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Ted Pella Injector Blades V.S. Chicks

I recently started my downward spiral into injector razors with a simple add-on purchase of a pack of Chicks from drugstore.whatever. I was helplessly hooked after the first shave and I clearly need to buy more (razors and blades).

Before I move forward with any large blade purchases, how do the Ted Pella blades http://www.tedpella.com/dissect_html/blades.htm#_121_4 compare to the Chicks?

If they're fairly close in performance, it seems that the Ted Pellas at $.24 a blade are a much better value than the Chicks at $.81. Unless the Ted Pellas don't perform as well and the extra $ is worth it in comfort / longevity of the blade.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
After you get by the obligatory YMMV, it is in this case YMMV .. those are the only two choices (the Pellas are Personnas in bulk) being manufactured today. Luckily you should be able to come by an injector of each, and see which you like. Don't try and find any of the NOS Injector Blades from the Golden Age, there's too many of us out there haunting for them ..

Seriously, the face here likes the Chicks better. They seem sharper, and have decent legs. The Pella/Personnas might go an extra shave, but just don't cut as well.

If you PM me an address, I'll send you a couple loose Pella's to try after you load them in your Chick injector. The Metal Injector is favored by some, though the plastic Personna box seems to work ok for me, if a bit fiddly
 
Both blades will get the job done. Personally, I prefer the Chicks, but I could probably live with Personnas, if no others were available. I don't worry too much about the cost of the blades--I have gotten 25 good shaves from a Chick, and some other gents on the forum have reported up to 30 shaves on a blade. At $0.81 per blade, that amounts to 3.24 cents per shave. I can easily afford that, and by shopping around, I can generally beat 81 cents per blade.

Now $0.24 per blade for the Personnas would bring my cost down to a penny per shave, but I like the Chicks better (especially the injector) so I don't mind paying the extra 2.24 cents per shave.

As Gary says, YMMV, and you might get more or fewer shaves than I do per blade, so you will just have to try both and decide for yourself.
 
And counterpoint: I haven't yet completely made up my mind, but I think I am finding the Personnas to be a bit smoother. The Chicks can be just a touch harsh, especially in a really aggressive razor such as an early Schick E2.

As for the injector itself, no question that the Chick is far superior, the Personna being a flimsy affair. However, with a little wiggling and finesse it will get the job done. Of course, you can always reload Personnas into an empty Chick injector.

Of course cost heavily favors the Personnas.

The fact that I'm still not completely decided after several shaves indicates that both of these blades are pretty good.

--Bob
 
I personally find that Chinese Schick Blades perform really well in PAL Injectors and more aggressive Schick Injectors...I like Personna Blades in a Schick G Type.....I have a stock of Schick NOS Blades and current injector blades just don't look anywhere near them...Some of these NOS Blades will offer the Injector Shave of your Life....:w00t:

Personna and Pella blades are the very same blade of course and will shave the same...:001_cool:

Billy
 
The Pella injectors are less then worthy. That alone drives me to buying Chick blades. Also, I've had the experience of having more Pella dud blades then the Chicks. It's strange to inject a new blade, seated properly, and then have it shave like there isn't any blade at all.

-jim
 
Yeah, I do know what you mean...I found the exact same with the Chick Blades....They are very ghost like and have Ninja qualities..:w00t:


Billy
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, I'm going to give a couple of Personnas a shot (Thanks garyg!) and see how they work for me.

Cheers!
 
i like both fine so far, so i am got several injectors of the pella blade, i dont need to get new ones for at least a year. it is true that the flimsy injectors themselves are not that good. just today i had to fiddle with it a bit to replace the blade on my e3. it just would not push the old blade out... i think it was pushing the new blade into the top a little. a little twisting and the blade finally lined up and loaded fine. my c2 is still loaded with the chick blades and works well too. i guess that i found that the Pella blade were fine and were so much more economical that i will stick with them... but now i hope i did not toss the old Schick injector, it might be a good idea to reload it with the cheaper blades.
 
The twin blade came out at the same time as the L, but will work in any injector that doesn't have the hydromagic lever I believe.
 
I don't find any difference between the single-blade Japanese Schicks and the Chicks, so the price difference doesn't buy you anything. On the other hand, the Japanese Schick II twins are superb and will work in any non-HydroMagic Schick injector razor from Type L through Type O. They will not work in Schick HydroMagics, PALs or Personnas, except for the Personna Floating Head injector razor. Some gents say that they will work in any Schick down to a Type I, but I don't think I would try one in mine. I have also heard that they are not good for the Schick Type M adjustables, but I can't confirm that. I certainly wouldn't use them in a Type E, F, or G.
 
The twin blades work great in a Type J and, despite all reports to the contrary, I had no problems using one in my PAL Injectomatic :001_smile
Hmm . just bought an Injectomatic. Are the twins your blade of choice for that razor? I've been using trimmed Feather AC on my E with great pleasure.
 
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