Supply's Black Label Injectors - First Impressions

[Jopo]

Wait a minute I have seen you type this before, but are saying the VERY expensive Schick Injector blades that Connaught sells are actually made in the US? I have never been able to figure out where the Prolines are made, the whole packaging is in Japanese. This would make some sense, but they still have to be higher quality than the Ted Pella blades for the US market. Right? It sounds like these Black Labels are the deal of the decade.

Yes, Japanese Schick Injectors and Proline are made in USA, says so on the package. You can go to this Amazon Japan link, go to third pic. Says ‘made in USA’ in top right corner. You can use Google Translate Phone app in Camera mode to translate it yourself.

Ted Pellas’ made in US too but certainly in my experience the Japanese Injectors are much better quality.


But not sure what you mean re Black Labels being the deal of the decade. The Supply Blacks are made in Seki, Japan, don’t know which company makes them but both Kai and Feather have factories in Seki.

 

[APBinNCA]

But not sure what you mean re Black Labels being the deal of the decade.

Sorry, I meant if they end up shaving as well as a Feather Professional AC blade then they are the deal of the decade. Considering how, in the US, the available injector blades are either very cheap and OK or very expensive(Japanese Schicks). The price on the Black labels is about what I pay for vintage blades, which are always a gamble.

 

[Jopo]

Sorry, I meant if they end up shaving as well as a Feather Professional AC blade then they are the deal of the decade. Considering how, in the US, the available injector blades are either very cheap and OK or very expensive(Japanese Schicks). The price on the Black labels is about what I pay for vintage blades, which are always a gamble.

Ahh, I understand. Yes, then would be a deal. Or even better - we see the manufacturer release the injectors in Japan under their own brand, for cheaper than Blacks. Would certainly make sense to do so if they’re already manufacturing for Supply, and given the market for Injectors in Japan

 

[srqshaver]

I can confirm the issue that @garyg reported about it being difficult to insert the key due to the flimsy plastic. This injector feels anything but premium. What a shame. I tried to insert it into a Schick G4 but forget it. I almost broke the key and ended up scraping some of the plastic bump off of it. I was able to get it to work with an M1 adjustable but just barely and it took some serious force which was probably a bad idea in hindsight.

The quality of the shave was impressive. Very sharp but smooth as well. I'm not ready to pass judgment yet because I've been shaving with nothing but DEs so an injector feels different regardless of the blade. I'm going to use a Schick blade next to see how different it feels, if at all. More to follow.

 

[garyg]

I had thought to see after the last shave if my impression of the longevity of these blades was premature .. so I tried again. The edge is completely dull after only a couple shaves. The common Chicks retain a sharp edge for perhaps 4 x the shaves for me, vintage Plus Platinums go twice that.

I actually had to switch razors mid-shave the Supply was so bad - I finished on a Plus Platinum that had a dozen or more good shaves on it.

 

[APBinNCA]

After stewing on it for the last week, I have decided to leave my Supply pre-order/Kickstarter as it is. Therefore I will have 2 packs of these blades coming. One of the primary reasons for getting the new Pro and for deciding to keep it is the adjustability. I think this will make a difference evaluating these blades. I currently use Plus Platinums so I have a good reference. I was going to get some of these sooner, but with these reviews so far I see no reason to.

 

[srqshaver]

I decided to "fix" the injector issue by moving the blades from their original plastic container into an older empty metal one that I had on hand. It wasn't that difficult to do. I just hope that I didn't accidentally mess up the edge of the blades. I guess I'll find out the next time I use a new one.

*I thought I'd add that the plastic injector is primarily intended to be used with Supply's razors so unless you are using these blades with older injectors, this is completely unnecessary. It's actually better for you to use the plastic one since it eliminates the chance of scratching the razor.

 

[garyg]

I decided to "fix" the injector issue by moving the blades from their original plastic container into an older empty metal one that I had on hand. It wasn't that difficult to do. I just hope that I didn't accidentally mess up the edge of the blades. I guess I'll find out the next time I use a new one.

*I thought I'd add that the plastic injector is primarily intended to be used with Supply's razors so unless you are using these blades with older injectors, this is completely unnecessary. It's actually better for you to use the plastic one since it eliminates the chance of scratching the razor.

