For the past few weeks, due to rare documentation from other users, I tested several chinese (and one korean) razor blade companies lately, had some great experiences but also some not-so-great. Every blade was obtained via Aliexpress and arrived within 2-3 weeks. I'm still waiting on a brand called Cloud that has a favorable youtube review that I wanted to confirm for myself. If anybody wants pictures or direct links to order any of these products, request them. One thing I need to mention is that I only use a blade one time, unfortunetely I can not say how many shaves these will last but I am offering free PIF (where applicable) in the USA for anybody who wants to help out.
Lets start with the good ones:
RiMei: Obviously RiMei is included, it wouldn't be a chinese razor review without them. Very smooth, glides effortlessly and produces a bbs shave without even thinking about it. They're the standard of quality chinese shaving products. This brand is mentioned once in a while because they're noted for their quality handles - as long as you don't get a counterfeit. If you want one, order it from dx.com because it's reasonable to assume anywhere else is carrying counterfeits. Again, I just wanted to confirm what everybody already knew. Prices are on-par for what the market is now, roughly $12-15 per 100.
YingJili Platinum: There are three lines made by this chinese company: a 'regular', a 'platinum' and something called a 'diamond' which I ordered but have yet to try. This one completely surprised me, I used this one this morning and am still amazed. The packaging itself is very high quality, glossy and very sturdy. I've never seen a glossy print on a package of razor blades before, and I've tried at least 50 brands by now. The shave was also quite memorable, it mowed down a 2-day growth like it was nothing and gave a terrific BBS with again, a 3-pass. My neck feels very smooth and there is no evident razor burn. These blades are a bit pricey but 5 or 10 packs can be obtained for roughly $2, there's one store on Aliexpress named Qshave that exclusively carries all three lines of this brand and I can verify they are not counterfeit. I dont have any PIF's as I only bought a single pack of five blades, sorry.
BoYou: This is a relatively-unknown and underrated Korean company since 1989 who never got their foot in the door. They manufacture both double edge razor blades and handles that resemble a Rimei in the packaging (Ebay item #262535532996 for an example). I have not tested the handle yet, it's on order, but I have tested the blades. They remind me of a Dorco but with a higher quality hone and grind. There was a *very* slight tug on the first pass in a few parts, but it wasn't uncomfortable and in fact was very tolerable. After the first pass, I didn't notice. This blade also produced a very acceptable BBS, no burning/bleeding/irritation and can be had for $3 per 15 blades. I would take a BoYou over a Dorco any day. I also have a few extras if anybody wants a PIF, with the stipulation that a review will be posted because this brand needs some attention. There's no write-up on here, on reddit, on anywhere. If you go looking for the brand specifically, you'll come up short.
The Bad:
Blendax (AKA Blandax/Bloodax):
Horrible quality, could not finish a single swipe. Too much pulling and tugging, it was like shaving with a rusty can found in somebody's backyard.
Patrix:
Same company as Blendax, and birds of a feather flock together. Terrible, not even worth mentioning past these initial two sentences.
GFLV:
These might be worth a try because they're 50 for roughly $4, and the packaging is really nice. I didn't like them because they had more tugging than I could tolerate but I was able to finish the job so some people will find these favorable. Again, I have many samples if anybody wants to volunteer themselves to be a lab rat.
Not Tested:
Baili: These are rebranded american personnas, no need. Moving along.
Gillette Super Blue/Shanghai: All of the ones on Aliexpress are counterfeit, the pictures posted by other users scared me away from even looking at them twice. There are some genuine ones and I know gillette has a company in shanghai that produces gillette wilkinson sword for the indian market, but I can not find them anywhere.
Lets start with the good ones:
RiMei: Obviously RiMei is included, it wouldn't be a chinese razor review without them. Very smooth, glides effortlessly and produces a bbs shave without even thinking about it. They're the standard of quality chinese shaving products. This brand is mentioned once in a while because they're noted for their quality handles - as long as you don't get a counterfeit. If you want one, order it from dx.com because it's reasonable to assume anywhere else is carrying counterfeits. Again, I just wanted to confirm what everybody already knew. Prices are on-par for what the market is now, roughly $12-15 per 100. YingJili Platinum: There are three lines made by this chinese company: a 'regular', a 'platinum' and something called a 'diamond' which I ordered but have yet to try. This one completely surprised me, I used this one this morning and am still amazed. The packaging itself is very high quality, glossy and very sturdy. I've never seen a glossy print on a package of razor blades before, and I've tried at least 50 brands by now. The shave was also quite memorable, it mowed down a 2-day growth like it was nothing and gave a terrific BBS with again, a 3-pass. My neck feels very smooth and there is no evident razor burn. These blades are a bit pricey but 5 or 10 packs can be obtained for roughly $2, there's one store on Aliexpress named Qshave that exclusively carries all three lines of this brand and I can verify they are not counterfeit. I dont have any PIF's as I only bought a single pack of five blades, sorry. BoYou: This is a relatively-unknown and underrated Korean company since 1989 who never got their foot in the door. They manufacture both double edge razor blades and handles that resemble a Rimei in the packaging (Ebay item #262535532996 for an example). I have not tested the handle yet, it's on order, but I have tested the blades. They remind me of a Dorco but with a higher quality hone and grind. There was a *very* slight tug on the first pass in a few parts, but it wasn't uncomfortable and in fact was very tolerable. After the first pass, I didn't notice. This blade also produced a very acceptable BBS, no burning/bleeding/irritation and can be had for $3 per 15 blades. I would take a BoYou over a Dorco any day. I also have a few extras if anybody wants a PIF, with the stipulation that a review will be posted because this brand needs some attention. There's no write-up on here, on reddit, on anywhere. If you go looking for the brand specifically, you'll come up short. The Bad:
Blendax (AKA Blandax/Bloodax):Horrible quality, could not finish a single swipe. Too much pulling and tugging, it was like shaving with a rusty can found in somebody's backyard.
Patrix: Same company as Blendax, and birds of a feather flock together. Terrible, not even worth mentioning past these initial two sentences.
GFLV:These might be worth a try because they're 50 for roughly $4, and the packaging is really nice. I didn't like them because they had more tugging than I could tolerate but I was able to finish the job so some people will find these favorable. Again, I have many samples if anybody wants to volunteer themselves to be a lab rat.
Not Tested:
Baili: These are rebranded american personnas, no need. Moving along.
Gillette Super Blue/Shanghai: All of the ones on Aliexpress are counterfeit, the pictures posted by other users scared me away from even looking at them twice. There are some genuine ones and I know gillette has a company in shanghai that produces gillette wilkinson sword for the indian market, but I can not find them anywhere.
