Challenge PIF - Astra Superior Stainless Blades - Then And Now

[fast shaver]

Vintage Astra SS Czech Blade #3 Shave #6
Tools: Lupo razor, Stirling Sheep & Plissoft Brush.
Got a nice Four pass shave this A.M.
The Czech blade is slowing down even more.
I should make it to shave Seven.
Slight nick on my chin but no irritation noted.

 

[borwish]

Vintage Production Shave #5
3 days growth

Blade: vintage Astra SS
Pre: Warm shower with Kirk's unscented Castile soap
Razor: SLOC
Soap: Barbasol 1919
Brush: Stirling Pro Handle Synthetic
After: Clubman Classic Vanilla

A nice shave, but not really enjoyable because of the Barbasol 1919. 2 passes with mostly BBS results. No nicks, weepers, or irritation. Only very mild feedback with the aftershave. Still a nice blade.

The razor and blade performed nicely, but I missed the massage that the whipping of the lather gives as well as the clear visual indication of where you have already shaved. It did leave my face feeling good though and washed off easily enough. It was a impulse purchase. I go shopping at 7 am Sunday mornings and the grocery store had the Barbasol for $3.98. I went for tomatoes (didn't look that good) and soda (didn't have the caffeine free I wanted) and I didn't want to leave empty handed.

 

[BigJ]

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
N 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

Modern (Russian) Astra SS Blade 3
Shave #1: 9.5


Discussion: So far these blades have been very consistent, but need to see this to the end. Mainly because I am enjoying the comparison and I have had one fine/outstanding shave after another!!

 

[lancre]

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; 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: Edge to RUS
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 8.5/10
Just like yesterday, the milder 23C couldn't quite match the MK. II for efficiency. the end result was similar but a tiny bit smoother, so edge to RUS

Bonus Round starting tomorrow: Break each blade i half and install in my Twig.

 

[hairless wonder]

Yesterday's shave was brought to you by Vintage Astra Stainless. Nothing beats yesterday's shaves with yesterday's blades!

Tools
Blade: Vintage Astra Stainless (4th use)
Razor: Fendrihan Kingston on WCS 79BR
Brush: Van Der Hagen Night Star 3 Band
Soap: Captain's Choice Venture
Splash: Fine Platinum
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 splash

Results
I got a BBS shave with no irritation. The aftershave splash begged to differ, though.

The vintage astra blade felt as smooth as on its first use. Somehow, it felt smoother than it did on its last shave. My face felt perfectly fine after applying my alum block. Yet, when I sprayed the Fine Platinum aftershave splash, which I recently received as a free sample as part of a purchase in the BST forum, my face felt both the alcohol burn and a menthol cooling. It was lovely on such a warm night!

I should mention this was my first time using Captain's Choice Venture soap. I tried some of the Captain's Choice Venture shaving cream before. It was fantastic! I liked it so much I got the shaving soap as the freebie when I bought my Captain's Choice Seaworthy shave bowl in cobalt. If anything, the soap was even better than the cream! The soap was plenty slick and cushiony, even as I stood there gradually unintentionally thinning the lather with perspiration. It is much better than Henri et Victoria in this regard. For those who like the Captain's Choice creams, I would encourage you to also try the soaps. From my (albeit limited) experience, as good as the cream is, the soap is on a whole other level.

It should be noted that this was my first time the Fine Platinum splash. I got it from the BST forum. The scent in the bottle smells fantastic. It's got the smoky and sweet combination from the top notes found in Aventus. However, once sprayed on my face, the smoke overwhelmed the pineapple and there was also a hint of plastic. I suspect the splash would benefit from being decanted in a glass jar.

After the splash dried down and disappeared, my face felt smooth but just a bit drier than when I finished my shave with the Captain's Choice balms with some of my earlier shaves. I suspect that using the Captain's Choice balm after spraying the Fine Platinum splash has dried would make for an ultimate shave experience. Still, my post shave without the balm was pretty good.

All in all, if my first shave with the vintage Astra was a 99/100, this shave would've been about a 98/100.

