Gillette Platinums?!

[pup22]

I found some Gillette Platinums from a vendor on Amazon. Could these possibly be the same thing as the legendary Swede?!

SAME name, SAME manufacturer, SAME point of origin as the Swede, just a different box. Has anyone seen these before? I didn't see anything on them in the threads.

http://www.amazon.com/GILLETTE-PLAT...=sr_1_55?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300415223&sr=1-55

 

[xillion]

No they are not, they are current production Russian Platinums. They are plentiful on the bay.
They are nice blades but not exactly the same as the original Swedes.

Some review of the blades in your picture can be found here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=G&t=99766

There are some Gillette platinums that come in a white box, instead of plastic dispenser, on a card that is the same as the old Swede packaging. See below.
A few members have posted that they are nearly identical to the original Swedes.

 

[pup22]

Thanks for the hookup. I got kinda excited when I saw these on Amazon. Glad to know they're not the exact same thing as a Swede, but it seems that the consensus is that they're pretty darn close.

I tried to search the Forum to see if anyone covered this already. I didn't find that thread, so again, thanks.

 

[GreekGuy]

They are one of my favorite current production blades. Sharp and smooth. Better than many more expensive blades at half the cost

 

[Mitsimonsta]

I have both "Dark Platinums" (Dark blue border) and "White Platinums" (White box). The White Platinum are also called 'Gillette Platinum Classic' by some vendors.

Both are made in St. Petersburg as they both have the telltale glue dots. But the blades are definitely different.

The Whites work well in my NEW but the DE86 seems to have issues where I get irritation. But they are sharp and long lasting - I usually get 4 shaves out of it easily. They are a tad sharper than the Darks I feel. I paid a very high price to get 25 to test - the cost is high and the postage from Spain was also expensive. I purchased from ixeira.es - no affiliation, just a customer who got his products in good time.

The Darks do not work in my NEW, yet work pretty well in everything else. The DE86 does well with these. These are cheap, available in lifetime bulk for a few hundred dollars - I get them at about 8.5 Aussie cents (about the same as the USD) delivered.

The White Platinums are over $1, and I am searching for a cheaper source. The Whites are not 10 times the blade that the Dark Platinums are either. While a very good and comfortable blade, and certainly could be called the modern-day successor to the Swede, the price you need to pay for them puts them out of the ballpark.

I have 100+ years supply of NOS GBE's so these do not faze me much. Good for a change though. The Darks I keep a stock of.

 

[pup22]

I found some Bleues from a vendor in Ireland. Are all Bleues NOS, or are there some that are current production? I like that blade alot

 

[Mitsimonsta]

shaving.ie's stock of Bleues are the NOS stock.

There is current production Bleues available in France as individually wrapped blades in a cardboard box, rather than unwrapped blades in a plastic dispenser.

I am told by someone in the know that the current production blades are just as good as the NOS.

 

[haiti222]

Having tried both, the current production does seem as good as the NOS. To me the current production has better longevity (maybe 1-2 more shaves per blade).

Also, the new production does not seem to "crash" at the end of its life as much as the NOS. The NOS blades become rough, unwieldy, and prone to weepers if you try to use them too long. I know most people on here don't usually do that, but sometimes I do.

 

[Tucker]

Are these the same as Gillette Silver Blue? The packaging looks the same, and both are from St. Pete. Anyone shaved with both?

 

[GreekGuy]

Are these the same as Gillette Silver Blue? The packaging looks the same, and both are from St. Pete. Anyone shaved with both?

They are not the same blade. I have a stockpile of both the Platinum and the Silver Blue. They only current production blades I've bought in bulk, so that says something.

The Platinum is an excellent blades. Well worth tracking down. Its sharp and smooth. I'd say its like a Black 7' O'clock, but sharper and not quite as smooth. So its like a yellow on steroids if that helps. There is a seller on ebay selling them for cheap. The shipping to the US from Malta takes a week or two, but he is the only place I remember seeing them. $5 shipped for 10, $18 shipped for 100. $120 shipped for 1000, etc...

