Macduff’s Monthly Blade Review: Gillette Sputnik

[been around]

Thanks Malocchio

That would definitely be a keeper, and it is no doubt a limited edition. I always enjoy looking at history through small stuff like this and old advertising.

 

[SuperMax_fan]

I tried Sputniks a while ago and found them to be mediocre. There are a lot of better Russian blades out there. This one would do if you had nothing else.

 

[Steelerfan]

Sputnik is one of my favorite blades. I read about the hype of Voskhod and tried two of them but I was not impressed. The Sputnik, also Teflon coated, was much better for me. I noticed that the OP posted pics of what looks like NOS Sputniks with printing on the blades. The ones I had I ordered from RBC were laser etched. I am seriously considering ordering a 100 pack of the Sputniks!

 

[juno]

I actually find these to be every bit as good as my beloved GSB.
I bought 100 for less than half what i paid for 100 silver blues, which granted was only 12.95.
I have let a few acquaintances try them as well, and they also felt they were basically a re-branded silver blue

 

[JohnKavkaz]

Good time of day. I have little experience using these blades. I can say that I bought them at a price of 30 cents per pack of five, at a distance of 500 meters from my house. In the Fatip Piccolo razor, I used the blade 10 times. The first three uses they were very sharp, I felt my face four hours after shaving. In Feather Popular, I used the blade 11 times. In general, the blade performance is high for me, and the cost is low. They are available at any time. I am pleased and the blades will be in my rotation. Thanks. Regards, Eugene.

 

[Steelerfan]

I really liked these blades and I wanted to buy 100 of them. However the price skyrocketed for these on RBC to over $20 USD per 100.

 

[Macduff]

THIS ONE ?View attachment 1012547

Wow now THAT is some packaging!

 

[RayClem]

I really liked these blades and I wanted to buy 100 of them. However the price skyrocketed for these on RBC to over $20 USD per 100.

Too bad about the price increase. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives.

 

[Macduff]

Sputnik is one of my favorite blades. I read about the hype of Voskhod and tried two of them but I was not impressed. The Sputnik, also Teflon coated, was much better for me. I noticed that the OP posted pics of what looks like NOS Sputniks with printing on the blades. The ones I had I ordered from RBC were laser etched. I am seriously considering ordering a 100 pack of the Sputniks!

You are indeed correct mine were the “older” ones. Everything coming out of the St. Petersburg plant now is laser etched. Same blades but different printing. Honestly i think these are pretty solid blades i just have a beard that doesn’t cut easily. I need a blade that slices through the stubble a bit better simply because it provides a more “pleasant” shave. Performance wise the results with the Sputnik were very good. It’s just the tugging during the shave that i didn’t like.

 

[alex54122]

Here in Russia, only two PPI blades are sold at retail: the "cheap" Sputnik (25 rubles or about $0.4 per 5 pack at my local store) and the "premium" Gillette Rubie (about a dollar per 5 pack). The other PPI blades are probably re-imported and only available at specialty shaving stores at stupidly inflated prices.

I don't like Sputink, they're terrible for my face and my beard isn't thick or coarse, they just feel awful

 

[Steelerfan]

The "cheap" Sputniks are one of the more expensive PPI blades per 100 at RBC.

 

[BradWorld]

I have about 10 tucks of these. They are a solid performer for me, but not spectacular by any means. I really got them for the cool artwork and history.

Awesome write up! A lot of info in there.