 

[Demolition]

Thirteenth shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Aqua 24mm Tuxedo
Soap: RazoRock Gold Label

A fine shave, but we might be at the end of the road for this blade.

The vintage Astra SS may finally be winding down after thirteen uses. Up to now, the blade had been an excellent performer; very smooth and comfortable throughout its lifespan. However, today, I experienced minor tugging (but no roughness) on all three passes. This wasn't the sharpest of blades to begin with, but the lack of sharpness was noticeable on this shave.

The lather didn't help; it was less slick than usual. I suspect that I didn't load enough product. Therefore, I'll give the vintage blade one more try before declaring it a lost cause.

 

[fast shaver]

Vintage Astra SS Czech Blade #3 Shave #7
Tools: Lupo Razor, PdP #63 soap & Plissoft Brush.
Got a fairly close four pass shave & several touchups this A.M. The blade is about had it so tomorrows shave will be with the third Modern Astra Blade.
No nicks or irritation noted.

 

[BigJ]

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

Modern (Russian) Astra SS Blade 3
Shave #1: 9.5
Shave #2: 9.5

Discussion: The Modern Russian blades continue to put up very fine shaves, one after another!

 

[lancre]

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; Shave #22 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra RUS 9.5/10

Round 12: Edge to RUS
Shave #23 (Merkur 23C) Astra CZE 8.5/10; Shave #24 (Merkur 23C) Astra RUS 8.5/10

Bonus Round starting tomorrow: Break each blade in half and install in my Twig.

Round 13:
Shave #25 (Twig) Astra CZE 9.5/10
Another great shav e from the Czech blade. For some reason the area just below the back corner of my jaw comes cleaner with the Twig than with any of my DEs.

Shave #26 (Twig) Astra RUS x.x/10

 

[Demolition]

Sixth shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Modern) blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Classic 20mm Angel Hair
Soap: Pré de Provence Bergamot and Thyme

A disappointing shave.

Today's outing was a major letdown compared to the previous shave with this blade. All three passes exhibited some degree of roughness. Partway through the second pass, I had to slow down and seriously think about my technique. At that point, my normally relaxing shave became more like a chore.

Aside from that, the overall shave was very close. Apparently, the blade is still sharp, but the lack of smoothness came with a cost. Afterwards, I noticed fairly significant irritation on my neck and under my chin.

Side note: My first modern Astra SS blade also gave up the ghost after six uses. This is starting to look like a trend.

 

[xiletero]

Another vintage Astra save using a Leaf.

Failed 1st pass w Occam...+ feather using pressure.....there is significant blade feel and a subpar shave. The other half was also SE Yaqi 50 w another Feather.....stubble was not as long as the other side (mind you this is a 24hr growth).

Leaf + Astra to the rescue 2 pases BBS. Minimal irritation. I don't even like the leaf.....but it's out on my sink looking at me.
This is use 10?

I suppose I should split a newer Astra and see how it shaves in the Leaf to compare 1 to 1.

So far the vintage Astra seems to work only in the Leaf for me.....

I still dream w Sweedish Sword....got another 100 ordered today.....those work in any razor...

 

[Vraad]

another toss up, these blades are evenly matched

 

[fast shaver]

Modern Astra SS Blade #3 Shave #1
Tools: Lupo razor, Sheep soap & Plissoft brush.
Todays three pass shave with Astra Modern stared out slightly rough then smoothed out some. The shave was Office close.
No nicks & only slight irritation noted.

 

[BigJ]

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

Modern (Russian) Astra SS Blade 3
Shave #1: 9.5
Shave #2: 9.5
Shave #3: 10!!
Discussion: The Modern Russian blades continue to put up very fine shaves, one after another!

 

[woodwzrd]

Astra Superior Stainless Blades - Then And Now
Modern Blade 1 Shave 2-4
4/5

Shave 2 and 3

Pre Shave: Hot shower and Neutrogena face wash
Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable (3)
Blade: Astra SS (2 and 3)
Brush: Maggard Synthetic
Soap: Stirling Hipster
AS Balm: Nivea
AS: Crown Shaving

For shave two with the modern blade I dialed the Slim down to three since the first shave at five was pretty rough. Considering the results of the first shave I did not have high expectations even dialed down to three. Much to my surprise it was a rather comfortable shave. I ran a three pass shave with a little buffing below my jaw line that produced a DFS with no weepers or irritation.

