Edgewell/Energizer is intending to close the Nazareth, Israel Personna factory according to their 2018 Annual Report.
Edgewell To Close Personna in Israel
- Thread starter Bogeyman
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Interesting. I guess in a couple of years we'll see a different country of manufacture on those store brand blades. Guess we'll see whether they're made in Germany or the USA or somewhere else altogether.
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- #4
Germany is my guess since Edgewell bought Harry's. Of course, since Edgewell lost in overall wet shaving sales last year I would not hold my breath to see DE blade manuf. resume there. Who knows as Edgewell has a new CEO(?).
They still own the plant in Germany that makes the Wilkinson Sword for all of Europe. Those blades are sold in the US too, at least for now, I buy them at the grocery store. I assume they're associated with the Schick product lineup. I'd be perfectly fine with that becoming the new store brand blade. Not anything from Feintechnik though. Those DE blades and I are incompatible.
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- #6
Yes, I still have some Croma DE blades and they were/are awful.
Any link for this info? I'd like to read more
edit: was easier to find than I expected: https://ir.edgewell.com/~/media/Files/E/EdgeWell-IR/annual-reports/2018-annual-report-v1.pdf
edit: was easier to find than I expected: https://ir.edgewell.com/~/media/Files/E/EdgeWell-IR/annual-reports/2018-annual-report-v1.pdf
So like a typical hoarder I just went out and ordered 100.
UGH!! Need to get through this month’s restraint. 
Then I may order more.
Then I may order more.
Too bad. That is a nice blade.
Perhaps "were", but it's likely a case of YMMV: I've been using Cromas in both my Parker Variant and Parker A1R Travel razor, with really good results.
Id be perfectly happy if Personna Lab Blues became the new grocery store blade. I hope that they dont go Gerrman because Im yet to find a German DE blade that suits me.
It was reported elsewhere that the customers currently served by Israeli blades will be served by blades out of Solingen instead (where Wilkinson Sword Classic is made.) I haven't seen anyone say anything about whether the Israeli blade making equipment is being moved to Solingen or not.
And FWIW, if you are specific enough in your preference for the existing Israeli Reds that you intend to keep them in your stock, get some soonish. The plant is expected to close by the end of the year, and even if they move the existing equipment there's no way to know that the machines will be set up precisely enough in their new homes that future manufacturing runs will feel exactly like the current ones. The machines will operate within specifications but the discerning user may notice differences.
Couldn't agree more.
It's not guaranteed that after relocation the product will be exactly the same.
I guess price will rise once the factory closes down.
If it's the same blades just stamped out in Germany instead of Israel, that's cool. There's some God awful DE blades that come out of that country though.
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Bear in mind that Edgewell/ASR seems to refuse to take credit for the "Israeli red" blades. Crystals (edit: and Viking Sword plus all the other names it's known by) are the official Israeli Personna blades. There are a few threads about that on this site. The future of those blades might be a big question mark.
Noooooooo...
Personna Reds have been my go-to for a long time! Long live Reds!
Personna Reds have been my go-to for a long time! Long live Reds!
Well, yeah, that's the thing, but it would kind of hard to argue that they're not "taking credit for them" - they seem to run a couple of separate sales channels for their blades so it's possible that the left hand just doesn't know what the right hand is doing, just like I don't keep up with what other departments at my company do. Razor Blades & More bought a big order of them in the red packaging two years ago and are still selling them; that seems to be a reliable place to get the ones specifically in that packaging at the moment. The European blue "platinum chrome" packages and the blades that come in private-label dispenser 10s in US stores seem to be the same blade. They're not a go-to for me so I'm comfortable just keeping the mostly-full two dispensers I bought at the other grocery store awhile back. They don't get used very quickly in my house.
