Bad Blades

[Robknock31]

Currently working my way through a selection of blade types. So I'm trying two blades per pack and with some there has been a difference between the blades in each pack. Some only a slight difference and some a noticeable difference. I've also noticed that on visually inspecting the blades. That some of them look a little rough out of the packet, and this is reflected in the performance.

Is this to be expected with some packs/types of blades? Would you toss a blade if it looked a little rough?

For example:

Pack 1, Blade One; Lot of heat tempering visible on the blade some uneven light reflecting on the edges. Nice shaves felt good for four shaves. Blade Two; Average looking blade with some slight uneven light reflecting on the edges. Better shaves for five shaves, could have kept going.

Pack 2, Blade 1; Average looking blade with some slight uneven light reflecting on the edges. Not as nice as pack 1 but comparable for four shaves. Blade Two; rough looking and uneven light reflecting on the edges. Not very nice shaves.

Pack 3, Blade 1; just opened the pack the the blade looks very good with nice clean edges. Not shaved with it yet.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

Is this to be expected with some packs/types of blades? Would you toss a blade if it looked a little rough?

I don't examine my blade before I put them in the razor. Not sure I'd know what to look for. I trust my face to tell me if the blade was bad. That said, I have been shaving with Double-edge blades for over 30 years and I don't think I've ever encountered random bad blade. There are brands I don't like, or use, but not because they're flawed in the manufacturing process.

Let me also say, I'm not in the habit of trying every blade under the sun. I mainly use Wilkinsons, Gillettes, and Personnas.

For you to have had two bad blades in four seems unusual. What brand of blades.

 

[Macduff]

I’ve been running through a sampler for almost two years now doing the same as you (trying two of each brand.) Overall, most blades have been pretty consistent with little to no difference between blade 1 and 2. That said, i have hit a couple “duds” most notably Derby Extra and Lord Platinum. One of each was decent and one nearly unusable. I’ve never examined the blades to see if they look similar but could feel immediately that something was off. When i hit duds i assume the quality control sucks and it’s pretty much an automatic “won’t be buying these again” scenario. That said, it has been a rare occurrence.

 

[Chaucer]

I had one Gillette Black that was a total dud—no cutting from either edge. That was one dud out of several 5-packs.

I also had one Voskhod that was a total dud on one edge and subpar but usable cutting from the other edge. That blade was a sample and the only Voskhod I’ve tried.

 

[Robknock31]

Well I'm still kind of new to DE shaving and have very tough stubble. I started off with five different types of blades but I used one from a pack and when it was done i tried another. These packs where getting low so I ordered another twelve types of blade to try. This time I'm using two blades from a pack one after the other. I seem to get some nice shaves from one blade and the other not so good. I try and keep my prep consistent, maybe its my face thats inconsistent

 

[Steelerfan]

I tried a blade sample pack that contained 3 examples of each blade. The first Wilkinson Sword blade I tried was the worst blade ever. The blade was a dud and the remaining 2 were actually very good! I also tried 2 examples of Ladas blades. Both were rough and felt scratchy. So I may revisit the WS blades but I see no reason to try Ladas again.

 

[fast shaver]

What brand of blades were they? Certain brands are known to have problems in Quality Control. Lord blades are hit or miss for me. Parker, Dorco Prime & GSB seem to have very good Quality Control in my Experience. It might be some vendors are selling old stock as well.

 

[Robknock31]

Well the first pack was Gillette 7 o'clock Yellows. The first blade i unwrapped I noticed the heat staining which was more noticeable than usual. Because I'm using using a FaTip I inspect that the blade is sitting correctly. I noticed a few places where the edge had been ground reflected light a little differently. The blade was perfectly ok to shave with giving four clean shaves. Second blade out of the pack performed better, best shave yet (I'm still a noob). Changed this blade after five shaves, could have gone a few more.

Second pack Nacet. Similar marks on the edges on first blade, ok blade for me but Yellow was better. Second blade looked a little rough, noticeable marks along its length and the shave was a little scratchy.

Just been inspecting some blades and they all look ok.

 

[fast shaver]

Wow.. I never had anything like that with the Gillette Yellows or Greens much less Nacet's. I am at a loss here as these are Top blades for a lot of people. The Q.C. on these blades is usually very good.

 

[Robknock31]

I must be lucky, inspected the rest of the blades in the pack and they look fine. Yellows are a nice blade, Nacets are very similar but I would give the Yellows the edge as they are slightly smoother. Just tried the Indian Greens which seem super smooth but not as sharp as the Yellows, but cant judge from one shave. Did I mention the smoooothness of the Greens

 

[BigJ]

What brand of blades were they? Certain brands are known to have problems in Quality Control. Lord blades are hit or miss for me. Parker, Dorco Prime & GSB seem to have very good Quality Control in my Experience. It might be some vendors are selling old stock as well.

+1! Some brands have better QC/QA than others.

 

[Robknock31]

Just started another random blade pack and first blade was bad, second blade better but I noticed the blade alignment wasnt completely even.
Thinking choice of razor may be the key to this problem!