Gillette Russian Blade Report
- Thread starter srgjazz
- Start date
I had bought a tuck of Silver Blues to sample, and was thinking the exact same thing...
Maybe they're a little sharper/harsher than the Platinums? I don't know, it seems to be within margin of error to me.
Thats some stash sir I've lived in smaller houses
They make an orange? flavor one that makes no sense to me. Has to be a hot day and chilled to nearly freezing for me to finish it...Sierra Nevada makes some good IPAs. Torpedo and Hop Hunter comes to mind.
The light blue platinums and blacks are my favorites because of the optimal smooth and sharp attributes. It's a shame that both these blades were intended for international markets.
No Russian blades !
I like the Blue Plats, but absolutely love Nacet. Your claim Nacets 'are' inferior is wrong. Technically they aren't inferior either. When you say you and Nacets don't get along I think that might be true.
I like or love every Russian Gillette, but the Rubie ripped my scalp to pieces.
What is the result of 'thorough coating'?
I think I was trying to address the "not very comfortable" post in as few words as possible. I probably meant that the coating initially causes extra resistance causing a person to apply too much extra force resulting in "not very comfortable." Also, some people perceive even the slightest initial resistance to cutting as being the same. The result should be an increase in smoothness and decrease in tactile blade edge feel, until the coating wears off anyway. I haven't used a Ruby in a while.
Thanks. They ripped me.
Sorry about that, there seems to be bad batches of every blade out there. I have had terrible luck with Astra Platinums for years and just finally found a pack that are actually sharp enough to work. I have also had bad Wizamets which I don't think anybody believed me on.
I think you have it just about right. As to the blades you identify as Platinum Light Blue (the ones with the directional arrows etched on them), in a recent email I received from Bullgoose these blades were denominated as Swedes. This supports your theory that these blades are "Swedes". I have ordered a bunch of these from Razorbladesclub which calls them Gillette Platinum New:
GILLETTE – PLATINUM NEW
- Manufacturer: Gillette
- Country: Russia
- Coating: Platinum
Gillette Platinum New is slightly better for me than Gillette Platinum Laser Marking (the ones you refer to as Platinum Dark Blue) though the difference is
slight:
GILLETTE – PLATINUM (LASER MARKING)
- Manufacturer: Gillette
- Country: Russia
- Coating: Platinum
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Absolutely agree!
I have two batches of Platinums (light blue). The first batch was excellent, nearly indistinguishable from GSBs. The second batch is just not sharp enough. I've opened multiple tucks to confirm.
I'm brand new to the forum and only a few weeks into learning DE and wet shaving -- but I've been wondering if there are extra good or extra bad batches of a blade.
I've read all the ratings/reviews here and I read conflicting opinions about the same blade. The Gillette dark blue Platinums I purchased seem to be very sharp - very close to feathers at first and by 2nd-3rd shave sharper than feather on 2nd-3rd. But so many posts here describe them as middle of the road blades. And many posts here rave about how sharp BIC chromes are. The BIC chromes I bought tug on my coarse beard and don't get any better on 2nd or 3rd shave. I'll pull the BIC out mid shave and pop in a Dark Blue Platinum and slice right thru the same beard. So I don't know if I just got a great batch of Gillette Platinums and a duff batch of BIC Chromes or if it's just my technique (or lack thereof) and/or my specific skin/beard/prep etc?
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There is a lot more going with blade design than is easily visible; number of bevels, angle of those bevels, overall bevel height, coating process, etc. As much as I like to talk about these and compare different blades from recent to my collection of vintage blades, you need a broad foundation to stand on. It's best to try different blades and use the ones that are currently working for you, but don't wright off the ones you don't like! There are a lot of factors at play that influence how a blade feels and how it performs, razor design being the big one(and technique). Also, Gillette discovered 50 years ago that shavers can't reliably discern between sharpness and smoothness. Many people perceive blades being sharper than they are due to how effective the coating is. As for the defective blades out there, they aren't that common, but they are real and you have to just bin a suspect blade and try another. There was a whole run of bad Voskhods a couple years ago where one bevel was visibly different from the other and many people wrote off Voskhods due to this. There are also fake blades and yes, it doesn't make any economic sense, but they are out there and possibly more common than defective blades. Oh, also dross! Factory defects that are snuck out and sold on The Bay to unsuspecting people. That should cover the basics.
Welcome to B&B, I haven't seen your post in newbie checkin yet so please post one if you haven't. Don't be afraid to ask any question.
I will agree that out of the 4 blades mentioned in the original post the Rubie is the roughest, but also the sharpest with my whiskers. Never had the will to buy them by the 100. Have 5 packs brought by a colleague from Moscow 14 years ago. And 2 packs bought online recently. All other 3 models I have hundreds and hundreds.
I am surprised at the consistancy given all the variables involved in the manufacturing process. That is even within the same manufacturer much less the same brand. Batch to batch ect.
On the subject if Rubie's, I noticed that they have recently disappeared from the listings and searches on Amazon?
They seem to be rarer to find online and when you come across them, they are now running between $30 - $35 for a hundred.
Looks like a new definition of inter-generational wealth
If we guess at 7,000-8,000 blades, call it 7,500, and 50 blades used per year you are covered for 150 years or 6 generations.
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