Glue residue on Astra blades

[nathanieloffer]

I ran out of Feather blades today and had to choose a new blade for my next shave from my remaining stock of sample pack blades.

I picked the Astras as I've heard good things about them here on B&B. As I go to unwrap them I see they are double wrapped and the inner most wrapping is stuck to the blades using some sort of adhesive. I find this to be rather strange. On closer inspection the adhesive on one of the blades has actually flowed onto the business end of the blade. Maybe I'm strange but I'm not very impressed by this. So I unwrap the rest of the pack and see they are all double wrapped with the inner most wrapping glued to the blade itself.

It seems to be poor design putting glue on the blades and poor quality control by allowing it to seep onto the blade edge.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[jim9112]

I use astras and the glue has never caused any issues with shave quality for me. Some people scrape it off I just ignore the glue and shave on.

 

[Toothpick]

the glue is to hold the blade in place and hold the wrapper on the blade, which protects the blades edge. It wipes off easily (carefully) or hold it under hot water for a few seconds and it should dissolve off.

or if you are like the majority of us just shave with it. The glue has never been an issue for me, and i'm sure i can say the same for many others.

 

[YMMV]

I find the glue in these blades to be very annoying -it is usually found in four corners of the particular blade from my experience. The glue will transfer to the DE and stay there, unless you clean the blade first -not a particulary good idea for a brand new razor-sharp blade. I wouldn't use these blades for this reason only, unless I had the best shave with them (which I don't). I tried them one and never gave them a second chance because I do not want to spend time cleaning the glue

 

[TheBlake]

I don't think it's glue, more of an oily wax. Hot water takes it right off

 

[Graybeard57]

It annoys me too, and I avoid blades with it. It just gums up a clean razor.

 

[redrako]

I'm more of a fan of Astra Stainless (blue box), but they have the same wax. Sometimes I scrape it off laying the newly opened blade on a flat surface using a previously discarded blade, other time I don't. It doesn't matter either way.

Many Gillette Russia blades use this wax.

 

[jwilock]

It's wax not glue. And it washes right off under hot water. All blades made in the St. Pete plant have that telltale.wax and you would bye nissing out on some of the best blades made if you avoidedthem because of the wax.

 

[nathanieloffer]

Nice to see some agree with me regarding the residue.

As I said if they have to do it then they should work on their quaility control as 1 of my blades has the residue going onto the shaving edge of the blade and another has it within 1 mm of the edge. It may seem strange to some but it would discourage me from buying them and for my next shave I have chosen a Persona blade instead of the Astra. They're not loosing out on a sale anyway as my next blade purchase will be a 100 pack of Feather blades I just needed a blade to cover me until my order arrives.

 

[Mick]

Almost all of the blades made in the St Pete Russia Gillette plant have wax to hold the blade onto the inner wrapper.

This is done to "fasten" the blade to the paper inner wrapper so that the blade edge does not come into contact with the wrapper during transport.

I.E. you have a better chance of receiving the same quality edge when you unwrap the blade at home as the blade had when it was manufactured.

Hot water and a towel will remove the wax from your razor easily, and also remove any lather residue you end up with while shaving

 

[jb4647]

Been using them a year and never been a problem. It's important not to "over think" these things.

For those who can't do the extra sharpness of Feather blades, Astra Sp is the best thing going.

 

[Lexicon Devil]

Astra's are excellent blades. I tried wiping the wax off once and it was a mess. Since then I just leave the wax on and have not had any problems.

 

[Flashvictor]

Been using them a year and never been a problem. It's important not to "over think" these things.

Great point. I ignore the wax. It's never been a problem.

 

[superkreep]

I haven't found it to be a problem.

 

[Paludatus]

It annoys me but it doesn't seem to affect the shave.

 

[rockviper]

Wax on blades is why I switched to straights

 

[Vanderveckyn]

Why slam a good product because of good packaging. A good blade for me and no issues with the wax. This seems to be an ongoing theme as if it had any effect on the blade. Rather have them loose in a box?

 

[nathanieloffer]

Vanderveckyn, I didn't realise wax seeping onto the shaving edge of a blade was the definition of a good product. As I already stated in the first post it's poor quality control.

 

[Vanderveckyn]

Poor quality control would be packing them loose. Anyway it's harmless and a moot over discussed point. It does no harm. I'd rather Astras as well as others be packed so as to arrive in a pristine condition than the alternative. I guess it's a matter of opinion. As for me the glue/wax whatever isn't a problem. Sorry it offends you.

 

[chilliman64]

the glue is an added benefit of using Astras - they put the glue there on purpose, it is not an accidental inclusion - did it adversely effect your shave? I'd be curious to know more.