What happened to Astra SP blades?

[Panzermeister Dave]

I ordered a sample pack of 15 different blades[2 of each kind] about a year ago when I first got into wet shaving. They were my second favorite blade. I got a really good shave even though my technique was so so. I bought a bunch of Feathers. Then I heard about Try A Blade. So I ordered some that were not in my first sample pack. But I wanted to revisit a couple of blades that I had liked before. Wilkinson Sword and Astra to see how I would like them now.
Thinking that I may find a blade that is not as harsh as the Feathers. I had read some current reviews on amazon. Many of them were bad. So many guys said that they weren't the same. So even though I have better soaps and technique; I got a horrible shave. The razor tugged and I had very bad razor burn! The worst razor burn that I have ever had in the entire time that I have been wet shaving. I realize that it is possible to get a dud.
Have any of you guys experienced this lately?

 

[ackvil]

I haven't - but Astras are not among my favorites.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I tried them a couple of times but always got better results with Astra SS so that were the ones I stocked up on. I don’t think there was any change besides laser etching.

 

[nemo]

The last Astra SP 100 I bought were fine.

Don't believe all you read on Amazon reviews.

 

[Whiterook]

I bought some a few months ago and they are fine.

 

[Messygoon]

Same here... no problems with Astra SP, my go-to blade. That said, I’m using the Astra SS for the B&B 1-Blade February challenge, and thoroughly enjoying it. When my stockpile of SPs is exhausted, I plan to switch to the stainless version.

 

[Whiterook]

I like both. I prefer the SS, but the SP is also a fine blade. I put them a notch below Rubies and GSB on my scale.

 

[ivan_101]

Please show us a photo of your Astras. There are fakes. I have never had a dud PPI blade.

 

[VerbaVolant]

I have never had a dud PPI blade either. Most consistent performers.

 

[D4PPZ]

The ones people say are fakes aren't. The Russian factory transitioned from black printed to etching a while ago and the difference between NOS and updated has people confused. It could be a difference in the razor you used.

 

[Tpach]

My Astras seem pretty consistent but I don’t remember if mine are the laser etched or stamped

 

[tube_guy]

I've noticed quite a difference between some of the older Gillette blades that I love and their newer versions. To me, many of the newer blades seem much more aggressive and a lot less smooth. I have no idea why, but it's certainly not me imagining it because it's been quite consistent over more than one Gillette DE blade. I'm happy that I stocked up on the older versions when I had the chance because I still find them nice, smooth, and sharp.

I enjoy more aggressive DE razors, for some reason, and I'm not sure if that has something to do with it or not.

 

[Hak.1963]

The ones people say are fakes aren't. The Russian factory transitioned from black printed to etching a while ago and the difference between NOS and updated has people confused. It could be a difference in the razor you used.

I can't feel any differences between the new etched blades and the old printed ones.
This goes for both SS and SP

 

[ivan_101]

The ones people say are fakes aren't. The Russian factory transitioned from black printed to etching a while ago and the difference between NOS and updated has people confused. It could be a difference in the razor you used.

Sorry but you are wrong. Here you can see the fake Astra blades in post #1 Fake Astra blades - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/fake-astra-blades.574248/

 

[D4PPZ]

Sorry but you are wrong. Here you can see the fake Astra blades in post #1 Fake Astra blades - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/fake-astra-blades.574248/

Interesting. At the time, someone mentioned that they had received counterfeits from Amazon Canada, so I ordered some and got what looked to be genuine stamped Astras (shown on the right). Shave quality was exactly the same. I guess the ones from this Australian dealer were peculiar. Please share photos OP.

 

[BigJ]

The last Astra SP 100 I bought were fine.

Don't believe all you read on Amazon reviews.

+1! B&B reviews are much more valuable IMHO!!

 

[Panzermeister Dave]

The ones people say are fakes aren't. The Russian factory transitioned from black printed to etching a while ago and the difference between NOS and updated has people confused. It could be a difference in the razor you used.

This was just one blade that I had bought from Try A Blade, and come to think of it; I did use it in a different razor. Thanks. I did not think of that.

 

[Panzermeister Dave]

+1! B&B reviews are much more valuable IMHO!!

Interesting. At the time, someone mentioned that they had received counterfeits from Amazon Canada, so I ordered some and got what looked to be genuine stamped Astras (shown on the right). Shave quality was exactly the same. I guess the ones from this Australian dealer were peculiar. Please share photos OP.

View attachment 1223161

I'm sorry, but I tossed the blade in my blade bank. But I remember that it looked like the one on the right in your photo. It was not laser etched and it had the numbers on it. But I did use it in a different razor. I doubt it was fake, since it was from Try A Blade. And it could be that I got a dud.
But from now on, I am testing the rest of my sample pack with same razor. [the Merkur 42001]

 

[Squirrel]

The SP‘s have alway been good to me. I have used the older ones with the black ink and the newer ones with the laser etch, both are fine with my Merkur 34C. I have a 100 pk of each SP/SS. Never had what I would call a dud and generally get 4 or 5 good shaves out of a blade.

 

[Slanterino]

So recently I've discovered I've got a few packs of the "new" astra SP in my stash. It's the one with no markings on one side, faint laser etch on the other side and completely devoid of numbers.

It isn't as good as the numbered ones with black print on both sides.

While sharp and smooth, it did not give me a clean and close shave below my chin, on my right side jawline and adam's apple area. I'll rate it half a notch down from the old printed ones because I rarely have any problems with these areas.

It's not a deal breaker but it has made me wary of future astra SP purchases, which is not going to happen for a long time because I have more than 100 of this.