Israeli versus EU Personna blades

[Roedeer]

I missed the alert on here about Personna shutting down its operation in Israel.

On the other hand, I noticed a while back that I liked the "made in Israel, distributed by (...) Energizer, High Wycombe, UK" high street Personnas available here (Scotland), and on general cynical principles ("if I like anything, they will discontinue it"), I bought a few whenever I was getting groceries, and have about 300 stashed.

In late 2019 the packaging changed to "made in EU, distributed by Personna International CZ (...) Czech Republic".

What is the overall impression: the same, better or worse? I'm going to withhold my opinion, as I don't want to lead the jury.

If I have not characterised the product well enough, I could provide pictures of packaging. The blade itself was blank. We may never know which Personna it really was, only its country of origin.

 

[hydro-magic]

Interesting. I haven't seen these blades in the US but some stores were carrying the Personna "Made in Israel" store brand blades. I'll have to start looking to see if they've changed. I just tried a new Czech blade - Tatra Platinum. They were very good. Those new blades might be worth a try.

 

[Roedeer]

Given that I also have ~ 185 Astra SPs (some printed, some laser-etched, yet both batches of 100 tested good to 12 shaves), plus a burn rate of "all good blades all last for at least a week", I suppose that I am well fixed for the rest of my life.

I just don't like the feeling that my choices are shrinking. That's age talking, old buck.

 

[pdieten]

Interesting. I haven't seen these blades in the US but some stores were carrying the Personna "Made in Israel" store brand blades. I'll have to start looking to see if they've changed. I just tried a new Czech blade - Tatra Platinum. They were very good. Those new blades might be worth a try.

The blade isn’t made in CZ. The report that came out a few months ago was that Edgewell was consolidating its blade making operations in Germany, and it appears they are sending the finished blades to CZ for packaging only.

They did something similar when they still owned the US blade making factory in Virginia. The blades were sent to Mexico for packaging. Saved them some money, I guess.

 

[hydro-magic]

Ah, ok. I guess I'll try a pack of these if they make it to US stores.

 

[RayClem]

It is my understanding that Edgewell purchased the Harry's brand razors and the plant facility that Harry's built in Eisfeld, Germany. As part of the restructuring plan Edgewell announced the plant in Bethlehem Israel would close. I do not know the status of the closure. Personna Platinum Israeli Reds are one of my favorite blades.

In addition to production at the newly acquired Harry's plant, Edgewell also produces Wilkinson Sword Classic blades in Germany. Production from the Israeli plant could be transferred to one of these two plants or perhaps elsewhere. Whether the new production is as good, better, or worse than production from the Bethlehem plant is to be seen over time. In the meantime, if you do not have a cache of Israeli Reds, they are still available.

 

[Columbo]

I missed the alert on here about Personna shutting down its operation in Israel.

On the other hand, I noticed a while back that I liked the "made in Israel, distributed by (...) Energizer, High Wycombe, UK" high street Personnas available here (Scotland), and on general cynical principles ("if I like anything, they will discontinue it"), I bought a few whenever I was getting groceries, and have about 300 stashed.

In late 2019 the packaging changed to "made in EU, distributed by Personna International CZ (...) Czech Republic".

What is the overall impression: the same, better or worse? I'm going to withhold my opinion, as I don't want to lead the jury.

If I have not characterised the product well enough, I could provide pictures of packaging. The blade itself was blank. We may never know which Personna it really was, only its country of origin.

"Personna" has been a very confused and fragmented brand name for quite some time. It is not a company name -- it is merely a brand name. Blades bearing the Personna brand name are today made by multiple, completely different companies, in different facilities, on separate continents.

Talking only about "Personna" will quickly drag you down the rabbit hole of that confusion. You might as well be talking about aspirin.

As far as the new German-made Edgewells vs. the old ASR/Nazareth production, I will leave the subjective reviews to others. The latter in all 'red' packaging was a very good blade and a great value before the prices crept up.

 

[RayClem]

"Personna" has been a very confused and fragmented brand name for quite some time. It is not a company name -- it is merely a brand name. Blades bearing the Personna brand name are today made by multiple, completely different companies, in different facilities, on separate continents.

Talking only about "Personna" will quickly drag you down the rabbit hole of that confusion. You might as well be talking about aspirin.

As far as the new German-made Edgewells vs. the old ASR/Nazareth production, I will leave the subjective reviews to others. The latter in all 'red' packaging was a very good blade and a great value before the prices crept up.

They are currently available for $18 per 100 pack. There are certainly less expensive blades available, but I think they are worth that price. There are also Personnas available in the blue UK packaging. Some folks say they are the same blades as the red packaging. Others say they are different. I cannot confirm one way or the other.

