Good to hear that the results were good! I have 80 more blades to go and I figure if I only get 2 or 3 shaves out of each before throwing them away - then at least I will get the use out of them.
Rapira Platinum Lux - bad batch?
- Thread starter Grue
- Start date
Good to hear that the results were good! I have 80 more blades to go and I figure if I only get 2 or 3 shaves out of each before throwing them away - then at least I will get the use out of them.
You are dealing with counterfeit blades. Rapira has much better quality control than I am reading here. I have used all the types of Rapira blades they sell and not seen what you are posting. Expect for a Astra or Personna Blue blade from time to time, I use Rapira DE blades in my DE razors. Sorry you got taken by the counterfeiters.
My wife is from Russia and you would be amazed at the stuff that is counterfeited. As one example, my mother in law needed some vitamins. The counterfeited packaging and pill labels are so good you can not see the difference. She had purchased both through main stream drugstores. The counterfeited pills were sugar pills and zero vitamins. So we ended up mailing her vitamins to be sure she got what she needed.
If you get fake Rapira blades complain to the seller and post warning to the rest of us.
My wife is from Russia and you would be amazed at the stuff that is counterfeited. As one example, my mother in law needed some vitamins. The counterfeited packaging and pill labels are so good you can not see the difference. She had purchased both through main stream drugstores. The counterfeited pills were sugar pills and zero vitamins. So we ended up mailing her vitamins to be sure she got what she needed.
If you get fake Rapira blades complain to the seller and post warning to the rest of us.
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Mine were not counterfeit. Bought from authorized reseller per Rapira.
I believe many of the blades are bought from reputable vendors such as Italian Barber and directly from ebay sellers from whom there were no problems in years past.
Are you saying they all got duped by their suppliers? At a time when the Russian blades are close to an all-time low price in the states due to the drop in the ruble?
Things can happen in the supply chains and what in one order was the real thing is not in the next order. At some point someone can switch out the real for the fake or sale the distributor the fake as real. You can also find defective runs that were "trashed" but some how someone (not the maker) sells the bad lot to a supplier. The final seller many times does not know the fake is in his or her shop or market stand.
I am saying it is possible for suppliers to get duped and sellers do not know.
The value of the ruble is not a major factor in the counterfeiting. These are not export brand blades. These blades are very popular with DE users in Russia. I know that 5 years ago the real blades (or maybe fake) were easy to find in small town community markets on a Saturday. They are cheap, but the fakes are even cheaper. Counterfeit products is a common issue in Russia. From time to time channel 1 has police busting a major counterfeiter. The scale of the problem is hard to understand in a USA context.
Rapira blades compare to the Gillette blades made in Russia. They are not lower quality product.
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Obviously I can not say with certainty that my blades are counterfeit, but like others mine came from a good source. An actual store. Add to the that, one of the bad blades I shaved with came in a 5 pack that was supplied with the Rapira brand razor I bought. Whoever MAY be counterfeiting the blades, surely can't be doing the razors too?
Sounds like counterfeiting to me, but if not, then it could be the case of blades that haven't passed QC are somehow getting out into the market. Unfortunately, corruption is very common in that part of the world. I am aware that even vendors at times cannot resist the bargain pricing appearing on ebay or elsewhere, therefore there is no reason you couldn't receive counterfeit blades from a reputable vendor. This wouldn't be the case with all vendors, but there will always be a few that will at times go outside their trusted supply channels to acquire stock.
I have recently placed an order on a Russian blade sampler from reputable vendor in Europe - We'll see how it goes.
I have recently placed an order on a Russian blade sampler from reputable vendor in Europe - We'll see how it goes.
What I think happened to me is that the 100 Voskhod blades I bought had 2 legit tucks of blades first when I opened the package. Cause I sure don't remember the uneven edge when I first opened the box. The shaves were smooth and amazing, then when I saw this thread I was curious to see if my blades had the bad edge to them...lo and behold they sure did after the 3rd tuck and the rest of them. The shaves also got worse and worse. I feel bad for the fella that bought the huge bulk pack of blades here...It sucks these don't come with some kind of guarantee if they don't shave right and/or are defected in any way shape or form that we can't return them regardless of how many days we've had them.
Used the Rapira Platinum Lux with the uneven edges for its second shave and the same result - smooth shave without any trouble. The razor was a Gillette New Deluxe head. This blade though visually defective is proving to be a perfectly usable blade. 
I probably should have posted this here:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/471777-Best-Russian-blade?p=7806196#post7806196
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/471777-Best-Russian-blade?p=7806196#post7806196
I went back earlier today and rechecked the edges on my blades. The Rapira Stainless were fine, but the Platinum Lux had the uneven edging. It does shave like a dream, though, so I find it hard to believe that they are counterfeit. Nobody would put that much effort into ensuring that the blade performed that well if they were counterfeit. If they are, then I'll still keep buying them as I may hate the authentic Rapiras and these are in my top three blades.
Looking at the magnified image from post #60 it looks like the cutting edge is the same. The difference being that the initial grind looks deeper on the one side than the other. I haven't noticed a distinct difference when shaving with either side on my blade.
I found some Platinum Lux blades I had from a while back and those blades display the same "defect" - uneven edges. Which makes me wonder if this is how these blades have been made for a while and we just never noticed.
By the way, a third shave today with the same blade and another fine shave, except for one weeper. Will next try a Swedish Supersteel blade with uneven edges.
This is what I am thinking too. And the other things in my photos can be chalked up to the fact that it is the same factory/manufacturer. This makes me feel better.
I bought my Rapira Platinum Lux 100 nearly three years ago from a reputable seller.
I loaded one up for the Patent Day shave and decided to take a close look.
Lo and behold, at least one noticeably short bevel. Shaved just fine too. . .
They all seem to shave really the same - PERFECT - way. I had a look today in my blade blank, and there are all sorts present - but I never had any issues with mine (Voskhod and Ladas this is).
And to add my 2c more here - used a Rapira Swedish Supersteel with uneven edges/bevel and didn't notice any problem with either sides. The shave was not as close as I would like but that to me just means it does not pair great with a Gillette New Deluxe head.
This has a been a very interesting thread and I am just happy to discover that these blades work just fine for me.
Thanks to all those who contributed here with their experience with these blades.
This has a been a very interesting thread and I am just happy to discover that these blades work just fine for me.
Thanks to all those who contributed here with their experience with these blades.
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I'll have to narrow this down then to either, I remember them as being better than what they actually were, or I have just been long since spoiled with better blade options I guess.
I don't know what to think. In the last couple of months, I sent off for a sample of Russian blades.
Rapira Lux, Voskhod, and Ladas all have different bevels per side, as discussed here. Yesterday, I used the Lux and got a decent shave, but... the short bevel side was not as smooth. I could tell the difference from the feel - rougher and skipped more.
Today, I used the Swedish SuperSteel. It was evenly beveled and shaved fine.
I think I will just skip buying these for awhile, until we figure it out.
Rapira Lux, Voskhod, and Ladas all have different bevels per side, as discussed here. Yesterday, I used the Lux and got a decent shave, but... the short bevel side was not as smooth. I could tell the difference from the feel - rougher and skipped more.
Today, I used the Swedish SuperSteel. It was evenly beveled and shaved fine.
I think I will just skip buying these for awhile, until we figure it out.
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