What's your favorite Russian blade?

[RayClem]

How do Gillette Platinum compare to Silver Blue and Nacet in terms of sharpness?

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I find GSB and Gillette Platinum to bee very similar in sharpness and smoothness...a good mid-sharp blade for those who do not need a super sharp blade.

I consider Gillette Nacets to be some of the sharpest blades available. PermaSharp Super blades are also made in Russia and are similar to Nacets in sharpness. I have a coarse beard and love them in a mild to moderate razor. They are too harsh for my sensitive face if used in an aggressive razor.

 

[RayClem]

You say it yourself, "shaving is pure science." This is the most intelligently conducted, most scientific source or information I've seen on the sharpness of razor blades. Or have you found something better?

The author of the refined shaving site is using both objective and subjective ratings for each of the blades he has tried. The sharpness tester used for the objective testing is more commonly used on knives and woodworking tools than it is on razor blades, so the author did have to devise a means of holding the blades in a suitable manner for testing. He did do multiple tests on a single blade, averaging the results before reporting a result.

Since only one blade was used from each blade type, you can always speculate that the blade tested might not have been representative of the blade type overall. Considering some of the QC issues I have seen reported in the forums, that is certainly a potential issue.

The author also shaved with the blades and reported his subjective impressions of blade sharpness and smoothness. In most cases, the impressions of shave quality paralleled the objective testing. I have evaluated a large number of the blades used in the Refined Shave experiment and in most instances agree with both the objective and subjective results shown on the web site.

A prime example of this is the Astra SP blades. I keep reading reviews indicating how Astra SP blades are very sharp. I have used Astra SP blades from multiple sources and have never found an Astra SP blade that is sharp enough to get a great shave with my coarse beard. However, I do find them to be sharper than some of the blades that the web site lists as even less sharp than Astra SP.

I find that blades that average under 40 grams on the sharpness tester work best for my coarse beard. That includes BIC Chrome Platinum, PermaSharp Super, Gillette Nacets, 7 O'Clock Blacks, Personna Israeli Reds, and German Wilkinson Sword Classics.

Also, I can detect the change in sharpness that occurs with many blades as the coating wears off. One primary example of this is the Personna Lab Blue Comfort Coated. The web site shows that these blades start with a sharpness of 48 grams. This is similar to the sharpness of Astra SP blades that do not work for me. Thus, the first shave with Lab Blues for me is not good. However, when the comfort coating wears off, the blades become significantly sharper. The rating is 37 on the second shave is just where I like blades to be. Thus, Lab Blues give me a great second shave. However, because the first shave is poor, I much prefer Israeli Reds that lack the comfort coating. They start sharp and stay sharp.

Thus, while the testing methods used by the author of Refined Shave may not be perfect from a scientific standpoint, I have to agree with Carson West that there is no better set of data available to us. Thus, I readily recommend the web site to anyone trying to determine which blades might work for them.

 

[tehnothing]

I'd sooner tell someone to get a blade sample pack. A large one. It will last them a long time and they can try several blades on their faces, not, someone else's. Blade sharpness may be determined fairly well by dude's test, and, yes I viewed it when I was searching for blades. It did not help me find my favorite blade however. And back on topic because sharpness doesn't equal best on my face, my favorite is the Wizamet Super Iridium.

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[steelhead52]

I find GSB and Gillette Platinum to bee very similar in sharpness and smoothness...a good mid-sharp blade for those who do not need a super sharp blade.

I consider Gillette Nacets to be some of the sharpest blades available. PermaSharp Super blades are also made in Russia and are similar to Nacets in sharpness. I have a coarse beard and love them in a mild to moderate razor. They are too harsh for my sensitive face if used in an aggressive razor.

I also love Nacets and find them very sharp. However, even though GSBs may not start out as sharp as Nacets, by the 2nd shave they are actually sharper. I also pretty much need the sharpest blades I can find so GSBs and Nacets are two of my favorite blades, Russian or other. They are great blades.

 

[RayClem]

I also love Nacets and find them very sharp. However, even though GSBs may not start out as sharp as Nacets, by the 2nd shave they are actually sharper. I also pretty much need the sharpest blades I can find so GSBs and Nacets are two of my favorite blades, Russian or other. They are great blades.

I reviewed some of the data on the Refined Shave web site. You are right about the GSB blades getting sharper with use. In that testing, after the second shave with the blade, the GSB was the 4th sharpest blade, even sharper than Nacet. Unfortunately, I wish they were somewhat sharper on the 1st shave. Personna Lab Blue blades have a similar performance. They don't get sharp until you have used them a time or two.

 

[theid59]

My best results have been with Russian blades. I've had consistently good results with GSB, Perma-Sharp and Voskhod, even though their measured results seem to be different. I liked Rapira Swedish supersteel but was only able to get 2 good shaves from them. I'm about to try Gillette Platinum, Rapira Platinum Lux & 7 O'Clock super stainless. I've never tried Nacet, so I'll be ordering some soon.

 

[AshleyC]

Russians?

Polsiver, Nacet. Astra green, in that order.

And any one of you, please, contact the Voskhod people and get that mess sorted out.

 

[RigelDust]

I think I’ve moved from Rapira Lux to Rapira SS.
So I’ll just say Rapira.

 

[lak611]

My best results have been with Russian blades. I've had consistently good results with GSB, Perma-Sharp and Voskhod, even though their measured results seem to be different. I liked Rapira Swedish supersteel but was only able to get 2 good shaves from them. I'm about to try Gillette Platinum, Rapira Platinum Lux & 7 O'Clock super stainless. I've never tried Nacet, so I'll be ordering some soon.

I'm getting GSB tomorrow, so I'll see how I like them. I already used Nacet and Astra SS, both of which I like.

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[lak611]

Sp far the only Russian blades I don't care for are Astra SP.

GSB, Nacet, Astra SS, Ladas, Voskhod, Rapira Platinum Lux, and Rapira Stainless have been great for me.

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[ajkel64]

I quite like Voskhod blades. There is still a few that I have not tried out of Russia. But at the moment I would quite happily use Voskhod blades for the next couple of years.

 

[Sausage]

Polsilvers, Rapira Swedish Super Steel and Voskhods

 

[RigelDust]

I have to add Rapira SS Chrome to my list of keepers.

 

[cyberdog]

Most of the Russian blades are darn good, but my favorite is the Gillette Nacet, followed by the Rapira Platinum Lux.

I'd give the fabled Polsilver a 3rd place, they're just not as smooth or as long lasting as the other two. YMMV

 

[Ukrainian]

Are blades produced by American company(Gillette) at the factory in Saint Petersburg considered pure Russian blades?

 

[Sausage]

Are blades produced by American company(Gillette) at the factory in Saint Petersburg considered pure Russian blades?

Good question. iPhones are made in China but majority thinks they are American phones.

 

[JoeLr]

I thought Gillette basically only gets royalties for using it's name. They have nothing to do with production/marketing/etc. of DE blades. At least that's my (possibly incorrect) understanding.

 

[RayClem]

Are blades produced by American company(Gillette) at the factory in Saint Petersburg considered pure Russian blades?

The blades are manufactured by a company called Petersburg Products International (PPI). P&G/Gillette is a part owner of the company.

 

[Ukrainian]

The blades are manufactured by a company called Petersburg Products International (PPI). P&G/Gillette is a part owner of the company.

Yeah and brand Gillette owned by Procter & Gamble ; PPI is a part of another American company (Procter & Gamble).

Subsidiaries of the Registrant

 

[Scrape&Splash]

Gillette Platinum