Blade Biter's Tasting Notes

[lasta]

Sleeper Alert! If you want sharp blades for cheap, get these:

Yesterday was a VERY close shave, so I waited till afternoon before starting today's indulgence. Used a fresh Gillette Flying Eagle Stainless with a now familiar late 40's/50's FB Tech, Omega midget boar, and matched it with @Guido75 's Kox because the color scheme looked awfully congruent!

Thorough preshave as always, 4 minutes of Proraso Yellow foam on face hydration followed by a generous amount of bowl lathered Kox. Even before the first stroke, I knew these blades are in the sharper range. Hanging hair test resulted in a clean break with only a small amount of feedback, only blades in my 4+ rating are capable of this! My HHT observations are that blades fall in the following categories:

1. Clean break, minimal feedback
2. Catch and break with minimal pull
3. Catch and break
4. Catch and split along the length
5. Barely catch at all

These Flying Eagle Stainless are solid between 1 and 2.

First stroke WTG and I knew these are sharp enough for me. First pass went by fast with minimal resistance across the entire face. Second pass was again little resistance, but it did feel a bit rough across some areas and caused 2 weepers on the right side of my mouth. The perceived roughness was not enough to cause irritation and the weepers didn't need alum, so with a lighter hand, I'm sure these can be avoided in the future.

All in all, I would give these 4.5 in perceived sharpness/efficiency, and 3.5 in perceived smoothness/general comfort.This puts Flying Eagle Stainless in the Great Blades territory and a solid alternative to Nacets! I would say, these are probably equivalent to or even slightly sharper than a Super Blue on shave 2.

An excellent find, and at only $7.22 I will definitely be getting a 100 pack when my sample tucks run out. For reference, the Flying Eagle Platinum costs $11.70/100, Rhinos $13.22, and Super Blues $20.19. Definitely a bargain!

P.S, I'm glad I found a reliable source for these because fakes are everywhere, especially Super Blues!

 

[lasta]

An absolutely wonderful Monday morning shave. Perfect start to the daily hustle following a week long holiday.

Red Tip, Gillette Super Stainless (FR 1991), Proraso Boar, Piccadilly Lime, MG5.

4th shave with a 1991 French Super Stainless and a very smooth irritation free near BBS was achieved. Despite being on it's 4th outing, the SS has lost none of its razor sharp and ice rink smooth qualities. I'm keeping these at 4.5 for sharpness and upgrading to 4.5 for smoothness, top shelf ammo!

Meanwhile, I'm anxiously waiting for tomorrow's shave with my new toy! The @Rosseforp BBS handle (Blade Biter Special).

A 23g ultra-lightweight aluminum handle, but with weight balance at the bottom, very well-matched with the Game Changer. Center of balance right at the top of the knurling.

Doug also threw in a tuck of Indian 7 O'clock Blacks. Tasting notes to come!

 

[Guido75]

Looking good there Lasta! Excellent handle - very smart!

Interested in having your opinion on these blades too. I see reports here of 20+ shaves and I have never got them to work for me past 4 or 5 shaves.

Cheers and enjoy that marvellous handle!

Guido.

 

[lasta]

Looking good there Lasta! Excellent handle - very smart!

Interested in having your opinion on these blades too. I see reports here of 20+ shaves and I have never got them to work for me past 4 or 5 shaves.

Cheers and enjoy that marvellous handle!

Guido.

Quite a few people regard them very highly, so yes, definitely looking forward to tomorrow's shave!

As long as they are good shaves, 4-5 is good enough for me.

Little bird tells me that Guido has acquired some 80 years of blades! How would you rate them within your warehouse?

 

[Guido75]

Quite a few people regard them very highly, so yes, definitely looking forward to tomorrow's shave!

As long as they are good shaves, 4-5 is good enough for me.

Little bird tells me that Guido has acquired some 80 years of blades! How would you rate them within your warehouse?

I rate them as a fair blade, good shaves when used - but no need to acquire them beyond the tuck I have. Blades I would buy in a heart beat (and I have in the past!) are (in random order for now) KCG, Feather, Gillette 365, Dorco Titan, Dorco ST300HQ, and Eddison.

 

[lasta]

Razor: Game Changer 84 with @Rosseforp BBS handle
Blade: Gillette 7 O'clock Black
Brush: Mondial
Soap: Tabac
Aftershave: MG5 + moisturizer

First shave with 2 new toys!

The Blade Biter Special handle looks mighty fine and handles great! Excellent grip, just the right size, and light weight makes the razor feel more nimble. I was skeptical about very light handles, but this one does not feel head heavy at all.

Blade tasting: a very good first impression, but also throws me for a loop in trying to be objective. These are definitely on the sharp end, yet not quite Nacet/Perma Sharp territory. Generally smooth, but with a hint of roughness, yet not enough to cause notable irritation. I'll tentatively rate these 4/5 for perceived sharpness/efficiency and 4/5 for smoothness and comfort. I was tempted to rate these 3.5/5 for smoothness, but they are just a tad more comfortable than the GWS and Chinese Gillettes, so either 4 or I'll have to downgrade a whole batch of my list.

