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Which Gillette Blades will continue to be made by PPI(Russia)?

cranewarrior

cranewarrior

As in title. I searched the forums but did not find an answer to my specific question. I know Gillette has moved manufacturing of brands marketed to the West to India and China.

However, it is possible to buy Gillette Nacets from Jordan (the country, lol) that are made in St. Petersburg. I'm assuming this is a gray market avenue that will continue because Nacets are not meant to be sold in countries that have an embargo against Russian goods, correct? Or is Gillette divesting itself entirely of Russian manufacturing?

Any other similar cases to the Nacets? I noticed my purchases of Astra blades from Amazon have all been Indian-sourced. Perhaps the Minoras?

Just idle curiosity. I have no particular positive attachment or negative feelings towards Russian goods, although I respect everyone's personal opinions around them.
 
geneaut

geneaut

Remember NOS exists. There may be millions of PPI made blades floating around the supply chain now ( and for a few more years ) so the ability to purchase PPI made blades in the market is not evidence that production of those blades is currently a thing.

I've read posts from @ivan_101 that currently Rubies and Sputniks are both still being made at the PPI plant, but not being sold outside of Russia.
 
ivan_101

ivan_101

cranewarrior said:
As in title. I searched the forums but did not find an answer to my specific question. I know Gillette has moved manufacturing of brands marketed to the West to India and China.

However, it is possible to buy Gillette Nacets from Jordan (the country, lol) that are made in St. Petersburg. I'm assuming this is a gray market avenue that will continue because Nacets are not meant to be sold in countries that have an embargo against Russian goods, correct? Or is Gillette divesting itself entirely of Russian manufacturing?

Any other similar cases to the Nacets? I noticed my purchases of Astra blades from Amazon have all been Indian-sourced. Perhaps the Minoras?

Just idle curiosity. I have no particular positive attachment or negative feelings towards Russian goods, although I respect everyone's personal opinions around them.
Click to expand...
In Jordan it is not a grey market. The Nacet is a blade that is marketed officially there. Nacet has never been a blade for the US or Europe in the last decades. They just have enough PPI stock for now in Jordan. We should wait and see.
Your questions are impossible to answer at least for a year. Gillette might even decide to drop some models, as they have done it many times.
geneaut said:
Remember NOS exists. There may be millions of PPI made blades floating around the supply chain now ( and for a few more years ) so the ability to purchase PPI made blades in the market is not evidence that production of those blades is currently a thing.

I've read posts from @ivan_101 that currently Rubies and Sputniks are both still being made at the PPI plant, but not being sold outside of Russia.
Click to expand...
Same with Rubie and Sputnik. They were never meant to be sold in Western Europe or North America. Only in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine as far as I can remember. I seriously doubt those two brands will be available in European and North American stores in the near future.

You can expect all sorts of changes. Like, say, they decide to stop manufacturing both 7 o'clock models (they are only for the Middle East, anyway) and substitute them with Gillette Platinum in those markets. (This is just a hypothesis off the top of my head. Not a reality)
 
TheBigL

TheBigL

I'm not an expert but from what I understand, PPI was a partnership with Gillette. So if Gillette left, I assume PPI still has the equipment but maybe not the same finances. I guess they could continue producing the same blades under a different name.
 
ivan_101

ivan_101

TheBigL said:
I'm not an expert but from what I understand, PPI was a partnership with Gillette. So if Gillette left, I assume PPI still has the equipment but maybe not the same finances. I guess they could continue producing the same blades under a different name.
Click to expand...
Is a partnership. 80% owned by P&G. The rest by Russia.
They didn't leave Russia. P&G even has household detergent factory (a huge one) there.
 
BigJ

BigJ

geneaut said:
Remember NOS exists. There may be millions of PPI made blades floating around the supply chain now ( and for a few more years ) so the ability to purchase PPI made blades in the market is not evidence that production of those blades is currently a thing.

I've read posts from @ivan_101 that currently Rubies and Sputniks are both still being made at the PPI plant, but not being sold outside of Russia.
Click to expand...

If you like particular PPI blades (as I do), best to lay in a stock while they are still available IMO. :thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:
 
cranewarrior

cranewarrior

albsat said:
Where do you get Nacet FROM Jordan? Any reliable seller?
Click to expand...
mem8shop is who I bought from on eBay. They shipped promptly. It just took time for the package to get the USA and then be delivered by the domestic postal service as they probably used the cheapest option.
 
Goblin

Goblin

geneaut said:
Yeah, I've grabbed a few hundred of the ones I like lately.
Click to expand...

Likewise. I only had a couple of tucks of Permasharps and Nacets left. Normally I wouldn't worry, but at the moment you just can't tell when they might disappear from your usual suppliers. I decided to make PPI blades my GRUYERE exception and have 300 incoming. I should be good for several years before I have to look for substitutes.
 
cranewarrior

cranewarrior

rockrabbit said:
Just ordered the Treet sample pack off of Amazon to see if I can find a blade that beats my Russian blade stock! 🙏
Click to expand...

Reading people's favorites on here is always interesting. I'm guessing that many have very heavy hair growth given the preference for the Gillettes and Feathers and other "very sharp" blades. Me, I wouldn't even have looked into the Nacets except I acquired an old Gillette Tech and I didn't find my usual blades efficient enough in it.

I have found the mild ones like Treet Platinum or Big Ben Stainless Steel actually work great for me. Just not in that Tech....
 
cranewarrior

cranewarrior

Jmp63 said:
Just stocked up on some Gillette Platinums and Permasharps! Better safe than sorry!
Click to expand...
Are the Permasharps sharper than the Platinums? I noticed the Refined Shave site said Nacets are sharper than Platinums, which I guess isn't surprising with the platinum coating.
 
Goblin

Goblin

Dave himself said:
For me in terms of sharpness it would be.
Nacet.
Permasharp.
Click to expand...

That definitely agrees with refinedshave, although I have wondered if Nacets are another blade that changed around 2017 and perhaps aren't as sharp as they used to be.

I am not sure if I am the only one who has that impression, and I never had older and current ones side by side to compare so I could be fooling myself. They are still very much up there, but don't feel quite the same. Not sure if @ivan_101 has a view on this.

Edit: I found this thread. Looks like it is just a change to the blade wraps - any other differences are my imagination!
 
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