Bic Chrome - Did you ever get a dud?

[JWK1]

This is a real puzzler to me. I have not used a Bic Chrome in a number of months. My recollection is that they are sharp. Maybe too sharp for me, but since then and now I've sort of had a step up in my shaving skills.

I have been wet shaving for 10 years, give or take. I've slowly gravitated toward more aggressive razors. Recently, I revisited my ATT SE1 and SE2. I had put them away for a number of years because they were just too much for me. However, I pulled out the ol' SE1 a couple of months back and discovered that my technique had improved considerably and I was getting the closest and most comfortable shaves ever. So, what the heck? I pulled out the SE2 and it was even better. I used the blade until I was not satisfied with the sharpness anymore, maybe a dozen shaves. So I thought, what the heck? Let's try that Timeless bronze .78 OC. OMG! It was fantastic. I used a Perma-Sharp for four fantastic shaves. I'm psyched. So I decide to go for the sharpest blade that I have, the Bic Chrome. I haven't used one for many months.

It was terrible. Comparatively speaking, of course. It was not harsh. It was just not sharp. I did not get razor burn, but I did not get a great shave because it seemed like it just could not cut the whiskers effectively. I made many more passes and buffs than I usually do and then just called it good before I started getting raw, like I do when using a razor that is too mild and I make too many passes to try for more closeness.

So this is weird. the only thing I can figure is maybe it's just a dud. I've never experienced this before. Has anyone experienced a dud from a Bic Chrome? If so, was it just a single blade or was it the whole tuck?

Just wondering.

 

[Butch Waxx]

This is a real puzzler to me. I have not used a Bic Chrome in a number of months. My recollection is that they are sharp. Maybe too sharp for me, but since then and now I've sort of had a step up in my shaving skills.

I have been wet shaving for 10 years, give or take. I've slowly gravitated toward more aggressive razors. Recently, I revisited my ATT SE1 and SE2. I had put them away for a number of years because they were just too much for me. However, I pulled out the ol' SE1 a couple of months back and discovered that my technique had improved considerably and I was getting the closest and most comfortable shaves ever. So, what the heck? I pulled out the SE2 and it was even better. I used the blade until I was not satisfied with the sharpness anymore, maybe a dozen shaves. So I thought, what the heck? Let's try that Timeless bronze .78 OC. OMG! It was fantastic. I used a Perma-Sharp for four fantastic shaves. I'm psyched. So I decide to go for the sharpest blade that I have, the Bic Chrome. I haven't used one for many months.

It was terrible. Comparatively speaking, of course. It was not harsh. It was just not sharp. I did not get razor burn, but I did not get a great shave because it seemed like it just could not cut the whiskers effectively. I made many more passes and buffs than I usually do and then just called it good before I started getting raw, like I do when using a razor that is too mild and I make too many passes to try for more closeness.

So this is weird. the only thing I can figure is maybe it's just a dud. I've never experienced this before. Has anyone experienced a dud from a Bic Chrome? If so, was it just a single blade or was it the whole tuck?

Just wondering.

Not with a Bic so far in my very limited exposure, but I have certainly opened a dud can of Quality Bud Light and Coca Cola before, (seldom but happens)…..So it would not surprise me if we all open a “Dud” on occasions, (very few hopefully).

 

[Eric_75]

I've used many. No duds as of yet.

 

[nav]

I use BIC daily in my blackbird.
I have gone through around 200 of them without getting a dud.

But it's a bizarre blade!
There were times where I thought it was a dud, but it turns out either my skin was dry and unhappy or I was having a non-obvious reaction to a soap.

It's the only blade that emphasises this by feeling rough. First time this happened, I put the blade aside and came back to it a few days later and the same "dud" blade was butter smooth!

I feel that due to its sharpness, it gives a more pronounced feedback of the blade edge, and if my skin is not in good shape, the BIC let's me know about it.

