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.
This month I’m reviewing a blade that’s a microcosm of the long and relatively bloodless (but utterly terrifying) Cold War itself: The Gillette Sputnik. You may be asking “Macduff, WHY is this blade a microcosm of the Cold War?!” Well allow me to give you, my fellow B&B’ers, some backstory!
The Sputnik blade, as it was know back in its Red Soviet days, was THE blade of the USSR. It’s very name was the symbol of soviet progress and ingenuity. @mjclark did a brief and glowing review of these cold war era relics but noted that they didn’t last long. Also, his second go with them yielded an unusable mess of a blade. So obviously these babies were communist russia at it’s most predictable: flashes of brilliance with **** poor quality control. Shortly thereafter came the “Sputnik Chrome” which was meant for export to western markets and is the forerunner to the Gillette Sputnik blades we can purchase today. The tuck packaging is very similar (adorned beautifully in the colors of the Russian flag with a speeding Sputnik front and center) to the current iteration but noticeably lacking is the TEFLON (tm) coating we find on them now.
This brings us to the end of the cold war and the Gillette buyout of Russian DE blade factories. The Sputnik name was retained, teflon was added and behold, capitalism triumphs over communism! From a blade made to celebrate the USSR’s greatest achievement to a faceless US corporate takeover, ol’ Sputnik has seen it all. And is still here for us to shave with today! Which brings me to, of course, the shaves themselves!
Per usual the first order of business is sharpness. Right out of the box the beauties were...dull. Not rip your hair out dull just fairly unremarkable. 2nd, 3rd 4th shaves...all identical. Take that sloppy communist quality control! Gillette is here to show you what american consistency is all about! Which turns out is mediocre blandness. The second blade proved more of the same. Each shave was utterly uninspiring but serviceable. I quite literally noticed no change in sharpness throughout all 8 shaves. A first for me because most blades sharpen up or dull down (or both) over the course of 4 shaves. Not the Sputnik! A straight and narrow sharpness just like the orbit of ol’ Sputnik herself! (Well ok maybe not really since orbits decay and eventually Sputnik just fell to earth and burned up but who really has time for all that science?)
Smoothness was decent on these. No weepers or post shave irritation; though the shave itself was kinda rough due to the dullish nature of the blade. Definitely not a harsh blade by any measure but shaving comfort (i.e. tug and pull) was not the greatest.
Longevity seemed top notch as i didn’t notice any decrease in sharpness over the 4 shaves on each blade. I think this one would easily go 6 shaves or more.
Consistency also earns top marks. The Sputnik was possibly THE most consistent blade i’ve yet tried. It’s both a blessing and a curse in terms of my enjoyment of the blade but it was very consistent.
Price is a bit on the high end. Ebay has them for 19.95 per 100 which is getting into top tier price-range when it comes to DE blades. Definitely not a bargain blade for those thrifty souls looking for a deal.
So what’s the final verdict on these memorials to past soviet glory?! Do they celebrate the best mother russia has to offer? Like a workers day parade in red square? Or are they a dangerous reminder of a failed system; like the still smoldering remains of K-19? I wrestled with scoring this one because it does do a-lot well. It’s not harsh, it’s very consistent and it has great longevity. On the flipside the shaves themselves were tuggy and frankly, uneventful. I like blades that wow me in one aspect or another. This blade was just solid. Like a Kalashnikov. It did what i asked it to do and nothing more. It wasn’t the best but also far from the worst. I thought i may give the Sputnik a 7 because i could definitely see this being liked in a similar way as Voskhod, but the Voskhod is just a better blade and i scored that a 7. So ultimately the Sputnik comes in with a very respectable “high” 6 overall. Worth trying, especially for those with lighter beards who won’t mind the lack of sharpness. It may in fact be a truly top tier blade for someone that doesn’t experience tugging as the other blade characteristics are pretty top notch. So i recommend trying them as they might work out well. And with that comrades, my Sputnik review has now gone the way of the Berlin Wall. Recorded in the annals of B&B history. Up next will be the Gillette 7o’clock Sharp Edge. Until then, happy shaving!
