Discussion for Family Dollar DE Blade Review

[BurmaShave]

A superior metal will take an edge easier and hold it longer than an inferior metal. That may be the difference between the name brand blades and generic. I can't see them altering the process other than changing rolls of steel when they're ready to produce either blade.

From what I've read so far the Feather is by far the sharpest blade on the market and its obvious that the DG or FD blades are not as sharp. With the Feather for $5.99/10 and Merkur running $4.79/10 blades I would guess they're a better performer than the DG or FD blades. The Family Dollar store hasn't restocked their blades in the last week even though they have the inventory.

So...for those of you who have used the Feather, Merkur, Derby blades...how does the DG, FD, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, and current Gillette(not vintage) blades rate in comparison to them?

 

[Robxcarlson]

I didn't see any blades at Walgreen's, not even an empty hanger, which leads me to believe that my local store doesn't stock these... but that's more than I'd like to pay for 10 blades. Seems like high quality blades can be had online for much less.

 

[Brigadier]

I;'e used the Walgreens blades. They rank fight up there with Swedish Gillettes and Dorco ST300s. They are more expensive than the Dorcos, but they are also available locally.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100779&navAction=jump&navCount=0&id=prod394871

Here are a couple pics of the packaging:

I've been told these are Israeli Personnas, and that Crystals are Israeli Personnas, too. But these do not perfom the same for me.

Walgreens - Crystals -

 

[Robxcarlson]

Except for the made in Israel part, these blades look identical to the ones I purchased at my grocery store, which said "Made in USA." I assume those to be identical to the Personnas people are buying at Wal-Mart, but I won't step foot in the place to find out. I paid $1.78 for 10 at the Grocery and they are OK, better than my Family Dollar experience, but not fantastic.

 

[bitshaver]

The Walgreens blades are identical to the store branded blades I buy in Publix. The only difference is price. Publix gets $2.49 for a 10 pack.

For those in other parts of the world, Publix is a supermarket in the southeastern US.

 

[JohnnyKent]

My blades I bought in Walgreens are the same as the pics above and they shave great! Way better than the Merkurs I've been using. I don't think these made in Israel blades are the same as the U.S. made ones that they sell in Wal-Mart. Other opinions please......

 

[BurmaShave]

The Family Dollar store finally restocked their store brand DE blades....5 for $1...I'll let you know tomorrow how well they performed.

The label stated that the blades were made in Korea....

 

[TacoBell]

I used these and really liked them. At this price, $1.00 for 5, if I get two great shaves out of each blade it is still a bargain.

 

[duckintheface]

I've been using the Dollar General "made in Israel" blades. They are sharper and smoother than Merkur. I don't know yet how many shaves I can get out of one.

 

[Shave Cat]

It really gets confusing when evaluating store branded blades distributed by American Safety Razor. Right now, in Pensacola, Florida, Family Dollar's blades are the ones with "USA" stamped on the blade itself. The grocery store beside Family Dollar has ASR blades with a "Made In Korea" sticker. Dollar General has the ones with the "Made in Israel" sticker. The USA and Israeli store branded blades and their packaging look the same except for the country of origin markings. The markings on the Korean blades are different and the blades are packaged like the American Personnas available at Wal-Mart. Maybe ASR just sends out what's available at the time.

-Clarke

 

[bitshaver]

I have used the DG blades before with no problems but I tried to push one to 4 days on Sunday. The first swipe left me with three cuts. The blade was fine the previous day. I wonder if the wife accidentally knocked the razor off the stand or something...

 

[duckintheface]

I have used the DG blades before with no problems but I tried to push one to 4 days on Sunday. The first swipe left me with three cuts. The blade was fine the previous day. I wonder if the wife accidentally knocked the razor off the stand or something...

Did you cork your DG blade?

 

[JohnnyKent]

I went in Wallgreens today and stocked up on the made in israel baldes.

 

[FatboySlim]

Interesting stuff. I'm down to my last five-pack from my 100 count box of Derbies and am in the market for more blades. I have no complaints with the Derbies, but feel that I cheated the system in a sense, by not getting a sampler pack like everyone else. I have a hunch that the IP may be right up my alley, so this sounds like a good way to try them sans sampler pack or blind purchase in bulk.

Interesting, I did the same thing with the Derbys - bought 100 of them in bulk without trying a sampler pack first. Same with the IPs. Both were eBay deals, that have worked out well.

Since then, I've bought the letterk sampler. And over time, I've gotten a lot better at DE shaving through plain trial and error, trying lots of blades.

After trying a bunch, the Derbys are still my favorite blade, followed by the IPs. I find the IPs to be somewhat inconsistent, about every 3rd or 4th one being harsh. Actually a notch better than Derbys when they are good, but pretty sad when they are bad.

The reason I know I'm actually learning how to shave now is because I just HATED the Feather blades I got in the letterk pack several months ago. They just ate me up, even with good protective creams and my most careful technique. Close shaves, but lots of irritation. Irritation that showed up on my neck sometimes hours after the shave, really embarrassing.

Now, I shave with exclusively with soaps, and can get an irritation-free shave with a Feather in a slant or any good vintage Gillette. With any good soap. Sweet!

