Personna made in Germany vs made in USA

[Pappa Piccolino]

Hi everyone.

I own a packet of Personna "comfort coated" DE blades, as shown, made in the USA. I am looking to buy a bunch of Personna Platinum blades - the seller claims these are made in Germany, also as shown. I'm just wondering if anyone knows how the USA and German blades compare, on smoothness, sharpness etc.

Many thanks.

 

[ChriWilson]

Hi everyone.

I own a packet of Personna "comfort coated" DE blades, as shown, made in the USA. I am looking to buy a bunch of Personna Platinum blades - the seller claims these are made in Germany, also as shown. I'm just wondering if anyone knows how the USA and German blades compare, on smoothness, sharpness etc.

Many thanks.

My understanding (from a reputable retailer) is that those pictured are made in Israel as opposed to these which are German made.

Personally speaking, I have used both and honestly cannot tell a difference as they are that close in performance for me.
If USA Made is what you're looking for, look at the Lab Blues or Med Preps - fantastic blades as well.

IMO all listed above will run circles around the Comfort Coated blades (at least the ones that I've tried) given their noted smoothness and longevity.

 

[FloppyJoe]

I use the German platinum chrome as well as the Personna Med Preps and Lab Blues. I don’t have the comfort coated blades. It is possible those are the same as the lab blues, but my packaging is different than what you show.

The German blades are good blades. I would say mid to upper mid sharp and smooth.

The med preps and lab blues are better than the Germans. Not much but better. Maybe 10% small but noticeable.

I would recommend either without caveat.

 

[LRod]

Hi everyone.

I own a packet of Personna "comfort coated" DE blades, as shown, made in the USA. I am looking to buy a bunch of Personna Platinum blades - the seller claims these are made in Germany, also as shown. I'm just wondering if anyone knows how the USA and German blades compare, on smoothness, sharpness etc.

Many thanks.

I own and have used both. Totally different!
The USA Personna's are my #1 DE blade.
The German ones aren't even in my top 50!
The USA Lab Blues are smooth & sharp and they last.
The German ones are rough as soon as the first shave. That's been my experience.
My favorite German blades are Wilkinson Sword and Dovo. I've tried all the others and haven't liked any of them.
YMMV!

 

[Pappa Piccolino]

Thank you to all respondents. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Sigh. The never ending blade "ymmv" merry go round.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Thank you to all respondents. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Sigh. The never ending blade "ymmv" merry go round.

Get the Israeli blades.

The packs with the red lettering are indeed the ones from the Israeli Nazareth plant. The yellow lettering examples are the Germans.

They are legendary, and are becoming rarer and rarer.

Some say the Israeli Personnas are significantly smoother than the Germans.

All I can say is I have been consistantly wowed with the Israeli Personnas, the Crystals and even the 'humble' Israeli Personna X Blade, which I believe is their economy 'Saloon' blade, used in barbershops.

They have the magic blend of highly acceptable sharpness, a wonderful smoothness which only gets better, and remarkable longevity.

They were loved for a reason, and I just wish I had more than my 150 stash of IP's and Crystals.

Your mileage will not vary on these. Get them and enjoy a great shave.

 

[Pappa Piccolino]

Hello Alum Ladd. Thanks for that. Do you mean the Red Personnas ?

 

[Alum Ladd]

Hello Alum Ladd. Thanks for that. Do you mean the Red Personnas ?

The plastic 10 packs in your OP pic. That is the Israeli Red. In the US they appear to have been sold in a solid red and silver cardboard pack(?) like in your pic above. They are the same. The US Reds were made in Israel, then sent to and packaged in Mexico. I have no idea why. That accounts for the Spanish wording.

The Plastic 10 pack with the red letters in your pic were the Israeli made blades packed for the European/World market. Same blades, different packaging to my knowledge.

They are both the Reds, but get the plastic 10 packs if they are on sale, they are what I have, and are superb.

 

[Pappa Piccolino]

Thank you Alum Ladd. I appreciate your help. The seller of that very first photo in my opening post (personna in red letters) says that they are made in Germany. I might just buy a pack and take a punt.

Thanks again.

 

[Alum Ladd]

They are Israeli @Pappa Piccolino, the packaging is quite different. The red lettering is the Israeli blades. The seller may be doing you a favour in fact, if he is ignorant of that and the price is lower.

