Hello Gents,
In a previous post in another thread I mentioned that I bought 4 tucks of these very obscure blades. After two shaves I guess it's time for a review.
On the website the pictures show cardboard tucks, and it is mentioned on them that they are made in Germany. However, the ones I received are cased in hard white plastic tucks and on the back of the cardboard hanger it is mentioned that they are made in the "Azmusebat" factory in Turkey, the very same one that produces Derby blades, Bluebird blades and (according to another member) the also very obscure Diamonds Pro Excell blades, that I have as well.
The blades are single wrapped in wax paper with some fairly large wax dots on them.
The writing on the blades themselves is pretty faded, but with clearly defined edges, no smudged printing. Based on their obscurity and the faded writing I'm wondering if these are out of production, as I have not seen them mentioned anywhere else.
I can provide more pictures of the blades and packaging on request.
I used a blade for two shaves, to get a basic idea of how these perform. Maybe it's not the most accurate or detailed review but it is a review nonetheless.
I used a Fatip Piccolo Special Edition for both shaves. The first one was done with the open comb of the razor and the second one with the "Gentile" comb, which, to me, seems more aggressive than the open comb one and has some pretty deep scalloping resembling somewhat an R41.
First shave
Balea Men synthetic brush
Proraso Red sandalwood soap
Fatip Piccolo Special Edition open comb
Floid Black aftershave
The shave was very smooth and comfortable. Got almost BBS on my neck, which is very difficult for me due to the thick hairs on my neck, their erratic patterns and their density. No irritation. That being said the blade is on the milder side and not very sharp. Somewhere along the lines of Voskhod, Shark Super Stainless, Bic Astor but slightly sharper than those. Not sure if these are rebranded Derbys or Bluebirds. As I have not tried either of those I cannot comment on that.
Second shave
Balea Men synthetic brush
Proraso Red sandalwood soap
Fatip Piccolo Special Edition gentile comb
STR8 Ahead aftershave
As I stated before I found this pretty aggressive. Lots more blade feel which I don't enjoy all that much. Some weepers but those were also because I have some bumps on my neck on the hair's edge.
In the end the shave was as close as the first but this time with a fierce sting from the aftershave.
I also noticed that BOTH plates of the Fatip have alignment issues. So there is some truth to the story. I loaded the blade just like in the case of the other razors I own : holding the cap upside down, inserting the blade, inserting the plate and then screwing in the handle. Still, there was unequal blade exposure. In both cases I fiddled with the alignment for a few minutes but could not get it perfect. The blade, regardless of the fact that it was inserted straight was showing unequally. In the end it was not such a big issue but to those who cannot stand this and want better tolerances beware.
So what do I think of the blade, then? Not a bad addition to my collection. If you like mild blades like the Voskhod you're going to like this as well. The price was about the equivalent of 1.25 USD. Not the cheapest but not expensive either.
The only other question is the longevity of the edge. For that more shaves are required. I will shave some more with it in other razors to see how it measures up. I usually only shave three times with a blade before replacing it. But I will continue to test it to "flex its muscles".
In the end I think they are worth the price for the novelty alone, if you can get your hands on some of them, to add variety to the blade stash.
Thanks for reading.
In a previous post in another thread I mentioned that I bought 4 tucks of these very obscure blades. After two shaves I guess it's time for a review.
On the website the pictures show cardboard tucks, and it is mentioned on them that they are made in Germany. However, the ones I received are cased in hard white plastic tucks and on the back of the cardboard hanger it is mentioned that they are made in the "Azmusebat" factory in Turkey, the very same one that produces Derby blades, Bluebird blades and (according to another member) the also very obscure Diamonds Pro Excell blades, that I have as well.
The blades are single wrapped in wax paper with some fairly large wax dots on them.
The writing on the blades themselves is pretty faded, but with clearly defined edges, no smudged printing. Based on their obscurity and the faded writing I'm wondering if these are out of production, as I have not seen them mentioned anywhere else.
I can provide more pictures of the blades and packaging on request.
I used a blade for two shaves, to get a basic idea of how these perform. Maybe it's not the most accurate or detailed review but it is a review nonetheless.
I used a Fatip Piccolo Special Edition for both shaves. The first one was done with the open comb of the razor and the second one with the "Gentile" comb, which, to me, seems more aggressive than the open comb one and has some pretty deep scalloping resembling somewhat an R41.
First shave
Balea Men synthetic brush
Proraso Red sandalwood soap
Fatip Piccolo Special Edition open comb
Floid Black aftershave
The shave was very smooth and comfortable. Got almost BBS on my neck, which is very difficult for me due to the thick hairs on my neck, their erratic patterns and their density. No irritation. That being said the blade is on the milder side and not very sharp. Somewhere along the lines of Voskhod, Shark Super Stainless, Bic Astor but slightly sharper than those. Not sure if these are rebranded Derbys or Bluebirds. As I have not tried either of those I cannot comment on that.
Second shave
Balea Men synthetic brush
Proraso Red sandalwood soap
Fatip Piccolo Special Edition gentile comb
STR8 Ahead aftershave
As I stated before I found this pretty aggressive. Lots more blade feel which I don't enjoy all that much. Some weepers but those were also because I have some bumps on my neck on the hair's edge.
In the end the shave was as close as the first but this time with a fierce sting from the aftershave.
I also noticed that BOTH plates of the Fatip have alignment issues. So there is some truth to the story. I loaded the blade just like in the case of the other razors I own : holding the cap upside down, inserting the blade, inserting the plate and then screwing in the handle. Still, there was unequal blade exposure. In both cases I fiddled with the alignment for a few minutes but could not get it perfect. The blade, regardless of the fact that it was inserted straight was showing unequally. In the end it was not such a big issue but to those who cannot stand this and want better tolerances beware.
So what do I think of the blade, then? Not a bad addition to my collection. If you like mild blades like the Voskhod you're going to like this as well. The price was about the equivalent of 1.25 USD. Not the cheapest but not expensive either.
The only other question is the longevity of the edge. For that more shaves are required. I will shave some more with it in other razors to see how it measures up. I usually only shave three times with a blade before replacing it. But I will continue to test it to "flex its muscles".
In the end I think they are worth the price for the novelty alone, if you can get your hands on some of them, to add variety to the blade stash.
Thanks for reading.
