Gillette Bleue Extra ("Super Blue") blades

[Christian]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm not sure if it goes here or in the Safety Razors subforum, but anyway:
I recently got into wetshaving and bought a Gilette DE on Ebay. I needed some blades and bought the only kind that were available locally, Gillette Bleue Extra ($5 for 10). I searched the forums but couldn't find any info on these, so I searched google and found out that they're apparently also called Super Blue. They're distributed from France as far as I can read on the pack. Does anyone know if they're any good? It would be nice if I could just use these, instead of having to order stuff on the internet all the time...

 

[guenron]

Hello Christian!
Would it be possible for you to post a picture of the blades in their packaging? One very popular blade now is the Euro Gillette. It appears to be made somewhere in Scandinavia as the package cites Sweden and Norway for manufacturers reference. They look like this.

 

[PortsmouthDavid]

Ron's reply and photo are right on point, because for the Gillette Platinum the PACKAGE is blue.

Since you are new to this whole wet shaving thing, I'll just mention that the tricky thing about your question is that for many, many years the Gillette Blue Blade (where the blade ITSELF was blue, not the package) was the standard razor blade for the DE. But it was a long time ago (decades).

To my knowledge, it is probably quite a number of years since the Gillette Blue Blade was even manufactured. Therefore, if the blade ITSELF is blue, it is probably quite old.

There's been quite a lot of talk on the forum as to whether or not to use old blades (the consensus being, don't do it). While it MIGHT be possible to use a stainless steel blade that was a number of years old, it is almost certainly NOT possible to use an old carbon steel blade like the Gillette Blue Blade. As I understand it, carbon steel oxidizes (and therefore loses its edge) much faster than stainless.

So -- if your blade is a blue Gillette -- it's probably (1) carbon steel, and (2) quite old. Don't use it.

If, by contrast, the PACKAGE is blue, it may be an excellent Platinum blade that will perform beautifully.

Hope this helps.

David

 

[Christian]

Thanks for the replies.
I live in Scandinavia (Denmark), but I'm not sure the blades are produced here. Here's a photo of the package (I didn't think I was going to need it again, so I tore it up pretty bad):

On the back it says:

"Distributed by/Distribué par Gillette
EMB 92639 Levalois-Perret Cedex, Brussels,
Espoo-Esbo, København,
Milano, Oslo, Rijswick ZH, Stockholm"

 

[guenron]

Hi once again Christian,
These appear to be made of chrome or stainless steel (Certainly not the blue-colored carbon steel of yore). I do not know if they are platinum coated or PTFE coated or goodness knows what magic Gillette has to put on their blades coated.. They seem to have many of the same manufacturers references for distribution on the back as the popular Euro Gillettes, but that does not really mean anything.
I say this because I know of a firm in the US that makes DE blades in three or four different processing formulations. All labeled with similar brands, but for distribution in different markets. I guess that which remains is for you to boldly go where you have not gone before and try them. They look decent enough. I do not believe that Gillette would want their name on just any low quality product. Perhaps I am naive though, they do sell some terrible canned shaving foam.
Good luck and let us know how you enjoy them.

 

[Christian]

Actually I have already tried them, but due to the fact that it was my first DE shave I really haven't got anything to compare with. I got a good shave compared to when I use a Sensor or a straight razor, but I nicked myself quite a few times.

 

[guenron]

With patience, good shave prep, and continually improving skill you will find the nicks will disappear as the smooth visage appears. In the beginninmg, light touch (NO pressure!) and short strokes will help you find your way. Good luck and enjoy the shave!