HELP NEEDED - User Ratings Survey - Astra Superior Platinum

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

This is a thread for surveying experienced users about sharpness, smoothness, and shave number of the Astra Superior Platinum double-edge (DE) razor blade. Experienced user ratings are needed for the Comprehensive DE Razor Blade Data Table in the B&B ShaveWiki. Usernames and individual ratings will be collected in a table and added to the blade's B&B ShaveWiki page. Overall user ratings will be calculated and added to the Comprehensive DE Razor Blade Data Table. If you are an experienced user with DE razor blades and safety razors and have used this thread's blade enough to form a fair opinion, then please consider replying with your ratings. In particular, we need the following:

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10):
Maximum Sharpness (0–10):
Minimum Smoothness (0–10):
Maximum Smoothness (0–10):
Minimum Shave Number (≥0):
Maximum Shave Number (≥0):

Please copy and paste the text above and add your ratings in your reply, keeping the following in mind:

• Minimum and maximum ratings capture how sharpness, smoothness, and shave number vary across many samples of the same blade, ignoring the rare or occasional dud or bad sample. If you feel that a property does not vary across samples, then enter the same rating for the minimum and maximum values.

• Ratings do not have to be in whole numbers. Decimal numbers are allowed for all ratings.

• Leave ratings blank if you aren't sure. It is perfectly fine to provide ratings for some parameters while leaving others blank for which you are not comfortable assessing. Remember, only experienced opinions are desired.

• Sharpness is a measure of how efficiently the blade cuts hair compared to other blades. More sharpness correlates with (a) less drag, resistance, and tugging due to easier cutting of hair, (b) closer shaves, and (c) less needed strokes and/or passes. Sharpness is rated on a scale from 0 to 10 such that a rating of 0 is for the dullest blades and a rating of 10 is for sharpest blades, in your opinion, of course.

• Smoothness is a measure of how well the blade provides comfortable and bloodless shaves compared to other blades. More smoothness means less irritation and redness and less nicks, weepers, and cuts. As with sharpness, smoothness is measured on a scale from 0 to 10, so a smoothness rating of 0 is reserved for blades that you feel are the least smooth and a smoothness rating of 10 is for the smoothest blades in your opinion.

• Shave number is the number of shaves that you get with a blade up to when you feel that the blade has significantly dropped in performance. This event can occur during a shave, yielding a shave number that is a decimal number, or at the end of a shave, giving a whole shave number. As with sharpness and smoothness, there is a lot of subjectivity with shave number, which is expected and okay. Guys who don't use the blade long enough to evaluate shave number should leave shave number ratings blank. On the other end of the spectrum, guys who keep using the blade well beyond the noticed drop in blade performance could provide shave number ratings that don't correspond with actual blade usage. Shave number can be rated as 0 if you find some typical samples of the blade so intolerable at the start of their first uses that you don't shave any further with them.
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Thank you for your consideration, and special thanks to those experienced users who participate. This is part of a long-term project, so keep an eye out for the next survey!

P.S. This survey officially lasts for one week.

 

[VerbaVolant]

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 7
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 8
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 10
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 4
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 6

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Thanks, [MENTION=49293]VerbaVolant[/MENTION]!

 

[BBJones]

Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 6.5
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 7.25
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 6.75
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 7.75
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 4
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 7

 

[adamchur]

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 6
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 7
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 7
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 8
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 3
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 3

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

[MENTION=112822]BBJones[/MENTION] and [MENTION=108689]adamchur[/MENTION]:

Thanks, guys!

 

[BigJ]

For me:
Minimum sharpness: 7
Maximum sharpness: 8
Minimum smoothness: 8
Maximum smoothness: 9
Minimum shave number: 5
Maximum shave number: 11

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Thanks, [MENTION=94606]BigJ[/MENTION]!

 

[gwsmallwood]

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 7
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 9
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 9
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 2*
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 4*

*My longevity ratings are based on full head an face shaves, 3 passes on head, 1 or 2 on face. For a normal face-only shaver, those numbers would probably be doubled.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

*My longevity ratings are based on full head an face shaves, 3 passes on head, 1 or 2 on face. For a normal face-only shaver, those numbers would probably be doubled.

Thanks for the ratings and thanks for that clarification, [MENTION=87845]gwsmallwood[/MENTION]. Even though your shave number ratings have to be neglected, you've helped me realize that I should switch from absolute "shave number" to relative "longevity" ratings. THANK YOU! "Longevity" on a scale from 0 to 10 should be used. This would mean that all head shavers can participate just as well as face shavers. Also, relative "longevity" does not have a problem with pass and stroke numbers. It's all relative!

 

[sskim3]

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 6
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 7
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 8
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 3
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 14

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Thanks, [MENTION=94244]sskim3[/MENTION]!

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

"Longevity" on a scale from 0 to 10 should be used. This would mean that all head shavers can participate just as well as face shavers. Also, relative "longevity" does not have a problem with pass and stroke numbers. It's all relative!

I've reconsidered what I just wrote and I believe that I was being hasty. I originally settled on absolute "shave number" over relative "longevity" because people naturally think and talk in numbers of shaves. I just got thrown a curveball with the idea of head shaving. Sharpness and smoothness can be evaluated by any experienced DE shavers, but shave number is presumed in this survey to apply to the face. (I should make that explicitly clear in the future.) Shave numbers for the head and head-and-face combinations, as in [MENTION=87845]gwsmallwood[/MENTION]'s case, are different. A relative "longevity" parameter on a scale from 0 to 10 would work for all DE shavers equally, but it is natural to deal in shave number, so "longevity" would be difficult to evaluate, I think. Even though "shave number" is for face shaving, which excludes the minority of head and combo shavers, it can still provide valuable information for head and combo shavers.

 

[gwsmallwood]

I've reconsidered what I just wrote and I believe that I was being hasty. I originally settled on absolute "shave number" over relative "longevity" because people naturally think and talk in numbers of shaves. I just got thrown a curveball with the idea of head shaving. Sharpness and smoothness can be evaluated by any experienced DE shavers, but shave number is presumed in this survey to apply to the face. (I should make that explicitly clear in the future.) Shave numbers for the head and head-and-face combinations, as in @gwsmallwood's case, are different. A relative "longevity" parameter on a scale from 0 to 10 would work for all DE shavers equally, but it is natural to deal in shave number, so "longevity" would be difficult to evaluate, I think. Even though "shave number" is for face shaving, which excludes the minority of head and combo shavers, it can still provide valuable information for head and combo shavers.

I agree, which is why I just noted that my numbers came with a caveat...

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

I agree, which is why I just noted that my numbers came with a caveat...

Exactly. You did the right thing. Thanks.

 

[Spang]

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 6
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 8
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 3
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 5

 

[Mimramman]

DE Razor Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 7
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 6
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 8
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 4
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 10

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

[MENTION=52347]Spang[/MENTION] and [MENTION=101978]Mimramman[/MENTION]:

Thanks, guys!

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Are you an experienced enough DE shaver to rate the Astra SP? If so, please go to the [post=8773777]top of this page[/post] and complete this short survey!

 

[troy]

Minimum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Maximum Sharpness (0–10): 8
Minimum Smoothness (0–10): 9
Maximum Smoothness (0–10): 9
Minimum Shave Number (≥0): 20
Maximum Shave Number (≥0): 35

My shaves consist of a 2 pass head shave and whatever percent of my face I'm shaving. It varies with the seasons, right now it is only a little clean up of the edges and I always keep at least a goat and stache. For reference these are one of my favorite blades. I get the same longevity from GSBs. Feathers are about half the life.