Fake PolSilver Super Iridiums?

[alin]

If anyone in the U.S. is interested, I would be happy to send you a tuck of the Extra Stainless to try out. PM me with your address and I'll send a tuck in the mail.

I bought some of these blades from what appears to be a reputable Polish online store. The packaging looked right so I figured I'd hope for some of the SIs and give it a shot. (Call me an optimist.)

The blades arrived but, of course, they're the Extra Stainless. The packaging on these blades looks legit to me based on my previous purchases of SI blades. (I'd be happy to take pictures if anyone wants.). Clear printing, statements that (I'm assuming) reference distribution by P&G Poland and production by PPI, St. Petersburg, and the same UPC.

In addition, they have a production code similar to Wizamets I own. These appear to have been produced in November 2016.

My own personal theory is that these are blades that have been distributed by P&G Poland under the Polsilver Super Iridium brand. That would explain their widespread distribution within Poland and would explain why Bullgoose and others say that these are legitimate blades that were acquired through their regular channels. As to the origins of the blade itself - I'm open to various possibilities. Of course it's possible that they could have been produced by PPI St. Petersburg. But I'm just as likely to believe that PPI imported the blades from another producer in China or some other location with the idea of using these less expensive blades in the Polish market.

As others have said, they're not a horrible blade. But they're not the same (or IMHO as good) as the Super Iridiums.

In any event, I've got plenty to share.

Bob

Can you say the name of the Polish online store to avoid it?
Why are all Extra Stainless slats produced only in November 2016 and still sold in 2021? Should P&G Poland be a party to this scam? Why doesn't P&G Poland say where these blades come from and where is the mysterious factory that produces these blades? These blades were not produced in St. Petersburg! But no one says where they occur. Why ? If there are blades produced in Gillette factories, why should the place where they are produced be secret? I thought that only we people in Eastern Europe are lied to by the authorities, but you are Americans! why don't you ask to find out the truth?

 

[BradWorld]

I have a question: if it didn't say Polsilver Super Iridium on the packages, would you still buy those 400 blades? Don't you consider yourself a fool? Isn't the fact that you paid for Super Iridium blades and actually received something else a scam? Why don't anyone defend us, bona fide buyers? Are your packages also produced in November 2016?

Are you calling me a fool? Thems fightin words buddy. Mind your manners.

 

[alin]

Are you calling me a fool? Thems fightin words buddy. Mind your manners.

I apologize ! That's not what I meant. translated wrong! I meant you were scammed (tricked into Romanian).
Now I checked and saw the translation error. Once again I apologize a thousand times!
In rumanian ,, nu va considerati pacalit ? ..

 

[BradWorld]

I apologize ! That's not what I meant. translated wrong! I meant you were scammed (tricked into Romanian).
Now I checked and saw the translation error. Once again I apologize a thousand times!
In rumanian ,, nu va considerati pacalit ? ..

Accepted. Thank you. I bought some blades. They didnt turn out as expected. Happens all the time. No biggie.

 

[alin]

Don't you consider yourself fooled?

If possible, ask an admin to delete this for the translation error. Thanks !

 

[South Dakota Guy]

I have genuine Polsilver Super Iridium blades in packaging with production dates in November 2016. On the fakes the font is different in some places, the wrappers are different, the blade markings are different and the blades themselves are different when inspected under a microscope. All this between two sets of tucks manufactured just a week or two apart. The whole Polish P&G Polsilver SI story is a red herring. All blades have the same Russian address. People are going to believe what they want to believe and some will say this isn't proof. I guess unless we catch the perpetrators red handed you will not be convinced.

 

[Jopo]

I have genuine Polsilver Super Iridium blades in packaging with production dates in November 2016. On the fakes the font is different in some places, the wrappers are different, the blade markings are different and the blades themselves are different when inspected under a microscope. All this between two sets of tucks manufactured just a week or two apart. The whole Polish P&G Polsilver SI story is a red herring. All blades have the same Russian address. People are going to believe what they want to believe and some will say this isn't proof. I guess unless we catch the perpetrators red handed you will not be convinced.

To clarify - nobody is claiming that the blades in question were made in Poland. I think the confusion arose from an ealier post of mine. I had stated that I had (twice) inquired with P&G Consumer Care in Poland, including pictures of the "Extra Stainless" Polsilvers. They confirmed that P&G did make blades with only "Extra Stainless" printed on them.

 

[alin]

I can't believe that Gillette factories produce such poorly inscribed blades. Gillette has a high standard of quality. In Poland it is clear that no Extra Stainless blades were produced because the blade factory no longer exists in Poland. In Russia, in St. Petersburg, in November 2016, the original blades inscribed Polsilver Super Iridium of very good quality were produced, as @South Dakota Guy tells us. So where were produced, also in November 2016, the blade inscribed only Extra Stainless made of another steel and badly inscribed (in St. Petersburg they did not take place because of the original slats).
@Jopo , did P&G Poland tell you where these blades are made?

