Do Astra Superior Platinum DE Blades Really Have a Platinum Coating?

[Lane101]

Hi everyone, Curious if anyone knows whether or not current Astra Superior Platinum (Astra SP) blades actually have a platinum coating. The reason for the question is that while the word Platinum is part of the blade name there is no where on my 100 blade boxes or individual tucks that states the blades are coated in platinum. Also have not found any on-line information from Gillette that can confirm this. Occasionally see copy from on-line retailers noting a platinum coating but they could be making the same possibly incorrect assumption that we are.

Makes me wonder if the word platinum is in the name just to note a superior product (e.g. like gold vs. silver or bronze) versus a blade with an actual platinum coating. Would think that if the blades are coated with platinum that Gillette would want to take full credit for that in marketing the blades. Specifically have you seen any posted copy or direct responses from the manufacturer that confirms a platinum coating?

Note that I use Astra SPs regularly and they are excellent blades for me. Really curious if we are all just assuming that the use of the word in a blade name means there is a platinum coating or if we know for sure. The only other Gillette St. Petersburg blades I own, King C. Gillette, actually note that they are platinum coated right on the box.

P.S. Just checked and my favorite Dorco Stainless and Prime blades, that show the work Platinum on tucks and boxes, are also not confirmed to have any actual platinum coating. The current Dorco catalog only notes a "Chromium Ceramic Coating" for the ST300 Stainless and an "Advanced Diamond Hard Coating" for the STP300 Prime blades. Only my Derby blades confirm a platinum coating on the box and catalog.

 

[Old Hippie]

My favourite blade as well. They are, so far as I know, platinum coated. The coating is very thin, on the order of microns (one micron is one-thousandth of a millimetre). Platinum coating makes razor blades feel smoother, and has the upside of being more durable than a PTFE coating.

O.H.

 

[VerbaVolant]

 

[VerbaVolant]

A little closer look at Astra Superior Platinum and Stainless (SEM Comparison)

 

[Lane101]

View attachment 1625798

Thank you. Very helpful as this does confirm a platinum coating. Surprised that Gillette doesn't take full credit for this as they do for the King C. Gillette blades where the platinum coating is explicitly stated.

 

[NorthernSoul]

The coating is very, very thin and only applied to the blade edges.

 

[Bobovata]

I have a few tucks with a 2020 date of manufacture, and a box with 2022. The box, tucks, blade wrappers, and blades all have 'Platinum' on them.

 

[VerbaVolant]

...Only my Derby blades confirm a platinum coating on the box and catalog.

Derby, eh?

 

[SharpieB]

A little closer look at Astra Superior Platinum and Stainless (SEM Comparison)

2014? Wow. I love this kind of stuff!

 

[Lane101]

View attachment 1625898

Derby, eh?

Thank you for posting.

The spectroscopy analysis does not lie for the blades that were tested in 2014. My only question would be if Derby added the platinum coating when it redid it's blades starting around 2016 when they also reduced the thickness from 0.1 to 0.09mm and labeled the blades as having "New Blade Technology".

The current Derby catalog notes that "All Derby razor blades are: Developed with special chrome, ceramic, platinum and tungsten coating technology....." In the catalog both the Derby Premium and Extra listings note that they have this coating.

Would be interesting to have updated analysis of the latest production runs of our favorite blades.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Thank you for posting.

The spectroscopy analysis does not lie for the blades that were tested in 2014. My only question would be if Derby added the platinum coating when it redid it's blades starting around 2016...

Derby Extra blades in 2011, Platinum and all...

Edited to add...Oh I see, you mean if they started to actually coat their blades with Platinum starting in 2016. If Derby added the platinum coating when it redid it's blades starting around 2016? I don't know and quite frankly I don't care. One thing for sure, they didn't change their packaging. According to their marketing department, their blades were coated with Platinum prior to 2016.

 

[Lane101]

Derby Extra blades in 2011, Platinum and all...

Edited to add...Oh I see, you mean if they started to actually coat their blades with Platinum starting in 2016. If Derby added the platinum coating when it redid it's blades starting around 2016? I don't know and quite frankly I don't care.

Based on the 2011 photo and 2014 SEM analysis if the advertised platinum is there it is in too low a concentration for the SEM analysis to detect it. Thank you for posting.

P.S. This is possible, per the original SEM analysis poster @Evil4blue the SEM is accurate to +/- 0.5% in analyzing the composition of a blade. Blade weight is roughly a half a gram each so 100 blades weigh 50 grams. 0.5% of that would be a half a gram of platinum that is improbable since platinum currently sells for around $32 U.S. per gram (it sold for more in 2014). To hit the SEM sensitivity threshold a manufacturer would need to apply $16 worth of platinum which is unlikely for 100 blades that are sold for under $10.

