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Has anyone else had a 'bad apple' blade?

I definitely have. In fact, I didn't think it was possible and then it happened more than once. At that point, I realized it can happen to any blade during production. Blades are like anything else; some blades are made on a Friday for example... Not all machinery operates flawlessly under ideal conditions, nor is it impeccably maintained at all times and during every run. For the record, I'm sure some "bad blades" are not actually bad (perhaps just not right for that razor or lather etc). I've had as many as three in a pack not come out shave ready though. Strange phenomenon when you encounter it.
 
I came looking for a "bad blade" thread and found this. Today was my day. I have been exclusively using Gillette Platinum Plus for over a year now and today's blade was so bad it felt like I was shaving over a rash and drawing blood, although there was no blood thankfully. Let's hope it's not the case with the rest of the tuck. My face is on fire right now. I might have to skip a day of shaving.

Next time I should throw the blade away as soon as I detect this problem instead of trying to be frugal and make it work.
 
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I have to throw away several single edge blades. I get them in a pack of 10 and had to throw
4 or 5 away. But thankfully the problem has seemed to have cleared up.
 
I came looking for a "bad blade" thread and found this. Today was my day. I have been exclusively using Gillette Platinum Plus for over a year now and today's blade was so bad it felt like I was shaving over a rash and drawing blood, although there was no blood thankfully. Let's hope it's not the case with the rest of the tuck. My face is on fire right now. I might have to skip a day of shaving.

Next time I should throw the blade away as soon as I detect this problem instead of trying to be frugal and make it work.
Had a totally normally shave this evening with a blade from the same tuck. Bad specimens happen. :)
 
Yes, but it's usually not the blades fault, it's the lather....but I still blame the blade and swap it out.

Yup!
My experience is that a blade a very rarely a dud, nor do blades fall off a cliff in terms of cutting efficiency...unless the water is hard and it causes carbonate build-up, in which case the blade can be smooth one day and rough the next.

To counter this, I use a small bowl of soft water to swish my razor so no two water comes in contact with the razor/blade.
Since making this change, I've found my blades go through a very gradual degradation and I've not experienced a blade edge dying from one shave to the next.

If a blade feels rough all of the sudden, it's generally that I haven't hydrated the lather enough or, my skin is dry (which happens in winters), in which case I apply extra serum to counter this.
 
Been using Wilkinson Swords(G) as my daily driver blade, and really haven't come across a bad one, yet. Now Vokshods, they are rough for me in my daily driver razor, a Parker 91R. So, I tried "corking" a Vokshod blade, and it really helped to smooth that blade. Really good shave! Not going to buy any more Vokshods, as I'm not going to "cork" every blade I use. Just trying to use up what I had purchased previously to try in my Parker razor. Still have a Feather or two, a tuck of Vokshods( if anyone wants them, let me know), a Gillette Platinum, some VDH blades leftover from my VDH days, which is my only other razor. The VDH blades are not that bad, but quality is an issue with getting one "bad" blade out of a tuck. Usually just one blade seems to be rougher than the others. I just "cork" them now, when it happens. I get 5 decent shaves out of VDH blades, but it is not my daily driver blade. So, yeah, I've had a few "bad apples" in my time...
 
Personna Platinum in the blue plastic tuck. First blade was terrible. I always try to give things a fair chance. The second blade from the same tuck did quite well.
 
I can't edit my post above so I've corrected the auto-correct mistakes below.
Hopefully it makes more sense now!


Yup!
My experience is that a blade is very rarely a dud, nor do blades fall off a cliff in terms of cutting efficiency...unless the water is hard and it causes carbonate build-up, in which case the blade can be smooth one day and rough the next.

To counter this, I use a small bowl of soft water to swish my razor so no tap water comes in contact with the razor/blade.
Since making this change, I've found my blades go through a very gradual degradation and I've not experienced a blade edge dying from one shave to the next.

If a blade feels rough when I start shaving, it's not that the blade was good the day before and somehow the blade edge died sitting on the shelf...It's just that I hadn't hydrated the lather enough or, my skin is very dry (which happens in harsh winters), in which case I apply extra serum to counter this.
 
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