I recently received a package of the old Gillette Blue Blades with a black finish. Since I am making an all black shaving set to give to my brother I was wondering do any currently produced blades have a similar coating?
Black Blades
- Thread starter Jwolf24601
- Start date
Yes, there are carbon steel blades from Treet which have a black coating ("Black Beauties"). I don't know offhand where you can buy them.
The beautiful silver of a modern PTFE / Platinum blade goes well with black, and the face will be much happier.
The Treet Blue Special is the name the manufacturer calls the "Black Beauty."
The very dark, gunmetal blue coating on the table but not the edge was a standard on the Gillette Blue and other carbon steel blades in the 1940's and '50's.
I suspect Treet is phasing this blade out, in favor of the Treet DuraSharp Classic, which is the same blade with a PTFE coating. The Classic lasts a bit longer than the Blue Special, and uses the same coating process that Treet and other manufacturers use on most of their blades. This would eliminate a special coating process unique to the Blue Special.
The UK source lists the Blue Special as no longer available, and a source here in the U.S. has shown it for several weeks as "Temporarily out of stock, on back order."
The very dark, gunmetal blue coating on the table but not the edge was a standard on the Gillette Blue and other carbon steel blades in the 1940's and '50's.
I suspect Treet is phasing this blade out, in favor of the Treet DuraSharp Classic, which is the same blade with a PTFE coating. The Classic lasts a bit longer than the Blue Special, and uses the same coating process that Treet and other manufacturers use on most of their blades. This would eliminate a special coating process unique to the Blue Special.
The UK source lists the Blue Special as no longer available, and a source here in the U.S. has shown it for several weeks as "Temporarily out of stock, on back order."
I had success ordering from detailsformen.com . Free shipping for $75 order.
They have other items like the Booster line from Canada as well.
They have other items like the Booster line from Canada as well.
I have five Blue Specials left from a sample pack I received last year with an order from Gianni. His price for the Blue Specials was about the same or slightly less than the Treet Classics, and less than the source you cited.
The Blue Specials are fun for a change of pace, but not so much different from the Classics that I would go out of my way to order more. I get one more shave from a Classic than I do a Blue Special.
These Treet carbon steel blades are a love 'em or hate 'em type of item. They work for me and I've posted a review of the Treet DuraSharp classic in the review section. For another person there, it's a hate 'em affair. Two more reviews were posted there, one favorable, one not, but they've been deleted because the posters are too new to qualify for writing a review.
Just as the Derby Extra is the most popular blade here at B&B, they don't work for me, though I've tried to like them.
YMMV
I too have heard the classics are better. The OP mentioned he wanted the black blades for visual effect. I used this vendor as it was the cheapest one that had these blades in stock back in late June. I think everyone else may be out of stock, probably permanently. That is what made me choose to order from them.
I got my order 4 days after placing it.
I got my order 4 days after placing it.