View attachment 1379729View attachment 1379730

Actually the one I had the problem with had nothing to do with the Supply razor I use - the slide wasn't picking up the blade when pushed, which is irrelevant to the razor. I moved the blades to a previously used metal one, but based on the alarmingly short sharpness life of the Black experienced with the first blade it may not be long until they are used up

 

[srqshaver]

Actually the one I had the problem with had nothing to do with the Supply razor I use - the slide wasn't picking up the blade when pushed, which is irrelevant to the razor. I moved the blades to a previously used metal one, but based on the alarmingly short sharpness life of the Black experienced with the first blade it may not be long until they are used up

Got it. I've got one shave on the first blade and I plan on using a Type N with a new sChick blade today to compare. Then I'll go back and use the Supply blade until it's done and report back. I appreciate you providing an additional point of reference.

 

[garyg]

Hopefully your experience is better than mine Eric

 

[sternej]

So the Black label blades at $9 for eight blades are a bargain, considering how fantastic they are. The white label ones were ok for me, but these are a real game changer. Probably more like a feather, although the Supply is my only razor. Im really looking forward to the launch of the open comb new model in February. The injector seems to work fine with the Supply 2.0.

 

[Not A Public FIgure]

Figured I'd chime in, my injector collection and blade sampling is pretty broad and recently tried the Supply Black Labels. My vintage Schick collection runs: D to O with only the Black handle E and a Silver/Blue 66 missing. I also have the PAL dial adjustable and Injectomatic, The Personna Super Stainless, The new Parker adjustable and the Supply V2. Blades I've tried: Various Vintage Schick/Schick Twin, Personna Coated Injector, the Chicks, the Schick Injector II from Japan, the Supply whites and the Supply Black Label. My favorite vintage injector is the D type which I run Chicks in, generally gets me 7-10 shaves. I didn't like any of the modern injectors until I tried manually loading a Schick II (modern twin) into my Supply V2 3 dot plate, which simply made the razor for me!

Regarding the Black Label, it did not best the twin in my Supply V2 3 dot, the twin has a bit of blade feel akin to a coated GEM and results from both quite similar. Where the blade label surprised me, I tried it in my various A/C Shavettes: Kai Captain/Kasho, Feather DX & Feather SR, I think I liked the black label better than any of the A/C blades in my A/C Shavettes! I then tried the black label in my D Type and felt it shaves smoother than reference Chicks in that razor, but as stated earlier in thread I don't feel the black labels will go as long at the Chicks for me; today for 6ths on the Black label and I'm not confident it has much if anything left versus 7-10 chicks give me.

For reference/additional perspective: My go to A/C blades: Feather Super Pro, Dorco BB-20 the Schick Proline and the discontinued Kai Captain Sharp (thought I've probably tried 2/3rds of all A/C currently on the market.

Lastly, I echo sentiment regarding the Personna injector/coated injectors, these don't go nearly as far for me and don't feel as smooth either, I tend to get 4 shaves out of them and once I've burned through what I have of them I likely won't get more, same goes for the Supply whites which I believe are from the same folks.

 

[APBinNCA]

I wanted to update this thread with some good news, but just news will have to suffice for now.

I received my 3 packs, plus 1 included with the razor, from supply. I paid much less than the current price because of the Kickstarter so I upped my number of packs, a bit of a gamble. The plastic injectors are pretty lousy, but I now understand why they are sticking with them. Inserted into a Supply razor, with some fidgeting and multiple slides of the blade loader, it does inject properly. A metal injector is a tight fit and my razor is painted, I am sure there is now less paint after inserting a vintage injector. It definitely does work better, but at least the Supply injectors do work with their razors.

The first blade on the top was in crooked and probably damaged in the process. I used it anyway because I couldn't see anything concerning. These blades have a very large bevel area like Feather DE blades, which usually means they have a narrow bevel angle. Meaning plenty sharp, so plus one so far. The first shave was on a pretty high number of a razor that I have never used before, but it was very smooth. So smooth that I couldn't tell if it was because of the blade or the razor design. This is about as smooth as I have felt for a medium sharpness blade, about as smooth as any Gillette blade gets on it's second shave. Strangely, after the first shave I hadn't realised yet that they might be closest to made in India Blacks, which have a similar bevel.

