Now I know why Hoosier has been championing these blades. SWMBO bought a couple of packs for me for Christmas. I popped one of them into my Gem Jr for the test drive and wow what a shave. Smooth, easy, and irritation free. I might be hooked.
Tried a carbon blade for first time.
- Thread starter stvince71
- Start date
Yup, a carbon steel blade in my Clog-Pruf was the best GEM shave I've ever had.
Glad to hear they're working for you. I just finished off a Treet blade that served me very nicely.
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- #4
She bought a Pack of Treets and Blue Stars. They look identical and both say 'Made by American Razor Co. on the package. Is there actually a difference?
They definitely provide a better shave, but the aftercare for the blades makes their use a Sunday-morning thing.
(FWIW I give them an alcohol bath, dry them off, then store them in a jar with a bunch of silica packets.)
(FWIW I give them an alcohol bath, dry them off, then store them in a jar with a bunch of silica packets.)
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- #6
I've actually been using the the "carbon blade" routine with my SS blades. I clean and dry both the blade and razor before putting them away. The only extra step I take with the carbons is to put them into an old prescription bottle with a silica pack.
I've come to the unscientific conclusion that those two, along with the CVS brand, are the same blade. All three are made by ASR.
I'm using my first carbon blade as well. I found some PAL blades at the supermarket about 10 blocks from my house. They definitely have something a little different going on. For blade care, I've just been drying everything really well and putting it back in the razor. I've had 5 shaves in 6 days and so far so good. It's really dry here in Nebraska right now so the rust has been staying away.
I like the carbon blades but don't care for the extra handling of the blades early in the morning. FWIW, I've been storing the blade in a small resealable plastic bowl (Glad or Ziploc) with the always available, all purpose desiccant in it - uncooked rice. Seems to be keeping the rust away.
Whats the Difference between Carbon and Stainless Steel Coated?
Not sure exactly what you're asking so if I misinterpret, sorry. Also, I'm not a metallurgist though I do sometimes sit in the same room with them ;-)
Anyway, carbon steel and stainless steels are both alloys of iron - i. e. Metals that are mostly iron but have some other things mixed in. Stainless steels have significant amounts of chromium and are resistant to rusting. 'Carbon steel' obviously includes carbon but the phrase is oftsn used simply to denote steels which aren't 'stainless'. There are new stainless alloys that are pretty impressive but historically stainless didn't take and hold an edge as well as the best carbon steels.
Stainless vs carbon single edge blades is debatable regarding which gives the best shave. What isn't debatable is that a wet carbon steel blade will begin to rust much, much faster than a stainless blade. If you leave a carbon blade wet you'll probably see rust form overnight.
I enjoy using the carbon blades but once I put one in I shave with it every day until it gets tossed. I like to rotate razors too much and only have 10 or so SE razors which is not enough to run the blade through to completion. Been sticking with the stainless SE blades as the stainless blade can sit on the counter for a week or more before I pick it up again while I use my DE and injector razors.
@BillC Thank for the Explanation on the Steel Blade Difference 
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