PIF - Dorco ST-301 Blades

[Grundi]

Dorco ST301 Blades - Shave #1

TL;DR - decent shave with a decent blade

Equipment: Merkur 20C razor paired with PdP Begamot & Thyme shave soap

Initial Impressions: the Dorco ST301 Blade looks good with NO GLUE DOTS to mar its fine appearance!!

The Shave: this was a very typical, decent regular blade, Shave #1, not as sharp as my top tier or upper middle blades but no tugging either. Often I'll notice an increase in performance with Shave #2, so this is not out of the ordinary. There was some slight irritation but the felling went away quickly. I did achieve a nice, close shave without a lot of buffing. All in all, a DFS- shave, with the Dorco ST301 Blade being solidly in the middle of the pack.

Razor Note: I was going to try this blade in my Gillette Parat, but I took the A/C's out recently and moved stuff around. One of the containers had my various razors in them (kind of a hassle to get to them right now, so I went with my daily shaver - I keep my Merkur and Gillette Slim out, as I use them most often).

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I got my blades in the mail today and gave one a try tonight. I found it to feel a little stiff. Maybe it's thicker than what I normally use??? It was keen enough to cut through the hairs without any tugging but I don't feel it will hold up for 5 days. I did get a smooth shave from it but did have to do a bit more buffing than normal to get the bits in the hollow of the neck. With this being the first try with the blade I feel it could be a decent blade in the middle ground but I need more time with it and a couple more blades to be sure.

Thank you for including me in this PIF. You are a fine gentleman for doing it.

 

[South Dakota Guy]

Razor Wolfman WR2 1.15 SB with WRH2 handle.

First use of a Dorco ST 301 blade that was Piffed to me by @wksimple . This blade started out feeling smooth but I kept feeling like it was biting me and I kept checking for blood. I did in fact have one weeper that appeared after the shave was over. The blade reminded me an awful lot of the Shark Chrome blade. I will try the blade in other razors but not in my Wolfman again.

 

[Grundi]

Dorco ST301 Blades - Shave #2

TL;DR - more decent-er shave, smoother than Shave #1, sharpness about the same

Equipment: Merkur 20C razor paired with Central Texas Soaps' Mr Pepper

The Shave: this Dorco ST301 Blade is following the same trajectory that I normally see with mid-tier blades, Shave #1 being ok, and Shave #2 being distinctly smoother. The sharpness remained about the same, no tugging but needing some buffing. It was a nice shave with a DFS result. The soap is excellent, and I love the scent.

Expectations: 2 shaves down and I'm expecting at least 2 more shaves.

Aside note to @South Dakota Guy, my face does NOT like Shark Chromes, they ate my face alive!! At least with these Dorco ST301 blades, my face is still intact!!

 

[South Dakota Guy]

Dorco ST301 Blades - Shave #2

TL;DR - more decent-er shave, smoother than Shave #1, sharpness about the same

Equipment: Merkur 20C razor paired with Central Texas Soaps' Mr Pepper

The Shave: this Dorco ST301 Blade is following the same trajectory that I normally see with mid-tier blades, Shave #1 being ok, and Shave #2 being distinctly smoother. The sharpness remained about the same, no tugging but needing some buffing. It was a nice shave with a DFS result. The soap is excellent, and I love the scent.

Expectations: 2 shaves down and I'm expecting at least 2 more shaves.

Aside note to @South Dakota Guy, my face does NOT like Shark Chromes, they ate my face alive!! At least with these Dorco ST301 blades, my face is still intact!!

I used the Shark Chrome for one shave and it left me bleeding as well. I might use the Dorco in my Winning razor next as it seems to handle most blades pretty well.

 

[Grundi]

Dorco ST301 Blades - Shave #3

TL;DR - Hmmm, have you ever had one of "those" shaves?!?! A great shave that...wasn't great?!?!

Equipment: Gillette Parat paired with Central Texas Soaps' Mr Pepper

The Shave: this was one of "those" shaves, smoother than the first 2 shaves, felt a whisker closer, but then, started to feel some irritation a little while after finishing up. I dug out my Gillette Parat razor, and every time I use it, I'm reminded of how sweet of a razor it is. It's solidly my #3 razor, just ever so slightly more aggressive then the other 2. The Dorco ST301 blade felt very nice in it, was able to shave nice and close, definitely a DFS (and almost a DFS+) shave. My initial reaction was that shave #3 was better than shave #2. However, after finishing up, I started to notice some irritation on my neck area. So, maybe the slight step up in the aggressiveness of the razor caused the blade's harshness to become evident??

On to shave #4.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

Shave 3 with the Dorco was not good. It seems to have lost any smoothness it had snd it now not cutting the wiskers as well. Dont think i will try a forth shave.

But i will give another blade a go as it may be better.

Thanks again for giving me the chance to try these blades.

 

[Grundi]

Dorco ST301 Blades - Shave #4

TL;DR - Decent shave, still some irritation, losing its sharpness

Equipment: Gillette Parat paired with Tabac Shave Stick

The Shave: today's shave was decent, back to DFS- with some irritation on my neck, and the blade is feeling like it's lost some sharpness as I'm going over some places a couple of times. 4 solid shaves is a good achievement for some of my middle tier blades. The Gillette Parat does seem to be slightly more aggressive, yet allows the blade to showcase what it can do.

Overall: I'm very glad for the opportunity to try these Dorco ST301 Blades. Thank you @wksimple!! For me, this was a good blade that gives a good shave. It didn't displace any of my top tier or upper middle tier blades, but it certainly not horrible enough to join the bottom group, either.

 

[emwolf]

I finally got around to busting out the 301's. I used a Timeless Bonze SB, Summer Break Picture Day soap, Shavemac D01 Silvertip brush, and followed with Razorock Blue Barbershop splash. As I remembered the shave was very smooth, but not very close. Not bad at all, a very good shave but I'm used to loading Nacets or GSB's and getting a much closer shave. Very comfortable face and head, the only place it felt rough (more grabby than rough) was around the adam's apple.

 

[South Dakota Guy]

I tried the blade again, this time in my Winning Razor. I didn't really care for the shave. It feels like the blades are smooth but not very sharp. I understand why @wksimple gave up on them. These blades are not for me either. If anyone would like my remaining blades send me a PM. First one gets them.

 

[emwolf]

2nd shave still in the Timeless bronze with Southern Witchcrafts Tres Matres and a Simpsons T3 Tulip in Super followed by Blue Barbershop again (3017 on the aftershave). I didn't shave on Sunday, so a thicker growth for Monday morning. Great shave, still not as good as a Nacet or GSB, but very comfortable and relatively close shave. Adam's apple is still a bit tuggy.