I adore the BIC blade! I like it better than Wizamet/polsilver, which was my daily blade for over 7 years!

 

[JWK1]

Weird. Well OK, no one has had a Bic dud yet. I will give the blade another try. If I feel it is just not cutting effectively right away, I will have a Nacet standing by to quickly switch out. That should tell me whether I was just having a weird off day or whether it was the blade.

I will report back in a couple of days. I only shave every 4 or 5 days. Retired, you know...

 

[fast shaver]

My first shave with a Bic Blade was Awesome * I got X7 fine shaves from it. The next Bic blade was terribly tuggy & not cutting very well. The third Bic Blade was the same. I will try another tomorrow & let you know how it went
Other name brand blades also serve me duds now & then.

 

[CCS]

I've only used one and so far, so good! I have 199 more of them.

 

[LRod]

Weird. Well OK, no one has had a Bic dud yet. I will give the blade another try. If I feel it is just not cutting effectively right away, I will have a Nacet standing by to quickly switch out. That should tell me whether I was just having a weird off day or whether it was the blade.

I will report back in a couple of days. I only shave every 4 or 5 days. Retired, you know...

Switching out to a Nacet will not tell you much. They're both different blades!
One might work well in one razor and the other might not.
Instead of giving the old blade another chance, why don't you just swap it out for another new Bic blade (if you have another one)?
That should tell you if the first one was a dud or if it's that Bic's aren't working for you.
I use Bic's all the time. They're on my top 3 blades in my rotation: Bic, Gillette Platinum & German Wilkinson's!
I've never had a dud but their is something to consider: Bic's are one of those blades that don't work in every razor.
So that's a possibility as well for your situation.
As always though, YMMV!
LRod

 

[Alum Ladd]

Not with a Bic so far in my very limited exposure, but I have certainly opened a dud can of Quality Bud Light and Coca Cola before, (seldom but happens)…..So it would not surprise me if we all open a “Dud” on occasions, (very few hopefully).

That happened to me once.

I had purchased a 3 pint plastic bottle of Acme Chemiecider (The motto on the label is "This will get you there, Guaranteed") an excellent choice for the alcholic on a budget.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, one day I was about to open my amber brew when I noticed what appeared to be seamonkeys swimming in it.

Well, I was not having that. I immediately contacted the top man, who promised me a lifetime supply if I did not contact the media about this issue.

I now have a lifetime supply of Chemicider, a fine brew if you are not fussy about these things.

So this proves two things. 1. You can get a Dud. 2. This accounts for my sometimes somewhat confused posts.

What was the question again?

 

[fast shaver]

This Bic blade was another disaster.
The Bic tugged terrible on my cheeks but stopped dead in its tracks when I tried to shave my chin.
The Bics I have were PIF'd years ago.
Anyone have a clue other than they do not store well.??
No rust was on the cutting edges or the blade.

 

[Oliviamaynard]

I tried the final Bic of the tuck. This was like the rest. So dull. It hurt. I took it out half the way up my leg. This was in the massamune open comb. Even the PAA worked great in that.

 

[noslen]

BICs used to be my #1, paired perfectly with my Muhle Rocca and then eventually I got horrible uncomfortable shaves with them after awhile for some reason. Maybe they've been manufactured differently in recent times?

 

[Tanuki]

I tried the final Bic of the tuck. This was like the rest. So dull. It hurt. I took it out half the way up my leg. This was in the massamune open comb. Even the PAA worked great in that.

BIC Chrome is a dud for me, so far. I might have one left.

 

[Slock]

That happened to me once.

I had purchased a 3 pint plastic bottle of Acme Chemiecider (The motto on the label is "This will get you there, Guaranteed") an excellent choice for the alcholic on a budget.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, one day I was about to open my amber brew when I noticed what appeared to be seamonkeys swimming in it.

Well, I was not having that. I immediately contacted the top man, who promised me a lifetime supply if I did not contact the media about this issue.