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.
This month I’m reviewing a blade that’s a microcosm of the long and relatively bloodless (but utterly terrifying) Cold War itself: The Gillette Sputnik. You may be asking “Macduff, WHY is this blade a microcosm of the Cold War?!” Well allow me to give you, my fellow B&B’ers, some backstory!
The Sputnik blade, as it was know back in its Red Soviet days, was THE blade of the USSR. It’s very name was the symbol of soviet progress and ingenuity. @mjclark did a brief and glowing review of these cold war era relics but noted that they didn’t last long. Also, his second go with them yielded an unusable mess of a blade. So obviously these babies were communist russia at it’s most predictable: flashes of brilliance with **** poor quality control. Shortly thereafter came the “Sputnik Chrome” which was meant for export to western markets and is the forerunner to the Gillette Sputnik blades we can purchase today. The tuck packaging is very similar (adorned beautifully in the colors of the Russian flag with a speeding Sputnik front and center) to the current iteration but noticeably lacking is the TEFLON (tm) coating we find on them now.
This brings us to the end of the cold war and the Gillette buyout of Russian DE blade factories. The Sputnik name was retained, teflon was added and behold, capitalism triumphs over communism! From a blade made to celebrate the USSR’s greatest achievement to a faceless US corporate takeover, ol’ Sputnik has seen it all. And is still here for us to shave with today! Which brings me to, of course, the shaves themselves!
Per usual the first order of business is sharpness. Right out of the box the beauties were...dull. Not rip your hair out dull just fairly unremarkable. 2nd, 3rd 4th shaves...all identical. Take that sloppy communist quality control! Gillette is here to show you what american consistency is all about! Which turns out is mediocre blandness. The second blade proved more of the same. Each shave was utterly uninspiring but serviceable. I quite literally noticed no change in sharpness throughout all 8 shaves. A first for me because most blades sharpen up or dull down (or both) over the course of 4 shaves. Not the Sputnik! A straight and narrow sharpness just like the orbit of ol’ Sputnik herself! (Well ok maybe not really since orbits decay and eventually Sputnik just fell to earth and burned up but who really has time for all that science?)
Smoothness was decent on these. No weepers or post shave irritation; though the shave itself was kinda rough due to the dullish nature of the blade. Definitely not a harsh blade by any measure but shaving comfort (i.e. tug and pull) was not the greatest.
Longevity seemed top notch as i didn’t notice any decrease in sharpness over the 4 shaves on each blade. I think this one would easily go 6 shaves or more.
Consistency also earns top marks. The Sputnik was possibly THE most consistent blade i’ve yet tried. It’s both a blessing and a curse in terms of my enjoyment of the blade but it was very consistent.
Price is a bit on the high end. Ebay has them for 19.95 per 100 which is getting into top tier price-range when it comes to DE blades. Definitely not a bargain blade for those thrifty souls looking for a deal.
So what’s the final verdict on these memorials to past soviet glory?! Do they celebrate the best mother russia has to offer? Like a workers day parade in red square? Or are they a dangerous reminder of a failed system; like the still smoldering remains of K-19? I wrestled with scoring this one because it does do a-lot well. It’s not harsh, it’s very consistent and it has great longevity. On the flipside the shaves themselves were tuggy and frankly, uneventful. I like blades that wow me in one aspect or another. This blade was just solid. Like a Kalashnikov. It did what i asked it to do and nothing more. It wasn’t the best but also far from the worst. I thought i may give the Sputnik a 7 because i could definitely see this being liked in a similar way as Voskhod, but the Voskhod is just a better blade and i scored that a 7. So ultimately the Sputnik comes in with a very respectable “high” 6 overall. Worth trying, especially for those with lighter beards who won’t mind the lack of sharpness. It may in fact be a truly top tier blade for someone that doesn’t experience tugging as the other blade characteristics are pretty top notch. So i recommend trying them as they might work out well. And with that comrades, my Sputnik review has now gone the way of the Berlin Wall. Recorded in the annals of B&B history. Up next will be the Gillette 7o’clock Sharp Edge. Until then, happy shaving!
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