AstraSP...Massive blade variation?

[steffenapelz]

It is really weird. I have noticed that the AstraSP blades from my most recent order have insane quality variation.

Some blades are perfect and give an incredibly smooth shave. The next blade will be incredibly rough and shred my face.

At first I thought it was me doing something wrong, but I noticed I never had the same thing happen with the Personna Reds where every blade performs consistently for me.

So I think it is clearly the blade and the unique variation of the AstraSP.

Anyone else experience this?

 

[Komboloi]

I use Astra SP's regularly and have not experienced this. But my sample isn't huge.

 

[Joe blow]

I've never had a problem with these blades ... where are you getting them from ??

 

[DE Steve]

Be aware, fakes/knock-offs/counterfeits are out there, especially when purchased outside the US and in large quantities.

Amazon has fake DE blades.

I use Astra SP's regularly and never experience variations.

 

[homh]

No problems for me with Astra blades. They have always been very consistent and given good service.

 

[steffenapelz]

I've never had a problem with these blades ... where are you getting them from ??

These were bought from shaving.ie. usually a very reliable seller of anything IME.

Be aware, fakes/knock-offs/counterfeits are out there, especially when purchased outside the US and in large quantities.

Amazon has fake DE blades.

I use Astra SP's regularly and never experience variations.

Interesting. These were purchased from Europe albeit from a very reliable vendor. Still puzzled. At the large variation in quality.

 

[TobyC]

I've never had a bad one.

 

[Traprock]

I just finished off a 20pack (100 blades) and every blade seemed super consistent.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting! I have several hundred and have not noticed that much variation from blade to blade.

 

[steffenapelz]

Interesting! I have several hundred and have not noticed that much variation from blade to blade.

I had not either until I dove into my most recent order...really weird. I even switched back to a Personna Red this am and bam...right back to normal. It is definitely the blade. And by now, I have had it happen 3-4 times, so I can now tell on the first stroke if the Astra blade is good or bad and going forward, if that first stroke is off, I will immediately load another blade.

 

[LoveTheSlant]

I’ve been experiencing this lately (I thought it was the aggressiveness of my razor so I switched; nope, really harsh even in my ATT with M plate). And not just blade to blade, but from pack to pack. I got mine on Amazon, from a trusted vendor (Super Safety Razor), so this may be a QC issue. Oh well, these had been my favorite blades.

Thanks for sharing; as always a great resource here.

 

[fast shaver]

I think they might have a Q.C. issue as my last 100 pack are tuggy & not smooth. I will not be getting more. Even the Indian Wilki's are much better for me.

 

[Merle]

Ground hog day, in multiple parallel universes?

 

[Daiku]

I've found Astras to be very consistent.

 

[DE Steve]

Buying any blade in large quantities (100), increases risk of purchasing knock-offs (fakes). They ARE out there.

 

[cw62803]

I seem to get more weepers from Astras than I do from other brands.

 

[guyakaguy]

I seem to get more weepers from Astras than I do from other brands.

You and me both. Astras were the main reason I almost didn’t stick with DE shaving at first. They also almost always give me a bit to a lot of irritation, which is not angle or pressure related.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Invicta]

Quality control seems to be an issue with the recent batches. I have always found them to be smooth and consistent based on purchases made 5 years ago. Happily I still have plenty of those.

 

[DE Steve]

Astra SPs are my favorite blade. Never a bad shave.

 

[Nate B]

I purchased 600 years ago and they give consistantly smooth shaves. To bad the new stock has issues. Oh well makes no difference to me, I have enough razors to last 1 1/2 lifetimes.