Shave three was pretty much an exact carbon copy of shave two.

As far as a head to head comparison so far, the modern blade did not perform nearly as well as the vintage blade on the more aggressive setting of five.

Shave 4

Pre Shave: Hot shower and Neutrogena face wash
Razor: Gillette Fat Handle Tech
Blade: Astra SS (4)
Brush: Maggard Synthetic
Soap: Art of Shaving Peppermint
AS Balm: PAA Doppelganger Gray Label Star Jelly
AS: CPAA Doppelganger Gray Label

Shave four was a great shave with the fat handle Tech. It was a little steamy in the bathroom after my hot shower so the cooling of the AOS peppermint was rather nice as well as the follow up with the Star Jelly. Three passes on a four day stubble was very smooth and required just a little bit of buffing in the usual areas under my jaw line to produce a DFS. I'll go once more with the modern blade then go back to the vintage blade in the Fat handle Tech to attempt a true head to head again.

 

[borwish]

Current Production Shave #5
2 days growth

Blade: current Astra SS
Pre: Warm shower with Kirk's unscented Castile soap
Razor: SLOC
Soap: Barbasol 1919
Brush: Stirling Pro Handle Synthetic
After: Clubman Classic Vanilla

Again the current isn't as smooth as the vintage. Shaves 4 were pretty much identical, but shaves 5 show the current lagging behind once more. A pretty nice 2 pass shave even if I didn't enjoy the 1919. There was some feedback from the aftershave.

I should mention that I'm not using a brush with the 1919. I'm just too lazy to remove it from the intro I copy, paste, and edit.

 

[lancre]

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; Shave #22 (Fendrihan Stainless, MK. II) Astra RUS 9.5/10

Round 12: Edge to RUS
Shave #23 (Merkur 23C) Astra CZE 8.5/10; Shave #24 (Merkur 23C) Astra RUS 8.5/10

Bonus Round starting tomorrow: Break each blade in half and install in my Twig.

Round 13: Tie
Shave #25 (Twig) Astra CZE 9.5/10
Another great shave from the Czech blade. For some reason the area just below the back corner of my jaw comes cleaner with the Twig than with any of my DEs.

Shave #26 (Twig) Astra RUS 9.5/10
Another great shave from the Russian blade. Today I switched soaps to B&M 42 since it's Towel Day. Also used a Maggard 28mm SHD brush. Nirvana.

 

[Demolition]

Fourteenth shave with the Astra Superior Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm Fan-Shaped Tuxedo
Soap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore

An excellent shave, today.

After a somewhat lacklustre performance by this blade on May 23, I was expecting to bin it after today's shave. However, all three of my passes were smooth and comfortable with no signs of the tugging that I experienced earlier.

The only explanation that I can think of is that the quality of today's lather generated by the Yaqi Sagrada Familia Tuxedo Fan/RR SMdF pairing was much better than that of the lather used for the previous shave. The superior richness and slickness seems to have been the difference.

Also, unlike yesterday's shave with the modern Astra SS, there was no post-shave irritation and no ASB was required. Therefore, I've changed my mind about binning this blade. Since it's still performing well, I'll keep using it for now.

 

[xiletero]

Face shave
New astra ss (#3?)
nosema pre
Yaqi sagrada
Fitjar soap
Leaf blades in 1,2 as always
3 pass shave, no drama, no blood; very close
But moderate irritation.
Shave is equally close w both Astras, BUT in the leaf, used for face shaving I get less irritation w vintage Astra.
Alum
Medicated witch
Speick AS

 

[fast shaver]

Modern Astra SS Blade #3 Shave #2
Tools: Lupo razor, Arko & Plissoft brush
Got a nice close three pass shave this A.M.
This modern blade is not bad but not as smooth as the Czech blade for me.
No nicks or irritation noted.