Super Gillette Blue Blades from China

[Toddster64]

Well folks, I'll "cut" right to the chase.

In 18 months of DE shaving, I've never come across a rougher, flabbier blade than these Super Gillette Blues. I managed one pass in my RazoRock SLAB, and that was it - almost no hair was cut, and my face was already sore as the blade battled through a mere 36 hours of well prepped, soft whiskers. I switched to a Gillette Stainless, a new go-to blade for me, and the rest was easy - although my skin still suffered from that initial pass.

I had just recently picked these up from a Hong Kong-based vendor with some other blades, and I must say I probably won't try those either.

Per the photos, there's nothing obviously askew with the outer or inside wrappers, and I don't have enough insight to know what's up with the blade edges. The blades say "Super Stainless - Shanghai China."

Interested to hear if anyone has ever gotten a decent shave from these. Surmising Gillette has nothing to do with this.



Todd R.

 

[Scott0079]

If these came from DX I'm sure they're fake, bought some myself.

 

[malocchio]

I doubt if these are an authorized product,my experience with Chinese blades has been abysmal....I have heard the Thai version are authorized,but also that they come from China,not sure about that,maybe another member can clarify ?

 

[xillion]

I use them in my rotation occasionally. The ones I own shave just like the Thai Super Thin Blades.
I believe they are made for Gillette at the Flying Eagle factory in Shanghai.
I'm not sure how old my blades are but the printing is bolder and darker
than the printing on the blade sold by DX.


Some of the other Shanghai made Gillette blades are.


Super Thin.


Recently I came across one I've never seen before. The writing is Thai, but the package design is similar to the Super G Blue Blades.


Here is an image of an older version with a different wrapper. Aside from the W2 date code, the blade appears identical to the one in my first image.

Maybe that one from 2001:

 

[blzrfn]

Interestingly enough I tried my first Chinese super blue this morning as well, it only made it through 1/4 pass before I switched to a vintage Jewel from England. The "Gillette" blade was tugging and felt a bit rough in my late 40s Aristocrat. I could have probably finished the shave but would have surely paid for it. I also ordered the Flying Eagle single edge blades at the same time and managed a full pass with those, but they didn't cut at all (tried two different blades to make sure the first wasn't a dud). Oh well, I'm not out much money and can now spread the warning to others to avoid both of these blades for shaving purposes.

 

[dragon terre]

Well I think some off you might just have bought fake Chinese Super Gillette Blue blades and to be honest its very hard to spot the difference between te real one and the fake one until you use it.

The experiences in this thread sound to me that you guys had gotten fake ones and I think those from DX are fake to, because the price is way the low, because even in China real ones are not so cheap as on DX.

 

[Toddster64]

Mine were from DX. While I'm inclined to send a message, given the low price, I'm likely not going to bother. I too ordered the Flying Eagle and they'll probably be flying into the trash (along with too much holiday candy and non-paper wrapping that I can't recycle).

 

[Haegar]

Ha! I got mine that I bought out of curiosity yesterday, but have not yet tried to shave with them. When ordering them I was well aware of that they might be non shaving grade - just had a spare $8 in my pocket...

But even if these are very bad blades I would be careful stating they were fake.
Have a look at the inside of those wrappers, the picture says it all, no need to read Chinese: Gillette does not want people continuing to shave with DE blades!

To me it seems only understandable that they are not interested in maintaining DE quality on an internationally high level for those blades which are not supposed to exit the country!

 

[xillion]

Those aren't the only ones with the cartridge ad in the wrapper.

Here is the inside wrapper of a Thai market Gillette Super Thin.


Close up of the Super Gillette Blue Blade wrapper.


Here is the inside of a Polsilver Super Iridium, made by PPI, with an ad for their
Polsilver Swing and Ultra 2 cartridge.

 

[Haegar]

Of course, Chris. But my point was that P&G will not do more than the absolutely necessary effort to stay the best in a given market. I imagine that China doesn't import huge quantities of DE blades, so the Gillette blades only have to be the best within the quality range one typically finds in China. So P&G will only want to invest in superior production quality if the market demands it, everything else will unnecessarily cut into the product's margin. After some necessary maintenance to the production line or parts of it the blades will be better for a determined amount of output and will go downhill until they are worse than those of some important competitor. The same goes for other countries (like Thailand) of course, but they may be more opened for imported DE blades (of P&G competitors).

One also should not forget that the Chinese generally have much thinner beard hair than most American, European and Indian men, so that a blade that is definitely not good enough for me or you still me be OK for the average Chinese.

 

[xillion]

Point taken, and I agree with your statement. I was mearly showing some other ad examples I've come across. They make more money selling carts so I makes sense to try and upsell them.

I do find it interesting that there seem to be quite a few knockoff DE blades produced. There was a thread a while back that showed a few different kinds. I recall the packages looked similar to other brands but the names were misspelled. One was something like Gilere and one was a Derby knockoff but I can't recall the exact name.

 

[Haegar]

Ha! I got mine that I bought out of curiosity yesterday, but have not yet tried to shave with them.

OK, I couldn't resist to try them today. WOW! I'm amazed! I don't regret to have spent $8 because I would not believe it if I had not tried them!

I have to say that these even beat the well feared Triple-D: Derby, Dorco, and for the sake of the D Dovo, with which of course I mean Merkur. Each of these three (which I dislike quite a bit) are really fine blades compared to this Chinese Gillette Super Blue stuff. The use of the latter one compare to my attempts to shave with a carpenter's plane blade or chisel. FWIW, these woodworking blades are typically ground to a 25° to 35° bevel, while razor blades usually have a bevel angle of somewhere in the 18°-20° range.

