Participation PIF - Czech Out These Blades

[Grundi]

Tiger also makes carbon blades in red? wrappers. Was this one in a grey wrapper, which is the stainless one?

The gray ones that were passed out are the Platinum Blades. (The wrappers are nice but the laser etching on these blades is top notch!!). This is my first experience with Czech-made Tiger Blades, so I only have tried this one.

I bought 50 Tiger and 50 Tatra having used neither before - I hope Grundi will forgive me for not having joined in the official PIF.

No apology necessary. Everyone is welcome to Participate whether they received Czech-made Tatra or Tiger blades through this Participation PIF or have them on-hand. One of the great results of sharing experiences with these blades (and others) is that everyone gets a view of the consistency of the overall production quality.

So, please, keep posting!!

 

[Balthier]

Tatra Shave #4
Razor: Merkur 38c
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: Yaqi Purple Haze
AS: Pinaud Clubman Original

Hot shower prep. Pretty close to last shave WTG, some XTG on chin area, and ATG. I feel this blade might be losing a little sharpness now it felt slower might have been just my imagination. No irritation, or tugging a very good smooth shave.

 

[Weean]

Tiger Platinum Edge 1 shave 4. Wilkinson Sword Classic (plastic), Palmolive stick

After three shaves on a single edge is where even good blades can start crapping out in my experience, so in order to give this blade the best chance I've reinstated it in my Wilky (it is my 'evaluation razor' after all) and dug out a Palmolive stick.

It wasn't going to fool anyone into thinking it was fresh out the wrapper, but delivered a very good result without any irritation. I suspect that a fifth might be a shave too far, but this blade certainly done enough to earn the attempt.

 

[fast shaver]

Tatra shave X7 this A.M. The blade is slowing down on removing the stubble so, I will bin the blade & use a Tiger blade for tomorrows shave. The Tatra blade is very good.!

 

[BigJ]

Are these the same blades in different packaging?
​

Thanks for the chance to try some blades that are new to me! So I have no preconceptions whatsoever.

PURPOSE. To give each option a fair trial, answer the question and pick a favorite.

METHODS.

Prep: Hot shower then CereVe face wash.

Razor: Wolfman WR1/WRH2 handle.

Brush: 2 or 3-band badger from my rotation.

Soap: Cella for blade 1, then assorted Fine options for blade 2.

After: Floid vigoroso for blade 1, then La Toja splash for blade 2.

Rating: My usual 10 point system after each shave.

RESULTS.

TATRA blade 1
Shave #1: 8
Shave #2: 8.5
Shave #3: 8.5
Shave #4: 8.5
Shave #5: 8.5
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
average: 8.4

Tiger blade 1
Shave #1: 7.5
Shave #2: 8
Shave #3: 7.5

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Tiger shave #3 a day late...

Rusty:
Still maintaining constants with my shave hardware and software. The only variable being brush selection.

Two days growth for shave number 3. Shave started off well, very comfortable and decent efficiency maintained/observed on cheeks and neck areas. By the time I arrived to get under my nose, I was made aware of the realization that this blade doesn’t feel sharp, but nonetheless is getting the job done with no sacrifice in comfort. The tougher hairs of the mustache and chin were taken down but reveal qualities about the blade. This was a great shave, don’t get me wrong but, now my focus is the longevity of this blade. It has made to the end of 3 shaves looking quite good in my eyes, but I’m doubting it will be looking as good at the end of a fifth use.

Once again, excellent shave of the sensitive neck areas, no visible or felt irritation whatsoever. I did perform a bit of a cleanup/touch up pass, although it was very minor, but got a wonderful shave overall. I will be looking forward to using the last tiger blade blade in the future to see if the overall experience is repeated.

Mrs. Shackelford:

Three shaves completed with her tiger blade. She remains pleased with the performance. Nowhere near being her favorite blade, but she is happy to use it nonetheless. She is now shifting her focus for evaluation to the longevity of the blade for her application. She will be pleased to see it make it to 7 shaves.

My observation of her post shave is that the blade is not getting as close/smooth as it did for her on the first two uses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chad3]

Shave 6 with Tatra blade and JAWS razor. I’m noticing more drag while shaving now but still having a fine shave. Comfort is going down a bit but still very easy to deal with as a 6th or 7th shave. I’d guess I could go 10+ shaves with this one but might bin after the next to switch to the tiger.

 

[FarmerTan]

I'm late in posting, as per my norm! In my defense, I was kept busy with yard work supervising!

Friday was my first use of the "Tiger" blade.