In any case, these are excellent blades, just a bit better than GWS in every way. If my stockpile drops below 10 years supply, I will be replenishing haha.

PS, I'm downgrading Flying Eagle Stainless to 3/5 for smoothness. Didn't feel it at first, but post shave irritation was enough to affect the next shave.

Could dry season has arrived, even I have to start using moisturizers...

 

[Guido75]

Great match between your BBS handle by @Rosseforp and the Game Changer. The King of Lathes did it again!

Happy for you!

Guido.

 

[APBinNCA]

Still hashing out the rating criteria, instead of calling sharpness/smoothness, I believe a combination of the 2 together contributes to cutting efficiency (to a certain point) whereas grind quality, grind angle, coatings etc goes toward perceived smoothness and overall comfort. Still a work in progress, suggestions welcome!

While waiting for the latest tasting, I have been thinking this through a lot. For me, resistance to cutting specifically and per pass efficiency will make up my sharpness rating. I am still trying to get my head out of the incomplete sharpness testing because I have long believed the methodology flawed, but it does offer some data. The problem for me is the two criteria that I want to know, and can't measure, is primary bevel grind angle and if it has an obtuse micro bevel.

Resistance to cutting is not only not a problem for me, to a point it's a feature! I know I am an outlier in this. It seems to me that resistance to cutting correlates well with blades that have that micro bevel, not exclusively of course. Bics come to mind as blades that are very efficient, but have more initial resistance than expected.

I think per pass efficiency can pretty well be correlated to primary bevel angle without any exceptions needed. It's unfortunate that RBC had gathered some bevel angles and stopped because that was looking like the most promising method to determine sharpness. I think your beloved GSBs are a good example of high per pass efficiency, there are plenty of pictures around showing that they have a very acute angle. So do my vintage Super Blue blades, in fact I go back and forth trying to decide how to compare those with modern blades because I know they have more initial resistance than some, but still have that narrow bevel.

I have kind of gone over several blades that I have used extensively and tried to place them in a 1-10 rating, but decided that medium sharpness and below where I operate, there are too many small, but noticeable gradations. What I have decided is blades will be ranked first on resistance placing them in the 1-10 framework and then have the ability to gain a .5 if I feel the efficiency is higher than expected for the resistance. Trying out a few that are all clustered together, this seems to work out where I don't feel those .5+ blades belong in the next sharpness(1-10) category. The final issue is whether to rank blades on the first shave or some combination of several shaves, that sounds too convoluted. And that's where I feel the sharpness testing that was done falls apart because the numbers for new blades are meaningless, he attributes it to the coatings, but that places dozens of blades as being indistinguishable out of the wrapper. Which is a clear sign of flawed testing because a human can clearly perceive the difference between a Kai and a Derby(tested about the same). Sorry for the wordy post, but I am just trying to get the last week's worth of thoughts down somewhere!

 

[thombrogan]

Would a hobbyist goniometer work on razor blade bevels or are they too thin?

 

[lasta]

Thanks @APBinNCA !

This is a Blade Biter's notepad, not my notepad, so dump away! More the better!

Before you brought bevel angle into the mix, I was tempted to erase everything and call it the "how much I like it" rating. I told you I'm not a reliable blade reviewer!

Will give this more thought, and get back to you when my mind's eye opens...

 

[APBinNCA]

Would a hobbyist goniometer work on razor blade bevels or are they too thin?

Interesting... I would think it would be useful for measuring a blade inside of a razor for it's shaving angle. With the difficulty in the past trying to use software just to get blade gap and exposure, I am not sure anything short of a microscope will work. Take a look at the blog on RazorBladesClub, it's pretty clear how difficult this is without a SEM. This is getting really nerdy and I better stop before I resurrect one of the old threads...

 

[lasta]

There is a thread with SEM images, some with Apex angles visible:

Scanning Electron Microscope Blade Edge Images

I've been brushing up on my SEM skills at work over the last few day and decided to bring in some razor blades to practice with this morning. I ran 6 different Gillette blades at 150X magnification and thought some of you may be interested in these results. I have a ton of different blades and...

www.badgerandblade.com

I think you are on to something! Modern gillettes do have very uniform, no secondary bevel grinds.

But, my recent trip through 80's super stainless all show pronounced 3 layer bevels (perhaps even a 4th) micro bevel. So angle should be rather obtuse. Yet, they feel very sharp...maybe not just the angle?

Or maybe after 2 decades of daily scraping, my face got so numb that I can't even tell what's sharp anymore? Both my face and my rudimentary hanging hair tests indicate Rhino's to be above average in sharpness, yet @mgweatherly calls them on the verge of dull!

 

[APBinNCA]

But, my recent trip through 80's super stainless all show pronounced 3 layer bevels (perhaps even a 4th) micro bevel. So angle should be rather obtuse. Yet, they feel very sharp...maybe not just the angle?

