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- #121
lasta
Blade Biter
Finally, some fresh flavours!
Blade Biter's Tasting Notes
- Thread starter lasta
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Titans, 365, Eddison - can’t go wrong there! Amazing blades in my opinion. I was perusing the same site while in a serious traffic jam and I need to try those BICs some time.
Minora's are awesome blades!
Lord Platinum I find excellent in New Improved razors. Haven't really found another razor for them. Ni those buggers!
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- #124
lasta
Blade Biter
Tasting a GEM blade for the first time!
Razor: Ever Ready Shovel Head - For a 100 year old razor, this is fantastic! Very shallow shaving, just the way I like it, mild-ish and easily one of the smoothest razors I've ever tried.
Blade: Personna GEM PTFE - This thing sucks! Sharp enough, in fact above average. But Tiger level rough! Not enough to cause skin-flaking problems (maybe the Tiger was dirty), but 4 weepers and irritation lasting even 5 hours after shaving!
4/5 for sharpness, 2/5 for smooth.
There's not much to choose from in GEM blades, so I think I'm more of a single edge tourist than immigrant.
Razor: Ever Ready Shovel Head - For a 100 year old razor, this is fantastic! Very shallow shaving, just the way I like it, mild-ish and easily one of the smoothest razors I've ever tried.
Blade: Personna GEM PTFE - This thing sucks! Sharp enough, in fact above average. But Tiger level rough! Not enough to cause skin-flaking problems (maybe the Tiger was dirty), but 4 weepers and irritation lasting even 5 hours after shaving!
4/5 for sharpness, 2/5 for smooth.
There's not much to choose from in GEM blades, so I think I'm more of a single edge tourist than immigrant.
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Uh oh, that was my first and 20th experience with GEM blades. You aren't going to find a smoother blade, but the good news is the shaves do get better with technique. It still feels like shaving with a straight on a stick to me!
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- #126
lasta
Blade Biter
I just got back from a 7 days trip to Singapore. Here's what 34 degrees Celsius and 90%+ humidity does to a brass razor:
For those that do like patina, I still recommend you wipe your razors and let it develop slowly!
I had to resort to cartridge shaving for the first 2 days (Gillette Vector), but found out that my mother has kept a stash of Rapira Platinum Lux's that I gave her 5 years ago. She lugged those through 3 different countries, so that alone gets the blade a +1. Here are the latest tasting notes/updates:
Vector: Surprisingly good for a cartridge! I would go as far as to say the blades in these cheap plastic razors are better than most DE's. Very sharp and very smooth, no irritation despite going for 2 BBS shaves in a row. Much better than Bic disposables. 4/5 for perceived sharpness, 4/5 for smoothness.
Platinum Lux: I remember not liking these in the past, above average sharpness, but on the rough side. Having shaved 5 days with a single blade, Ive now found new appreciation. Still very sharp, but I can achieve new BBS shaves 5 days in a row with minimal irritation. Definitely a good daily blade. 4/5 for sharpness, 3.5/5 for smoothness.
For those that do like patina, I still recommend you wipe your razors and let it develop slowly!
I had to resort to cartridge shaving for the first 2 days (Gillette Vector), but found out that my mother has kept a stash of Rapira Platinum Lux's that I gave her 5 years ago. She lugged those through 3 different countries, so that alone gets the blade a +1. Here are the latest tasting notes/updates:
Vector: Surprisingly good for a cartridge! I would go as far as to say the blades in these cheap plastic razors are better than most DE's. Very sharp and very smooth, no irritation despite going for 2 BBS shaves in a row. Much better than Bic disposables. 4/5 for perceived sharpness, 4/5 for smoothness.
Platinum Lux: I remember not liking these in the past, above average sharpness, but on the rough side. Having shaved 5 days with a single blade, Ive now found new appreciation. Still very sharp, but I can achieve new BBS shaves 5 days in a row with minimal irritation. Definitely a good daily blade. 4/5 for sharpness, 3.5/5 for smoothness.
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1-2-3 polish!!
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- #128
lasta
Blade Biter
Nah! You’re just making up excuses to get more gear my friend!
Guido
Guido
Good excuse by the way - no it’s not me, it’s the weather that’s making me do this! 
- Thread starter
- #131
lasta
Blade Biter
Haha, Ill take any excuse I can get!Good excuse by the way - no it’s not me, it’s the weather that’s making me do this!
Speaking of which, after two weeks, Theo still can't send Athena to where I live. That might as well go towards the budget for 5 more Techs!
Why not? Ships all over the world, but one place not so? Sounds like the opening page of Asterix & Obelix.
- Thread starter
- #133
lasta
Blade Biter
Thanks to @velocityboy , I am now reunited with my college blade!
I'm not sure where these are made, but V3 indicates Q3 2000, so should be what was available in French supermarkets! When I went to Normandy for my Master's studies, I bought 2 packs of GBE's, one 5-pack made in Russia, and one 10-pack dispenser of unknown origin, these should be the latter. I used up the 10-pack and 3 from the 5-pack, so 13 blades lasted me for a whole year of shaving, durability is proven (that, or my once young skin was just tougher).
