TL;DR - impressive, consistent blade, made in Korea, would be welcome in my regular rotation
Background:
I had never heard of Boyou DB100 blades until @riverstyxxx (shout out and thank you) offered to share these blades (while supplies last) with fellow B&B'ers. He actually sent me a couple of different far eastern blades to try and this is the 1st of them. I've waited until after my 3rd shave so that I could give this blade a chance to show what it could do over a several days.
The Blade:
This is a Korean made Boyou DB100 Stainless Steel Blade, although it performs more like a super stainless than a regular stainless. And I really don't know much more about the manufacturer than before I received the blade. Information about them on the internet is scarce.
The blade comes double wrapped, nicely printed outer layer and an inner white wrap.On one side of the blade is English and the other side is Korean (I think). Everything about this blade is well done.
My Setup:
Razor: Merkur 20C (standard Merkur 3 piece - rated as mild, having a narrower blade gap)
Soaps: I used 3 different soaps to see how the blade would perform with each of them
- Colonel Conk's Lime
- The Shave Shop's Lemomelon
- Downeast Shaving Soap's Passamaquoddy Bay Peppermint
The Results:
YMMV, but this is my experience. Shave 1 was decent (most shave 1's for me are ok but not the best) sharp with no pulling or irritation. Shaves 2 and 3 were smooth, sharp, and still no pulling or irritation. I'm going to push the blade a few more days.
This blade could easily become part of my regular rotation. It performs on par with the Russian blades, and, personally, I would put it between the Gillette 7 O'Clock Greens (the Boyou being slightly better) and the Russian Ladas (on par). As sacrilegious as this may sound, it performs better for me than the Astra SP's.
These blades are definitely worth checking out.
Background:
I had never heard of Boyou DB100 blades until @riverstyxxx (shout out and thank you) offered to share these blades (while supplies last) with fellow B&B'ers. He actually sent me a couple of different far eastern blades to try and this is the 1st of them. I've waited until after my 3rd shave so that I could give this blade a chance to show what it could do over a several days.
The Blade:
This is a Korean made Boyou DB100 Stainless Steel Blade, although it performs more like a super stainless than a regular stainless. And I really don't know much more about the manufacturer than before I received the blade. Information about them on the internet is scarce.
The blade comes double wrapped, nicely printed outer layer and an inner white wrap.On one side of the blade is English and the other side is Korean (I think). Everything about this blade is well done.
My Setup:
Razor: Merkur 20C (standard Merkur 3 piece - rated as mild, having a narrower blade gap)
Soaps: I used 3 different soaps to see how the blade would perform with each of them
- Colonel Conk's Lime
- The Shave Shop's Lemomelon
- Downeast Shaving Soap's Passamaquoddy Bay Peppermint
The Results:
YMMV, but this is my experience. Shave 1 was decent (most shave 1's for me are ok but not the best) sharp with no pulling or irritation. Shaves 2 and 3 were smooth, sharp, and still no pulling or irritation. I'm going to push the blade a few more days.
This blade could easily become part of my regular rotation. It performs on par with the Russian blades, and, personally, I would put it between the Gillette 7 O'Clock Greens (the Boyou being slightly better) and the Russian Ladas (on par). As sacrilegious as this may sound, it performs better for me than the Astra SP's.
These blades are definitely worth checking out.
I have that blade, too, to review. I didn't start with the nicest one first, did I?!?! I like to save the best one for last so that my final memories are the pleasant ones. I'll go with the GFLV next and save the Yingjili (which seems like a fun word to say) for last.