 

[South Dakota Guy]

To clarify - nobody is claiming that the blades in question were made in Poland. I think the confusion arose from an ealier post of mine. I had stated that I had (twice) inquired with P&G Consumer Care in Poland, including pictures of the "Extra Stainless" Polsilvers. They confirmed that P&G did make blades with only "Extra Stainless" printed on them.

I have heard that before. I don't know when the blade manufacture shifted from Poland to Russia but I used to have a tuck of Polsilver SI blades with a manufacture date of May 2016 and I still have many tucks with a manufacture date in November 2016 and both were labelled the same, blades marked the same with the same wrappers with the same P&G Russia address. Why would old manufacture Polish made blades end up in new Russia manufactured tucks? I have seen photos of older Polsilver blades and even possessed some and I have never seen any iteration of Polsilver blades in those plain white wrappers. What Polish P&G did years ago has nothing to do with Polsilver SI blades with manufacture dates in November of 2016 and RUSSIAN ADDRESSES. Someone is selling us a lie and I am old enough and wise enough to know it.

 

[Jopo]

I can't believe that Gillette factories produce such poorly inscribed blades. Gillette has a high standard of quality. In Poland it is clear that no Extra Stainless blades were produced because the blade factory no longer exists in Poland. In Russia, in St. Petersburg, in November 2016, the original blades inscribed Polsilver Super Iridium of very good quality were produced, as @South Dakota Guy tells us. So where were produced, also in November 2016, the blade inscribed only Extra Stainless made of another steel and badly inscribed (in St. Petersburg they did not take place because of the original slats).
@Jopo , did P&G Poland tell you where these blades are made?

Yes, again - nobody is claiming that the blades in question were made in Poland.

No, I didn't ask where they were made, the package clearly says that they were made in Russia (as in the pictures I included with my inquiry).

Whatever the truth may be about these blades, I am simply stating a fact - the company itself confirmed that they made Polsilvers printed with only "Extra Stainless". I might also add that, while your passion for protecting consumers is admirable, if the company itself states that they manufactured such blades then perhaps you shouldn't going around accusing vendors of intentionally selling fake products (also note - while the listing still appears on Bullgoose's website, they stopped selling the blade ages ago). If the manufacturer states that they made such blades, I think a vendor's responsibility to ensure that they are selling legitimate products can safely end there, no?

I have heard that before. I don't know when the blade manufacture shifted from Poland to Russia but I used to have a tuck of Polsilver SI blades with a manufacture date of May 2016 and I still have many tucks with a manufacture date in November 2016 and both were labelled the same, blades marked the same with the same wrappers with the same P&G Russia address. Why would old manufacture Polish made blades end up in new Russia manufactured tucks? I have seen photos of older Polsilver blades and even possessed some and I have never seen any iteration of Polsilver blades in those plain white wrappers. What Polish P&G did years ago has nothing to do with Polsilver SI blades with manufacture dates in November of 2016 and RUSSIAN ADDRESSES. Someone is selling us a lie and I am old enough and wise enough to know it.

Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying. The production of Polislvers moved from Poland to Russia in early 2000's. Again - nobody is talking about the blades in question being manufactured in Poland. To clarify again - I contacted P&G Consumer Care in Poland. That I contacted the Polish branch of P&G Consumer Care is not related to the blades' country of manufacture. Not sure why you're referencing Polish made Polsilvers.

 

[Jopo]

Yes, again - nobody is claiming that the blades in question were made in Poland.

No, I didn't ask where they were made, the package clearly says that they were made in Russia (as in the pictures I included with my inquiry).

Whatever the truth may be about these blades, I am simply stating a fact - the company itself confirmed that they made Polsilvers printed with only "Extra Stainless". I might also add that, while your passion for protecting consumers is admirable, if the company itself states that they manufactured such blades then perhaps you shouldn't going around accusing vendors of intentionally selling fake products (also note - while the listing still appears on Bullgoose's website, they stopped selling the blade ages ago). If the manufacturer states that they made such blades, I think a vendor's responsibility to ensure that they are selling legitimate products can safely end there, no?



Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying. The production of Polislvers moved from Poland to Russia in early 2000's. Again - nobody is talking about the blades in question being manufactured in Poland. To clarify again - I contacted P&G Consumer Care in Poland. That I contacted the Polish branch of P&G Consumer Care is not related to the blades' country of manufacture. Not sure why you're referencing Polish made Polsilvers.

