Voskhod consistency/QC

[Spang]

Some time ago I tried out a tuck of Voskhods and liked them enough to buy a 100 pack. The first blade I tried out of the 100 was so rough I didn't make it through the first pass. I figured dud blade, so I loaded up another. Same thing. Over the course of the next few weeks, I randomly selected blades from different tucks in the pack, and they were all the same: so awful I couldn't finish a shave. It felt like trying to shave with a box cutter. I'm generally pretty adaptable when it comes to blades, but these Voskhods were truly unusable. I ended up chucking the whole lot. It had me wondering, what was I thinking when I concluded these were good blades?

Then recently I came across a stray tuck of Voskhods kicking around in the back of the cabinet. Out of curiosity, I tried one. It provided an excellent shave. that leads me to conclude that the 100 I bought was from a bad lot of some sort; perhaps they missed final honing and/or coating? I know a lot of people like these blades, so I am wondering if any of you regular users of Voskhods have experienced inconsistency or QC issues with these blades?

 

[JeffJ]

Same experience. Long ago, good shaves. Recent blades have been bad enough to bin the lot.

 

[gdepotter]

Same here. Bought 100, 3 full tucks of rough blades so far. When I say rough, I'm not exaggerating. I get feedback from the alum block all over my face with them.

 

[Mathieu76]

I bought a pack of hundered a year ago and they were fine. But recently i am getting less shaves with them and every now and then there are single blades that seem less sharp. Maybe corrosion? I keep them in the sealed packages.

 

[Invicta]

Bought a pack of 100 in August 2017 and have not had a problem with any of them. Used about 40 so far.
I would not discount poor storage by the vendor leading to problems but a bad batch could also have slipped through quality control.
I don't find these as sharp as some claim; very similar to Rapira Super Stainless which give a good shave but below Astra SP standard.

 

[Space_Cadet]

Maybe I am wrong, but I don't remember people complaining about "Voskhod" quality control back in the day. But recently I've seen a couple of people complaining about it. Perhaps the manufacturer has changed something in the production process.

 

[aldomarino]

How strange. The batch I have was purchased about three years ago; no idea when they were made. These have always been a good blade, but the one I used a couple of weeks ago wasn't up to snuff at all, either. Is it possible that the coatings themselves might deteriorate over time?

 

[BigJ]

Sorry!

Thanks for posting. You may be explaining why I prefer the St. Petersburg blades!

 

[Batchief909]

A friend of mine gave me a tuck of Voskhods when I first started DE shaving about 2 years ago. They were great, so I purchased 100 of them. I experienced what the OP posted, and gifted them to another member here. I haven't tried them since.

 

[Spang]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. Interesting that there are several very similar experiences to mine. I think it tells me that I will enjoy the remainder of my tuck of "good" Voskhods and then avoid them. Too many other good blades available to be rolling the dice on these.

 

[Herne]

They are worst blades I have used. Shaves are really rough, they do not glide, they do not cut. If anything positive, they do not irritate. But it is no wonder as they do not remove the stubble either.

 

[gdepotter]

Someone on here, or another forum, once said that they have issues with the alignment of their honing equipment. He's right.
Notice how the honed edge is wider on the right side vs left side?

 

[sjblon]

One of my favorite blades. They pair good sharpness with great comfort for me. I most recently purchased a couple of 100 packs in 2019, when prices were less than $7.50/100. I am just finishing the first pack and was looking forward to the second. Hopefully, it will be more of the same performance, though the problems people are having are making me a bit nervous.

 

[Spang]

You may be explaining why I prefer the St. Petersburg blades!

Me too. The (older) Voskhods were really the only Mostochlegmash blades I liked, emphasis on past tense. They are definitely off my list at this point. On the other hand, of the half-dozen or so St. Pete's blades I've tried, all have been good or excellent.

 

[Spang]

Someone on here, or another forum, once said that they have issues with the alignment of their honing equipment. He's right.
Notice how the honed edge is wider on the right side vs left side?

Yikes. I didn't give the grind a good look on the ones I tossed, but that one looks downright scary.

 

[Herne]

Someone on here, or another forum, once said that they have issues with the alignment of their honing equipment. He's right.
Notice how the honed edge is wider on the right side vs left side?

Yep. I already posted this one on the other thread I made earlier. This is one of those 10 I have used.

 

[gdepotter]

Yep. I already posted this one on the other thread I made earlier. This is one of those 10 I have used.

View attachment 1199391

Yours is even worse than mine! [emoji86]

 

[GR5233]

Someone on here, or another forum, once said that they have issues with the alignment of their honing equipment. He's right.
Notice how the honed edge is wider on the right side vs left side?

Yep. I already posted this one on the other thread I made earlier. This is one of those 10 I have used.

View attachment 1199391

I’ve noticed that as well when I used a blade from a tuck that came with a tech I ordered off eBay

 

[craigq]

Thanks for posting. You may be explaining why I prefer the St. Petersburg blades!

Shoot. I bought some, didn't know of the background (Moscow vs St Petersburg)
As an aside, the Gillette Rubie from St Petersburg is absolutely fine.

 

[xiletero]

I got some when I started....5 blades (these were good: sharp and smooth)..... then ordered 200, those were delayed and I ordered 100 I was off for a month and wanted to take some.... Well I have sampled these 300 and ALL are useless. I have given up on them..... I wonder if Boris and Svetlana were too drunk to run the machines well that day.......