Gillette vs Mostochlegmash quality

[80211ac]

Hello,

In my limited experience with 8-10 blades coming out of Russia, I find that most blades out of Gillette plant seem to be better in terms of sharpness and smoothness when compared with Mostochlegmash.

Is this what others have found too?

Cost isn't a factor here just the product's quality. I know with blades it's very YMMV and the prep and the razors used can vary the results but for this let's consider that one has used the same technique, prep and razor.

I am interested in your opinions.

Best,

V

 

[SteveWY]

I am interested too but I have no empirical data to share!

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

I am certainly more impressed with Gillette than Rapira. To me its more like Gillettes a Cadillac and Rapiras a Mercury.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I've only tried Gillette 7 o'clock black, and Silver Blues. I found the Blacks to be very inferior to Voskhod, and the Silver Blues were about on par. Just my opinion.

 

[dullestblade]

Hello,

In my limited experience with 8-10 blades coming out of Russia, I find that most blades out of Gillette plant seem to be better in terms of sharpness and smoothness when compared with Mostochlegmash.

Is this what others have found too?

Cost isn't a factor here just the product's quality. I know with blades it's very YMMV and the prep and the razors used can vary the results but for this let's consider that one has used the same technique, prep and razor.

I am interested in your opinions.

Best,

V

I haven't tried them all but of those I have the St. Petersburg blades beat the Moscow blades by quite a margin. The Voskhod is pretty good though.

 

[CigarSmoka]

IME the St Petersburg blades are better overall, the lone exception from Moscow being Voskhod, it stands its own against GSB & Polsilver which are the best from St Petersburg imo, and at a better price. I'll always have all 3 in my rotation, you can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[hydro-magic]

Hello,

In my limited experience with 8-10 blades coming out of Russia, I find that most blades out of Gillette plant seem to be better in terms of sharpness and smoothness when compared with Mostochlegmash.

Is this what others have found too?

Cost isn't a factor here just the product's quality. I know with blades it's very YMMV and the prep and the razors used can vary the results but for this let's consider that one has used the same technique, prep and razor.

I am interested in your opinions.

Best,

V

I'd agree in general. St Petersburg blades all seem sharper than any of the Moscow blades but I find smoothness of all the Russian blades to be pretty good. In an aggressive razor, I enjoy some of the Rapira blades like the Swedish Supersteel and Chrome. The Platinum Lux's didn't agree with me at all though. The ones I got were much duller than the other Rapiras I've tried.

 

[CaptainGreybeard]

The Mostochlegmash blades are quite good, at least some of them. I've had pretty good experience with Ladas and Voskhod, they're as smooth as silk, very sharp, absolutely not aggressive but they don't last very long. They give me three good shaves each, then they need to be replaced. Since they're quite cheap, I don't really mind. What I mind more is that the product quality seems to fluctuate quite significantly. In a pack of 100 Voskhod blades, I had at least a dozen blades that were so coarse that they had to be disposed of straight away. I've never liked the Rapira blades, neither the Platinum Lux nor the Swedish Supersteel. I found them very sharp but quite aggressive to my skin, too.

The St. Petersburg Gillette blades are generally more expensive, but of a much more consistent quality and a tad sharper. My favourite St. Petersburg blade is the Gillette Silver Blue which is as smooth as the Voshkhod, as sharp as the Ladas and lasts as long as both of the latter two combined. Mind you, it comes at almost triple the price, so you can expect to get something better in return for you money.

 

[Invicta]

The St Petersbugh plant manufacture a lot more blades so is this a fair comparison? Having a limited experience of blades, for me the GSB is way ahead of Astra SP and & O'Clock yellows in terms of smoothness and longevity. The only Mostochleglemash I have tried is the Rapira Super Stainless and that is nera the Astra SS quality. Add the price in and I got 400 Rapira SS (good for at least 7 shaves) for £20 delivered against 100 Astra SP for £100 (good for at least 14 shaves). That says the Rapira SS is not a bad deal. If Voskhods' or Rapira Swedish Steel is as good as some people say, they are worth a try.
I got 750 blades so not looking for more. I may get a few of the Voskhod and Lada just for comparison purposes. It is a problem getting them at competitive prices though.

 

[cw62803]

I've tried almost every blade currently manufactured in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and I definitely prefer the blades made in St. Petersburg. There isn't a bad blade in the entire PPI lineup.

 

[BigJ]

Another vote for the St. Petersburg blades! My top choices include: GSB, Nacet and Astra SP (along with the Personna reds and labs).

 

[ouch]

Mostochlegmash? Is number one blade in Irkutsk!

 

[Tokyospike]

The best Moscow blade, I feel, is Voskhod. But all of the Gillettes and the Polsilver Super Iridium out of St. Petersburg are superior for me.

 

[weekly]

When looking at the individual blades
ST Petersburg has the very best in the
Top tier however when moving through
The top tier Moscow wins when the
Rapira Super Stainless is compared to
Astra SS and the Platinum Lux beats the
Astra SP and Voskhod beats Sputnicks
Hands down, but nothing out of Moscow
Beats St Petes top blades ( GSBs ,Polsivers SI, Nacet Stainless ) but the
INDIA 7O'CLOCK Blades are Superior to
The St Petersburg 7o'clock Blades

 

[Jopete]

I've got several blades from both manufacturer and in my experience the St. Petersburg blades perform better for me, most of the one's I got from the Moscow plant were not as sharp.
I guess I had high expectations from reviews I read on the Voskhod but I found it lacking in sharpness, same with the Rapira Platinum Lux.
I did however find the Rapira Swedish Super Steel worked the best for me among all the blades I've tried from the Moscow plant.

I also liked both the Gillette 7o'clock Super Platinum Black from India and the discontinued Gillette 7o'clock Super Platinum with Blue wrapper from St. Petersburg.

 

[tysonic]

Well - the two my favorite blades are Rapira Platinum Lux and Astra SP. Astra is a notch sharper but Rapira is a notch smoother so it`s a tie for me. Tested every Mostochlegmash blades except Sputnik and every one of them was atleast good.

 

[Jopete]

Sputnik blades are actually made in St.Petersburg currently. I think it's supposed to be their version of Voskhod blades being coated with "Teflon ".

 

[Tokyospike]

My current blade rankings (with a few left to try) are over here. I haven't factored in cost yet, or compared them to any SE blades, but except for Voskhod, the Moscow blades seem average, and except for Sputnik the St. Petersburg blades are at or near the top. I've tried them all in the same mild-to-moderate ATT R1 razor with same brush & similar soaps, but of course it may all be very different for you.

 

[razorhead63]

Yes, I find that the Petersburg blades (Gillette) and Astras etc. are sharper and last longer than the brands from the Moscow factory. After 5 or 6 shaves my Rapiras are pretty much history. In contrast, the blue Astras I use will last way over 10 shaves and stay sharper longer. However, I appreciate the smoothness of the Rapiras, it's hard to get the skin irritated or cut by them. From an econo point of view, the Petersburg blades are the best ones that I use in my rotation.

 

[coase]

I have not found a single Moscow blade to be better than my preferred 3 or 4 blades from Peter, especially GSB, Nacet, and 7 O'Clock Blue (Blacks are from India not Russia). Voskhod's don't work for me and I find them to be average at best and even a bit tuggy. But I can use the better Rapiras but to me they're no better than Astra. I happened to buy lots of them cheaply when visiting Moscow but I sold off all my Voskhods already.