I now have a lifetime supply of Chemicider, a fine brew if you are not fussy about these things.

So this proves two things. 1. You can get a Dud. 2. This accounts for my sometimes somewhat confused posts.

What was the question again?

I once found a full can of Budweiser in my front yard. It had been laying there in the hot August Florida sun. I picked it up and put it in the fridge. My brother asked me to get him a beer. You know how brothers are. I gave him the Budweiser. He drank it. Later I asked him how was it. He said it tasted kind of funny. I told him where it came from he wasn't happy

 

[Slock]

I just tried a Bic for the first time. It felt rough in my Henson medium . It was good in my prewar Canadian tech. It was the best blade I ever put in my Gillette slim. I got a masterful BBS on setting 6. I used the Baume. Be for my lather.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Never used this specific blade but I always get the occasional dud, no matter what the make and model is. Some are way better than others but there’s always going to be a dud as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Medivh]

I haven't used a lot of BIC CP blades and I haven't found a dud yet. I've heard in the past that the QC isn't always perfect and that some batches are pretty bad. They might have fixed that, since I haven't heard that many people complaining in the recent years.

 

[CCS]

I find this fascinating. To some, it's even better than Feathers only smoother and lasts longer. To others, it's the worst piece of crap blade in shaving history. Talk about horses for courses!

 

[JWK1]

Well, I tried the blade again today. I started as I always do WTG on my cheeks. Halfway through the second side I knew it was just not cutting. I switched out to a Nacet I had sitting there just in case. It was like night and day. There is definitely no doubt. That particular blade was just not sharp. It reminded me of the Rockwell blades I had years ago that finally were gifted to my teenage (at that time - now a 20 something) son which worked just fine with his light whiskers (not anymore - now he can easily grow a full beard way better than I can) and his Krona I had given him.

Bic Chromes were tested by Refined Shave back a number of years back, and it was one of the sharpest blades that had been tested in that time period. I have no reason to doubt that was true. I think it is possible I got a dud, but I also think it's more likely that QC has gone downhill or the manufacturing has actually changed. I still have 19 tucks of these things. After my Nacet is done, I'm going to go into another tuck and try another blade. I will also have a Nacet standing by. It will be interesting to see what happens.

As long as it was brought up, I'll give my opinion on the whole "blade matching to razor" thing. Yes, I believe that blade matching exists to a minor degree. It is greatly exaggerated. I also think it is mainly due to differences in blade width, especially with milder razors. IMO, by the time you get to using an Ikon Tech, R41, Timeless Bronze .78, etc., the only thing that matters is sharpness and smoothness. There will be no blade matching. Sharp is sharp. Lack of sharpness will be felt. Use a Kai in a Gillette Tech, switch out to a Gillette yellow, and you will notice a significant difference. Not so in my Timeless Bronze. The razor is so blade forward to begin with, that slight difference is blade width is not a practical factor. This is my two cents resulting from my 12 years of wet shaving experience. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Rocket 1]

I ordered a sample tuck of Bic blades a month or so ago. First loaded in my Lupo 95 OC it became my favorite delivering smoothness and high efficiency over several uses. I loaded a blade from that same tuck in my Blackbird Ti. The experience was different. While the efficiency was still present, the level of smoothness I felt with the Lupo was diminished in the Blackbird Ti. Over the course of blade sampling for the Blackbird it still remained one of my top choices.

As I was running low, I acquired a lot of Bic tucks in a trade. The first blade from that lot in the Blackbird Ti felt less efficient, and even less smooth. I noticed the yellow of the wrapper and the tuck box was faded compared to my original sample pack. Maybe that was from age or from printing variation. Either way the change in effectiveness out of the new lot was noticeable. It was still a decent blade for the Blackbird and I plan to sample more from each tuck in the lot. Of the DE blades I have sampled to this point, only the Feather has been comparable to the Bic in terms of raw efficiency.