These daggum Bic Chrome Platinums…

[Proper Irish]

I used another fresh Bic in the same razor (Overlander) and this one felt half as sharp as the last one.
The only thing different was the soap I used.

I’ll try same razor/Bic/same soap next for a few tries to eliminate as many variables as possible.

 

[Pinto90]

Today I loaded a fresh Bic into my Karve Overlander and it felt like the most highest performance blade I’ve ever used. Felt like it was sharp or even sharper than a Feather but smooth and gentle as can be.

That a Bic blade is sharper or as sharp as the Japanese feather, I don't think so, I would say not.

Certainly the Bic blade is definitely sharp, among the sharpest blades and is recommended with moderate and mild razors.

 

[kaufdrop27]

I used another fresh Bic in the same razor (Overlander) and this one felt half as sharp as the last one.
The only thing different was the soap I used.

I’ll try same razor/Bic/same soap next for a few tries to eliminate as many variables as possible.

They were inconsistent for me too. Not sure if it’s a qc issue or what. I moved on to other blades. Ymmv

 

[Largefarva]

Well I tried the Bic CP blade in my Henson ++ and now I can finally agree that it’s an outstanding blade. It just needs to be paired with the right razor, and for me that razor seems to be the Henson ++. I think someday I’ll try it out in the +++ as well. It was too mild for the mild version of the Henson….didn’t get close enough for me.

 

[nlife]

I picked up 100 of these some time ago. I haven't used enough of them to see if they're inconsistent or not. Lately I've been using GSB in my 68P since it's been giving me good shaves.

I'll have to circle back to the BIC and see how they do. I'm up for a new blade anyways.

 

[Hornace]

First impression was underwhelming, perhaps understably so, since this was straight after tossing my first Feather. As we know from that one chart, most blades become sharper after the first shave, so I guess now I have to wait until next time to find out its real character.

 

[nlife]

I just tried the BIC again. There was more tugging and alum feedback than I'm used to compared to the GSB. Not a bad shave, just not that great either.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Probably the best blade for me. Great is just about everything. Super sharp and super smooth. Loaded up one in a Yaqi Tile this morning and it was divine.

I have gotten fake Bics before. They are actively terrible. Multiple tucks across different boxes. Just bad. The packaging and printing were subtly different, but the blades were vastly.

 

[Umma2gumma]

I made a few sample blade orders when I started wet shaving back in '19. A good variety of different blades. I used about half of them, picked a couple blades I liked, stocked up on them, and put the rest away. Then I quit wet shaving for almost three years. Then I started again, and a few months into that remembered about my sample blades. For the past two months, I've been slowly going through these samples again, this time armed with a little more experience and a little better technique.

Bic Platinums are one of the blades that really stood out. As I recall I liked them even back then, but thought that Feather was better, so I ordered a couple hundred Feathers.

Now, Feather is twice as expensive as it was back then, about 2.5 times more expensive than Bics, and it doesn't maintain performance for more than 3-4 shaves. The Bics that I used were just as smooth, almost as sharp, and a lot longer lasting. But, that's based on a sample of 3 blades, and it's possible that the modern Bics are not the same quality as my older ones.

 

[Halfbeard]

Nothing wrong with the new BiC's either.
I finished 26th shave today. Still going strong.

 

[DrTron]

I have a AS-D2 incoming, do you guys think I should order some BIC's to use in it?
Sharp blades for mild razors and such?
My current daily driver is a Rockwell 6S (Plate 3), and I usually run a Feather/Kai in it, sometimes a GSB or Astra.

Thx!

 

[deafficianado]

The 100 I bought were horrendous and trashed. Someone sent me some with a purchase and they were good. Quality control (QC) is important and I find Bic’s subpar. I never had a bad Feather or Gillette.

 

[Norman Gunston]

+1! Yes indeed! They are not the best in my ‘daily driver‘ (Wolfman WR1). In contrast much better in my Lord L6!

Interesting, @BigJ. Like you, I found this blade just OK in my Wolfman WR1 (0.61). On the other hand, it was superb in a Blutt BR-1 (1.20), Rex Konsul (2.5), Blackland Blackbird SB, and Merkur Mergress XL (2.5).

 

[Jens]

BICs (Chrome Platinum) have not exactly blown me off my feet, yet. Many claim they are "almost" as sharp as Feathers, and that they will "get sharper" with use, after the coating has worn off.
Whatever the physics may be, those claims just don''t match my experience (tried them in a number of razors, incl OC Fatips, Merkur 34 and 37, Razorock Lupo alu and .72, YUMA, Raadvad OC Mejeskaer, Phoenix bakelite OC slant). BIC Chrome Platinum are not bad blades, but for me they are nothing special either. It's an OK middle of the road blade. I really wish they were as sharp as Feathers, or close to, but I can think of several blades that clearly feel as sharp, or sharper to me than BICs -- among the latter, Personna Med Prep, and Gillette Rubie.