The Silver Blue is an extremely sharp blade. I honestly think they are sharper than feathers. They are not as smooth as the platinums, but if you have excellent technique I highly recommend them. I do now know anywhere you can buy them in bulk. You can buy them from Razorbladesandmore.com or from ItalianBarber.com . I think they both picked up the stock from the distributor, which is no longer carrying them, so the availability may not last. And they aren't cheap.

I highly recommend the platinums. I think its one of if not the best of all current production blades and gets almost no attention on the board. The Silver Blues are excellent if you like extremely sharp blades, but they aren't as user friendly. I hope this helps

 

[pup22]

I got the Platinums in my OP from Amazon. Do a search for wish4star under Health and Beauty, and you should come across them in a page or two.

or click on the link in my OP... I forgot I linked the page. The Amazon vendor also sells in 50 pack bulk.

 

[Mick_P]

Interesting. I just went out hunting for some blades in my neighbourhood and the only ones I could find were these Gillette (white box, blue card background). One place had them at 3.99 euro ($5.78) and another place at just 2.78 euro ($4.00). Not tried them yet, but seems like I stumbled on a good blade.

 

[Mitsimonsta]

Interesting. I just went out hunting for some blades in my neighbourhood and the only ones I could find were these Gillette (white box, blue card background). One place had them at 3.99 euro ($5.78) and another place at just 2.78 euro ($4.00). Not tried them yet, but seems like I stumbled on a good blade.

You need to load them up into an Open-comb razor (like a single-ring or even a NEW) and then tell me how good they are!

The White Platinums work well for me in my NEW, and anything open comb, plus pretty much any razor that Gillette ever produced. Nice blades, but very expensive (for me, overseas shipping from Spain put them into the USD$1.25 per blade zone) but they are very, very nice. After being able to try a Swede, I believe these to be the spiritual successor to the Swedes.

The Dark Platinums tended to give me neck irritation in the NEW, but in my DE86 and Gillette Adjustables, good shaves, DFS+ easy. The Dark Plats simply sing in a Redtip, it's a great combo. I get these at under USD$0.10 per blade delivered. I just had 2000 arrive last week!

 

[Mick_P]

Well, I'm a recent convert to DE razors and at present only have an EJ DE89, so that's what they'll be tested in. FWIW, the distributor of the blades is Procter and Gamble, Surrey, UK, who also supply Spain, judging by not only the Italian labelling, but Spanish too. And they're double-wrapped, with glue spots.

 

[Mitsimonsta]

These were previously produced elsewhere, exactly where is conjecture really - the Lodtz facility in Poland is one that comes up. However, we can safely say that current production White Platinums are produced at PPI St. Petersburg as the glue spots are a dead giveaway.

I have recently received a microscope which I will use to show differences between blades. The White/Dark Plats are one that will get the treatment.

 

[Marcus_C]

I wanted to ask for an opinion about these, glad to know they're reasonable. Are they the same as the NACET Platinums too??

 

[john parker]

I am frankly very lost at this point! There appear to be blue Gillette platinums, Gillette platinums that aren't so blue, white Gillettes in silver boxes (or is it silver Gillettes in white boxes), bloue Gillettes, soon maybe aqua Gillettes !!!!!! Would some very kind and talented soul please put together a listing of these along with a picture of the boxes so that one could keep track of what everyone is talking about?? Thanks ever so much!!!

 

[Mitsimonsta]

I am frankly very lost at this point! There appear to be blue Gillette platinums, Gillette platinums that aren't so blue, white Gillettes in silver boxes (or is it silver Gillettes in white boxes), bloue Gillettes, soon maybe aqua Gillettes !!!!!! Would some very kind and talented soul please put together a listing of these along with a picture of the boxes so that one could keep track of what everyone is talking about?? Thanks ever so much!!!

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.

 

[john parker]

Monsta, you have enlightened and saved me! Seeing them all put together now makes sense! I will bookmark and save this for future reference! And is it possible this may make it into the wiki?

Thanks ever so much, John

 

[Mitsimonsta]

Thankyou for your kind words.

The beauty of a wiki is that ANYBODY can edit it, create pages etc. If you want it in the wiki, then you can add it.

Or, just bookmark it for yourself