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Question about the Wizamet Super Iridium blade

euro

euro

I have been using these blades for a while and I really like them, these blades are made in Russia by P&G. I have a couple questions about this:

- Why do people call these blades rare? They're still widely available online.
- Since P&G has started to manufacturer the Astra SP in India, will they also start producing the Wizamet Super Iridium in India? (I'm wondering the same about the Permasharp).
- What's the deal with Morocco? I got 750 Wizamet blades but the package had something written on it in Arabic. Are there non Arabic Wizamet SI's if so, is there a difference?

Who could guess that razor blades could be so confusing lol.
 
ivan_101

ivan_101

euro said:
I have been using these blades for a while and I really like them, these blades are made in Russia by P&G. I have a couple questions about this:

- Why do people call these blades rare? They're still widely available online.
- Since P&G has started to manufacturer the Astra SP in India, will they also start producing the Wizamet Super Iridium in India? (I'm wondering the same about the Permasharp).
- What's the deal with Morocco? I got 750 Wizamet blades but the package had something written on it in Arabic. Are there non Arabic Wizamet SI's if so, is there a difference?

Who could guess that razor blades could be so confusing lol.
Click to expand...
1) Not widely available. You probably saw 2-3 sellers in the US and there were 2 European sellers on EBay. One from France and one from Germany. For the last couple of weeks, the French seller has run out of them.
2) Nobody here can tell you if Iridum -Super will be discontinued / moved to India or China / continued to be manufactured in Russia. Same applies to Perma-Sharp. Only time will tell us.
3) In the last years Iridium -Super is a blade intended for Morocco. That means officially. Not for Europe or US or anywhere else.
4) The Iridium -Super blades were changed a few years ago.
www.badgerandblade.com

Iridium -Super (PPI) Old vs. NEW

This is supposed to be the last comparison of old vs new Russian PPI blades. On the left we have a pack or double wrapped Iridium -Super. Bought in January 2010, which means manufactured in 2009 or earlier. On the right a pack manufactured 09/2022. Single wrapped of course. Again same...
www.badgerandblade.com www.badgerandblade.com

As mentioned in post#31 the change is sometime after 2019. Will have to check my 2020 and 2021 blades to be more precise.
 
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A

abies

euro said:
- Why do people call these blades rare? They're still widely available online.
Click to expand...

I think for awhile, in the past, there was some confusion as they used to be made in Poland, and then moved to the Czech Republic. So just like today there are people looking for Russian versions of Nacets etc. there were people looking for Polish or Czech versions of Wizamets. They gradually dried up and *those* are considered rare. You can still find them in various places selling NOS but they tend to be expensive for DE blades and aren't super easy to find.

As production shifted, newer versions started popping up, which were often produced for specific non-US (and non-EU?) markets and there was a lot of confusion about what you were actually getting. I think this added to the sense of them being rare because what was rare was a specific past version, and it was often difficult to know when you actually had one.

So what's rare maybe is a specific vintage Wizamet blade, the specific vintage depending on the person speaking, not Wizamet-branded blades in general.
 
ivan_101

ivan_101

abies said:
I think for awhile, in the past, there was some confusion as they used to be made in Poland, and then moved to the Czech Republic.
Click to expand...
Iridium and Polsilver were never manufactured in the Czech Republic.
 
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A

abies

ivan_101 said:
Iridium and Polsilver were never manufactured in the Czech Republic.
Click to expand...

That may be; I found a website saying Wizamets were made there in the late 1990s until the 2000s sometime. If it's wrong I wouldn't be surprised, as I didn't remember that either, but it is also consistent with the confusion I've seen around production of these blades.

See, for example, this thread (not the website in question but another example):

www.badgerandblade.com

Super Iridium Czech Republic

Tried a vintage Super Iridium Extra Stainless the past 2 weeks , a blade made in the Czech Republic....Great blade , very smooth and trouble free. I will toss it today after 9 fine shaves as it refused to get a really rough jawline patch. A very good run , coming close to the legendary Lodz...
www.badgerandblade.com www.badgerandblade.com
 
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ivan_101

ivan_101

abies said:
That may be; I found a website saying Wizamets were made there in the late 1990s until around 2007. If it's wrong I wouldn't be surprised, as I didn't remember that either, but it is also consistent with the confusion I've seen around production of these blades.
Click to expand...
Did they show an Iridium or a Polsilver made in the Czech Republic on that site? I doubt that.

Until 2007-08 Polislver Stainless were made in Lodz Poland, but not the Iridium -Super.
There was a 8-10 period when they didn't make Iridiums. The last Iridiums were made in Poland around 2000. After that around 2007 production of Iridium -Super was started in Russia, and a year or two later - Polsiver Super Iridum as well.
 
BigJ

BigJ

The Wizamet SI (and Polsilver) are simply wonderful blades for me (and I am glad I still have a fair number)!! So I am interested to see how this pans out, eventually. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
Omega48

Omega48

I have about 90 Polsilver Super Iridium left, from the last stock I purchased in 2016.

Those would last for a while but 100 is my typical restocking level.

So, are the wizamet super iridium good to go, if you are looking for the same blade? I have never tried them.

Reliable source in the US?
 
Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
Ohhhh, I'm quite afraid, I have 500 of these blades, and will still have plenty, till your India Wizamet order arrives.

1712171394284.png

1712171614961.png

With my towers of blade a lon, I feel quite safe from lost blade production here! 1000 blades total, going to last me forever.

You want these don't you?
1712171945819.png

Make your India order of these blades, and your journey to the Iridium side will be complete.

revenge of the sith episode 3 GIF by Star Wars
 
Sweeney_

Sweeney_

ivan_101 said:
I am not sure this is right. Czech is just a settlement. And a pretty small and unknown one. You don't print "Made in Katowice" or "Made in Gdansk" on packaging. Even if it is Warsaw. You print the country usually.
Click to expand...
I'm far from sure myself, and I find it bothersome for the very reason you give. I would expect them to read, Made in Czech Republic, Czechia or even CZ. It seems very strange but I do love a good mystery. Unfortunately, I can't read the rest of the tuck in that photo that was posted.
Counterfeit perhaps? 🤷‍♂️
 
ivan_101

ivan_101

Sweeney_ said:
I'm far from sure myself, and I find it bothersome for the very reason you give. I would expect them to read, Made in Czech Republic, Czechia or even CZ. It seems very strange but I do love a good mystery. Unfortunately, I can't read the rest of the tuck in that photo that was posted.
Counterfeit perhaps? 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Up to 4-5 years ago 'Czech Republic' was the only one you could see. 'Czechia' was only approved by the Czech government in 2016 and by the EU in 2018. Those blades are old, so the "Czechia" name is out of the question. I would never expect "Made in CZ". This is just the country ISO code. Not like in the case of the United States where US or USA are widely known and used abbreviations on products.
 
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