So i'm back with another monthly review! As before, each blade will be reviewed based on a 2 pass (plus touch up) shave using a Van Der Hagen long handled razor, Long Rifle 1776 soap and a generic Fento badger brush.
I run through 2 of each blade and use each 4 times; for a total of 8 shaves per brand. I'll be grading based on sharpness, smoothness, longevity and consistency. Price will be a factor but only of it's very cheap or expensive since most DE blades are pretty cheap comparatively.
The blade this month is the Gillette 7 o’clock Super Platinum. These blades are made in India (though apparently they used to be made in Russia) and as the name implies, are platinum coated. Not counting the Gillette Wilkinson Sword (also manufactured in India) these are the first name brand Gillette DE blades i’ve tried. The packaging is nice with a white burst of light against a black background and “Gillette 7 o’clock” taking up much of the foreground. The blade itself says Gillette 7 o’clock on the top and “Super Platinum” underneath. Interestingly enough, the back of the blade wrapper is actually an advertisement. It boldly declares “For best results, use Gillette Series Shave Gel.” And it also warns would be entrepreneurs: “Not to be sold loose.” Oh Gillette you corporate devils you. As i shaved with my sold loose blade using non Gillette approved lather, i could hear a CEO somewhere silently sobbing...
Anyway enough about packaging and corporate mind control, on to the shave!
The first shave was decently sharp and glided pretty well through my beard. Had one little weeper but otherwise a very close, comfortable shave. The second shave was...sharp. Gone was the glide from the first shave; replaced with a much increased amount of blade feel and sharpness. Now, like all things razor blades, blade feel is a very subjective thing. Personally, i hate it. I prefer blades that feel as if they aren’t there and glide over the skin. The 7 o’clock SP was undeniably sharp but i could FEEL the sharpness on the second shave. The result was some weepers and post shave irritation. As i warily went about my 3rd shave the sharpness and blade feel held and though i managed to cut down on the weepers, the irritation was still present post shave. By the 4th shave the blade had only lost a little sharpness and the shave was very similar to the third.
Blade #2 mirrored the first in that the initial shave was excellent and then the blade feel and sharpness ramped up and stayed there. All in all this is one of the sharper blades out there after the first shave.
Smoothness as i alluded to was not so great for me. The first shave on both blades was very comfortable but once the blade sharpened up i could really feel it with each swipe. It cut stubble well but unlike a heavily teflon coated blade, the nice glide across the skin feeling was totally absent. It fully gives you the feedback that you’re dragging one of the sharpest pieces of metal ever created over your skin. Some guys like that, but for me it’s a negative. Also despite dialing back the weepers once i realized how sharp it was, i couldn’t escape the post shave irritation. Every shave left my face feeling slightly hot and puffy.
Longevity is excellent and i think this would be a good blade for you excalibur types. It retained its edge as well as any blade i’ve used and easily could’ve gone on past 6 or 7 shaves.
Consistency is also top in that both blades performed exactly alike. No QC issues here.
Price seems decent at $14.44 per 84 on amazon...until you realize you’re missing 16 blades. Priced out to the usual 100 pack it’s $17.19. Not quite Feather expensive but still in the “premium” blade price point.
So what’s the final verdict on these evil corporate money makers? Are they a poor product packaged nicely to get slobs like me to shell out my hard earned cash? A premium product offered by a world renowned brand? Or something else entirely? I think to ask those questions is merely overlooking the real question: WOULD GILLETTE SERIES SHAVE GEL HAVE GIVEN ME THE BEST RESULT?! Obviously the answer is yes. It says so right on the package.
Assuming i got the second best result using my clearly inferior shaving soap, i’d give the Gillette 7 o’clock SP a solid 6 out of 10. The blade itself is a quality product and i can see a lot of people out there really liking it. It’s extremely sharp, lasts a long time and is a very well manufactured blade. The 6 simply reflects the fact that it’s just too sharp for my face. I recommend people who like blade feel and very sharp blades to give the 7 o’clock SP a try. For others it’s still worth a shot but be warned, this thing is every bit as sharp as a Feather in my opinion. I actually find Feather’s to be very forgiving though so perhaps my opinion on the subject isn’t the best. But that’s a blade tale for another day...
