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Personna Lab Blue Now Made in Germany???

But the 1T$$$ question: has anyone tried these German made Personna blades, and are they any good.......
The ones in that pic were like $13
 
Those are not Labs. I believe they are bulk packed with intention to be sold for barbers etc. I am not sure if they are the same as the platinum chrome.

However, sellers may or may not advertise them as Labs.

Retailers frequently are clueless. ALL Lab Blues are made in Verona, VA by Accutec. If the box doesn't say "Made in USA", then they're not Lab Blues.
 
Vendors can get just as confused as shavers when it comes to the Personna blades.

The lab blues will say Comfort Coated made in USA.

If the blades are stamped Personna Platinum Chrome, then they are the same as old Israeli Reds, whether in the Red packaging, the blue UK packaging, or the new German packaging. The blades in the Israeli Red packaging are a lot more expensive than the other two, but I do not believe they are different blades. If you want Israeli Reds, be prepared to pay for the privilege.
 
I'm now most curious if the mystery box in my OP with Personna's made in Germany and seemingly stamped "Platinum Chrome" are new "Israeli Reds" made in Germany, or yet another mystery Personna blade of secret provenance like the Crystal blade.
 
I have to disagree with something here. I have a box of Personna Lab Blue made in USA and it does not say "Comfort Coated" anywhere on the box.

blades.jpg
 
The Israeli plant which made the Personna Platinum Chrome blad

As far as I am aware, the blades known in the hobby as Lab Blues are still made by Accutec in Verona, VA. The blades are marked as "Comfort Coated" on the packaging. In the photo shown above, the blades are described as Personna stainless steel double edge blades. Nowhere on the package is "Comfort Coated" listed. Thus, these German blades are not the same as the Comfort Coated lab blues made in USA. Since the blades are not Platinum Chrome blades (the new German made Israel reds), they are likely to be German versions of Israeli Personnas or Crystals.

I don't believe this to be true.
 
As you can see from below, Personna has been a mystery forever.

 
I'm now most curious if the mystery box in my OP with Personna's made in Germany and seemingly stamped "Platinum Chrome" are new "Israeli Reds" made in Germany, or yet another mystery Personna blade of secret provenance like the Crystal blade.

They're the blades that used to be Israeli reds. As @RayClem mentioned above, and I concur, there is no noticeable difference between what used to be Israeli blades and the ones now made in Germany.

The difference is that Accutec (the maker of the US blades) does not intend to sell into consumer markets, and Edgewell (the maker of the German blades) does. Both companies make boxes of 100 with the Personna brand for the barber / beauty market. If you are buying 100s you have to ask your vendor which country the blades you are receiving are made in.

Certain packages have always contained Accutec blades. Other packages have always contained Edgewell blades. The problem is that it is hard to remember which is which, and vendors often genuinely don't care because they don't realize that anyone cares about the difference. I can tell you that the packaging in the original post has always contained Edgewell blades, despite the fact that it is blue.

If you want to be absolutely sure of getting US blades, look for packs of 250 from an industrial supplier. That is how Accutec sells into the industrial and commercial markets. Those are "lab blues". The catalog number is 60-0138. It's these guys:

 
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I tried the German Personna blade, kindly sent by AnimalCatcher.
2 day stubble
head and face shave
RR Lupo SS bi/head
HollyKaw donkey
EJ synthetic 25mm
AS Speick sport
AB AquaVelva 5-1
2 + passes each
I don't get that rich creamy lather with this one....it's always a bit runny , but slick and that is all I need. Then again I should have used Fitjar that was right there.
Head shave was smooth....I don't see any blood. Close shave AS burnt a bit
Now the face 2+ pass, I did have 5 bleeding spots....I seldom get any. That happens w Feathers after 4 uses (sign I need to toss) or for some reason Gillette Super Thing Thailand (any razor , new blades, always bleed----avoid them ) .
My fav. blade is Swedish Sword made by Personna Israel, 2nd Crystal ....., now todays results are for me below mediocre.
I'll try again with a better soap, and another brush.....not sure if same razor.....(this razor has never cut me). Will I buy Personna blades made in Germany...... NEIN DANKE!!!. I am happy with the others mentioned above and most of the Gillette made in Russia.
BTW I recently tried another Personna, sent by Animal Catcher, that one is made in the USA and has a light blue envelope, that one was OK.
The shave was close, irritation was above, and any blood I see as defeat!!!. So I lost this one.
 
Well the direct comparison : Personna made in the usa "for medical use" also courtesy of Animal Catcher
Blade 3rd use
Razor RR Lupo SS bi head
Muhle synthetic brush
HollyCaw donkey.....
SPeick sport
Aqua Velva 5-1
2+ pass face shave.
Close, no drama, NO blood, minimal irritation
This is night and day.....
As I said yesterday based on one shave with one Personna made in Germany: NEIN DANKE!
 
Right. They just need to be USA-made and not labelled "For Hospital Use".

Oh no, now we have to discuss if there's really any difference between the Personna Labs and Med Preps...

I, for one, never found any discernible difference between the Labs and Med Preps (except the price), and certainly not the very large difference in feel between the "Israeli Reds" and Labs. YMMV
 
Oh no, now we have to discuss if there's really any difference between the Personna Labs and Med Preps...

I, for one, never found any discernible difference between the Labs and Med Preps (except the price), and certainly not the very large difference in feel between the "Israeli Reds" and Labs. YMMV

Agreed, at least on my face. Others may differ.
 
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