Fake Astra SP?

[Multum in parvo]

Agree that going back to ink from laser etching doesn't make sense though I see Ivan_101s post. Curious, are the cardboard tucks etched with a number? My Astra SPs, purchased a little over two years ago have the tuck boxes etched with the number 8071787902 with a 12/03/18 date etched next to it. Believe the first 6-7 digits could be a plant number as a recently purchased King C. Gillette razor came with a newer tuck of blades where the first 7 etched number were identical. Wondering if the availability of inked blades could just be older inventory that is floating around. See this with years old Derby blades and older made in Korea Dorco blades (new product past few years that everyone raves about is from a new plant in Vietnam) still floating around the on-line retailers.

Ivan_101, why did Gillette move back to ink? Did they need the newer production equipment for the King C. Gillette blades? Once the new equipment was acquired there is no reason to go back unless there is a higher priority need for it.

When I returned to DE shaving back in mid 2018 I would up purchasing Derby blades to start instead of Astras because of all the "fake blade" comments due to the shift from ink to etching. Luckily my Derbys were post 2016 production that work well though I did eventually acquire some Astra SPs that are a bit better lasting for an extra shave or two.

Beaming up @ivan_101

 

[ivan_101]

Agree that going back to ink from laser etching doesn't make sense though I see Ivan_101s post. Curious, are the cardboard tucks etched with a number? My Astra SPs, purchased a little over two years ago have the tuck boxes etched with the number 8071787902 with a 12/03/18 date etched next to it. Believe the first 6-7 digits could be a plant number as a recently purchased King C. Gillette razor came with a newer tuck of blades where the first 7 etched number were identical. Wondering if the availability of inked blades could just be older inventory that is floating around. See this with years old Derby blades and older made in Korea Dorco blades (new product past few years that everyone raves about is from a new plant in Vietnam) still floating around the on-line retailers.

Ivan_101, why did Gillette move back to ink? Did they need the newer production equipment for the King C. Gillette blades? Once the new equipment was acquired there is no reason to go back unless there is a higher priority need for it.

When I returned to DE shaving back in mid 2018 I would up purchasing Derby blades to start instead of Astras because of all the "fake blade" comments due to the shift from ink to etching. Luckily my Derbys were post 2016 production that work well though I did eventually acquire some Astra SPs that are a bit better lasting for an extra shave or two.

You understand that I can't give you an answer why P&G got back to ink, since I don't work at P&G, right?
Could be the black dye is cheaper, don't know.

I has some laser etched. No more than 40 from Ireland marked 04/08/19. That is 4th of August, not April 8th for you in the US. Then I bought next year 7 sleeves - boxes not the hanging cards, from Turkey. They are with the ink and are marked 21/01/20. Both blades are the real thing. The ink is newer in this case, but that doesn't mean they don't manufacture both types simultaneously.
I really don't get what all the fuss is about. If you got fake P&G blades you will usually know you got fakes from the first stroke.

The long number is P&G way of telling you the date of manufacture. First figure is the last figure of the year. 8071787902 in your case means 071th day of 2018. 12th of March, right?
On the Asian manufactured blades in India and Shanghai they now put only the long number.

 

[PRobots]

I wish I could take back my earlier post. All the Astra SPs I had were the same. Going back to ink definitely caused some confusion though. Upon further use they all shaved the same.