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Inconsistent Astra blades

I’m on my second pack of 100 Astra blades and have noticed that I’m getting some rather poor quality blades right out of the package. Most are great, what I expect of Astra, but others have been unusable. Anyone else experiencing this with Astra’s? Is this common with all brands?
 
Yep... Me Too! They seem hit or miss but, I got lucky & got a good bunch this time around! Lord blades are the same hit or miss for me also. I am not sure what in tarnation is going on here. Personna Lab Blues seem great all the time so far.
 
You're not alone. My son experienced this with a box of 100 Astra blades. His box is from early last year. First bunch of blades out of the box were great, then the next bunch were inconsistent quality.
 
I bought 25 last year and 1/3 were duds. I bought another 100 a month ago with the new packaging and keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Yep... Me Too! They seem hit or miss but, I got lucky & got a good bunch this time around! Lord blades are the same hit or miss for me also. I am not sure what in tarnation is going on here. Personna Lab Blues seem great all the time so far.
I just ordered 100 Personna blades so we'll see how they compare to the Astras.
 
Looks like I have been lucky: my current 100 Astra SP have been consistently good blades (at least so far)!
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
I’m on my second pack of 100 Astra blades and have noticed that I’m getting some rather poor quality blades right out of the package. Most are great, what I expect of Astra, but others have been unusable. Anyone else experiencing this with Astra’s? Is this common with all brands?

I don't use Astra blades often enough to say (sharp, but not smooth enough for me), but I think you get some bad blades in any box of 100. Med Preps seem to be the most consistent; I've averaged a couple bad blades per box. The Labs are also pretty good with 4-5 bad blades per box. PolSilver SI are pretty consistent; the occasional bad edge make me unhappy, but doesn't do damage.

I had a 5 pack of Gillette Black's that had 3 bad blades, but that was unusual. I suspect the only trick is to purchase large enough quantities to make the blades economical, and then just toss the bad ones.
 
I’m on my second pack of 100 Astra blades and have noticed that I’m getting some rather poor quality blades right out of the package. Most are great, what I expect of Astra, but others have been unusable. Anyone else experiencing this with Astra’s? Is this common with all brands?

Are your blades stamped with ink(fully blackened logo), or etched(only outline of logo visible)?

From my box of 100 purchased a few years ago from Fendrihan, only had 2 or 3 duds. (stamped blades with fully blackened logos)

Where did you purchase yours?
 
Are your blades stamped with ink(fully blackened logo), or etched(only outline of logo visible)?

From my box of 100 purchased a few years ago from Fendrihan, only had 2 or 3 duds. (stamped blades with fully blackened logos)

Where did you purchase yours?
They are etched and I bought them through Amazon. The seller is Super Safety Razor.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
I also ordered 50 Feathers as I've never tried them before. It will be interesting to compare them.

Excellent choice. I was going to say that I have never had a problem with Feather blades.

I ditched Astra blades years ago. After trying nearly everything that was generally available, I finally settled on Feather as my blade. I have a few stray brands lying around here and there, but have only been getting 100 packs of Feathers for a few years now.
 
So much to say on this topic...

1) I had the same exact problem with a 100-pack of AstraSPs that I had bought from one vendor. After consulting here, I was told to try buying the blades from a different vendor, so I went with Maggard's on the next purchase. Zero duds in that 100-pack. I have since bought another 100-pack from Maggards (the etched ones on that pack) and again, zero duds. I suspect which vendor you buy from could be an issue as I understand counterfeiting to be an issue at times.

2) For those of you who really like AstraSPs, the Personna Reds should be a decent option. Not as sharp as the AstraSP, but smoother. And there is zero blade variation. I am now on my 300th+ blade and have not had one blade that was off.
 
For those of you who really like AstraSPs, the Personna Reds should be a decent option. Not as sharp as the AstraSP, but smoother.

I only have Astra SP, never tried anything else. If I did, should it be Personna Reds or 7 O'Clock Platinum Black, or the Yellow, or maybe something else like Nacet?
 
I only have Astra SP, never tried anything else. If I did, should it be Personna Reds or 7 O'Clock Platinum Black, or the Yellow, or maybe something else like Nacet?

If you like AstraSP, I think the Personna Reds are a good option. Like I said...not quite a sharp, but smoother. Also, I am REALLY liking the Rapira Platinum Lux I just got. Not as sharp as the AstraSP but sharper than Personna...and not as smooth as Personna, but smoother than AstraSP. The Rapira Plat Lux is the hypothetical love child of an AstraSP and PersonnaRed...

I have tried 7OC Yellow and it wasn't even close to the AstraSP on my skin. Somehow, I seem to do better with coated blades...
 
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