Some blade reviews

[ivan_101]

The Minora is an excellent blade.
Few members mention it, so I guess it is not widely used.
Glad you mention it.

It is a new blade. Intended for the South African market. Only around 3-4 years since it has been released. Previously they used to make a different model for that market - Minora Platinum.

 

[Iskaral Pust]

I am loving the Minoras. Vintage ones were originally made in Montréal, Canada apparently, from this pic I found. I think I like these even better than the Silver Blues. It's a close call.

 

[SoonerRick]

Greetings all, I have not posted in quite some time. Being still new to safety razors when I joined, I preferred to read other more experienced people's posts rather than offer my own inexperienced opinions. Also, buying, selling and moving into a new residence has kept us busy for quite a while.

But now, after about 18 months, I hope to have enough experience to offer some reviews of the DE blades I've tried so far.

For reference, the razor I use is a Muhle R41. I have a very coarse beard, and shave every 3 days or so. I use a new blade every shave, and I have used every one of these blades dozens of times.


#1 Astra Super Platinum

Very sharp, not so smooth

These were the first blades I tried. They were cheap, like 12 bucks for 100. Very sharp. Probably not the ideal blade for beginners, as I did not have my technique down quite yet and would get a few weepers and nicks. As my technique got better, the weepers became less frequent. These are very sharp blades, and the sharpest I've used, but despite that, they do tend to tug on long growth. These are the least smooth of any blade I've tried, and the tugging is a bit of a nuisance. I don't really use them much anymore.


#2 Gillette 7 O'clock Super Stainless (Green)

Very smooth, not so sharp.

These were the second blades I tried. Super smooth and very forgiving for beginners. Sharp enough to get the job done, but at a cost of several more passes in the trouble areas. Just not the closeness I was used to with the Astra SPs. Chasing the BBS shave with these is a bit difficult. I would wind up doing too many touch ups, to the point of irritation. These also tug on long growth, but the second pass is silky smooth.


#3 Astra Super Stainless

Perhaps slightly less sharp than Astra SP, but way smoother.

Third blade tried. Ah, here we go.. a nice balance of sharpness and smoothness. No tugging like the SPs. Still very sharp, and not as forgiving for beginners, but a definite improvement over the SPs. These (paired with the R41) can take down 2 weeks of growth in one pass without incident. These were my go-to blades for a while, until I developed blade fomo and started collecting more brands lol.

After these, I decided to only buy stainless steel blades, thinking that the performance improvement compared to the SPs was due to the material. I did not imagine any other significant difference between the two, manufacturing-wise.


#4 Gillette Nacet

Fourth blade. Sharpest of all the Gillette brands I have, but the least smooth of them.

I would compare these to the Astra Super Stainless. Slightly less sharp, but slightly smoother. I have read some posts comparing these to Silver Blues, but I probably wouldn't. (You'll read why later.) Anyway, these are also a great blade for long growth. No tugging whatsoever. Again, the sharpness of these makes them a bit unforgiving compared to other Gillette brands, but we are getting closer to the right balance.


#5 Voskhod

Dull as a bag of wet socks and clear manufacturing defects

I hope I just got a bad batch of these, but if not, my god.. these are far and away the worst. These are the only blades I have that are not made in St. Petersburg. (They are made in Moscow.) The blade reveal is uneven, the grind is oddly rounded on one side, but not the other, and they tug like nothing I ever thought possible. And dull, like so dull it's shameful. I have read reviews about how great the teflon coating is (that's the reason I bought them), but any advantage the teflon coating brings is lost to me in the dullness of these blades. The tugging by itself is enough to cause irritation, and for someone with coarse hair like me, it may well render these blades unusable. I would not recommend these to anyone, nor will I ever buy another brand from that facility.


#6 Gillette Minora (Stainless)

The perfect balance, already? That was fast..

Sixth, and best blade. These shred through full growth with no tugging at all. But somehow, they are also the smoothest blades I have ever tried (maybe similar to the greens, but no tugging on the first pass puts these over the top). I liked these so much I bought 200 more. If not for all the positive reviews on Gillette Silver Blues, I may well have cured my blade fomo with these. These are my go-to blade now. I have never had a cut or weeper using these, and I typically do a four-pass shave hard against the grain in even the trouble areas for maximum BBS-ness. It is insane the stuff I can get away with using these blades compared to the others. Madness.


#7 Gillette Silver Blue

Pricier than the rest, let's see what all the fuss is about..

Very nice. Very nice indeed. I could not find these at a reasonable price for the longest time. When I did, I thought, finally! I can find out why everyone speaks so highly of them. And yes, they are every bit as good as their reputation. But, for the price point ($24 CAD for 100 pcs compared to $16), I will stick with the Minoras, as I find the performance of these two brands identical. (That is why I would not compare the Silver Blues to the Nacets.) If these were more readily available here, and at a comparable price, I would definitely buy more.


All that said, the blade I choose really depends on how many days since I last shaved. For one day, I'll use a 7 O'clock green (the least sharp) and for a week or more, Nacet or Astra SS. My skin seems to toughen up the longer I go between shaves, allowing for a more aggressive blade. Minoras and Silver Blues are perfect for my usual 3 days.

Well that's the list so far. I swear my wife thinks I'm a loon for buying all these blades, but blade fomo is a sickness I'm all too willing to indulge. Plus, I don't want to wait until I run out of blades to try a new brand. Otherwise, I'd have to get through a 100 pack of Voskhods. No thanks lol.

I think it goes without saying, what works best for me might not work best for others. We're all different, after all. Someone here may well have Voskhods at the top of their list. In that case, I would be happy to ship my remaining Voskhods (about 70, I think) anywhere in Canada if anyone would like to have them. Just msg me on here. First come, first served. I will try my best to respond in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks for reading my post, friends, and have a glorious good shave!

Give Rapira Platinum Lux a whirl…