Yep, the SEM images would be ideal, but we don't have anybody to do those anymore. The thing that the RBC images show is that regardless of number of bevels, you can draw lines from the apex to the where the grinding ends and come up with an angle. You can even see that the primary bevel is something less than this when it's below the line. I don't think it would be possible to reverse engineer the grinding and come up with the angle of every bevel, that's why I prefer this simple method. In fact, it can show some obtuse micro-bevels are above the drawn line making them obvious. But I think the overall angle is most indicative of cutting performance. I also think that is why that guy measured a GSB as being as sharp as a Feather after 2 head and face shaves! The underlying blade is narrow, but the very apex isn't as keen as a Feather and therefore less harsh and more durable. I really need to stop before we go full BOSC Science here!

 

[lasta]

I really need to stop before we go full BOSC Science here!

No no, keep going!

You are officially a member of the Blade Biter's tribe, now dance!

 

[lasta]

So, I had these blades for a while and already gave them a rating. But Haven't got the chance to share tasting notes.

Red Tip, Super Silver (C1, 1982), Proraso, Mondial Tobacco Verde (in a Sterling container), MG5.

I bought these Super Silvers near the end of last year for what ended up costing me ~€79 for a 100 pack (postage+duties), definitely not in the value shaving territory.

Strictly speaking, the blades are excellent. Sharp and smooth, minimal resistance even against the grain, and resulted in a almost completely irritation free shave. They feel a bit sharper than 70's US Spoilers, but not quite on par with late 80's Super Stainless varieties. Overall, I'd keep them at 4/5 for sharpness and 4/5 for smoothness, and excellent blade all in all.

My current observations are that blade manufacturing has gotten better over time. Patent applications for blade manufacturing, coating application, and removal of excess coating near blade's apex continue to be made even in the past few years. Even looking under a loupe, modern Gillettes have much shinier ground bevels than what was available 40 years ago.

If I was back in the 80's, I'd be a very happy shaver using these. However, at the prices they go for, there's no help that I'd have to weigh it against a 5 year supply of GSBs, and GSBs are still better! The seller I bought them from seems to have a sizeable stock, so they are not hard to find. If you come across a cheap listing, go for it. But I wouldn't pay premium.

 

[lasta]

Brazilian Gillette Wilkinson Sword: Brazilian smooth!

I chanced upon a 100 pack of Japanese market Wilkinson Swords in late 2021, only later to find out that they are actually made in Brazil. In a little over a year's time, I've used 17 of these blades, so it definitely fits the "go to" category.

I find them only moderately sharp, yet extremely smooth. Longevity is also high as I remember fondly pushing the first blade to 11 shaves. It still had life left, but curiosity for other blades forced my hand.

Over the past year, I don't remember ever getting irritation from them. In fact, the frequency of alcohol based aftershaves feeling like water is higher with this blade than anything else I've used before.

Today was no exception. At no point did they feel exceptionally sharp, yet sharp enough as to not notice tugging either. For smoothness, they just glided across my face without ever feeling prickly. For sharpness, I'm upgrading these to 3.5/5, previously they were 3/5, but they are by no means duller than Astra. Smoothness 5/5, as smooth as a razor blade can get honestly! Top shelf blade.

 

[lasta]

Testing out a newly acquired Old Type with one of my favourite blades!

US Old Type, English Nacet (B2, 1981), Proraso Boar, Proraso Green, MG5, moisturizer.

A great shave with another one of my most used blades through 2022. Extensive prep, heavily loaded Proraso cream, chased BBS and got it!

Not much to say about vintage Nacets other than that it's one of the better vintages from my experience. Slightly above average sharpness, yet very smooth. @APBinNCA recently mentioned the merits of a tiny, yet detectable micro bevel which this blade definitely has. Very smooth shave overall, despite using what I consider to be a razor on the lower end of smooth. 4/5 for sharpness, 4.5/5 for smoothness.

Double Nacets' place on my top shelf are beyond reproach.

 

[Guido75]

Nice looking Old Type! Thin or thick cap? I found mine to be a brilliant shaver. As comfortable as a Tech with the effectiveness of a R41.

Great handle again!

Guido

 

[lasta]

Nice looking Old Type! Thin or thick cap? I found mine to be a brilliant shaver. As comfortable as a Tech with the effectiveness of a R41.

Great handle again!

Guido

Just a regular ol' ball end thick cap old type, but I like it!

If I find some free time, I might de-plate and polish the thing

 

[lasta]

Not a tasting session so much as a rehash/benchmark.

Had a quick shave this morning where I switched out the French Super Stainless for the good ol' Astra mid shave. Astras are far too much underappreciated in my books, I'm upgrading it to 4/5 and 4/5, in fact, not too far behind GSB's. Meanwhile, I've updated the table with mostly downgrades for blades I used to think were around Astra level.

A recent conversation with @Sweeney_ had something to do with the re-balancing, but my lips are sealed as to avoid being banned by our esteemed moderators...