Also note, the purchase of Gillette by P&G came after the shift of production from Poland to Russia. Regardless, not sure why you think that P&G Consumer Care in Poland answering my question somehow relates to Poland being the country of manufacture.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Also note, the purchase of Gillette by P&G came after the shift of production from Poland to Russia. Regardless, not sure why you think that P&G Consumer Care in Poland answering my question somehow relates to Poland being the country of manufacture.

This might be an misunderstanding in regards to reading the text on some vendor sites that refer to a statement from P&G Poland and show the Russian tucks. Yet if the Polish provenance is now in doubt or even wasn’t ever established at all than these blades in a PPI cardboard box should resemble other PPI blades at least in shape even if the printing is off.

I haven’t seen a pic of a SI stacked over an Extra Stainless but the shapes are clearly not identical. Again a bit of a mystery on how the 2016 vintage of Polsilver blades was concocted…

 

[alin]

@Jopo Yes it is. These poorly inscribed blades are produced by Gillette at St. Petersburg in November 2016 because that's what it says on the packages. Also in November 2016, Gillette produced in St. Petersburg the correctly inscribed blades Polsilver Super Iridium of very good quality because that's what it says on the packages. My question is why did Gillette produce two types of blades in the same period, inscribed differently and of different qualities but packaged in almost identical packages?

 

[Mr. Shavington]

@Jopo Yes it is. These poorly inscribed blades are produced by Gillette at St. Petersburg in November 2016 because that's what it says on the packages. Also in November 2016, Gillette produced in St. Petersburg the correctly inscribed blades Polsilver Super Iridium of very good quality because that's what it says on the packages. My question is why did Gillette produce two types of blades in the same period, inscribed differently and of different qualities but packaged in almost identical packages?

The answer (the only answer that fits the facts) is as you previously showed, Alin. These blades are generic blades made in China and stamped “Extra Stainless”. They are identical in every detail to no-name Chinese blades (that can be purchased very cheaply) because that is what they are. They are then packaged by somebody in counterfeit Polsilver boxes and sold in many places at premium prices as rare NOS Polsilvers. At least some of the retailers probably don’t know that they are counterfeit. These blades are nothing to do with Gillette, they are not Polsilvers, they are not comparable to Polsilvers in performance. They are cheap fakes.

 

[South Dakota Guy]

Also note, the purchase of Gillette by P&G came after the shift of production from Poland to Russia. Regardless, not sure why you think that P&G Consumer Care in Poland answering my question somehow relates to Poland being the country of manufacture.

Not to doubt you, but I have questions about who you spoke to, or rather their knowledge of what the Russian manufacturing plant did and didn't do. If you can help me out with a name and contact information I would love to ask them some questions. For starters what is their name and job position within P&G. From where did they get this knowledge of a special run of blades with different markings, different wrappers, different blade bevels and different fonts on the tucks. During what time frame were these Extra Stainless only blades manufactured. Why did they change the font of the writing on tucks then switch back to the original fonts? Why did they change the wrappers then switch back to the original wrappers. Why did they change virtually everything for what appears to be one day then hold onto these blades for so long before releasing them. I just have a lot of questions.

 

[alin]

This might be an misunderstanding in regards to reading the text on some vendor sites that refer to a statement from P&G Poland and show the Russian tucks. Yet if the Polish provenance is now in doubt or even wasn’t ever established at all than these blades in a PPI cardboard box should resemble other PPI blades at least in shape even if the printing is off.

I haven’t seen a pic of a SI stacked over an Extra Stainless but the shapes are clearly not identical. Again a bit of a mystery on how the 2016 vintage of Polsilver blades was concocted…

These photos can also help. Polisver Super iridium blade is received from you and has gone through 45 shaving sessions. I stacked an Extra Stainless blade over a Super Iridium blade, I tried to show that the two blades did not have the same curvature at the corners and therefore did not come out of the same production line. I don't know if anything is noticeable because of the old camera.

 

[tysonic]

I bought a pack of Voskhods made by the same russian company a while ago and they were more than likely fake. Uneven edges to both sides..

Every blade from Mostochlegmash company are like that - its the same on both sides so in fact the cutting edges are the same. I tried every blade from there and find them all at least ok and the best are Rapira Platinum Lux. And Polsilver blades are made in Petersburg by Gillette.

 

[Medivh]

All of the blades on the pictures are used and from the same batch. Instead of pointing out the obvious, I will leave you to make your own conclusions instead.

HINT - check the print

 

[wlshephard]

Do all the fakes have these numbers and production dates on the boxes?

 

[Big_T]

@wlshephard I don't know but here's a thread from last year with those same numbers.

Polsilver - Last Batch of 2016?! (I do not think these are fakes)

I know that this is a divisive topic and I have had many a headache in working out and wondering if this particular batch is genuine or not. Having shaved with a few of these blades in a Fatboy G1, 1912 Single Ring and Rex Envoy XL I can only conclude that these are just the same as the older...

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