Challenge PIF - Is Your Best Good Enough?!? - Closed!

[Grundi]

You be the Man @Grundi ..... These "Challenge/PIFs" that you organize are the highlight of MANY "B&Bers". I know you don't werk alone on it, but I'd bet you are the poor soul that keeps it going. @AnimalCatcher and @Space_Cadet are two others that have to be mentioned. ALL 3 of youse guys have shown me personal kindnesses over the years, and are the epitome (or "eppy-tome" as one of my real life friends likes to say) of what @Marco likes to see displayed: true gentlemanly behavior. This place would not be half the fun it is without your example. Thanks you guys!

Thank you for the kind words, Dave. Very much appreciated. And I do agree, @Grundi and @Space_Cadet are two fine gentlemen, as are you, my friend.

Without my excellent friends @AnimalCatcher and @Space_Cadet amazing blade acquisitions, there would be A LOT FEWER of these PIFs. These Gents have provider World Class Blades that make for Awesome PIFs!!

And I'm very humbled by the enthusiasm and participation of my fellow B&B'ers in these PIFs!! I have as much fun as everyone else and look forward to trying the blades for myself!!

And (my friend and) our resident royalty, the Amazingly Handsome @FarmerTan, King of ArkoLand, provides wonderful encouragement and has be a stalwart of great participation!!

 

[FarmerTan]

Without my excellent friends @AnimalCatcher and @Space_Cadet amazing blade acquisitions, there would be A LOT FEWER of these PIFs. These Gents have provider World Class Blades that make for Awesome PIFs!!

And I'm very humbled by the enthusiasm and participation of my fellow B&B'ers in these PIFs!! I have as much fun as everyone else and look forward to trying the blades for myself!!

And (my friend and) our resident royalty, the Amazingly Handsome @FarmerTan, King of ArkoLand, provides wonderful encouragement and has be a stalwart of great participation!!

I do not believe I have EVER read a more honest description than that of your last paragraph my friend.

My legend is only exceeded by my ego my friend!

 

[Calyshaver]

I'm In! Bring it on!

Thank you!

 

[BradWorld]

Just for the record, these Gold tuck Polsilvers are very different than the ones in the Brown tuck. Don’t miss the opportunity to try them because you have a different version of the Polsilver blade. At the very least, participate and pit these against your Brown tuck Polsilver.

I should have been more descriptive. These are what I have. I guess light brown would have been better to say. I was trying to differentiate between the PIF blades and the newer ones with the blue on the package.

@TheBigL No worries. To be clear, the top one is the "Brown Box" Polsilver Stainless. The bottom is the "Gold Box" Polsilver Stainless. At least that is what I think they are commonly referred to. All of the other Polsilver tucks I have seen reference "Iridium" in some way. These two do not. Both great blades. But certainly different.

 

[bonbon]

I’m in!
Cool initiative!

 

[slimshavy]

@TheBigL No worries. To be clear, the top one is the "Brown Box" Polsilver Stainless. The bottom is the "Gold Box" Polsilver Stainless. At least that is what I think they are commonly referred to. All of the other Polsilver tucks I have seen reference "Iridium" in some way. These two do not. Both great blades. But certainly different.

So I'm sure it will come out in this thread, but what's the story of these blades? I've never used a Polsilver or a Wizamet (or is Polsilver made by Wizamet?). Are the brown ones older than the gold? When were they made?
Maybe to keep the mystery you can release small bits of information over time instead of revealing all the information at once!

 

[Weean]

I am not in, as I have a ton of these blades already. Save them for someone else. But if you will allow it, I can play along from home.

Thank you both for your continued generosity with these amazing blade challenges!



Just for the record, these Gold tuck Polsilvers are very different than the ones in the Brown tuck. Don’t miss the opportunity to try them because you have a different version of the Polsilver blade. At the very least, participate and pit these against your Brown tuck Polsilver.

Oh boy, oh boy! Thanks to the clarification from @BradWorld I'm in! (I had them confused with those brown tuck blades at first.)

Since I'm over the pond I can spend a little time trying to work out which will be my champion between now and receipt.

 

[BradWorld]

So I'm sure it will come out in this thread, but what's the story of these blades? I've never used a Polsilver or a Wizamet (or is Polsilver made by Wizamet?). Are the brown ones older than the gold? When were they made?
Maybe to keep the mystery you can release small bits of information over time instead of revealing all the information at once!

If you think the mysteries of Personna blades are deep and confusing, you aint seen nothing!

 

[slimshavy]

If you think the mysteries of Personna blades are deep and confusing, you aint seen nothing!

The most confused I’ve been is when I saw Bergman’s “Persona” in high school. Boy howdy. Still trying to figure that one out.

 

[BradWorld]

I have never really seen a truly engaging time line on the Wizamet and Polsilver blade production. And of course I wasnt dialed into the wet shaving thing in the 1970's and 80's. None the less the state of Polish manufacture blades from those times. But we do know some things about when things were made in general terms.

 

[ffourteen]

I’m in!

 

[Chad3]

I’d love to be in. I’ll be tossing my undisputed champion Gillette black in the ring. PM sent.

 

[BigJ]

Definitely IN!! (How could I resist??)

Thanks Gentlemen!!

 

[Tanuki]

There Can Only Be One!!

Here we go again! I am going to have to think carefully before choosing my challenger.

 

[Grundi]

The PIF Phase is now closed!!

