Got Bic Chrome blades today - wow!

[CCS]

I have a 4 year old daughter, hopefully when she's old enough, she'll take up DE shaving.
She loves watching me shave and smelling all my soaps.
Fingers crossed!

My boys loved pretending and I'd have them sniffing soaps and creams to find their preferences. Today, it's like I live in bizarro world. Shaving with a blade just creeps them out.

 

[cwright]

Well.....For me 1st shave with a Bic Chrome, it's not a Feather, Nacet, Permasharp, some of my favorite blades. Did give a good 3 pass almost BBS shave, had a little rough feel starting out but settled down. 1st pass left a little more stubble behind than my top blades, after second pass similar results as my top blades. Next shave probably Monday night, will see how the Bic does for the 2nd shave.

 

[nav]

Well.....For me 1st shave with a Bic Chrome, it's not a Feather, Nacet, Permasharp, some of my favorite blades. Did give a good 3 pass almost BBS shave, had a little rough feel starting out but settled down. 1st pass left a little more stubble behind than my top blades, after second pass similar results as my top blades. Next shave probably Monday night, will see how the Bic does for the 2nd shave.

Which razor was used?

 

[cwright]

Blackland Era #5 SB

 

[nav]

Blackland Era #5 SB

If you have #4, perhaps try the BIC at that setting.

 

[RayClem]

Be interesting to see the edge profiles under an SEM. I would be hard pressed to think the Bics are sharper than Feathers or Kais but who knows?

Out of the wrapper, Feather Blades are sharper than Bics. However, with use, Feather blades deteriorate quickly whereas Bic blades become even sharper as the coating wears off. Thus, by the time you get to the 2nd or 3rd shave, Bics are sharper than Feathers.

I have not tried Kai blades, but from what I have read, I do not think they are as sharp as either Feather or Bic blades. However, the Kai blades might give the impression that they are sharper as I have heard that the blades are just slightly wider than most other DE blades. This is going to make the blade exposure slightly greater and make the Kai blades feel more aggressive. Since many people equate aggressive blades with sharpness, the Kai blades might feel sharper than they actually are.

 

[StratMan]

tested the BIC chrome in the WR2 1.25 tonight.. sharp and smooth, resulted in an effortless and comfortable BBS

 

[Butch Waxx]

Out of the wrapper, Feather Blades are sharper than Bics. However, with use, Feather blades deteriorate quickly whereas Bic blades become even sharper as the coating wears off. Thus, by the time you get to the 2nd or 3rd shave, Bics are sharper than Feathers.

I have not tried Kai blades, but from what I have read, I do not think they are as sharp as either Feather or Bic blades. However, the Kai blades might give the impression that they are sharper as I have heard that the blades are just slightly wider than most other DE blades. This is going to make the blade exposure slightly greater and make the Kai blades feel more aggressive. Since many people equate aggressive blades with sharpness, the Kai blades might feel sharper than they actually are.

Good morning Rayclem….When you say Feather blades are sharper than Bics out of the wrapper, what is that based on? I am curious if that is just your opinion, or have you conducted specific tests to prove this! Just curious as I use both blades.

 

[nav]

Just eyeballing the BIC in my blackbird, it looks like it's wider than other DE blades as there's a bit less guard bar visible compared other blades.

Does anyone have calipers to accurately measure the width compared to some other popular blades, like nacet, Wizamet, GSB, feather.

I have a suspicion that it may be the width that makes it work well with some razors and horribly with others.

 

[StratMan]

Just eyeballing the BIC in my blackbird, it looks like it's wider than other DE blades as there's a bit less guard bar visible compared other blades.

Does anyone have calipers to accurately measure the width compared to some other popular blades, like nacet, Wizamet, GSB, feather.

I have a suspicion that it may be the width that makes it work well with some razors and horribly with others.

I'll measure up a a few blades tonight

 

[CCS]

Out of the wrapper, Feather Blades are sharper than Bics. However, with use, Feather blades deteriorate quickly whereas Bic blades become even sharper as the coating wears off. Thus, by the time you get to the 2nd or 3rd shave, Bics are sharper than Feathers.

