AstraSP...Massive blade variation?

[rhtoras]

I bought mine two years ago and all blades were fine.
I can see why there are quality variations as their factory has a lot rumors around it's name.
If they sell problematic blades then i will use other brands like personna or treet.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I think I've found variations with every single blade that I've tried more than one of.

Some blades are going to pass through sharpening when the abrasives are new, and some when they're partially worn. Each coil from the steel mill will have slightly different chemistry, and there'll be slight variations in the temperature at heat treatment. The vapour deposition of the coatings will never occur perfectly uniformly. Even the rollers that they all pass through, and the bearings they run on, and the tools for stamping the blades out, will all wear and need to be replaced at some point - and your blade could have come from anywhere within those various life cycles.

I don't care what branding is on the blade, they will all have variations in the final product. Some might do five shaves, some might do fifteen. They've been that way for the last couple of decades in my experience, and I don't expect it to change anytime soon.

 

[blashe]

if it tugs dump it and grab another one. Blade variation can happen its sort of given no matter which brand you go with

 

[ZigZiglar]

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.

We really ought to give 'em credit for 600 years of consistency in manufacturing. That's a long run

 

[AimlessWanderer]

 

[Ruva]

Just had my first bad blade, and it was an Astra SP. It was smooth, but it gave me nicks like no other. I gave it 3 shaves, and they all ended the same way. I have used many tucks of Astras and never had a bad blade till now. I wouldn't doubt that there are some bad blades out of the bunch, but I doubt they would vary by much.

 

[mozartman]

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?

I find there might be a bad one every now and then, maybe one out of 30 or 40.

 

[McKinneys]

Just had my first bad blade, and it was an Astra SP. It was smooth, but it gave me nicks like no other. I gave it 3 shaves, and they all ended the same way. I have used many tucks of Astras and never had a bad blade till now. I wouldn't doubt that there are some bad blades out of the bunch, but I doubt they would vary by much.

What kind of Astra blade did you use? Did it have four or two glue points? Was it printed on both sides or just laser etched on one?

 

[Jopete]

This is what concerns me is that your go to blades suddenly starts having QC issues.
My last purchase of Astra SP was two years ago and bought 2 100 pack, it's a good thing I use several brands.
My current favorite is Polsilver Super Iridium, I just purchased another 100 pack to add to my current stock in case they start having QC issues in the future.

 

[Ruva]

What kind of Astra blade did you use? Did it have four or two glue points? Was it printed on both sides or just laser etched on one?

It was the Astra SP (green box), and the razor was printed on both sides. I think there were 4 glue spots, 2 on each side. It was the fourth blade out of the box, the previous three gave great shaves. I think it was just a bad blade.

 

[McKinneys]

This is the oldest variation of Astra blades on the market. First came the ones with the 4 glue spots, then these were ones with 2 glue spots (both were printed on both sides). The newest batch is laser etched on one side only and seems to have a lot of quality issues. You've still got some of the "good ones".

 

[Dave in KY]

I'm having the same experience with blades purchased in mid 2017 that I'm just getting into.

Same here. Forced 2 shaves from last 1 before trashing it.

 

[McKinneys]

On newer Astra packages you can find the date of production here:

The newest version of the blade (print on only one side) must have been introduced around the start of 2017.

 

[Ruva]

Thanks for the information. Does the same go for the Astra SS? I assume it would.

 

[McKinneys]

I haven't heard anything about the Astra SS, but as it comes from the same factory, I'd think it may be a similar situation. (I have never even tried an Astra SS. Did you?)
I think there is still so much old stock Astras being sold that it will take some time until people will notice that something has changed and we will read more about that then.

 

[Ruva]

I prefer the SS to the SP. I'm on my last tuck of the SS, so I was about to order more. I might just go ahead and buy both in bulk and take a chance on getting the old stock.

 

[McKinneys]

Do you get a milder, more comfortable shave from the SS?

 

[Ruva]

I find the SS to be sharper, which gives me a comfortable shave. They are both great, and I like to rotate between them.

 

[McKinneys]

Interesting to hear, I think I should try one out sometime.

 

[Earl_Grey]

We had a discussion regarding the Astra SPs on a German shaving board and the owner (who also runs a shaving shop) asked the manufacturer if something has changed with the Astra SPs.

This is to inform you that we changed the way we print our double edge blades and transfer to the new Laser marking technology. This will deliver a completely new and improved apperance of the product.

Important points:

* There will be no impact on shaving performance using engraved vs printed DE blades.
* Laser marking on blades will be done on one side only.
* Laser marking is significantly harder to counterfeit.
* This will be executed as a blind change -- there will be no code changes (EAN or FPCs).

That was done because of many counterfeit blades being introduced to the market. Hope that helps.