 

[Jens]

This thread reminds me, anyone here having experience with
the other BIC blade, "ASTOR Stainless" ...?
How does BIC ASTOR Stainless compare to the BIC Chrome Platinum blade?
I am hoping the ASTOR Stainless just might give me the "sharp" blade I had hoped for when I followed the rave and got a chuck of 100 "Chrome Platinum" ... So please chip in if you have experience with both ...

 

[The Roof Seal]

BIC Astors are apparently the exact same blade, someone on here emailed BIC and that's what they said.

 

[WVShaver]

BICs (Chrome Platinum) have not exactly blown me off my feet, yet. Many claim they are "almost" as sharp as Feathers, and that they will "get sharper" with use, after the coating has worn off.
Whatever the physics may be, those claims just don''t match my experience (tried them in a number of razors, incl OC Fatips, Merkur 34 and 37, Razorock Lupo alu and .72, YUMA, Raadvad OC Mejeskaer, Phoenix bakelite OC slant). BIC Chrome Platinum are not bad blades, but for me they are nothing special either. It's an OK middle of the road blade. I really wish they were as sharp as Feathers, or close to, but I can think of several blades that clearly feel as sharp, or sharper to me than BICs -- among the latter, Personna Med Prep, and Gillette Rubie.

I know everyone’s opinions vary but I also think every batch of blades vary as I’ve felt it myself with lots of popular blades - especially my Astra SPs that have varying levels of sharpness with one batch being up there with Nacets/Rubies but smoother. My point is I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the love/hate for the Bics is because of the batch they received. I only purchased a single tuck of 5 blades but the Bics I have actually felt sharper then the Feathers. I was quite surprised with how sharp they felt… they just weren’t smooth enough for me. Maybe I’ll try another batch sometime.

Rubies are my number one blade and it saddens me they can’t be found anymore but I stocked up when I realized how much I loved them. There was only a couple places to buy them so I worried they’d disappear and sadly I was right. I agree they are a very sharp blade. Not quite as smooth as a GSB but I think they are slightly sharper and smoother then Nacets.

The Rubie, GSB, & Nacet are my top 3 blades in that order. Many of the Israeli blades I tried were also quite sharp and I really wish I had purchased a 100 or more of the Personna Israeli Reds when they were still around.

A couple weeks ago I tried a Dorco Titan that also felt very sharp but it wasn’t smooth enough to be a go to blade for me. It might have smoothed up more on the next shaves but I didn’t continue using it since I’m testing out so many blades. It might have just been the batch I received as the Dorco ST300 didn’t feel as sharp but was still up there. I haven’t tried the Primes yet.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

The 100 I bought were horrendous and trashed. Someone sent me some with a purchase and they were good. Quality control (QC) is important and I find Bic’s subpar. I never had a bad Feather or Gillette.

I have gotten fake ones in Vietnam before. They were terrible. They looked good, but the packaging was subtly different. The blades themselves were trash!

Genuine ones are my #1 with a bullet blade, and I have spent $100-$200 trying pretty much all other blades to compare. I find that my experience aligns very well with Rayclems blade evaluations found here:

RayClem's Blade Evaluations

Over the next couple of months I plan to most evaluations of a number of blades that I had not tried previously. Some of these blades do receive some press on the forum while others are rarely mention

damnfineshave.com

and here:

RayClem Razor Blade Evaluation.xlsx

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[lak611]

BIC Astors are apparently the exact same blade, someone on here emailed BIC and that's what they said.

I have both, and they feel and perform identically.

 

[LRod]

I have both, and they feel and perform identically.

I have both and they feel totally different to me and have different characteristics
-The Chrome platinum's are the pickiest blades where they work great on certain razors!
-The Astor's work great on every razor!
-The Chrome platinum's are at their sharpest after about the third shave (so they last longer)
-The Astor's are sharpest right out of the pack (so they have a shorter lifespan) But they're less sharp that Chrome platinum's!
-The Chrome platinum's generally have some duds in each pack
-The Astor's never have any duds in the packs

I first used the Chrome platinum's for quite some time till I discovered the Astor's.
Once I tried an Astor, that was the end of the Chrome platinum's.

My favorite DE blades after trying almost everything:
Personna Lab Blue's
Bic Astor's
Wilkinson Sword Classic (The ones made in Germany)

These are the blades I've found to be most consistent, work well in every razor and are sharp enough
(middle of the road sharpness)

But as always YMMV!