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Challenge PIF - Astra Superior Stainless Blades - Then And Now

ThunderDome Challenge, ‘Two Blades Enter, One Blade Leaves!’

Purpose:
To pick a winner, no ties allowed!

Methods: No blinding. Wolfman WR1 (my ‘daily driver’) will be loaded with the test blade. Then I use my (whatever looks good this AM) rotation of (mostly) ‘tallow’ soaps, badger brushes and assorted splashes.

Each shave will be judged using my ‘10 point’ scale during a week of shaves. Then on to the next blade.

Not exactly ‘scientific’ but this is the best I can do these days!

Results:

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9.5
Shave #2: 10
Shave #3: 9
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9.5
Shave #6: 9
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9
Shave #3: 9.5
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 8.5
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
Average: 8.9

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9
Shave #6: 9.5

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10!!
Shave #4: 9

Discussion: TOUGH COMPETITION!! So far the worst shave I have had is rated 9/10 (very good)!
:a11::a11::a11::a11:
 
I had my first modern Astra SS shave this morning in the same Caesar razor as the vintage Astara.

It was a blood bath. I had weepers and irritation all over the place.

I'm not blaming anything yet - it was a shave after a shower with a new soap and my skin felt really dry. Also, I had trouble getting the blade to sit even in the razor. One side of the blade felt really harsh and "bitey." I kept trying to even out the blade in the razor. Had a good Palmolive cream lather.

The shave was close, but too close.
 
Round 1: Edge to CZE
Shave #1 (NDC Tech) Astra CZE 8.5/10; Shave #2 ( I1 Tech) Astra RUS 8.0/10

Round 2: Edge to RUS
Shave #3 (I1 Tech) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #4 (NDC Tech) Astra RUS 8.5/10

Round 3: Tie
Shave #5 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #6 (Maggard V3A head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 4: Tie
Shave #7 (Maggard V3A head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #8 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 5: Tiny edge to RUS
Shave #9 (Fatboy on 6) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #10 (Fatboy on 6) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 6: Edge to RUS
Shave #11 (Fatboy on 5) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #12 (Fatboy on 5) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 7: Edge to CZE
Shave #13(Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #14 (Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra RUS 8.5/10
These are the first shaves on the second edge of the blade.

Round 8: Edge to RUS
Shave #15 (Henson AL13) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #16 (Henson AL13) Astra RUS 9.2/10

Round 9: Edge to RUS
Shave #17 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #18 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra RUS 10.0/10

Round 10: Tie
Shave #19 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra CZE 9.5/10
Even distracted by the noise of the roofers over my head, an effortless DFS+ shave.
Shave #20 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra RUS 9.5/10
Same noisy roofers, same razor, same great shave. No nicks, weepers or irritation.
One sign of progress - after 4 weeks of daily shaves, I can finally see a slight dent in the PDP63.
 
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Eleventh shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Black Marble 24mm Silvertip Badger
Soap: Tabac

Still performing like a champ! Now on its eleventh use, the FOCS/vintage Astra SS provided yet another comfortable, trouble-free shave.

The smoothness of this blade is impressive. Although it's not as sharp as it was (and nowhere near as sharp as the modern Astra SS even when new), it's still cutting through the stubble without any issues. It does require more buffing to get as close a shave as the modern Astra SS, but I haven't experienced any post-shave irritation, at all.

Today's outing probably owes a debt to the fantastic lather generated by the Yaqi Black Marble silvertip/Tabac stick combination. This was my first use of the stick form of Tabac and I must say that I really like it. It's more convenient than the bowl version and, most important of all, makes just as good a lather. Perhaps too much of that lather! I ended up with enough for ten passes, so I washed the sink and fixtures with it. Now my bathroom smells like a giant bowl of Tabac. 😁
 
round eleven in a black beaut on 5. another toss up czech blade started rough but it was just my lather, added water and boom smooth sailed for both blades.
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Tonight's shave was brought to you by modern Astra Stainless Steel blades. Get a better shave today with today's blades!