Let's say to sell 100 blades profitably a manufacturer likely needs to keep the amount of platinum applied at less than a dollars worth. Even $2 worth of platinum, 0.0625 of a gram (6 one hundredths) would only be 0.125% by weight of 100 DE razor blades that weigh roughly 50 grams. This is well below the SEM sensitivity threshold and may not be picked up. This is also consistent with related patent applications that indicate a coating that is just a few molecules thick.

With a similar analysis the SEM results that show 2.31% of platinum in the Astra SP blades by weight also do not make any sense. 2.31% of 50 grams in a 100 blade package is 1.15 grams or about $37 of platinum at current prices. There is no way that can be true for a package of 100 blades that is typically sold for $8-$9.

A more reasonable interpretation is that the Astra SPs have some platinum, otherwise the SEM would not register it, but we just don't know how much. In fact given how little platinum can be economically applied it's impressive that it was picked up at all on the Astra blades. At these low application rates we likely can use the SEM analysis to confirm something is there but not conclusively show it is absent.

Thank you again for posting the SEM analysis.

 

[VerbaVolant]

In my books their name has been compromised.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Based on the 2011 photo if the platinum is there it is in too low a concentration for the SEM analysis to detect it. Thank you for posting.

Most likely too low concentration to make an impact as well. But hey, it was there just that we cannot see it. Believe them, the marketing people followed by the salesmen.

 

[Lane101]

In my books their name has been compromised.

My guess is that your are right that there is some platinum there to justify the marketing, just so little that it has limited impact on the shaving experience. Also perhaps its applied to such a small portion of the blade tip that it is not picked up by the SEM. Believe the analysis was looking at the entire scanned surface.

Suspect that there is just a few cents worth of platinum in 100 blades of most manufacturers that use it. 50 grams or rolled stainless steel band likely costs less that 25 cents - would expect a coating material to cost less than the primary raw material in a product. Makes it more impressive the SEM picked up the platinum when it did.

Digging back into the SEM analysis was fun. What really matters is how the blades shave for each of us.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Rubbish.

 

[Lane101]

Some of us have continued this topic with further fact based analysis and research in the original SEM analysis thread that conclude that there likely just a few cents worth (5 - 13 cents) of platinum in 100 pack of coated blades and that SEM analysis can confirm the presence of an element but will overstate the presence of coatings since it typically only analyzes to a few microns of depth.

Link below to first of a series of posts that detail this out.

Scanning Electron Microscope Blade Edge Images

Technical analysis aside for a moment, these microscopic image threads are like train wrecks for me. I don't really want to see but yet also can't look away. 😝 Every time I see an EM image of a blade edge I question my sanity.

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[RayClem]

I have not found that the presence or absence of a platinum coating to be a big determining factor in the performance in a blade. In my experience, the way the blade is ground has a far bigger influence. I have platinum blades I love and I have non-platinum blades I love. Likewise, there are platinum blades and non-platinum blades that do not work for me.

To site some examples: I find the the BIC Chrome Platinum blades to be both sharp and smooth. The Gillette Nacet stainless (no platinum) blades might are not quite as smooth, but they are excellent blades.

The Gillette Super Blue stainless blades and the Gillette Platinum blades are similar in performance, despite their different coatings.

Astra Superior Platinum (green) blades might have a platinum coating, but I much prefer the performance of the Astra Superior Stainless (blue) blades. The stainless blades are both sharper and smoother than the Platinum coated blades, even if that seems to contadict conventional wisdom. The Astra SS blades are among my favorites while I avoid Astra SP blade as they just are not sharp enough for my beard. For those with less coarse beards, the SP blades might work well.

Derby Extra blades have a complex chromium, ceramic, platinum, tungsten polymer coating. That sounds like a wonderful combination, yet they are so dull that I could not use them if I wanted.

I have tried Shark Super Chrome and Shark Platinum blades. In this case, I hate the Chrome blades and find the Platinum blades to be decent.

Thus, my advice, is do not choose your blade based on the type of coating that might have been applied. It just is not a good way to determine blade quality.

 

[TheBigL]

I guess marketing without any facts to back it up is normal for the advertising department. I didn't read the SEM threads, but if the blade makers are trying to establish a "good better best" system for their product advertising, something that sounds important would make for a good sale.

Astra Platinum work well for me, but Derby (which they say is coated with everything important under the sun) does not work well.

 

[wlshephard]

In my books their name has been compromised.

Can you elborate on that a little?