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Supply's Black Label Injectors - First Impressions

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
Thanks for the additional information. Sometimes we, when I say we, I mean, me, take it for granted that things are easy to fix. Easy in speed or cost.

I am enjoying my razor. The adjustability I like. I've owned previously but eventually returned one and sold another. The adjustable to me is much nicer than the changeable plates. I was struggling to find one that would shave close enough but not bite. A problem I didn't have with my Type E. I also like that this is a tiny bit lighter than the the previous model. I do wish it was a bit grippier as it is heavy and smooth. I'd love to see some actual texture on the razor. I won't use the silicone sleeve, that just seems strange (totally personal opinion).

The blades, I'm still on the 2nd blade, the first one didn't load properly, but no issues with number 2 and probably not with the rest of the pack. Glad to see you are listening to the feedback and from previous interactions with your company I can say the service has always been first rate.

I'm also glad you are working so hard to keep the Injector format alive and well.
 
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I’m currently using first pack of these new supply black label blades, and no problems thus far..A big improvement on the comfort level and sharpness to the old blades.
 
Thanks for the additional information. Sometimes we, when I say we, I mean, me, take it for granted that things are easy to fix. Easy in speed or cost.
Apologies for my delayed reply! I unintentionally set off some alarm bells with that post, and it was temporarily hidden - as well as my access paused. I'm now an official vendor on B&B so we have that all taken care of.

I hope my post didn't come off as defensive. I mainly wanted to share what's going on behind the scenes, as I thought it would be interesting to hear. FWIW, I usually like to stay on the outskirts of conversations so that they can be more honest and frank - but I'm always a tag away if I can ever give any insight into decisions, progress, or updates behind the scenes. I'm very grateful to this community and would love to give back in any way I can.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
Since my original review has been highjacked somewhat, I will try the blade again & be honest and frank when I complete the re-test
 
I tried these recently thinking they were repackaged Schick blades from Japan. While that turns out not to be the case, for me, the black label blades are the best injector of any I’ve tried. I use a Schick M1 adjustable. I have a fairly course dense beard and generally prefer sharp blade -mild :medium razor. I crank my M1 to 4.5 on the first pass 3 on the 3 and 3 on the 3rd. I usually have 2-4 days growth. For the supply blacks my my first two
shaves we’re heaven - smooth efficient and effective. shaves 2-4 we’re very good to excellent. And shaves 6-7 were solid. These results were a tad better than with the yellow chicks(i like the chicks a lot which at best are excellent but never sublime). I’d prefer the metal cartridge but had no problem loading. Again, only one shave in. But so far the results have been great. If this keeps up, they will be my go to injector blade (unless I find something better down the road!). I will report back if results vary from this initial run
 
The blades seem great. How many shaves are you all getting with them? The first one I tossed after 8, but thought it could go longer. I'm on 10 shaves with my second one, it is less sharp now, but doesn't feel tuggy yet. This is my first injector, so maybe they feel different when used up than a DE blade.
 
The blades seem great. How many shaves are you all getting with them? The first one I tossed after 8, but thought it could go longer. I'm on 10 shaves with my second one, it is less sharp now, but doesn't feel tuggy yet. This is my first injector, so maybe they feel different when used up than a DE blade.
I like really sharp blades. So I usually toss sooner than others. For example I use a feather in DE and will toss in the 4-5 range. One blade in, these seem like 5-6. Which is about the same as the different feather AC system blades I’ve tried
 
I like really sharp blades. So I usually toss sooner than others. For example I use a feather in DE and will toss in the 4-5 range. One blade in, these seem like 5-6. Which is about the same as the different feather AC system blades I’ve tried
They will stay sharp longer than you might want to leave them in also. My beard is prone to damaging these just like the Feather DE blades. I got bit right near the end of the 6th shave so I personally won't exceed 5 since the cost is reasonable for me. Like you said, similar to AC blades.
 
I'm 12 shaves in with a black label blade and got a great shave with my Supply SE. I'm not a guy who tries to over-extend blade life either. The SE is a terrific razor, mild yet efficient, I am able to go directly to XTG and complete in a 2.5-pass shave. I am not sure how to tell when this blade is done, with DEs they get tuggy.

This blade is so much better than the other SE I tried, the OneBlade. That Feather FHS-10 is awful, it only gives two inconsistent shaves and then needs to be tossed.
 
I'm shaving with my Supply SE again and I am now 16 shaves into one of their black-label injector blades and it has been very comfortable and effective. How many shaves are you all getting?

Because this is my first injector, I don't know when to call a blade done. With double-edged razors, I normally replace after 4 shaves, because they are so cheap.

Related, do you all get more or fewer shaves with Personna or Schick blades compared to the Supply black label?
 
I'm shaving with my Supply SE again and I am now 16 shaves into one of their black-label injector blades and it has been very comfortable and effective. How many shaves are you all getting?

Because this is my first injector, I don't know when to call a blade done. With double-edged razors, I normally replace after 4 shaves, because they are so cheap.

Related, do you all get more or fewer shaves with Personna or Schick blades compared to the Supply black label?
I loaded a fresh one into my Pro a month ago and it is sitting here waiting for me. I bought some late 90's Schicks a couple months ago to compare with my older Plus Platinums and they are just as good. This is a long way of saying that it takes some time to get back to a different blade than what is in the razor. I think I managed to get a week's worth of shaves, single pass only, out of a Black Label from my previous testing. Thanks for reminding me that the Supply is still sitting here waiting!
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
I did revisit the Black Labels & my experience was the same as the first batch. Crappy injector housing, reasonably sharp, longevity not that good - the blade lasted only a fraction of the less expensive Chicks, way less than vintage Plus Platinum Injectors ..
 
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.
I always loosen the screw a little on my Supply razors before I use my injector. It gives me a little more wiggle room with the plastic device. I like the no metal removal aspect of the Black blades injector too! The only thing I have to remember is to re-tighten the screw as it might affect the shave quality.
 
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