Are any of these blades worth considering?? Great question!
METHODS. I used my ‘daily driver’ (Wolfman WR1/WRH2 handle) and no blinding because (unfortunately) I only have one Wolfman!
Each blade was compared to one of my ‘top-tier’ blades, the Personna lab. One week with the Personna lab, the next with a new blade, then back to the lab, etc. Since there can be blade to blade variability, I decided on two weeks with each new blade. Personnas are made in the US. ZaZa is from Turkey. Silver Star is from Egypt and Dorco Prime is from Vietnam.
Soaps were one week of Haslinger (either schafmilch or coconut) and one week of Italian ‘croap’ (either Cella or Vitos). Brushes were my Simpsons stable and AS was whatever struck my imagination on a given AM.
RESULTS. Average per week as that is the typical time I use my top blades.
Personna:
Shaves/blade: 7-plus
Sharpness: 8/10
Smoothness: 8/10*
Comfort: 9/10
DFS or better: 7
ZaZa
Shaves/blade: 2^
Sharpness: 4/10
Smoothness: 5/10
Comfort: 5/10
DFS or better: 1
Silver Star
Shaves/blade: 7
Sharpness: 7/10
Smoothness: 9/10
Comfort: 8/10
DFS or better: 6
Dorco Prime
Shaves/blade: 7-maximum
Sharpness: 7/10
Smoothness: 9/10
Comfort: 9/10
DFS or better: 6
* Personna labs often take a shave or two to smooth out (hence the lower score), then they are very smooth and comfortable.
^ Similar results each week: two blades went two shaves only while the third could be stretched to three shaves.
DISCUSSION. Two out of three is far better than I usually do! Silver Star is IMHO, the best Lord blade that I have ever tried. Dorco Primes are also fine blades. Both contenders were smooth and comfortable. They also proved reasonably sharp and long-lasting. This was compared to Personna labs, that I can often stretch to 10+ fine three-pass shaves.
Could I tell either the Dorco Primes or Silver Stars from the Personna labs in a blind test?? Why sure! Without thinking things through, I had picked as my control a top-tier blade with the peculiarity of often needing a shave or two to settle in. The labs also last longer for me.
ZaZa has wonderful red packaging that states, “Best in the world.” The plastic package has a slot for used blades and looks great! IMO the name and packaging are the best part about the ZaZas! I had trouble getting to three shaves per blade and most shaves were either, ‘socially acceptable,’ or, ‘clean and close,’ at best.
YMMV is the rule, especially with blades! You need to try things for yourself. I was surprised at how good the Silver Stars and Dorco Primes proved compared to a tough competior. They came in just a hair below my personal top tier. I could be very happy with either option. ZaZas look great in their packaging and provide C&C or SAS results. IMO they are closest to Derby’s. So if you like Derby blades, then ZaZa would be well worth a try.
Hope these observations prove helpful!
METHODS. I used my ‘daily driver’ (Wolfman WR1/WRH2 handle) and no blinding because (unfortunately) I only have one Wolfman!
Each blade was compared to one of my ‘top-tier’ blades, the Personna lab. One week with the Personna lab, the next with a new blade, then back to the lab, etc. Since there can be blade to blade variability, I decided on two weeks with each new blade. Personnas are made in the US. ZaZa is from Turkey. Silver Star is from Egypt and Dorco Prime is from Vietnam.
Soaps were one week of Haslinger (either schafmilch or coconut) and one week of Italian ‘croap’ (either Cella or Vitos). Brushes were my Simpsons stable and AS was whatever struck my imagination on a given AM.
RESULTS. Average per week as that is the typical time I use my top blades.
Personna:
Shaves/blade: 7-plus
Sharpness: 8/10
Smoothness: 8/10*
Comfort: 9/10
DFS or better: 7
ZaZa
Shaves/blade: 2^
Sharpness: 4/10
Smoothness: 5/10
Comfort: 5/10
DFS or better: 1
Silver Star
Shaves/blade: 7
Sharpness: 7/10
Smoothness: 9/10
Comfort: 8/10
DFS or better: 6
Dorco Prime
Shaves/blade: 7-maximum
Sharpness: 7/10
Smoothness: 9/10
Comfort: 9/10
DFS or better: 6
* Personna labs often take a shave or two to smooth out (hence the lower score), then they are very smooth and comfortable.
^ Similar results each week: two blades went two shaves only while the third could be stretched to three shaves.
DISCUSSION. Two out of three is far better than I usually do! Silver Star is IMHO, the best Lord blade that I have ever tried. Dorco Primes are also fine blades. Both contenders were smooth and comfortable. They also proved reasonably sharp and long-lasting. This was compared to Personna labs, that I can often stretch to 10+ fine three-pass shaves.
Could I tell either the Dorco Primes or Silver Stars from the Personna labs in a blind test?? Why sure! Without thinking things through, I had picked as my control a top-tier blade with the peculiarity of often needing a shave or two to settle in. The labs also last longer for me.
ZaZa has wonderful red packaging that states, “Best in the world.” The plastic package has a slot for used blades and looks great! IMO the name and packaging are the best part about the ZaZas! I had trouble getting to three shaves per blade and most shaves were either, ‘socially acceptable,’ or, ‘clean and close,’ at best.
YMMV is the rule, especially with blades! You need to try things for yourself. I was surprised at how good the Silver Stars and Dorco Primes proved compared to a tough competior. They came in just a hair below my personal top tier. I could be very happy with either option. ZaZas look great in their packaging and provide C&C or SAS results. IMO they are closest to Derby’s. So if you like Derby blades, then ZaZa would be well worth a try.
Hope these observations prove helpful!
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