I'm seeing the Israeli red lettered packs at £46 with shipping for 200 blades. I am sorely tempted..

They stopped making them in late 2020 so it is all NOS.

 

[NorthernSoul]

The Personna range confuses everybody. The Personna blade brand is used by two completely separate companies: Accutec producing blades in the USA and Edgewell producing blades in Germany and elsewhere.

The blades formerly made in Israel were packaged in the blue/silver 10 packs shown above for sale in the UK and Europe. The same blades were packaged in the red cardboard sleeves in Mexico for sale on this side of the Atlantic.

Several years ago, production of the Israeli blades was moved to Germany. The packaging was changed and should indicate country of origin.

All these blades have their fans, so you should just try a sample and see what you like. I personally like the Med Preps the most, though the cost has gone up since I got mine. The Lab Blues are similar.

 

[Pappa Piccolino]

Thanks again Alum and NorthernSoul.

I've just purchased 50 of those blades in the very first photo (the word "personna" in red letters). I'll report back when I receive them.

 

[Filudo]

I tried the Germans several months ago, a generous member sent me some to try and he also sent some Personna Med Prep.

I can say: MedPrep are smooth and long lasting
The Personna USA made blades that come in white paper envelopes are ok, just a bit harsh to start
The Personna made in Germany i just did not like, they pulled a lot: either not sharp enough or had a thick coating. Needless lo say , i will never buy german Personna.
And last, the #2 rating goes to Personna made in Israel.

 

[zoidberg]

Some say the Israeli Personnas are significantly smoother than the Germans.

Such is the way of YMMV, I found the German made Personna Platinum Chrome to be a smoother and sharper blade than the Israeli one.

Back to the Lab Blues and German Personna Platinum Chromes, I think they are both excellent blades but are different and like with any blades it's worth trying them to find out whether they suit your razors and your growth.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I’ve seen many times that vendors still show pictures of the Personna plastic tucks with the red lettering, but what you receive are the current German-made ones with the gold on blue logo. I suspect that’s what the OP will get, and the website photos are out of date. They are still called Personna Platinums and the official name didn’t change, so the vendor is selling you what you ordered if they didn’t claim they were old Israeli production blades.

Also worth noting that Personna are selling the current German-made blades in the US in red boxes now, and they look the same as the old Israeli-made packs.

If you want the old, discontinued Israeli-made Personnas then you’ll have to be careful searching for them and it’s worth checking with the vendor that they are indeed the discontinued Israeli blades before you buy.

I haven’t used the German-made blades enough to have an opinion whether they are similar to the ‘reds’ or not. Some say they perform the same, some say they are different.

 

[Medivh]

I've only used the Personna Lab Blue and the made in Germany Personna and I find the Lab Blue a bit better.

 

[Dtownvino]

I have purchased many Israeli made this year, but they are disappearing. I just got 15 Germans in to test. Don’t care for the US made blades as much. The Israeli reds are my #1 blade by far. The initial image with personna in red and lower case platinum in white were made in Israel, packaged in Mexico and sold in Europe. Those are the real thing.

 

[BigJ]

Personna is very confusing.

Unfortunately, I really enjoy some of their blades. I laid in a good stock of reds (from Israel) and labs (arguably the same as ‘med preps’ from the US.) My understanding is that Israeli production was moved to Germany.

For me, Personna reds are great ‘out of the wrapper’ and are good for around 7 shaves. In contrast the labs often require a shave or three to reach their stride, then are often good for 10 or more shaves.

 

[sm29]

Adding even more confusion to the Personna saga, West Coast Shaving is currently running a sale including Israeli Personna Reds in the header and showing the blades are made in Germany and packaged in Mexico in the description. When called out on it West Coast Shaving stated they just use the manufacturer descriptions. If Personna doesn’t know what they are selling, who does?

I suspect that they are selling off all of the Israeli blades and when out will package the German blades in the red packaging.

As for me, I probably had 75 or more Israeli blades when they announced closing Israeli production. I immediately bought 200 more and have no reason to buy the German blades.

 

[Dtownvino]

I now have 1890 red made in Israel. Unfortunately that is not enough for me as I’m 46 and hope to live a while.