But in terms of price/performance, the Derbys are still my favorite, my standard. Not as scary sharp as a Feather. But plenty sharp, consistently mild, and dirt cheap in bulk. I lucked out I guess.

But the IPs are a close second, maybe even tops for the good ones. I just keep coming back to Derbys and IPs. And being able to just walk into a store and buy a pack of good blades for a dollar is a very appealing idea, for sure. So the whole Dollar General/Family Dollar walk-in thing is a great option.

 

[falkon]

I was at FD today and picked up three packs. Interestingly enough, only one of the packs has the "Made in Israel" sticker. Another pack had no sticker and the blades have a weird letter/number, "D6", stamped on them. The last pack has no sticker and no stamping. I used the Israeli ones today. I shaved today as normal, after a long hot shower. The cream I used was Bodyshop cream w/ a drop of lavender essential oil added as normal. I nicked myself twice today, in normally smooth locations. I've only nicked myself once using a merkur and that was on an upper lip zit (ie. MY FAULT). I find these blades very sharp but obviously less forgiving. However, given the price, I will stock up.

 

[c2rex]

I've tried Family Dollar and Dollar General blades with the "Made In Israel" sticker. Both look and feel identical. I can get three really good smooth, close, and comfortable shaves with them. After that it starts getting uncomfortable.

I tried a package of Personnas from Wal-Mart. I don't think they perform as well. The 1st shave was not as comfortable, and I had quite a bit of redness and bumps afterward.

I've also bought an additional package of blades from Family Dollar, same packaging except no "Made In Israel" sticker. I hacked up my face with this pack. I tried again a few days later with the same pack, thinking maybe I got a bad blade, but after the first pass the blade was done, put in another blade to finish up and was noticably uncomfortable. That pack got tossed in the trash.

Since the bad pack, I've gone only with the packages with the Israel sticker and gotten good results. Not sure where the bad batch was from, I only looked at it long enough to notice there was no sticker on the back. But I won't be buying any more from the "Dollar" stores without that sticker.

 

[Robxcarlson]

I've tried Family Dollar and Dollar General blades with the "Made In Israel" sticker. Both look and feel identical. I can get three really good smooth, close, and comfortable shaves with them. After that it starts getting uncomfortable.

I tried a package of Personnas from Wal-Mart. I don't think they perform as well. The 1st shave was not as comfortable, and I had quite a bit of redness and bumps afterward.

I've also bought an additional package of blades from Family Dollar, same packaging except no "Made In Israel" sticker. I hacked up my face with this pack. I tried again a few days later with the same pack, thinking maybe I got a bad blade, but after the first pass the blade was done, put in another blade to finish up and was noticably uncomfortable. That pack got tossed in the trash.

Since the bad pack, I've gone only with the packages with the Israel sticker and gotten good results. Not sure where the bad batch was from, I only looked at it long enough to notice there was no sticker on the back. But I won't be buying any more from the "Dollar" stores without that sticker.

Check to see if the package says "Blades made in Korea" in small print somewhere near the bottom on the front. The only blades I can currently find at Family Dollar Stores say this and I didn't get a decent shave from those. I think they've recently changed over to the Korean blade. Dollar General stores still have the blades with the "Made is Israel" sticker on the back for what I've seen locally. I had your same experience, three really nice shaves and irritation on the fourth use. At 5 for a $1, they're more expensive than a bulk purchase of Israeli blades, however.

 

[c2rex]

Check to see if the package says "Blades made in Korea" in small print somewhere near the bottom on the front. The only blades I can currently find at Family Dollar Stores say this and I didn't get a decent shave from those. I think they've recently changed over to the Korean blade. Dollar General stores still have the blades with the "Made is Israel" sticker on the back for what I've seen locally. I had your same experience, three really nice shaves and irritation on the fourth use. At 5 for a $1, they're more expensive than a bulk purchase of Israeli blades, however.

That package currently resides at the local landfill. However, I suppose I could 'take one for the team' and see if I can find another pack without the sticker.

 

[c2rex]

The offending blades are......................................Made in the USA.

Packaging looks identical except for the lack of the Made in Israel sticker. Backside of package says Comfort Coated...registered trademark of the American Safety Razor Company."

Blade pack is the same, white plastic. Blades are marked "D7" on one side and "Made in the USA" on the other side.

Horrible blades. Feels like the hairs are being ripped out instead of cut. Once again I've had several nicks to my face, and red irritated patches on my neck. Last time I made the mistake of trying to use the blades more than once (that won't happen again). I also tried several razors thinking maybe it'd perform better in a different razor, but 4 different razors ended up with similar results. Definitely not the same quality as the Made in Israel blades.

 

[SpartanIV]

I found some similar blades at Dollar General today, but there was no marking of where they came from. No made in isreal sticker, no made in korea sticker, nothing anywhere on the package or anything that I could find. It only says they are distributed by some American company. I'll give them a whirl later tonight and take some pictures, to see how they perform. I've been using the Walmart Personnas, so hopefully these perform much better.

edit: haven't shaved with em yet, but here are some photos. It looks like these are made in the US. The top razors are the Walmart Personnas, and are placed there for comparison.