Other than the very first stroke, which was a tad bit harsh, I found it to be equal in quality to the "Tatra" blade, so much so that I could believe that they are the exact same blade.

I used it in the same set-up as before: Tech Ball End, some soap in a tube from my good friend in Israel, face lathered with a brush from a gray colored dog in a State directly beneath me.

As a matter of honesty, I must confess I'm still learning how to dial in the synthetic bristles, and my first pass had WAY too much water in it. So: that makes me think that is why my first stroke was a bit harsh.

That blade mowed down several days worth of my gray wired beard, so I will be interested to see how the second shave goes.

Using @BigJ 's number system I'd give the Tatra a "10" and the Tiger a "9.5"

 

[stone and strop]

5th shave with the Tatra yesterday (I was away for the weekend)
Usual players,
Tabac
Universal full blade shavette
444 Balm
Forgot to pack my aftershave

Another very good shave. The water where I was staying was very hard but I still had a great shave.
5 shaves in and still feeling very good. When using very hard water its like doing a final pass with nothing. Still very sharp and smooth.

Still liking this blade!

 

[PlutoViola]

I received my blades on Saturday (thanks @Grundi !). I have now shaved with a Tatra twice. For this blade I will use my Slim exclusively (set on 6). I plan to use a different razor for the next Tatra.

---Tatra #1 - Slim on 6

-Yesterday I used Sudsy Soapery Top O the Morning soap. This blade was a pleasant surprise! While it didnt shave as close as I usually prefer it was so smooth it felt almost as if I had forgotten to put the blade in. There also seemed to be much less audible feedback than I have gotten used to hearing. Kind of surreal really. No irritation.

-Shave #2 with this blade was just as pleasant as the first. Zero irritation, strangely absent audible feedback, extremely smooth blade feel, not super close shave but very acceptable. A notable blade so far! We shall see how long it lasts.
Soap today was SV Dolomiti.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[dezmil]

Tiger Shave #1 - Sunday AM
Razor: Rockwell 6S (R3)
Pre: Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Soap: Stirling Green
Brush: Maggard Synthetic
Post: Stirling Glacial Unscented Balm
Results: 8.3/10 The first pass with this blade was very smooth. I literally double checked to see if I even put the blade in the razor. I felt a bit more blade on the next two passes, but overall this shave was very comfortable. I was very impressed by the comfort and closeness of this blade.

Tatra Shave #1 - Monday AM
Razor: Rockwell 6S (R3)
Pre: Stirling mentholated pre-shave soap
Soap: Murphy & McNeil Magh Tured
Brush: Maggard Synthetic
Post: Duke Cannon Ice Cold Balm
Results: 8.3/10 This shave felt almost identical to yesterday's, extremely smooth and comfortable. The first pass was exceptionally smooth with very little if any blade feel. The two follow up passes, XTG in opposite directions, were enough for a superb DFS shave.

Next up: I'll continue to alternate these two blades from day to day trying different settings in the daily driver Rockwell as well as a couple different razors.

 

[gvw755]

Started my first shave with the Tatra blade. This was quite a difference from my experience with the Tiger. The Tatra felt like a new blade on it's first shave. It was very efficient and totally effortless. WTG pass was so efficient that I could have stopped with a one pass DFS+, however I did do an ATG pass. There was a little more blade feel on the ATG pass but nothing like tugging or anything bad, just a little noise. No need for an XTG pass as a light touch up was all I needed for a two pass BBS.

Tomorrow I will load it in a slant to see how that goes. Right now, I am VERY impressed with the Tatra.

 

[NicksDad]

My aim is to shave with each blade in 10 different razors, and with a different soap and aftershave every day. No real science here.

Tiger Shave #10 - Monday
Razor: Brass Charcoal Goods Level 2 Open Comb
Pre-shave: Proraso Green
Soap: Proraso Green
Aftershave: Proraso Green

This was shave number ten on a single blade and it wasn't bad at all. Noticeably less sharp than when it was fresh, but still quite serviceable and fairly smooth to boot. It's just not getting my neck as close as I like anymore, even with the CGL2.

I've decided to start the Tatra in the CGL2 tomorrow and work backward through the razors, while starting over from shave number one with the soaps. That'll keep everything mixed up for extra fun.

Many thanks, over and over again, to @Grundi for all these PIFs, and thanks to everyone else for all the posts. They really keep me coming back to the forum. (Now if I could just stay out of the BST!)

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Tiger shave 4: Rusty


Posted yesterday’s shave this morning but managed to get in another this afternoon. Big day in our household, our first anniversary. Obviously I was going to be cleaned shaven and smelling nice for my beautiful bride.