Next up on the Macduff list to review is the Gillette Sputnik. I eagerly await all the communist references i can cram into that one so stay tuned and happy shaves!
I run through 2 of each blade and use each 4 times; for a total of 8 shaves per brand. I'll be grading based on sharpness, smoothness, longevity and consistency. Price will be a factor but only of it's very cheap or expensive since most DE blades are pretty cheap comparatively.
The blade this month is the Gillette 7 o’clock Super Platinum. These blades are made in India (though apparently they used to be made in Russia) and as the name implies, are platinum coated. Not counting the Gillette Wilkinson Sword (also manufactured in India) these are the first name brand Gillette DE blades i’ve tried. The packaging is nice with a white burst of light against a black background and “Gillette 7 o’clock” taking up much of the foreground. The blade itself says Gillette 7 o’clock on the top and “Super Platinum” underneath. Interestingly enough, the back of the blade wrapper is actually an advertisement. It boldly declares “For best results, use Gillette Series Shave Gel.” And it also warns would be entrepreneurs: “Not to be sold loose.” Oh Gillette you corporate devils you. As i shaved with my sold loose blade using non Gillette approved lather, i could hear a CEO somewhere silently sobbing...
Anyway enough about packaging and corporate mind control, on to the shave!
The first shave was decently sharp and glided pretty well through my beard. Had one little weeper but otherwise a very close, comfortable shave. The second shave was...sharp. Gone was the glide from the first shave; replaced with a much increased amount of blade feel and sharpness. Now, like all things razor blades, blade feel is a very subjective thing. Personally, i hate it. I prefer blades that feel as if they aren’t there and glide over the skin. The 7 o’clock SP was undeniably sharp but i could FEEL the sharpness on the second shave. The result was some weepers and post shave irritation. As i warily went about my 3rd shave the sharpness and blade feel held and though i managed to cut down on the weepers, the irritation was still present post shave. By the 4th shave the blade had only lost a little sharpness and the shave was very similar to the third.
Blade #2 mirrored the first in that the initial shave was excellent and then the blade feel and sharpness ramped up and stayed there. All in all this is one of the sharper blades out there after the first shave.
Smoothness as i alluded to was not so great for me. The first shave on both blades was very comfortable but once the blade sharpened up i could really feel it with each swipe. It cut stubble well but unlike a heavily teflon coated blade, the nice glide across the skin feeling was totally absent. It fully gives you the feedback that you’re dragging one of the sharpest pieces of metal ever created over your skin. Some guys like that, but for me it’s a negative. Also despite dialing back the weepers once i realized how sharp it was, i couldn’t escape the post shave irritation. Every shave left my face feeling slightly hot and puffy.
Longevity is excellent and i think this would be a good blade for you excalibur types. It retained its edge as well as any blade i’ve used and easily could’ve gone on past 6 or 7 shaves.
Consistency is also top in that both blades performed exactly alike. No QC issues here.
Price seems decent at $14.44 per 84 on amazon...until you realize you’re missing 16 blades. Priced out to the usual 100 pack it’s $17.19. Not quite Feather expensive but still in the “premium” blade price point.
So what’s the final verdict on these evil corporate money makers? Are they a poor product packaged nicely to get slobs like me to shell out my hard earned cash? A premium product offered by a world renowned brand? Or something else entirely? I think to ask those questions is merely overlooking the real question: WOULD GILLETTE SERIES SHAVE GEL HAVE GIVEN ME THE BEST RESULT?! Obviously the answer is yes. It says so right on the package.
Assuming i got the second best result using my clearly inferior shaving soap, i’d give the Gillette 7 o’clock SP a solid 6 out of 10. The blade itself is a quality product and i can see a lot of people out there really liking it. It’s extremely sharp, lasts a long time and is a very well manufactured blade. The 6 simply reflects the fact that it’s just too sharp for my face. I recommend people who like blade feel and very sharp blades to give the 7 o’clock SP a try. For others it’s still worth a shot but be warned, this thing is every bit as sharp as a Feather in my opinion. I actually find Feather’s to be very forgiving though so perhaps my opinion on the subject isn’t the best. But that’s a blade tale for another day...
Next up on the Macduff list to review is the Gillette Sputnik. I eagerly await all the communist references i can cram into that one so stay tuned and happy shaves!