Tools
Blade: Modern Astra Stainless Steel (3nd use)
Razor: Fendrihan Kingston on WCS 79BR
Brush: Van Der Hagen Night Star 3 Band
Soap: Henri et Victoria Cognac and Cuban Cigars Triple Milled Tallow
Balm: Henri et Victoria Cognac and Cuban Cigars
Alum: generic alum block from local Indian market
Bowl: Captain's Choice Seaworthy in Cobalt

Procedure
Soak brush in warm water while taking a refreshing hot shower
Use a knife to slice an almond sized sliver of shave soap and put into bowl, then add some hot water to warm up bowl
After showering, dump water from bowl into empty yogurt cup
Squeeze brush to remove excess water
Apply brush to soap in bowl and whip up into a lather, adding water from yogurt cup as necessary
Apply lather to face
Shave WTG
Apply more lather to face
Shave ATG
Apply more lather to areas to be buffed
Buff difficult areas ATG (make sure to stretch skin)
Rinse soap off face then apply alum
Clean brush, razor, and bowl
Rinse alum off face and dry face on towel
Apply balm

Results
I got a BBS shave but also nicked myself randomly.

The blade didn't really feel much rougher than on its prior uses. Yet, I managed to nick myself just under my lower lip on my WTG pass. I quickly stopped the bleeding by applying my alum block to the nick before continuing my shave. The rest of the shave felt pretty good, though, that may have been due to me paying a little more attention to being careful with my shave. I suspect I should be able to get at least one or two more shaves out of the blade before it's time to bin it.

I was able to dial in my lather better with the Henri et Victoria Cognac and Cuban shave soap. It was thicker this time. However, I was also really hot after my shower, so I some of the lather got thinned out a little bit by my perspiration. Still, the lather was pretty thick and slick.

The heat and my perspiration also meant that the balm smeared a little bit better on application than before. I also was able to use less balm than last time. Unfortunately, using less balm also meant my post shave feel isn't as good as last time. Still, the scent of the balm (and of the shave soap from earlier) is wonderful.

All in all, if my first shave with the modern Astra stainless steel blade was a 93/100, this shave would've been about a 91.5/100.
 

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ThunderDome Challenge, ‘Two Blades Enter, One Blade Leaves!’

Purpose:
To pick a winner, no ties allowed!

Methods: No blinding. Wolfman WR1 (my ‘daily driver’) will be loaded with the test blade. Then I use my (whatever looks good this AM) rotation of (mostly) ‘tallow’ soaps, badger brushes and assorted splashes.

Each shave will be judged using my ‘10 point’ scale during a week of shaves. Then on to the next blade.

Not exactly ‘scientific’ but this is the best I can do these days!

Results:

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9.5
Shave #2: 10
Shave #3: 9
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9.5
Shave #6: 9
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9
Shave #3: 9.5
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 8.5
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
Average: 8.9

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9
Shave #6: 9.5
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10!!
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 9

Discussion: This vintage Astra is substantially better than Blade #1 so far!!
 
Current Production Shave #4
2 days growth

Blade: current Astra SS
Pre: Warm shower with Kirk's unscented Castile soap
Razor: King C Gillette
Soap: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man
Brush: Stirling Pro Handle Synthetic
After: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man splash

A perfect shave---excepting the sensitive area. I don't know how else to describe it. So good that I only did 2 passes. It's odd because the current production has been obviously lagging behind the vintage and I had already used this razor. I think the Stirling soap might have helped. It's on it last legs, so little chunks of soap are breaking off and being applied to my face resulting in an incredible lather.
 
Round 1: Edge to CZE
Shave #1 (NDC Tech) Astra CZE 8.5/10; Shave #2 ( I1 Tech) Astra RUS 8.0/10

Round 2: Edge to RUS
Shave #3 (I1 Tech) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #4 (NDC Tech) Astra RUS 8.5/10

Round 3: Tie
Shave #5 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #6 (Maggard V3A head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 4: Tie
Shave #7 (Maggard V3A head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #8 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 5: Tiny edge to RUS
Shave #9 (Fatboy on 6) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #10 (Fatboy on 6) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 6: Edge to RUS
Shave #11 (Fatboy on 5) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #12 (Fatboy on 5) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 7: Edge to CZE
Shave #13(Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #14 (Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra RUS 8.5/10
These are the first shaves on the second edge of the blade.

Round 8: Edge to RUS
Shave #15 (Henson AL13) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #16 (Henson AL13) Astra RUS 9.2/10

Round 9: Edge to RUS
Shave #17 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #18 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra RUS 10.0/10

Round 10: Tie
Shave #19 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra CZE 9.5/10; Shave #20 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra RUS 9.5/10

Round 11:
Shave #21 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra CZE 9.5/10
Basically a BBS in the most aggressive razor so far. A lot of blade feel, but no irritation or any other problem.
The first edge of this blade felt a little rough after 6 shaves so I went to the other side. So far, this edge is solid. If anything, the shaves are improving.