Today I broke from my constants that I have been using for this comparison/evaluation. My order from A&E arrived with their newest soap and splash. I confirmed the wife approved of the scent and once I got the nod, I set out to start the ritual.

This was shave #4 with the Tiger blade which has become my favorite of the two undergoing evaluation. My last post I expressed some concern about the longevity of this blade and it’s capability of maintaining its current favorable characteristics through a completed 5th shave. I had a nice shave overall, but there is some loss of performance this time around. Oddly, efficiency hasn’t reduced much. I mentioned in the last post that the blade doesn’t really stand out as having the sharpest edge, and that was more apparent with today’s shave. Where I was getting great results on my neck, the dulling of this blade today left me with a little bit of redness as a result of not being as sharp as she had been. No discomfort though. I also noticed that the few areas that are semi against the grain, I didn’t get as close a shave as I had been and the skin appeared mildly irritated. I stress mild. This tiger blade had been giving me darn near perfection unopened until today, so that is why I mention this change in results/performance, but this is not a put down of the comfort of the shave and the general performance. I will carry on to do a 5th and likely final shave with this tiger blade, as I don’t expect catastrophic issues to result, but I think the best shaves to be had from this blade have already been claimed. From my perspective at this juncture, this is kind of a bummer as far as longevity goes. If this blade could hold on to its sweet spot characteristics for 5 or more shaves, this sucker might really win me over to buy a 100 pack.

 

[xiletero]

Tatara 3rd and 4th shaves
3rd: RR Jaws .68
RR W T P blue
Omega Mighty midget
2 passes, wtg and atg. Very close shave some burning.
AS Brut
AB Proraso
7/10

4th
I had to return to LUPO
RR WTP
Sagrada Familia
2 passes, wtg and atg. Close shave almost no burning
AS: RR Santa Maria
AB RR XXX
8/10

 

[Demolition]

Tenth shave with Tatra Platinum Blade #1

May 17: Maggard V3.

The Tatra is still performing admirably.

I received another smooth, comfortable shave on all three passes (WTG, ATG, XTG). The blade still feels medium-sharp. The sensation of dulling (from way back during the fourth shave) has not returned.

Very consistent. I have no reason to believe that the performance will drop off anytime soon.


Third shave with Tiger Platinum Blade #2

May 18: Maggard V3.

This blade has improved substantially over the last use. The roughness is still present, but not to such an extent as to make the shave unpleasant. Frankly, it feels like the fourth shave with my first Tiger blade; unrefined, yet extremely efficient.

I could tolerate this kind of performance if it was consistent but, so far, neither of the two Tigers that I've tried have felt the same from one shave to the next. I don't know what to expect from my next shave with this blade. That bothers me.

 

[epipeman]

Kit: Rockwell 6c R6 , Tiger (2) , Arko, Omega S10083 S-Brush Pro.

A high-end DFS today. This blade started well and is getting better!

 

[gamestorming]

good news from Italy, the Czech blades just landed here!

Thanks to @Grundi for sending them over, overall I feared the trip to take longer, considering all the additional challenges on top of the usual struggles of the postal systems, very luckily that wasn't the case. will Czech those blades out ASAP!

 

[fast shaver]

Second Tiger blade shave this A.M. Tools used: Arko, EJ DE89 & Maggard Plisoft synthetic brush.
This Tiger blade was even smoother & sharper than the first Tiger blade. Q.C. perhaps.? I got a very close shave with it. I will report back when it goes wonky.

 

[BigJ]

Are these the same blades in different packaging?
​

Thanks for the chance to try some blades that are new to me! So I have no preconceptions whatsoever.

PURPOSE. To give each option a fair trial, answer the question and pick a favorite.

METHODS.

Prep: Hot shower then CereVe face wash.

Razor: Wolfman WR1/WRH2 handle.

Brush: 2 or 3-band badger from my rotation.

Soap: Cella for blade 1, then assorted Fine options for blade 2.

After: Floid vigoroso for blade 1, then La Toja splash for blade 2.

Rating: My usual 10 point system after each shave.

RESULTS.

TATRA blade 1
Shave #1: 8
Shave #2: 8.5
Shave #3: 8.5
Shave #4: 8.5
Shave #5: 8.5
Shave #6: 8.5
Shave #7: 8.5
average: 8.4

Tiger blade 1
Shave #1: 7.5
Shave #2: 8
Shave #3: 7.5
Shave #4: 7.5