The second and third shave were very different from the first and I was caught off guard as single edge blades don't usually sharpen up rapidly after just one shave. I had left the razor on the same number because I was happy with the overall result of the first shave. Just like some of the sharpest DE blades, which I usually move to a tamer razor, the Black Labels sharpened up a lot the second shave and I got several weepers. The interesting thing is that unlike a DE razor, the design of the SE razors protect my skin from becoming irritated or getting cuts. I had a nice comfortable shave otherwise and was surprised when the blood came out. My skin doesn't really tolerate the sharpest blades and weepers are the expected result.

On the third shave, I dialled down for safety. But this meant that I didn't get as close of a shave as I need for night shaving. I had another nice shave like the first, but without the closeness. Or so I thought. I had one of the worst alum burns I have had, a sure sign of irritation. After the shave, and now looking at the results the next day, I decided to bin the blade prematurely and it was a good thing I did. After loading in a fresh Plus Platinum, I inspected the used Black Label and it had a very obvious wire edge. The front of the blade felt smooth, but the back felt like sandpaper. This is one reason I don't like flipping blades, the facial damage would have been a lot worse if it were possible to flip an injector blade.

In conclusion, there is no complete conclusion. But the experience is a mixed bag. Supply advertises these as lasting 5 or 6 shaves, you have to reverse engineer their claims. I personally don't care about longevity unless price comes into play. At current retail, I would need to get 6 shaves for these to even clear that hurdle. This reminds me of the Feather FHS controversy where they cost a whole dollar and are good for, sometimes, only one shave. I REALLY like the first shave, but I REALLY don't like blades sharpening up like this. I am also not certain that it was sharpening up as much as I thought, it could have been getting a bur on the second shave. I also have to acknowledge that it could have been a damaged blade, but that doesn't square with how smooth the first shave was. As I have now loaded a fresh Plus Platinum, it is going to be some time before I will get around to trying another Black Label. After I use another one, I will update in a couple of weeks.

 

[Quaznoid]

Stick with Chicks, gentlemen

 

[APBinNCA]

Like usual, here I am typing again when I said it would be a couple weeks...
Well, after the "unpredictable" first blade in the pack, I decided to be a bit more sceptical about these. It took me 7 shaves to get a bur on my Plus Platinum and I just binned it. So I grabbed the Black Label injector and loaded a blade for tomorrow. I decided to inspect the edge a little closer and sure enough, the second and third blade in the pack have burs. Clear as day, not getting a chance at my face. I grabbed another injector cartridge and prepared for disappointment and finally, a good one! So, now I get to see whether they send me a replacement cartridge. Before I do that, I need to see how this blade shaves. I may not want to even bother if I can't get three shaves out of it, I'll stick with vintage if not thank you very much.

 

[APBinNCA]

Two weeks later, a week without my razor, and I am back with an unexpected update. Long story later, my razor developed a defect where the blade just floated and retracted into the head when applied to my face. I got the razor replacement and have now put 4 shaves on a Black Label from the same pack as I left off.

First of all, these things are sharp. Too sharp really. The first shave is great, but I am hardly throwing it out after that. From previous experience, I knew shave two and three would be dangerous so I preemptively turned the razor down. The problem with this is that I don't get as good of a shave with it turned down and it's not the blade. With the razor at a neutral exposure, I am left with random spots that don't get picked up properly. The plan going forward is going to be to cork this blade from the beginning and run it at the correct setting. If it reduces blade life, so be it. I have been paying attention, using magnification, to the condition of the edge after my previous bad experience, but it looks like once you find a good blade you are set. I know that doesn't sound good, but these blades are not bad for the price. Even with bad ones. It is looking like, if you get a bad one, the whole pack will be bad and just request a new pack from supply. Some people were getting new packs simply because the blade loader(slide) is fidgety. It's a design problem, not that that is an excuse either. I just don't mind futzing with it once a week and making sure I load a good blade.

At this point, I feel good about the condition of the blade edge therefore I am going to go for 2 more shaves, totalling 6. Unless it dulls before that. All I want out of an injector blade, considering it's thickness, is for it to cut smoothly until it is too dull and not to get a massive bur that tears up my face. Overall, I am giving these blades a conditional recommendation. Considering the cost of high quality alternatives, nearly double now, the slight extra trouble these may be is probably worth the risk. Ultimately, Prolines are probably the best non-vintage option if you are willing to load them into an empty metal injector with key. I am not willing to risk damaging the blade edge.

