Blade Wars: Silver Star vs. Personna Israeli Red

[cw62803]

Blade Wars: Silver Star vs. Personna Israeli Red

Egypt vs. Israel. Oh my goodness, what am I getting into here? This is supposed to be a blind test of double-edge razor blades, not an international incident.

Up for the test are Silver Star Stainless Steel blades made by the Egyptian Company, Lord. I’ve never tried them before, but have heard good things about them. My experience with the Lord Company is using the well-made L6 razor, which I consider a great bargain. Red IPs, of course, are made in Israel by Personna. I’ve only used Red IPs a couple of times, and found them to be sharp, long-lasting, and phenomenally smooth.

Big thank you to [MENTION=104562]mr_houston[/MENTION], who sent me the Red IPS and to [MENTION=106012]1Cal[/MENTION] who sent me the Silver Stars all the way from the U.K.

I will use two identical Razorock Protege Razors. The razors, whose heads are clones of the DE89, have stainless steel handles with removable caps. I will color one of caps with a blue Sharpie so I can tell them apart, but will not know which blade is in which razor.

I typically face lather and do two passes, the first with the grain, the second across the grain. When I do a third pass, it is usually against the grain. I’ll try to keep the conditions similar for everything except the blade. I’ll use one razor on each side of my face and switch sides daily. I’ll describe what I see and feel, and invite you to share your thoughts along the way.

So what do you think? Anyone have experience with Silver Star? Who do you think will prevail?

 

[Cal]

The contenders:

 

[Billski]

It is my belief that Perosnna will will prevail.

 

[EternalBachelor]

I'm unfamiliar with the Silver Star blades. Could be anyone's game.

 

[BigJ]

I'm betting on the Israeli reds!

 

[BigPete]

Personna Reds are among my favorite blades. They work well in all of my razors. Reds in round 4.

 

[cw62803]

Personna Reds are among my favorite blades. They work well in all of my razors. Reds in round 4.

Calling the round … nice touch, Big Pete!

 

[homh]

Good stuff! A Six-Day Blade War for supremacy. There can only be one winner, two blades go in one blade comes out.

I dont have any experience with the Personna I.R. The closest I have used is a store branded Personna stainless steel blade Made in Israel. I do really like the Lord Silver Star, sharp and smooth, one of the best blades I have used and I have a lot of confidence in the Silver Star in this match. It will be a close hard-fought battle but think the LSS will pull out a win.

The Silver Star is made with Swedish Steel, the Personna I don't know.

 

[Grassy]

I haven't tried either of these blades but I have an order of 100 Silver Star arriving, hopefully tomorrow.

COME ON SILVER STAR!

 

[Highspeedlane]

I'm interested in how this will turn out because I have one tuck of IP reds and can you believe I've never tried one yet?

 

[weekly]

I'm unfamiliar with the Silver Star blades. Could be anyone's game.

I have plenty of experience with both of these blades ,, and in my opinion the Israeli Persona, ,
is not even in the same league as the Silver Star Super Stainless, this is like putting a High School, ,
team against the New York Yankees, , the Silver Star is a Super Sharp blade that is also reasonably, ,
Smooth and the Israeli Persona is not very Sharp at all even on it's first Shave is only slightly sharper, ,
than a Derby. .Here's the rub,, the IP feels so dull on the first shave,, that it doesn't noticeably fall of in,,
Subsequent shaves. ...This whole thing is a terrible mismatch. ..

 

[cw62803]

I'm interested in how this will turn out because I have one tuck of IP reds and can you believe I've never tried one yet?

I think you’re going to like them, Lane.

 

[cw62803]

I have plenty of experience with both of these blades ,, and in my opinion the Israeli Persona, ,
is not even in the same league as the Silver Star Super Stainless, this is like putting a High School, ,
team against the New York Yankees, , the Silver Star is a Super Sharp blade that is also reasonably, ,
Smooth and the Israeli Persona is not very Sharp at all even on it's first Shave is only slightly sharper, ,
than a Derby. .Here's the rub,, the IP feels so dull on the first shave,, that it doesn't noticeably fall of in,,
Subsequent shaves. ...This whole thing is a terrible mismatch. ..

I'm looking forward to trying Silver Stars out - [MENTION=106012]1Cal[/MENTION] sent me a whole bunch of them. I'm looking forward to starting the blade war tonight. I hope the IPs don't perform anything like Derbys, because they are one of the few blades I'd really rather not use again. Life is too short to shave with a dull blade.

 

[cw62803]

Shave 1

face lathered with TOBS Lavender
silver razor=right side of face, blue razor=left side

Pass 1- Silver: My initial thought was "This is a sharp blade." As I continued the pass I did feel some resistance, especially on the chin.
Blue: I felt some pull. It might be a little smoother than the silver, but not quite as sharp.

Pass 2 - Silver sounded scratchy, but did not feel scratchy. Blue was very, very smooth.

Pass 3 - Silver had a little resistance on my neck. Great audio feedback.
Blue had great audio feedback throughout. It is very smooth but may not be quite as sharp as the silver.

Followed with homemade Lemon/Orange aftershave, Man Lotion, and a little Olay moisturizer. The first shave with these blades was particularly good. They are quite different from each other, but I can't say one was better than the other at this point.

Advantage: tie.

 

[Cal]

Great Start!

It'll be interesting to see if the Silver Star is in the "Silver" razor.

 

[CigarSmoka]

I haven't used any either of these blades, and am not familiar with Silver Star at all. This will be a fun one to watch.

 

[BSAGuy]

Same here.

It is my belief that Perosnna will will prevail.

 

[Graybeard57]

I haven't used Personna Reds in about four years, having chosen Silver Star as the winner of the two. That said, I may have chosen SS because of cost. By that I mean, if the shaves were more or less equal, price may have been the tiebreaker. I really cannot remember.

 

[cw62803]

Shave 2
Face lathered with TOBS Grapefruit
blue=right, silver=left

Pass 1 - Blue had a nice, sharp feeling. I could really feel the blade. It had to work to get through the tough hairs on my chin, though.
Silver was very smooth. It glided right along easily.

Pass 2 - Blue felt sharp and fairly smooth.
Silver was extremely smooth.

Followed with some Nivea Sensitive Cooling Balm and I'm off with a nice, clean shave.

Advantage: silver

 

[cw62803]

Shave 3

face lathered with IB Amici
silver=right, blue=left

Pass 1 - Silver was very smooth. Blue was a little scratchy.

Pass 2 - Silver was smooth again. Blue was good, but not as smooth as silver.

Followed with Aqua Velva and Barbasol balm

advantage: Silver