A friend of mine returned from Turkey yesterday and he brought me some ZAZA blades. I've shaved yesterday with using a ZAZA and I think they are decent. Almost as sharp as Nacet and also quite smooth too. I need to use them in my other razors to see if they are going to perform just as good or not, but so far I like them. Has anyone tried these blades before?
ZAZA Platinum Super Stainless
- Thread starter Medivh
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I have bought a 100 pack of these. I known ZaZa has a bad reputation, but these were pretty good for me. I have only used a few blades but I have no complaints.
So, where are these being manufactured?
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- #4
In Turkey.
I can point to this post here that suggests that these are some variation of (or just rebranded) Derby Extra blades: Down the rabbithole of blade coatings... - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/down-the-rabbithole-of-blade-coatings.618979/post-11638845
Specifically, from the Azmüsebat Çelik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. product catalog we get:
In fact, I would conjecture that the whole of Turkey makes exactly two blades: the Derby Extra, and the Derby Premium, which is the Derby Extra with Swedish steel, and everything else is another name for these two types of blades.
Specifically, from the Azmüsebat Çelik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. product catalog we get:
In fact, I would conjecture that the whole of Turkey makes exactly two blades: the Derby Extra, and the Derby Premium, which is the Derby Extra with Swedish steel, and everything else is another name for these two types of blades.
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- #7
It makes sense, since I doubt that Turkey needs a second blade factory. I haven't used a Derby Stainless ( green) in many years, but this ZaZa is definitely better. I've received a couple of blades to try and 2 of them are Derby Platinum and I will use them at some point to see if they are the same like the ZaZa Platinum.
The packaging is different though, the ZaZa blades have no glue on the them or their blade wrapper's, but the Derby Platinum does.
EDIT.
I just took one of the Derby Platinum blades out of the wrapper to compare it with the ZaZa and the Derby has a bit yellowish tint on it while the ZaZa is more white.
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Now you see why I was asking where they are made. I thought they might have been moved to Egypt. The mystery continues...
Also, even without closeup pictures I can see the grind is different.
Also, even without closeup pictures I can see the grind is different.
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- #9
Apparently, the founder of ZaZa was the equivalent of King C. Gillette in Turkey based on the information that I've found here.
For whatever reason, the B&B website is quite buggy and I can't see any of the tools for posting to make the link a lot shorter, so I guess I have to use the old fashioned way of just copy-paste.
www.razorus.com
For whatever reason, the B&B website is quite buggy and I can't see any of the tools for posting to make the link a lot shorter, so I guess I have to use the old fashioned way of just copy-paste.
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I've tried an older (modern) version of a Zaza Blade which did not work well for me. (However, I do like Derby Premiums!)
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- #11
That's what I've heard too. The older or at least the ones in gold package ZaZa blades were said to be very bad.
It seems strange that they would be manufacturing those things and the ones you have, doesn't it?
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- #13
I haven't used the gold ones yet, so I can't speak with certainty, but the Platinums are good. Slightly less sharp than a Nacet, but still sharper than many other blades on the market. The same thing goes for the yellow and red BIC blades. The yellow BIC Chrome Platinum is in my top 3 blades, while the red BIC Astor Stainless is one of the worst blades I've used. Both are similarly sharp, but in terms of smoothness they are very different.
Glad they work for you!
I wonder though, if I move to Turkey and start producing razor blades in my basement from scrap metal, could I sue Derby for claiming to be the ONLY razor blades producer in Turkey?
Parker blades are made in turkey also. Probably same derby factory, churning out different labels by request.
Parkers aren't the bad ones, that is the Rockwell blades. Parkers are re-labeled Premiums.
Derby re-tooled in 2016 and the Derby Extras produced after 2016 are much better than the older ones, in my experience. I'm not stockpiling them mind you, but I do get decent, mild shaves from them. If you haven't tried a post-2016 Derby Extra, you might pick up a tuck to see how they compare to the ZaZa blades. As @P1CO noted, the likelihood is that there are really only two different blades coming out of Turkey: Derby Extras and Derby Premiums. The ZaZa is almost certainly one or the other.
Don't forget the Derby Usta. I personally rate it up there with Permasharps and Gillette Yellows in terms of quality. Excellent blades. Professional grade.
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- #20
I need to try these as well. I like Perma-Sharp a lot. I think Nacet Stainless can also be found in Turkey as well as the BIC Chrome Platinum. For whatever reason, the DE blades sold in Turkey are my favorites and amongst the best in the world in general.
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