 

[Chandu]

Stick with Chicks, gentlemen

IF IF I keep the razor that is what I will do. The blades are no better than those and I do not like the plastic loader at all, not even a tiny bit. I'll get the Chicks or these Schick Injector Razor Blades - https://www.connaughtshaving.com/schick10.html

 

[Chandu]

Even with bad ones. It is looking like, if you get a bad one, the whole pack will be bad and just request a new pack from supply.

No. I'm not willing to play that game. Ship me decent blades. I don't want to have to inspect all my blades, that is what the QC department is for.

Supply should not want to play that game either. If they want to sell razors and stay profitable, they need to sell consistently good blades.

 

[garyg]

No. I'm not willing to play that game. Ship me decent blades. I don't want to have to inspect all my blades, that is what the QC department is for.

Supply should not want to play that game either. If they want to sell razors and stay profitable, they need to sell consistently good blades.

+1 - While I had looked forward to having another choice in the very niche arena of injector blades, I'm not willing to put up with the quality swings or the plastic injector because it saves them money.

 

[Supply]

Hello Gentlemen, I usually try to stay out of public debates about my products, but I figured since my name was being drug so deeply through the mud on this one, it was worth a friendly drop in.

First and foremost, I want to genuinely and sincerely apologize for any missteps or errors of mine or my company's in the past - recent, or not. It seems I've upset quite a few folks on this thread. Although I certainly try to be perfect, we are far from it, and I'm always happy to fess up to mistakes when I make them.

Secondly, I am very (painfully) aware of the "loading" challenges that our plastic cartridges have (specifically, the fact that in some cases, the injector slide "slips" over the blade). And I'm working diligently to correct them. I have been for months. I'm very sorry to anybody that's been affected by this. I've directed my team to quickly and happily provide replacements, as has been noted in this thread. This issue has a relatively small defect rate - but it's still non-zero, which means it's not OK in my book.

An additional point worth nothing, that I've shared previously with Gary via email: Most folks don't realize what it takes to make a stamped aluminum injector cartridge. I do. I've priced it out. I've even seen the Personna stamping machine in person. It is a massive, 2 ton machine that is about 80 years old. They call it the "thumper" at Personna because when it's operating you can hear it thumping out cartridges across the entire manufacturing floor.

Making one of these machines ourselves is sadly, extremely prohibitively expensive for us at our current size. Hence, the plastic cartridge.

It's not designed to cut corners, or to save me money. If I was concerned about getting rich, I would have quit this business a long time ago. I'm not. I'm concerned about making the world's best injector razors and blades.

I do have plans to transition to a metal cartridge by 2023. I wish I could do it sooner, but there's only so much I can take on at a time. Releasing the SE, the Pro, and the world's first new (and in most customers' opinions, best) injector blade in decades has taken an extremely large amount of my energy, time, and money. Plastic will have to do for now.

Lastly, It seems like there are some variations in quality of our blades being experienced in this thread, but I'm honestly having a hard time parsing it out. We've had almost zero complaints of quality defects on the actual blades themselves (as long as they're not damaged during loading), so I'm a bit confused by this one. The clearest feedback I'm seeing in regards to quality in this thread is our blades being compared to basically every other Artist Club blade and Schick blades, and beating all of them. I'll take that as a win in my book. But if there's a clear problem here, I'd love to address it directly.

One final admonition. Hopefully, it comes off as friendly as intended.

I'm a regular guy, like you.

You may not know this, but the story of Supply started on B&B. I was given my very first injector razor by a friendly stranger here on B&B as a PIF. I was a brand new member back in 2014, brand new to wet shaving. I still remember his username: beav.

That PIF changed my life. I was hooked on injectors from my first shave. And I have B&B to thank for that.

I know you gents are serious about this hobby, and I am too.

Just don't forget, we're all humans here, trying to all do the best we can, and wanting to enjoy this hobby as much as we can. For some godforsaken reason, I decided to turn it into a career. And by God, if I don't intend to complete that journey with honor.

I know we have a lot of room to improve, but I am extremely proud of what I've accomplished so far. It's outrageously difficult to make new razors and blades from nothing. Personally, I think these blades are pretty damn good for having come from some nobody kid from Texas who's bootstrapped his business from his kitchen table. But that's just my biased opinion.

Thank you for reading. I hope this helps shed some light on what goes on behind the scenes. If I can make up for anything directly with any of you on this thread, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to.