I recently started using these after I thought Feathers were going to be my "go to" blade. I think I now have a new favorite. I'm surprised to see that not too many places carry them. I actually bought mine at AoS (WAY overpriced at over $5 for a pack of 5) just to try something new and now don't even went to go back to the Feathers which I just purchased a few packs of. Why are these refereed to as Swedes, the box I have was manufactured in Petersburg Russia?
Gillette Platinum (Swedes?)
- Thread starter soamelt
- Start date
Which "Platinums" are you talking about? There are several with the words Gillette and Platiinum on them. The original "Swedes" are long gone and you'd have to buy NOS to get these. There are some "White Platinums" (in white box with blue lettering) that many think are as good or nearly as good as "Swedes". And there are others that are well liked by many but are not "Swedes".
i like the regular platinums
How can you identify true Gillette Swedes?
The Shave Wiki is always a good place to look for questions like this. Here you go http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Gillette_Platinum_Swede_and_Euro_Razor_Blade
Great post below by Joel regarding the various Gillette Platinum blades.
Original thread here.
Original thread here.
John;
It's very simple.
OFFICIAL NAME: Gillette Platinum.
ORIGIN: Russian made at PPI St. Petersburg, main distribution appears to be Eastern European.
B&B NICKNAMES: I call them Dark Platinums, some call them Dark Blue Platinums or Navy Platinums (as in Navy Blue). Someone I know likes to call them Silver Platinums as the word 'Platinum' is printed in Silver ink.
SOURCE: eBay, seller in Malta, I think he is expatriate US citizen by the name. I got 2,000 blades delivered to AU for USD10c/blade.
PERSONAL SHAVE SYNOPSIS: Good in most razors, EJ/Muhle head and the Adjustable Gillettes (Fatboy/Slim) would be the pick, relatively sharp (some say between an Astra SP and a 7OC Yellow) however there is no real smoothness to the blade. This is compensated for by a complete lack of roughness, so it works nicely. Also have had good reports from Redtip users who like this, one person I know bought a lifetime supply (5K blades) and he has a RedTip. I found open-comb razors exhibited roughness and neck irritation when loaded with this blade (NEW).
OVERALL: Good value blade with a decent longevity for me, certainly worth trying at the price.
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OFFICIAL NAME: Gillette Platinum.
ORIGIN: Current stock is Russian made at PPI St. Petersburg and shows the glue spots, main distribution appears to be Western European - Spain, Portugal and Greece have been mentioned by B&B members. These blades have been thought to be produced at the famous Lodtz, Poland facility before it was converted to Mach3 manufacturing and all Gillette DE production moved to St. Petersburg.
B&B NICKNAMES: I call them White Platinums, some call them Cardboard Swedes or CardboardPlatinums. Some sites online call these Gillette Platinum Classic. As you may notice, these are a cardboard box on a cardboard hangar, which is similar to the packaging that the Swedes used to use, except they are in a cardboard box instead of a plastic dispenser.
SOURCE: I got mine from eBay, 5packs x 5blades (25 total) for a cost of well over $1 per blade as they are very expensive, and then Spanish postal costs are very high.
PERSONAL SHAVE SYNOPSIS: Some have said that these are the current spiritual successor to the Swedes, and I would say that I understand those sorts of statements. The White Platinums excel where the Dark Platinums failed, namely in open-comb razors. Effortless, smooth shaving. Improved over the Dark Platinums in the other razors too, but in something like a Fatboy there was not much improvement at all.
OVERALL: Great shaver, I'd say it was in the region of a 7OC Black for shave experience but less irritation afterwards. However it is not worth $1.25/blade when I can get 7OC Blacks for much, much less (USD35c/blade delivered)
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OFFICIAL NAME: Gillette Bleue Extra.
ORIGIN: The NOS blades I don't think anyone has any real answers but Lodtz is thrown about, as is a factory in France. NOS versions (pictured left)are in a plastic dispenser, and manufactured around 1999-2001. The current production (pictured right) are PPI St. Petersburg made, and come in a cardboard box on the same cardboard hanger as shown in the picture. They are available in France for 2,50 per 10-pack.
B&B NICKNAMES: GBE is pretty much the standard moniker around here.