I have not tried Kai blades, but from what I have read, I do not think they are as sharp as either Feather or Bic blades. However, the Kai blades might give the impression that they are sharper as I have heard that the blades are just slightly wider than most other DE blades. This is going to make the blade exposure slightly greater and make the Kai blades feel more aggressive. Since many people equate aggressive blades with sharpness, the Kai blades might feel sharper than they actually are.

Really? Not something I've experienced with those two blades. Kais are also fine in the razors I've used them in. I know they are a teeny bit wider but I don't feel it when I shave with them.

 

[StratMan]

Just eyeballing the BIC in my blackbird, it looks like it's wider than other DE blades as there's a bit less guard bar visible compared other blades.

Does anyone have calipers to accurately measure the width compared to some other popular blades, like nacet, Wizamet, GSB, feather.

I have a suspicion that it may be the width that makes it work well with some razors and horribly with others.

hey mate... when you mentioned width, i took it as a measurement between sharp edge to sharp edge, is this what you meant?

was a bit hard to get perfect accuracy due to the thin blades bending between caliper ends and the unit accuracy but should be pretty close

BIC 21.85
Wizamet 21.95
Polsilver 21.95
Feather 21.95
GSB 21.8
Gillette 7'Oclock SE 21.90
German Wilkie 22.00
Persona Platinum 21.90
Nacet 21.90
Minora 21.95

 

[nav]

hey mate... when you mentioned width, i took it as a measurement between sharp edge to sharp edge, is this what you meant?

was a bit hard to get perfect accuracy due to the thin blades bending between caliper ends and the unit accuracy but should be pretty close

BIC 21.85
Wizamet 21.95
Polsilver 21.95
Feather 21.95
GSB 21.8
Gillette 7'Oclock SE 21.90
German Wilkie 22.00
Persona Platinum 21.90
Nacet 21.90
Minora 21.95

Cool, thanks for measuring!

Do you have the yellow pack BIC CP or the slightly orange pack?
(I'm not referring to the BIC astor)

There is still a mystery as the yellow pack BIC is the one and only blade where I have to use a shallower angle on my blackbird.

All other blades, including the orange-ish pack BIC CP, I can use a slightly steeper angle.

That's why I thought it could have something to do with the width of the yellow pack CP.

 

[Cal]

Just eyeballing the BIC in my blackbird, it looks like it's wider than other DE blades as there's a bit less guard bar visible compared other blades.

Does anyone have calipers to accurately measure the width compared to some other popular blades, like nacet, Wizamet, GSB, feather.

I have a suspicion that it may be the width that makes it work well with some razors and horribly with others.

Further to StratMan's info, do check out the DE Razor Blade Dimensions Table on THIS B&B WIKI PAGE. There's not many, but BiC CP and Kai are there. Also consider the blade thickness.

 

[AvocadoKing]

I've been meaning to get around to trying these blades. This thread convinced me that it's time. I'm goin' in, boys...

 

[nav]

Further to StratMan's info, do check out the DE Razor Blade Dimensions Table on THIS B&B WIKI PAGE. There's not many, but BiC CP and Kai are there. Also consider the blade thickness.

Good point about thickness!
It could be the case also.

From my experience, the BIC is either awesome or rubbish, depending on the razor.

All other blades I've used have a large middle ground and not so "love or hate" as the BIC.

 

[CCS]

Boy, talk about getting into the weeds...

 

[StratMan]

Had a shave with the timeless 95 and it felt ok, not as smooth as the wolfman but then again there wasn't much there to shave after the 4 passes of the wr2 the night before so have to say inconclusive at this time, will try the timeless again with a little more growth and confirm

 

[thegeneral]

I used a BIC blade with Vitos shave soap and I got a great shave, in the past I used them with Van Der Hagen soap, it was not a great shave.

 

[D4PPZ]

Hot take: BIC Astor blades are better than BIC CPs