When doing the first stroke with the Chinese Gillette blade in my Weber it felt like dry DE shaving and I thought I was doing something wrong or I was having a bad dream. So I dared to proceed with a second stroke on the cheek but it was still the same. As I had expected something similar I already had my Merkur 34c ready, loaded with a brand new Vietnamese Dorco, just to know if they compared in some way. OK, these two blades don't compare at all to each other, because the Dorco actually shaved, and even felt smooth compared to the Chinese Super Blue. As if this had not been enough I couldn't help to grab the Sensor I had used the day before, trying it first with a 2-blade cart I had used on two intercontinental flights, and then with my last new 3-blade Excel cart. The used cart pulled more than the Dorco, but less than the Chinese Super Blue. The new Excel cart was sort of comfortable but I couldn't get a close shave (lack of pressure I guess), so I finished with the Dorco to an irritation free DFS.

Bottom line: if you want to enjoy one of the "Triple-D" blades just do the first two strokes with a Chinese Gillette blade!

 

[Haegar]

I've never come across a rougher, flabbier blade than these Super Gillette Blues. I managed one pass in my RazoRock SLAB, and that was it - almost no hair was cut, and my face was already sore as the blade battled through a mere 36 hours of well prepped, soft whiskers.

You are a brave man. I stopped after the second stroke on my right cheek (24 hour stubbles).

 

[dragon terre]

Well these DE blades are produced in Shanghai China and to be honest there are lots off more good Chinese blades and I have used many off them, including Jianyu blades and Flying Eagles and all though the Flying Eagle isn't the best, its not the worst either and they work for me.

Those Flying Eagles are perhaps comparable with Derby's or Dorco's. But the Chinese Gillette blades really live up to the reputation from Gillette blades and those are good blades. I have the Chinese Gillette Super Thin as well and thats also a good blade, but its true they contain advertisements for cartridge razors.

Ah well but having read the experiences with the Super Gillette Blue blades i'm quite positive that you guys got fake ones, as I had fake ones before to, but I was in China so I returned them to the Taobao seller and got most off mine money refunded. But mine first experience with these blades was with the ones I bought in the Chinese supermarkets in China and those are the real deal and perforn very well.

 

[Toddster64]

Seems that it would be odd to counterfeit an already cheap blade. I suppose it's possible and maybe enough folks would bite, but it's also feasible that whatever is coming out of the plant is simply either substandard, or as another poster indicated, perhaps it appeals to a much lighter beard.

 

[dragon terre]

Well in China they copy everything, so also Gillette blades, I found it strange at first too. So with these blades I would really look for reliable reseller.

And if you would look on Taobao.com then you would find prices from about 4.5 yuan to 6 yuan for Chinese Super Gillette Blue and they are really not cheaper if you buy them per 100, so yes I right away though already that price from DX was to good to be true.

I suggest if you wanna be 100% sure to get real ones then buy them via a Taobao agent and choice a reliable Taobao seller like this one because I bought them from that seller before.

 

[Mugwhamp]

I live in Chengdu and bought a 5-pack of the Super Gillette Blue Blades for 7.5 yuan ($1.24 US) at a Hongqi (government run) convenience store. I just finished my fourth 3-pass BBS shave and the blade is still hanging strong.

 

[Toddster64]

I had a very positive exchange with the folks from DX regarding the defective blades (of which I tried three from the package of 100, all demonstrating the same astounding non-performance). Not only did their online chat person help me get a ticket started, but they offered me a credit within 24 hours. I didn't really need the $8 back - at that price, let the buyer beware (per what I'm hearing from locals above) - but the gesture goes a long way to ensuring I'll be ordering other products from them in the future. I'd better think stick to the cheap razors, however...



Todd R.

 

[Haegar]

<snip> they offered me a credit within 24 hours. I didn't really need the $8 back - at that price, let the buyer beware (per what I'm hearing from locals above) - but the gesture goes a long way to ensuring I'll be ordering other products from them in the future. <snip>

I also submitted a ticket, pointing out that these blades don't cut it at all. I was kindly asked if I would accept a partial refund, being apparently their cost of the blades, a $3 credit on my DX account that is. First I just decided to let the case rest and neither accept their half hearted offer nor sitting down an loose more time to write them that I didn't like their offer.

About a month later I changed my mind and I kindly rejected the deal, making clear that I as a first-time customer expected nothing less than a full refund to the PayPal account I had used to pay the blades. I also did not forget to tell them that I was confident that Procter & Gamble, owner of the Gillette brand should be happy to refund DX for their whole stash of blades that never should have left production facilities. Three days later full refund showed up on my PayPal account.

My point was not that much to get back the $8 I had thrown out the window but rather to communicate very clearly that you can fool some people sometimes, but you can't fool all the people all the time. If it would have been the money I probably would have thought "oh well, at least $3 back, and I will have to buy from them again to really get it back, but at least it is something, instead of risking to get nothing back if asking what they would consider too much". But I really didn't care about the money, only about a clear message.

P.S.
Oh, I just saw these blades now cost $8.66 instead of the $8 they cost before. If this is not just a currency converting issue it would mean that future buyers will pay for the refund I received. So, if you buy these blades and also think that they should not be used to shave your facial hair, make sure to complain and ask for full refund!

 

[rookie1178]

I ordered a 100 Super Gillette Blue Blades last year on the 18th of December, and they shipped on the 19th. They have been stuck in China "dispatching" since that time. I am now wondering if this is the reason for the delay, problems with a supplier maybe? I also ordered several other items that arrived already including the excellent bargain rimei razor. I just opened a ticket regarding my delayed order, so I will keep you all posted as to how it goes.