SOURCE: I got mine from 'rareup31' via eBay, 2 cases (20 boxes of 10 dispensers with 10 blades per dispenser) for a total of 4,000 blades. I paid about USD15c/blade delivered. That sources is now gone, although WCS and shaving.ie both have these in the NOS production, albeit at a higher price.
PERSONAL SHAVE SYNOPSIS: I have to say that my best shaves come from a Bleue in a Slim set to 6, and going WTG/XTG on that setting. Blade does not sing at all, but gives feedback against your skin, and you never feel like you will ever nick yourself. I have said before that I tend to shave with 'Gay abandon' with these blades, and I mean that in the pre-1960's meaning.
OVERALL: For me, one of the best blades ever produced. I can shave with my stash exclusively until I am 140 years of age. I turned 32 on Friday just gone.
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OFFICIAL NAME: Gillette Silver Blues.
ORIGIN: Originally made in Czechoslovakia, later PPI St. Petersburg. Packaging is a dead ringer for the Dark Platinums, except the blue ink is a lighter yet richer blue. The Dark Platinums is a darker & dirtier blue.
B&B NICKNAMES: Silver Blues.
SOURCE: Currently David @ razorbladesandmore. I believe italianbarber in Canada has these also. They apparently bought up the last of the stock from the distributors, these are not being produced anymore.
PERSONAL SHAVE SYNOPSIS: The easiest way to explain these is that Gillette told PPI to turn the sharpness '7' setting on the Dark Platinums all the way to 11 and call them 'Silver Blues' instead. If Feathers scare you, don't even think about these. Sharp, relatively unforgiving but rewarding when you get them right. I found some smoothness where I only find sharpness with Feathers.
OVERALL: I've had one shave with these, in the Slim. I wimped out and went WTG only set on 3. I have stored it, want to load it up in my NEW for the second shave. These are no longer produced and expensive.
Thanks for the repost yet again Chris. Seems like it was a post which has stood the test of time.
I will add that the 'Dark Platinums' (first picture above) are also called Maltese Platinums by many on here, owing to the fact that the main source was an eBay seller in Malta.
The original Swedes were in a plastic dispenser on a blue cardboard hanger very much like the White platinums (second picture above). The blue however was darker and had written on them:
Gillette
Platinum
Platinum Hardened Edges
Photo can be found here.
I will add that the 'Dark Platinums' (first picture above) are also called Maltese Platinums by many on here, owing to the fact that the main source was an eBay seller in Malta.
The original Swedes were in a plastic dispenser on a blue cardboard hanger very much like the White platinums (second picture above). The blue however was darker and had written on them:
Gillette
Platinum
Platinum Hardened Edges
Photo can be found here.
I know I am very late to this thread but I am compelled to add that there are no Swedes in the photo above.
Swedes were always packaged in plastic boxes and AFIK had three changes in packaging before the original production run finally ended.
There was much debate about where they were produced, but it was almost assuredly NOT in the St. Petersburg facility which currently produces the Platinum blades in the cardboard boxes pictured above. It is accepted as about 99% accurate that 'Real Swedes' were produced in Lodz, Poland until Gillette had the entire facility retooled and dedicated to cartridge shaving.
A search on this site and on Shave My Face will deliver a wealth of information and more than a few lamentations bemoaning the discontinuation of these blades dating back to 2008. These blades were never officially offered for sale in the U.S. but a few vendors online such as WCS made them available and from time to time they turned up on the shelves of local stores like Cambridge Chemists in New York.
For what it's worth, they were - and still are - otherworldly in terms of sharpness, smoothness, and longevity.
Swedes were always packaged in plastic boxes and AFIK had three changes in packaging before the original production run finally ended.
There was much debate about where they were produced, but it was almost assuredly NOT in the St. Petersburg facility which currently produces the Platinum blades in the cardboard boxes pictured above. It is accepted as about 99% accurate that 'Real Swedes' were produced in Lodz, Poland until Gillette had the entire facility retooled and dedicated to cartridge shaving.
A search on this site and on Shave My Face will deliver a wealth of information and more than a few lamentations bemoaning the discontinuation of these blades dating back to 2008. These blades were never officially offered for sale in the U.S. but a few vendors online such as WCS made them available and from time to time they turned up on the shelves of local stores like Cambridge Chemists in New York.
For what it's worth, they were - and still are - otherworldly in terms of sharpness, smoothness, and longevity.