I've now shaved twice with the blade, first using my college setup of Slim + WARS, and second using a Canadian Long Comb and TFS Red. Both resulted in very close, near BBS 2.5 pass shaves with only a hint of irritation. Sharpness is above average, but these GBEs feel thicker and stiffer than most blades I've used in the past, so blade feel and prickliness is present. I'd rate these 4/5 for sharpness and 3.5/5 for smoothness.
These don't come up very often, and when they do, are not cheapos. So I can't quite recommend them. But for the sake of nostalgia, I'll definitely pick up a few more packs!
Very curious about where these are made. The 2 alignment lines are similar to Gillettes sold in Germany, but no marked country of manufacture. Definitely not made in France, as the plant closed in 92. If anyone has details, please let me know!
Meanwhile, my sampler pack from Razorbladesclub have arrived as well. Running out of space, so I had to resort to double stacking!
Looking forward to tomorrow's shave with modern Dorcos! Hanging hair test suggest that the Prime is indeed sharper than the Titan (different grind patterns, Prime being wider than Titan, so not the same blade sold under different SKUS). Eddison not far behind, but the Lord Platinum is more of a catch and split along the length blade, not a good first impression.
I'm not sure where these are made, but V3 indicates Q3 2000, so should be what was available in French supermarkets! When I went to Normandy for my Master's studies, I bought 2 packs of GBE's, one 5-pack made in Russia, and one 10-pack dispenser of unknown origin, these should be the latter. I used up the 10-pack and 3 from the 5-pack, so 13 blades lasted me for a whole year of shaving, durability is proven (that, or my once young skin was just tougher).
I've now shaved twice with the blade, first using my college setup of Slim + WARS, and second using a Canadian Long Comb and TFS Red. Both resulted in very close, near BBS 2.5 pass shaves with only a hint of irritation. Sharpness is above average, but these GBEs feel thicker and stiffer than most blades I've used in the past, so blade feel and prickliness is present. I'd rate these 4/5 for sharpness and 3.5/5 for smoothness.
These don't come up very often, and when they do, are not cheapos. So I can't quite recommend them. But for the sake of nostalgia, I'll definitely pick up a few more packs!
Very curious about where these are made. The 2 alignment lines are similar to Gillettes sold in Germany, but no marked country of manufacture. Definitely not made in France, as the plant closed in 92. If anyone has details, please let me know!
Meanwhile, my sampler pack from Razorbladesclub have arrived as well. Running out of space, so I had to resort to double stacking!
Looking forward to tomorrow's shave with modern Dorcos! Hanging hair test suggest that the Prime is indeed sharper than the Titan (different grind patterns, Prime being wider than Titan, so not the same blade sold under different SKUS). Eddison not far behind, but the Lord Platinum is more of a catch and split along the length blade, not a good first impression.
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It seems like there are several of us on here that are currently on a Dorco kick at the same time! For me, the Primes became the best discovery of '23 so far. Even though I have used them before, it was finding the right razors that unlocked them for me. The Titans are what I am currently trying out and let's just say that they are not the same blade as the Primes. That's not a bad thing for me, I like having options instead of the same blade with fifty different wrappers claiming they are different(Lord)!
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- #135
lasta
Blade Biter
I'm not familiar with Lord (other than Sharks
), but I get you about the repackaging!Shanghai Gillettes are more similar than different (coatings/bevel color being the only exception). I'd even go as far as to say Russian Gillettes... but one cannot talk in detail about that without breaking some rules!
I am currently entertaining a Dorco ST300HQ. Love Titans!
- Thread starter
- #137
lasta
Blade Biter
Dorco, Dorco, Dorco!
Tried Titan for the first time today. I have used up a 100 pack of Korean Blue ST-300s in the early 2010's and they still leave a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully these are different!
First few swipes and I can tell these are very very smooth blades. Not the sharpest thing around, but certainly enough and not tuggy at all.
No prickliness during the shave at all and barely any irritation afterwards. Efficiency leaves a bit to be desired, but these are certainly very comfortable daily drivers. A very close analogue, if not slightly ahead of Personna Labs.
3.5/5 for sharpness and 4.5/5 for smoothness, great blades overall!
If only they are a hint sharper, these are reaching for, but just short of touching top shelf!
High hopes for Primes tomorrow!
Tried Titan for the first time today. I have used up a 100 pack of Korean Blue ST-300s in the early 2010's and they still leave a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully these are different!
First few swipes and I can tell these are very very smooth blades. Not the sharpest thing around, but certainly enough and not tuggy at all.
No prickliness during the shave at all and barely any irritation afterwards. Efficiency leaves a bit to be desired, but these are certainly very comfortable daily drivers. A very close analogue, if not slightly ahead of Personna Labs.
3.5/5 for sharpness and 4.5/5 for smoothness, great blades overall!
If only they are a hint sharper, these are reaching for, but just short of touching top shelf!
High hopes for Primes tomorrow!
My name is Guido and I support this Titan message!
Cheers!
Cheers!
- Thread starter
- #139
lasta
Blade Biter
Blade rotation anxiety...what to choose?!
I gotta stop nibbling on the tucks, they won't even line up straight!
I gotta stop nibbling on the tucks, they won't even line up straight!
We are gonna need a bigger spreadsheet!
