Switching types of 7 O'Clock blades

[ofelas]

Hi,

Any Yellow 7 O'Clock blade users care to comment on the Black 7 O'Clock Platinums in comparision?

Sharpness & smoothness?

Thx, and please mention the type of DE, soap/cream etc.

 

[blue_titan]

I have tried a few 7O'Clocks blades (yellows, greens, and a black one). The yellow SharpEdge and the green PermaSharp blades were not great for me, although I prefer the yellow to the green.

I had one black Super Platinum blade to try and I found it to be the best of the three. The blade provided 5-6 great shaves before feeling it had run its course. They were very close, very smooth, and just about no irritation. One or two shaves resulted in a couple of minor nicks, but that was due to my own haste and lack of focus than anything else.

My favourites are Feathers and Iridiums and I find these Super Platinums to shave more similarly to these two blades than the other 7O'Clocks I've tried.

The razor was a Merkur 23c, and the soaps were CADE and Cella.

 

[JPM]

I prefer the Yellows over the Blacks. I'd have to say the Yellows are a bit smoother. I go through a rotation of Merkurs and have tried them both on the 34C, 37C, 39C and a Mergress. Pretty much the same result with all. I generally use TOBS or GFT creams and Tabac and MWF for soaps. Can't say the results change with any of those items.

 

[Kevan]

I don't like the Yellows at all. They haven't been good in any razor I've tried them in. The Permasharp greens are my favorite and seem to be sharp and smooth in any razor. The Platinum blacks are good in the new EJ/Muhle razor heads but sub-par in other razors in my experience.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[Cuttingboard]

^^^^ 3 perfect examples of YMMV!

 

[Mpugh77]

I have been shaving with a Russian Green in a 64 slim set on 4 and find it acceptable; however, it is not as good for me as a super iridium. I have not tried any others, but a friend of mine tore up his neck using a black from a 5+1 pack and promptly returned to IPs.

 

[Cuttingboard]

I have been shaving with a Russian Green in a 64 slim set on 4 and find it acceptable; however, it is not as good for me as a super iridium. I have not tried any others, but a friend of mine tore up his neck using a black from a 5+1 pack and promptly returned to IPs.

I've been using Red Pack Personna's in my 64 slim set @ 4. I tried a yellow pack blade the other day in my 64 slim @ 4 and thought it was rough. I then tried a yellow pack blade in my flare tip and it was very good. Go figure! I did order several packs of iridiums from WCS to see what all the fuss is about!

 

[DEGuy]

Never found any joy with Gillette's 7 O'clock blades; a disclaimer is that I never tried Black/Ninja blades.
The best blade I've used is Persona Surgical Prep blade--fantastic+.

 

[DMT]

I've tried both the Russian Greens and the Yellows in my Mercur 38c. I found the greens to be smooth and capable of giving an acceptable shave, the yellows on the other hand were far sharper and smoother. I found them to be smoother than feathers though not quite as sharp, even so they lasted a lot longer than the feathers

 

[Kostas1]

I've tried the Russian Greens, Super Platinum Blues (Russia) and Blacks (India), Yellows, and Minoras (not sure if they count as a 7 o'clock).

Blacks: Good in everything, and I mean everything (FaTip, Red Tip, Rocket, EJ DE89, New Long Comb, Slim, Fatboy, etc.)
Blues: The PPI Russian ones. Work in most of my razors, but find them better suited for open combs (FaTip and New LC)
Greens: Work best in my EJ DE89...one of my favorite pairings.
Yellows: Also work well in the DE89 and Slim/Fatboy on lower settings.
Minoras: Work in everything, but best in TTO Gillettes for me.

If I had to rank them:
1. Blacks (out of all Gillette current production blades, these come closest to my beloved Silver Blues)
2. Russian Greens/Minora
4. Blue
5. Yellow

 

[Big_OC]

I would rate them as follows:

1. 7 O'Clock Black
2. 7 O'Clock Blue
3. Personna Meds
4. 7 O'Clock Green (Russian)

Haven't tried the Perm Sharps or Yellows

 

[crfcom]