Everyone who has posted up to this very post that they are in are in!! (just to confirm, this includes @Chad3, @BigJ and @Tanuki). I'm still waiting to hear back from 2 participants!!

THANK YOU Everyone!! The response has been AWESOME!! I will be working over the next couple of days to get the vintage Wizamet Polsilver Blades mailed out!!

 

[Yuritau]

In what will likely be the only time I appreciate the shipping delays to Canada, I will at least have a bit longer before I'm forced to decide which of my top blades is the best, lol.

 

[Flanders]

I guess I got excited about the blades and forgot to actually read the whole of the first post, everybody is talking about what blade to compare!

After some very brief thought, I think this question needs to be decided after trying one of the blades first. My thought process is as follows:

-This is a _ blade, I am enjoying the shaves it gives or I hate this blades/thanks for the opportunity to try it
-This _ characteristic does/doesn't work in this razor, possibly find ideal razor
-This blade's _ reminds me of _ blades that I use frequently/prefer
-I will go load one of _ blades that I am familiar with and have some shaves/load two razors to compare
-I will return to the subject blade and see if my opinion has changed/find any further ways to characterise it
-I will get on ebay and search for said blade, ignore the cost and order several hundred
-I will put them in my constantly expanding stash of blades that I have no chance of ever using
-I will return to using the blade that I am familiar with that I pulled out to compare because I am tired of switching blades
-When I am over eighty, I won't worry about wasting blades and pull out all my loot from ebay and marvel at the wonderful shaves they all give!

 

[Seelector]

In what will likely be the only time I appreciate the shipping delays to Canada, I will at least have a bit longer before I'm forced to decide which of my top blades is the best, lol.

You and me both, @Yuritau!

 

[BradWorld]

I have been shaving with these exact Polsilver Stainless for a couple of weeks now, and I really like them. Super smooth, and sharp enough. Not the sharpest. But when I use an aggressive razors, I sometimes dont want a super sharp blade. So these have been perfect thus far.

I think there are two blades I would like to compare them to. First, I would like to compare them to the Gillette light blue box Platinum. I am quite fickle when it comes to blades, and change my favorites often. But right now, I am really enjoying these new Platinums. So that will be the modern challenger.

Second, I am a really big fan of the pre-1982 Lodz Poland Wizamet Super Iridium blade. These are the ones in the white plastic tuck, with the silver and blue label... or is it purple? Maybe blurple? Anways... Big fan! And these blades are sharp! And they last a long time. The last time I tracked my shave count with one of these on a D20 die, I got bored and pitched the blade at shave number 20. So yeah, they are that good. At least for me.

So that is my plan. I will wait until some of the initial shave reports come in before I start. I dont want too much of a head start.
And I did decline the PIF, as I have quite a pile of these blades now. I just got in another batch of 100 of these blades today. Good times! Good shaves! Stay smooth!

 

[Grundi]

I have been shaving with these exact Polsilver Stainless for a couple of weeks now, and I really like them. Super smooth, and sharp enough. Not the sharpest. But when I use an aggressive razors, I sometimes dont want a super sharp blade. So these have been perfect thus far.

I think there are two blades I would like to compare them to. First, I would like to compare them to the Gillette light blue box Platinum. I am quite fickle when it comes to blades, and change my favorites often. But right now, I am really enjoying these new Platinums. So that will be the modern challenger.

Second, I am a really big fan of the pre-1982 Lodz Poland Wizamet Super Iridium blade. These are the ones in the white plastic tuck, with the silver and blue label... or is it purple? Maybe blurple? Anways... Big fan! And these blades are sharp! And they last a long time. The last time I tracked my shave count with one of these on a D20 die, I got bored and pitched the blade at shave number 20. So yeah, they are that good. At least for me.

So that is my plan. I will wait until some of the initial shave reports come in before I start. I dont want too much of a head start.
And I did decline the PIF, as I have quite a pile of these blades now. I just got in another batch of 100 of these blades today. Good times! Good shaves! Stay smooth!

View attachment 1624692

@BradWorld, that's a great start!! And I'm seeing purple (but it might be blurple, I could agree with that)!!

I guess I got excited about the blades and forgot to actually read the whole of the first post, everybody is talking about what blade to compare!

After some very brief thought, I think this question needs to be decided after trying one of the blades first. My thought process is as follows:

-This is a _ blade, I am enjoying the shaves it gives or I hate this blades/thanks for the opportunity to try it
-This _ characteristic does/doesn't work in this razor, possibly find ideal razor
-This blade's _ reminds me of _ blades that I use frequently/prefer
-I will go load one of _ blades that I am familiar with and have some shaves/load two razors to compare
-I will return to the subject blade and see if my opinion has changed/find any further ways to characterise it
-I will get on ebay and search for said blade, ignore the cost and order several hundred
-I will put them in my constantly expanding stash of blades that I have no chance of ever using
-I will return to using the blade that I am familiar with that I pulled out to compare because I am tired of switching blades
-When I am over eighty, I won't worry about wasting blades and pull out all my loot from ebay and marvel at the wonderful shaves they all give!

@APBinNCA, those are some amazing thoughts!! You do bring up some great points!! Best blade or best blade/razor combo!! How does the Wizamet Posilver blade perform in this razor or that razor!!

I am guilt of squirrelling away blades that I love, just to rediscover them as I search through my stash for a blade to try.