything. But I am pretty sure you know which the sharpest blade is.
Don't worry, no problem sirI won't tell. You are asking two questions that I don't like being asked.
Sharpness isn't everything. But I am pretty sure you know which the sharpest blade is.
Respect
Thanks for the comparison!!
I laid in a good stock of St. Pete Astras ’just in case.’ Still great to see that the Indian option is close!!
I laid in a good stock of St. Pete Astras ’just in case.’ Still great to see that the Indian option is close!!
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- #25
Same here. Have more than 800. Not sure why I bought them. For me they are run-of-the-mill blades. 8 EUR per 100.Thanks for the comparison!!
I laid in a good stock of St. Pete Astras ’just in case.’ Still great to see that the Indian option is close!!
+1! Definitely ‘solid’ blades, and you got them at a GREAT price!! What’s not to love??
In my 5 shaves with the Indian Astra I felt like the first shave was a bit rougher than the I remember a 'typical' Astra being. To the point, I was slightly worried I wouldn't like them much. Shaves 2-5 were much better, with 4 and 5 being almost buttery smooth.
That said, it wasn't a direct comparison, and I was just coming off using a well broken in Polsilver, so my meter was probably a little off.
I like Astra SPs well enough, but I actually prefer the Astra SS in the blue labels, so while I have a few hundred 'greens,' I'm much more curious to see how the blues transition to Indian manufacturing.
I am also well aware Ivan has whiskers that are far tougher than mine. I don't mind a milder blade so the changes between the PPI and Indian greens may not be very noticeable to me.
That said, it wasn't a direct comparison, and I was just coming off using a well broken in Polsilver, so my meter was probably a little off.
I like Astra SPs well enough, but I actually prefer the Astra SS in the blue labels, so while I have a few hundred 'greens,' I'm much more curious to see how the blues transition to Indian manufacturing.
I am also well aware Ivan has whiskers that are far tougher than mine. I don't mind a milder blade so the changes between the PPI and Indian greens may not be very noticeable to me.
Question: Does anyone know if Gillette moved Astra SP production to China, in addition to production in India?
I am now confused, since this thread was started by the most reliable and nearly 100% correct Ivan, which pictures the Astra SP boxes with Made in India. There was a thread on another forum which reviewed the new Astra SP from China. Is it China, India or possibly both China and India? There is no doubt that Gillette is moving blade production to both India and China...since today I received a new box of King C Gillette blades, in the identical packaging as last year...but with "Made in China" instead of Russia. I thought I was getting old Russian stock, but the new Chinese King C Gillette blades are Dated May 2023...I suspect there is much less old stock out there of Russian blades. Most everyone liked or loved the Astra SP blades from Russia, and now the reviews seem to be more split. I plan to compare the Russian vs Chinese KC Gillette, and hope for the best.
I am now confused, since this thread was started by the most reliable and nearly 100% correct Ivan, which pictures the Astra SP boxes with Made in India. There was a thread on another forum which reviewed the new Astra SP from China. Is it China, India or possibly both China and India? There is no doubt that Gillette is moving blade production to both India and China...since today I received a new box of King C Gillette blades, in the identical packaging as last year...but with "Made in China" instead of Russia. I thought I was getting old Russian stock, but the new Chinese King C Gillette blades are Dated May 2023...I suspect there is much less old stock out there of Russian blades. Most everyone liked or loved the Astra SP blades from Russia, and now the reviews seem to be more split. I plan to compare the Russian vs Chinese KC Gillette, and hope for the best.
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- #29
I don't have any such information. I have not seen Astra SP made in China. So far there are photos on the Internet of Astra SP made in India and Astra SS made in India.
Not answering your question but I've used blades from both the Chinese and Indian Gillette plants and liked them. Both locations are easily capable of making quality blades.
I'd love to test an Astra SP from China
I didn't know Astra SP blades were manufactured in China. I thought they were originally produced in Russia with production moving to India due to the Russia/Ukraine war.Not answering your question but I've used blades from both the Chinese and Indian Gillette plants and liked them. Both locations are easily capable of making quality blades.
I'd love to test an Astra SP from China
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- #32
They were originally manufactured in Czechoslovakia prior to moving to Russia.
Have you seen Astra SP made in China?
I have no direct knowledge of a Chinese manufactured Astra blade. I was just replying to someone who had mentioned it.
Like a lot of wet shavers I was disappointed to find out that Astra SP blades were being produced in another country. When I first started DE shaving my favorite blades ended up being Personna Red (Israel) and Astra SP (Russia) which both lasted 14 shaves. After finding out that the Personnas were being made in Germany I tried out some other brands. The ones I liked the most were Wilkinson Sword (Germany) and Gillette 365 (India) with both lasting just as long.
A few weeks ago I ordered a couple 100 packs of Astra SPs off Ebay where the listing showed they were made in Russia. However when they arrived the packs were printed "Made in India." Since they were less than $10 a pack I decided to give them a try. I used one of the blades and it worked fine for 14 shaves. I didn't do a side by side comparison, but figured since they lasted that long I didn't need to.
Here's a pic of both and you'll notice the printing on the India blades is a bit off on one side.
A few weeks ago I ordered a couple 100 packs of Astra SPs off Ebay where the listing showed they were made in Russia. However when they arrived the packs were printed "Made in India." Since they were less than $10 a pack I decided to give them a try. I used one of the blades and it worked fine for 14 shaves. I didn't do a side by side comparison, but figured since they lasted that long I didn't need to.
Here's a pic of both and you'll notice the printing on the India blades is a bit off on one side.
Ohio Shaves on YouTube did a comparison a couple of weeks ago. His conclusion is that the new Indian blades are sharper than the discontinued Russian ones. That is good news for many who found the green Astras mediocre because they tugged for them.
I'll take 10 year, respected B&B member @ivan_101 review and feedback over whoever OhioShaves on YT is.
Blades are highly subjective though. Try them out for yourself.
I'm sticking with the Russian blades.
Fair enough. I'm just offering another data point. Ohio Shaves said the Indian Astras reminded him of one of the other Gillette offers: he said either the Platinums or the Silver Blues.
Just got my pack delivered from Amazon. Yup, it's Indian. From here on out, I guess we'll have to look deliberately for old stock Russian Astras if that if we what we want.
I have them both in stock IMHO they're the same. I didn't notice anything different between the two as the Astra SP (RU) has been my go to blade for a very long period.
I have always used the Russian ones, didn't even know where they were made until the recent move of production talk.
Most things change for the worse, so I stocked up on some a few months ago, just in case.