There is a comparison test thread by Oscroft pitting the yellow 7 o'clocks against the blacks. Right now he is comparing blacks against blues.
I have found the yellows and blacks to be excellent blades with not a lot between them, though I give a definite edge to the blacks. There are some blades that you hear very little bad and a lot of good about on this forum. Those would be 7 o'clock yellows, blues, and blacks, Personna Med Preps, Iridium Supers, and Personna Red Packs.
There are also some others which receive a lot of love from some, such as Souplex, Timor, 7o'clock greens, etc. Then you have the seeming love/hate thing going on with Feathers. If you play with them all long enough, you will probably arrive at some personal favorites, some of which will perform better on one of your razors than the others, for reasons you may never be able to put your finger on. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. All that matters is finding what blades, and razors, give you a great shave experience. You've got to shave, might as well enjoy it. I'm really kind of glad that I don't have one favorite blade. It's more interesting that way

 

[edgerunner]

[YMMV]
Comparing only 7 O'clock blades, the Indian Blacks have the best glide/efficiency ratio for me, followed by the Russian Greens, and then the Indian Permasharp Greens which I find sharper but still smooth. The Russian Blues are not efficient enough for me. The Yellows have the worst glide for me and are on the bottom in my list. As a reference, my daily blade is the Astra SP.
[/YMMV}

 

[mhdena]

To the OP

As you see YMMV, the only way to know for you is to get a few to try and see for your face.

 

[nav]

To the OP

As you see YMMV, the only way to know for you is to get a few to try and see for your face.

+1. Get a sample pack consisting of all the 7OC blades and try them all out.

Here is how I would rate the 7OC series:
1- Indian Black (Super Platinum): best blade out of the 35+ blades I have used. They are super sharp and very smooth. They also last the longest for me (5 shaves).

2- Indian Green (PermaSharp): second best blade for me. They are a little less sharp than the Indian Blacks but very comfortable/smooth. They last me 4 shaves. PermaSharp is kind of my go-to blade because it is cheaper than the Indian Black, which is very premium blade (cost wise).

3- Russian Yellow (Sharp Edge): pretty decent blade. Provided 3 DFS shaves with good comfort. Not unlike the Astra Superior Platinums.

4- Russian Blue (Super Platinum): didn't like them much as they were super sharp but didn't offer the smoothness of the Indian Blacks, pretty poor in comfort actually.

5- Russian Green (Super Stainless?): kind of opposite to the Russian Blue as these are very smooth but too dull for me. I didn't use them past one shave.

 

[Predict]

In my feather as d1 I use 7 o'clock blacks or feathers. I get one more shave with the blacks and smoother. Haven't tried yellows yet. The blacks are the best blades I've tried. I'll be looking for a good supplier soon as I doubt NAV will sell me anymore of his stash.

 

[Gordy2]

I use Yellows when I am shaving a light beard and have shaved within the last 24 hours, I really like the smoothness of this blade. I use Blacks for heavier beard, IMHO the Blacks are the sharpest of the O'Clocks.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I've tried the Russian Greens, Super Platinum Blues (Russia) and Blacks (India), Yellows, and Minoras (not sure if they count as a 7 o'clock).

Blacks: Good in everything, and I mean everything (FaTip, Red Tip, Rocket, EJ DE89, New Long Comb, Slim, Fatboy, etc.)
Blues: The PPI Russian ones. Work in most of my razors, but find them better suited for open combs (FaTip and New LC)
Greens: Work best in my EJ DE89...one of my favorite pairings.
Yellows: Also work well in the DE89 and Slim/Fatboy on lower settings.
Minoras: Work in everything, but best in TTO Gillettes for me.

If I had to rank them:
1. Blacks (out of all Gillette current production blades, these come closest to my beloved Silver Blues)
2. Russian Greens/Minora
4. Blue
5. Yellow

+1 on assessment especially on your take on the Blacks.
My rank:
1. Black
2. Blue
3. Yellow

I've yet to try the Greens.

 

[The M]

I just recently recieved a order from WCS which had the Gillette 7 o'clock yellows and blues both russian make blades. Last night I put one of the yellow gillettes in my razor(a merkur 1904 with the safety bar). When i started my shave it seemed like it was going to be a good shave but as it continued I noticed that it gave me alot of irritation and also gave me 2 weepers so i will give this blade another go as the jury is still ou on it. However I dont think that i will like it so next is to try the Gillette blue platnium blades(russian ones) and see if they are any better. I would love to try the 7 o'clock super stainless green pack from russia but I dont have any at the moment and i havent ordered from someone that does recently.

 

[MightyPir]

I like the yellows the best with a aggressive razor (I use them in my slant). I prefer a Feather blade with a less aggressive razor like a EJ DE 89. As you can see YMMV. You will have to try them for your self!