Shave #22 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra RUS x.x/10
 
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Fourth shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Modern) blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Simpson Special S1 Best Badger
Soap: RazoRock Green Label

Another close shave with the modern Astra SS.

Not quite as smooth as the previous outing, but still very good. What this blade lacks in smoothness, it more than makes up for in efficiency. It's much sharper-feeling than the vintage Astra SS and that's definitely noticeable on the skin. However, the sharpness is not so acute as to be uncomfortable.

Like last time, my three usual passes were quick and trouble-free. There was no post-shave irritation, so I was able to forgo the ASB.

So far, this blade has been the complete opposite of the first modern Astra SS that I tried. As noted earlier, they have different lot numbers (date codes?) etched on them, so I suspect there's some variability between lots. I don't recall anybody else mentioning this point, so who knows for sure?

Anyway, that's four decent shaves under this blade's belt. I'll keep going to see how far we can push it.
 
ThunderDome Challenge, ‘Two Blades Enter, One Blade Leaves!’

Purpose:
To pick a winner, no ties allowed!

Methods: No blinding. Wolfman WR1 (my ‘daily driver’) will be loaded with the test blade. Then I use my (whatever looks good this AM) rotation of (mostly) ‘tallow’ soaps, badger brushes and assorted splashes.

Each shave will be judged using my ‘10 point’ scale during a week of shaves. Then on to the next blade.

Not exactly ‘scientific’ but this is the best I can do these days!

Results:

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9.5
Shave #2: 10
Shave #3: 9
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9.5
Shave #6: 9
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9
Shave #3: 9.5
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 8.5
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
Average: 8.9

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9
Shave #6: 9.5
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10!!
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 9
Shave #6: 8.5

Discussion: This vintage Astra is substantially better than Blade #1, but may be running out of gas. Will try for one more shave tomorrow.
 
Round 1: Edge to CZE
Shave #1 (NDC Tech) Astra CZE 8.5/10; Shave #2 ( I1 Tech) Astra RUS 8.0/10

Round 2: Edge to RUS
Shave #3 (I1 Tech) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #4 (NDC Tech) Astra RUS 8.5/10

Round 3: Tie
Shave #5 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #6 (Maggard V3A head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 4: Tie
Shave #7 (Maggard V3A head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #8 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 5: Tiny edge to RUS
Shave #9 (Fatboy on 6) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #10 (Fatboy on 6) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 6: Edge to RUS
Shave #11 (Fatboy on 5) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #12 (Fatboy on 5) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 7: Edge to CZE
Shave #13(Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #14 (Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra RUS 8.5/10
These are the first shaves on the second edge of the blade.

Round 8: Edge to RUS
Shave #15 (Henson AL13) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #16 (Henson AL13) Astra RUS 9.2/10

Round 9: Edge to RUS
Shave #17 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #18 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra RUS 10.0/10

Round 10: Tie
Shave #19 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra CZE 9.5/10; Shave #20 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra RUS 9.5/10

Round 11: Tie
Shave #21 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra CZE 9.5/10
Basically a BBS in the most aggressive razor so far. A lot of blade feel, but no irritation or any other problem.
The first edge of this blade felt a little rough after 6 shaves so I went to the other side. So far, this edge is solid. If anything, the shaves are improving.

Shave #22 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra RUS 9.5/10
Another BBS. This combo nails it. I was going to finish this test after 12 rounds with the final round being a half blade in my Twig. But after today's shave, I think I'll do a round in my Merkur 23C first.

Round 12:
Shave #21 (Merkur 23C) Astra CZE x.x/10


Shave #21 (Merkur 23C) Astra RUS x.x/10
 
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Twelfth shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Moka Express 26mm Two-Band Badger
Soap: RazoRock Blue Label

The performance of the vintage Astra SS is holding steady. After twelve uses, the vintage Astra SS is still providing a smooth shave.

All three of my usual passes were routine and trouble-free. The XTG pass was particularly smooth. I really appreciate that aspect of the vintage blade because the modern blade always seems to have trouble there.

The efficiency might have taken a slight hit since its last use, but the comfort level remains the same despite the extra buffing that I need to do. I think that this is the only issue that I have with this blade; I need to work harder on getting a close shave due to the lack of sharpness compared to the modern blade. But, as I've mentioned before, I'll trade the sharpness for comfort and smoothness, every time.
 
