Every Lab Blue I’ve ever seen (haven’t seen the new Accu version) has a Made in USA etching regardless of the packaging or wrapping.
Yet another Personna / AccuTec thread.
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Every Lab Blue I’ve ever seen (haven’t seen the new Accu version) has a Made in USA etching regardless of the packaging or wrapping.
Accu version has no markings
My guess? Over the next year or so.... The dust might just settle out and we'll all know what we are buying. One would think, AccuTec will improve their marketing and we'll see their blades show up in more places.... but this has been an issue for years already, so who knows? I do wonder what percentage the AccuForge represents in AccuTec's overall portfolio. Maybe they sell a lot more AccuThrive blades to hospitals and other health care facilities and the AccuForge blades are almost an afterthought.
I will add this... I know I might be in the minority, but I've had quite a few duds with the Personna Comfort Coated USA blades...How do I make this determination? I could tell something was off on the first couple WTG passes... Ditched the blade, replaced it with the same blade... Worked like a charm. I've had this happen 3 or 4 times.. As a result, I haven't been using them much of late. This is a bid disappointing since I bought 6 boxes of 100 to get the price down. Could the coating have been too heavy on the blades I binned? I'm not sure..
I'm a one and done guy so I'll never see those improved shaves people talk about here, as you use the blade several times. As I've mentioned too many times, I started out trying to get three shaves out of any blades I've used... I've never made it all the way through the third shave. I've switched blades mid shave too many times. I think my beard and the way I shave destroys DE blade edges. I went to 2 shaves per blade... I could tell a negative difference between shave one and shave two and decided to join the one and done club here....
I have some great AC razors as well... lots of AC and DE blades... I'm probably set for life, even if I only use a DE blade once... and AC blades 3 times. <eg>
I will add this... I know I might be in the minority, but I've had quite a few duds with the Personna Comfort Coated USA blades...How do I make this determination? I could tell something was off on the first couple WTG passes... Ditched the blade, replaced it with the same blade... Worked like a charm. I've had this happen 3 or 4 times.. As a result, I haven't been using them much of late. This is a bid disappointing since I bought 6 boxes of 100 to get the price down. Could the coating have been too heavy on the blades I binned? I'm not sure..
I'm a one and done guy so I'll never see those improved shaves people talk about here, as you use the blade several times. As I've mentioned too many times, I started out trying to get three shaves out of any blades I've used... I've never made it all the way through the third shave. I've switched blades mid shave too many times. I think my beard and the way I shave destroys DE blade edges. I went to 2 shaves per blade... I could tell a negative difference between shave one and shave two and decided to join the one and done club here....
I have some great AC razors as well... lots of AC and DE blades... I'm probably set for life, even if I only use a DE blade once... and AC blades 3 times. <eg>
I'm not sure if AccuTech made the Personna versions of these blades but as you see in the pics I posted the Lab Blue is a plain blade with no markings in a black wrapper. Personna, (the brand), which is part of Edgewell are now being Mfg'd in Germany.
I too switched over to the one and done side the 1st of the year and pretty much narrowed the blades I use to just a few for now but I might suggest to try corking the blade prior to use as it would remove or clean up any bad edge. I found this out by corking the last of the Bic blades I had that I couldn't shave with because they felt like shards of glass on the edges. They used to tear me up bad...
I’ll try that. I thought corking was a way to deliberately dull a blade. You can still fill a library with books full of what I don’t know about traditional wet shaving, even after two years of experience.
Thx for the suggestion.
Depending on how you cork it could dull it if you run it through enough but I think you just need to do say a pass or two through it at the most to possibly remove any burrs it might have.
I have had blade alignment issues with Lab Blues, but haven't had any duds. I toss them after three shaves regardless because the fourth shave is a crapshoot; the third shave isn't a predictor of how good the next will be. They are cheap enough that three shaves is adequate.
I ordered 250 AccuForges from Razor Emporium. I'll do a side-by-side comparison. Like you, I have 600+ Lab Blues (two of my 100 packs had 20 additional blades).
I agree I will cork a blade by running it through the cork inline in order to remove any butts that might exist. Any more passes could dull the blade. This has been my experience.
I could look on YouTube, but I’ll ask here. My wife’s favorite wine is corked so I have no problem getting a cork. Do I run the blade through the cork in its longer length or the butt end? How deep? I’m guessing the long direction and gently.
Did I win?