 

[BigJ]

I am be following this with interest as the ’Israeli Red‘ Personnas are top-tier for me.

(Fortunately, I have about 200 or so in the stash!)

 

[xiletero]

And Crystal blades also going down? Just when I found them.....

 

[Roedeer]

The Personnas I have been stockpiling are my joint first choice with Astra SP (subjectively, they are equally great blades).

It looks as though my simplest move would be to get a few hundred extra Astra SP in, just in case, and call that "job done".

PS, the new (non-Israeli) Personna available in the UK was not bad for me, but it wasn't better than the old. I thought it was slightly "off".

It was like a German Wilkinson (subjectively a "not-bad, but second-choice" sort of blade), which would make sense, if it is being cranked out in the same factory.

Thanks, posters, you knew a whole lot more about the convoluted history of "Personna" than me.

 

[RayClem]

The Personnas I have been stockpiling are my joint first choice with Astra SP (subjectively, they are equally great blades).

It looks as though my simplest move would be to get a few hundred extra Astra SP in, just in case, and call that "job done".

There is no hint of any disruption in the production of Astra blade, but if they work for you, go for it.

In my personal experience, I would consider Astra Superior Stainless and Personna Israeli Reds are equally great blades. However, the Astra SP are not sharp enough to give my face a great shave, only a mediocre one. I am not the only one who has reached a similar conclusion. For those whose beards are less coarse, Astra SP may be ideal.

 

[TheBigL]

It is my understanding that Edgewell purchased the Harry's brand razors and the plant facility that Harry's built in Eisfeld, Germany. As part of the restructuring plan Edgewell announced the plant in Bethlehem Israel would close. I do not know the status of the closure. Personna Platinum Israeli Reds are one of my favorite blades.

In addition to production at the newly acquired Harry's plant, Edgewell also produces Wilkinson Sword Classic blades in Germany. Production from the Israeli plant could be transferred to one of these two plants or perhaps elsewhere. Whether the new production is as good, better, or worse than production from the Bethlehem plant is to be seen over time. In the meantime, if you do not have a cache of Israeli Reds, they are still available.

It was my understanding that Harry's bought Feintechnik in Eisfeld and Harry's was subsequently bought by Edgewell.

I know Feintechnik made lots of private label blades prior as well as Croma DEs.

 

[pdieten]

It was my understanding that Harry's bought Feintechnik in Eisfeld and Harry's was subsequently bought by Edgewell.

I know Feintechnik made lots of private label blades prior as well as Croma DEs.

Your understanding is correct; I do wonder whether Harry's continued Feintechnik's DE business and/or whether Edgewell is making any changes to it. I have been given to understand that Edgewell has been relatively hands-off in the operation of Harry's, so it would have been up to Harry's as to whether they continue DE manufacturing, but things can always change. Of course Harry's primarily wants to sell the 5-blade cartridges that Feintechnik was selling as Cromas before the acquisition; I doubt they were really moving all that many DE blades and it's likely not a primary focus for anyone involved.

 

[TheBigL]

Your understanding is correct; I do wonder whether Harry's continued Feintechnik's DE business and/or whether Edgewell is making any changes to it. I have been given to understand that Edgewell has been relatively hands-off in the operation of Harry's, so it would have been up to Harry's as to whether they continue DE manufacturing, but things can always change. Of course Harry's primarily wants to sell the 5-blade cartridges that Feintechnik was selling as Cromas before the acquisition; I doubt they were really moving all that many DE blades and it's likely not a primary focus for anyone involved.

I scrolled through Harry's US and German websites and found no reference to Edgewell in the TOS or legal sections anywhere. However they do still mention Feintechnik.

 

[pdieten]

I scrolled through Harry's US and German websites and found no reference to Edgewell in the TOS or legal sections anywhere. However they do still mention Feintechnik.

Yeah. These are big businesses and Edgewell acquired Harry's only a few months ago. The plans for making these kinds of changes is usually scheduled in months and years, not weeks. It takes time.

 

[Schnitzel52]

I have 100 Personna Reds in inventory.
Looks like I need to stock up.

 

[emwolf]

And Crystal blades also going down? Just when I found them.....

I have plenty, let me know if you run out

 

[RayClem]

I have 100 Personna Reds in inventory.
Looks like I need to stock up.

They are still available if you want to stock up. Although there may come a time when Israeli Reds are no longer available, it should be replaced with a similar Personna blade, but only time will tell how the new blades will compare to the old ones. They might be even better.

Even if the Israeli Reds were not replaced, there are still plenty of blades with similar shaving characteristics available. Israeli Reds are one of my favorite blades and I have a bulk pack, but if I run out, there are a number of other blades I like just as well.

 

[Schnitzel52]

I love the smoothness of the Personna Reds.
What other blades have that same smoothness?