Shave eleven, is another toss up merkur head Marley machine works handle. At 6.5 shaves each blade is starting to show wear that first pass with two days of growth made them both get tuggy. Second and third pass were much better.
DSCF9749.JPG
 
ThunderDome Challenge, ‘Two Blades Enter, One Blade Leaves!’

Purpose:
To pick a winner, no ties allowed!

Methods: No blinding. Wolfman WR1 (my ‘daily driver’) will be loaded with the test blade. Then I use my (whatever looks good this AM) rotation of (mostly) ‘tallow’ soaps, badger brushes and assorted splashes.

Each shave will be judged using my ‘10 point’ scale during a week of shaves. Then on to the next blade.

Not exactly ‘scientific’ but this is the best I can do these days!

Results:

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9.5
Shave #2: 10
Shave #3: 9
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9.5
Shave #6: 9
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 1
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9
Shave #3: 9.5
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 8.5
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
Average: 8.9

Astra SS (Modern Russian) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10
Shave #4: 9.5
Shave #5: 9
Shave #6: 9.5
Shave #7: 9
Average: 9.4

Vintage Astra SS (Czech) Blade 2
Shave #1: 9
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10!!
Shave #4: 9
Shave #5: 9
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
Average: 9.1

Discussion:
Judges definitely favor the Modern Russian blades at this point.

BUT, no knockdowns and the bout still not over!! :a11: :a11: :a11: :a11:
 
Vintage Astra SS Czech Blade #3 shave #5
Tools: Lupo Razor, Sheep soap & Plissoft Brush
The Czech blade gave me a smooth close shave this A.M.
It is starting to slow down some after a three pass shave with touchup.
No nicks or irritation noted. :thumbup1:
 
Round 1: Edge to CZE
Shave #1 (NDC Tech) Astra CZE 8.5/10; Shave #2 ( I1 Tech) Astra RUS 8.0/10

Round 2: Edge to RUS
Shave #3 (I1 Tech) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #4 (NDC Tech) Astra RUS 8.5/10

Round 3: Tie
Shave #5 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #6 (Maggard V3A head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 4: Tie
Shave #7 (Maggard V3A head) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #8 (Stirling Aggressive head) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 5: Tiny edge to RUS
Shave #9 (Fatboy on 6) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #10 (Fatboy on 6) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 6: Edge to RUS
Shave #11 (Fatboy on 5) Astra CZE 8.0/10; Shave #12 (Fatboy on 5) Astra RUS 9.0/10

Round 7: Edge to CZE
Shave #13(Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #14 (Fatip Lo Storte OC Slant) Astra RUS 8.5/10
These are the first shaves on the second edge of the blade.

Round 8: Edge to RUS
Shave #15 (Henson AL13) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #16 (Henson AL13) Astra RUS 9.2/10

Round 9: Edge to RUS
Shave #17 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra CZE 9.0/10; Shave #18 (Rockwell 6C, Plate 4) Astra RUS 10.0/10

Round 10: Tie
Shave #19 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra CZE 9.5/10; Shave #20 (Merkur Progress on 3.5) Astra RUS 9.5/10

Round 11: Tie
Shave #21 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra CZE 9.5/10
Basically a BBS in the most aggressive razor so far. A lot of blade feel, but no irritation or any other problem.
The first edge of this blade felt a little rough after 6 shaves so I went to the other side. So far, this edge is solid. If anything, the shaves are improving.

Shave #22 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra RUS 9.5/10
Another BBS. This combo nails it. I was going to finish this test after 12 rounds with the final round being a half blade in my Twig. But after today's shave, I think I'll do a round in my Merkur 23C first.

Round 12:
Shave #23 (Merkur 23C) Astra CZE 8.5/10
With a milder razor like the 23C, after 11 previous shaves the best I could do was a simple DFS. No tugging, or irritation, just showing some signs of fatigue.

Shave #24 (Merkur 23C) Astra RUS x.x/10
 
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Fifth shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Modern) blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 Boar
Soap: Pré de Provence No. 63

A surprisingly smooth shave!

Today's outing with the FOCS/modern Astra SS duo was eye-opening. Yesterday, I had complained about the modern Astra SS' lack of smoothness on the XTG pass and that this was the main reason that I preferred the vintage Astra SS.

Well, today, I had an extremely smooth XTG pass with this blade. The WTG and ATG passes were also smooth, but they weren't ever as troublesome as the XTG passes (especially with the previous blade) had been.

So, it looks like we're in the sweet spot, right now. Longevity was an issue with the previous modern blade, so I'm curious to see how long this one lasts.
 
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