Edit: or at an angle against the top of the cork?
Did I win?
Edit: or at an angle against the top of the cork?
Just checked my box of 100 + 20 free blades, sure enough it’s the platinum chrome BS
I'm sure there are as many opinions about how to cork as there are about everything else. You can also use a styrofoam packing peanut which is a bit softer than a cork. I don't cork anymore - I only did it when I had a suspect batch of BIC with rough edges. I used a wine cork and I went across the top of the cork following the grain. If you have a wine cork that is real cork, there will be a grain -- cheaper wines have composite cork (bits of cork in glue like particle board) without a grain.
I'd start slow with the styrofoam packing peanut and see if you notice a change - you can always work your way up to the cork if you feel you need more.
Thx. I did watch a couple of YouTube videos showing what you suggested. I don't think "too sharp" is the problem... probably micro burrs, if I had to guess. Perhaps the sputtering machines they use aren't consistent during a run... Again.. just a guess.
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- #74
Sorry to hear - Send them back and leave a review. There are a couple places mentioned in the thread that are reputable sellers and you can get the real deal.
btw, Amazon/seller has not, or is not going to post my review.... but hopefully enough people leave the appropriate feedback to get them to send the proper product.
I purchased the comfort coated blades from Amazon also. I tried 5 from different parts if the box. Each one was like shaving with a rusty rake. I first used one uncorked. Then all the rest were corked. ALL were horrible. I will only buy blades from reputable suppliers even if they cost a lot more.
I bought mine on Dec. 2, 2022... The ones that worked were great. This was before some of the Personna confusion, though I did buy and bin 100 German Personnas I bought thinking they were the "Lab Blues", which, if I understand correctly, never actually existed as a product... It was more of a nickname, I think..... I have always respected German engineering and manufacturing.... but that was it for me unless I know exactly what I'm buying, confirmed by multiple people.
I'll give the Comfort Coated USA blades I have another chance some day. They're stored safely in a anti-rust, thin tackle box... They'll keep.
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- #77
Same experience here - To be fair, I recieved both legit Comfort Coated (May 2023) and the rusty rake fakes (Dec 2023) from the same seller. It's no excuse, but it may not be nefarious on the sellers part .... it wouldn't be the first time fake junk got sold on Az.
one problem is Amazon has everything in a picking box and the pickers come by scan and grab and all companies as I understand are in the same bin at certain warehouses and some might vary if the person putting the stock in put it in the wrong bin
OR the company sends in their ten boxes of fakes and they are then put in with all the other legit blades and its luck of the draw which one you get
this is from hearing some folks talk about how it all works and my past experience with the being a retailer in a large bike shop and how the bike parts used to do the same thing
I have had good luck on Amazon and when I have gotten bad items once or twice and I am a prime member even if they say you can not return you can usually get the card refunded and they just tell you to throw out the product
but for me buying cheapest is often my goal if its under 10% I will buy from a shaving store but not when they are double what I can get at the big jungle
OR the company sends in their ten boxes of fakes and they are then put in with all the other legit blades and its luck of the draw which one you get
this is from hearing some folks talk about how it all works and my past experience with the being a retailer in a large bike shop and how the bike parts used to do the same thing
I have had good luck on Amazon and when I have gotten bad items once or twice and I am a prime member even if they say you can not return you can usually get the card refunded and they just tell you to throw out the product
but for me buying cheapest is often my goal if its under 10% I will buy from a shaving store but not when they are double what I can get at the big jungle
I'm an avid reader... I've been an Amazon customer since the days when all they sold were books. I was a fan of Bibliofind... a site used by around 10,000 used book stores. I could often find out of print books for pennies on the dollar..... Amazon bought them years ago now, but those same stores make their inventory available through Amazon for similar pricing.
Amazon is one of those original internet start-ups that became a huge success. I'll give them credit for that. I always check their prices when I'm in the market for something. They used to be the cheapest almost all the time. That is no longer the case. It only takes a few key strokes to compare prices these days. We're in shopping heaven. <eg>
Amazon is one of those original internet start-ups that became a huge success. I'll give them credit for that. I always check their prices when I'm in the market for something. They used to be the cheapest almost all the time. That is no longer the case. It only takes a few key strokes to compare prices these days. We're in shopping heaven. <eg>
YUP the prices are interesting for sure some things being quite a bit more
I remember BookPool not sure if it's still around or not
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