Price: $16/100 from Sabledog(get 'em while they're hot!)



Quality: Made by Proctor Gamble(Gillette) in Russia; probably the blade they should sell here but don't-along with the Swedes.



Sharpness: Sharp enough to get the job done w/o tearing up your face.



Longevity: Since this was my first shave with them, we'll have to see how they hold up.



Smoothness of Shave: This is where this blade really shines-after my shave was over, it felt like I had not been shaving! Now this could have been the result of the combo used(Gillette Aristocrat,HBS Sandalwood Vanilla,Savile Row 208), but it was the first time with this blade ever.



Packaging:An excellent job overall! The 100 pack comes in a nicely packaged box while the individual plastic cases hold 5 blades each-much like the Derbys. You can also place used blades in the plastic case. My only quibble was when taking them out of the paper wrapping-it seems some type of glue/goo was placed on the body of the blade to keep it from moving. If you rush to get it out, there is a chance for a mishap.



Now I know I should not have purchased a 100 initially w/o having shaved with them(RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!), but I had heard good things about them form gentlemen whose recommendations I could trust(and if they had not panned out,they would be in the BST forum quick!). Now I'm happy I took the plunge so I don't have to wait for them to come in! Try a 5 pack for yourself-you won't be sorry!





Marty

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Ookla... Ariel.....RIDE!!!!

"Noble Knight of the Veg Table"

I’ve used these blades since I stared DE shaving and now the only ones I use. I’ve put them in a wide variety of razors and they work well. A great blade at a great price. I get 3 good shaves out of them and now go up to 4 shaves without any issues. There are sharp and smooth. Packaging is your usual plastic dispenser with a used blade slot on the reverse.

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Rocco

Smooth blades. Not as sharp as a Feather, but they just glide over my face like silk, which is distinctly un-Featherlike. Poor man's Swede (which is not a criticism, by the way, it's a compliment.) I get at least 3 good shaves out of them, 4 is ok, 5 is pushing it.



Glue one the blade is overkill. It's ugly, but it doesn't have an impact on the shave. Great blades.

I'm on my second Astra as part of working through a sample pack of blades received from Fendrihan.



On my first cycle through the various blades, I was concentrating more on DE technique than individual blades. While the German Wilkinson and Feather did distinguish themselves, the first Astra just seemed like a good blade.



But on my second Astra, I really noticed the smoothness of this blade. I think it is as smooth as the first Wilkinson (the second Wilkinson seemed a bit rough), maybe a tad smoother.



As far as sharpness goes, no, it's not a Feather, but I think it's sharper than a lot of other blades, and the smoothness may be masking the perception of sharpness. It might be pretty close to the Feather.



I downrated it for packaging a bit because if you buy them in quantity of 100, I think individual 5 packs are an environmental sin. I would prefer at least 10-packs, if not 15 or 20.



Who knows, this may be my 2nd "go-to" blade after the Feather.

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"Before Badger & Blade, I was just scraping by."
38C/Feather Portable/'40s SS/Krona - Stainless/VDH Brush/Cremo/Palmolive Sensitive/C.O. Bigelow-Proraso/Nivea-Florena/Omega/Williams

Purchased a pack from Gio after reading favorable comments.



Used a merkur slant. Super lathered with Musgo, Col. Conk almond and Specik soaps.



Cuts closely (not as close as a feather) with no razor burn. After trying Sharp and Treet blades this is clearly superior and a nice change of pace blade to a feather. Leaves face fresh and soft.



Price is comparable to lower priced blades but outperforms many of them. Might be better than Derbys.

I still prefer Feathers but the Astra SP are becoming the go to for daily shave. need to save dinero

Price: a 100 for 16 in Canada was not bad

Qlity: have not encounter a baqd one yet

Sharpness: Sharper than most xcept feathers

Longevity: I get 3 shaves but the last one is not like 1 & 2

Suave: This is were they excel, muy suave, real smooth

Packaging: plastic dispenser in trite colors

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Paco
Viva el Sebo!!

Great in every area. Drop of glue on the blade to keep it sealed in the packet is my only complaint. Doesn't affect the shaving performance though.



- Aaron

While I've only got limited experience with these blades, the experience I do have has been very good. Sharp and smooth, and give a great shave. It would be nice if they lasted a little longer, but other than that, they're exceptional blades!

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My Shaving Gear

Update: I have been using these blades in the Feather Portable, a more aggressive razor than the 38C. They perform very, very well in the Feather.

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"Before Badger & Blade, I was just scraping by."
38C/Feather Portable/'40s SS/Krona - Stainless/VDH Brush/Cremo/Palmolive Sensitive/C.O. Bigelow-Proraso/Nivea-Florena/Omega/Williams

On par with Gillette "Swedes" on every level except longevity. But for the money, I will be getting stocked up on these for when I run out of the Gillettes.

I got these blades from fellow member eric.huntley, I had my eye on the Astra blades and was fortunate to get some from Eric. At first I wasn't sure about these blades, I'm used to using an IP in a fat handle tech. When I tried the Astra in the Tech, it felt a bit draggy. So to give the blade a fair shot, I threw a blade in a Slim and Superspeed. WOW what a difference. The Astra performed well in the Slim, but its as if the blade is made for the superspeed. Damn near as close to BBS as I've ever had. Cut my whiskers like buttah!

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Champions are those that are willing to put themselves in an uncomfortable position to achieve greatness.

what suprised me with this blade is the smoothness of shave, very nice indeed. i would rate them up there with the feathers. the feathers are inconsistant, one good 2 bad. i agree with the above comment that after my shave it felt like i almost never shaved, really good. this is now my fav blade!

try em out, you might be suprised like i was.

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moto,
proraso pirate forever.
The aftershave is the fire that hardens the man like fire is to steel.

The blade is sharp enough, that's for sure -- hairs were mowed down with ease.



But the blade did not feel especially smooth on my skin. So much so that I did not want to continue using it, despite the sharpness, and reasonable price.



OH, and they have the WORST machine oil smell I've seen from a blade to date. The Gillette 7's do not have this, and the swedes have a smell that is much more mild. Horrible smell. Almost would not use again for this reason alone.



I used this in a Feather Portable razor, and personally prefer a smoother blade such as a Swedish Gillette, Gillette 7 o'clock SharpEdge, or Gillette 7 o'clock Permasharp.



Cheers.



J

These blades are sharp and smooth. Did I mention cheap? I can get 4 good shaves with them. They will give a nice nik free shave, but my alum block does sense some minor irration afterwards that say the more expensive PolSilver wouldn't have left.

Used four blades so far.

Razor Merkur 23C.

Preparation: hot shower, or Williams "Lectric Shave" pre-shave lotion.

Soaps used: Williams, VDH Select, Wilkinson blue pack.



Price: good price although from time to time there are slightly better deals on eBay for different blades of similar performances. Still, not bad price for what Astra blades provide.



Quality: What is quality here ? Overall about blades, or something else, like metalurgy ? It's platinum coated, very smooth blade, sharp, etc. I didn't notice signs of dulling due to rust, have no troubles opening a wrap paper... Easily mark 9.



Longevity: Three comfortable BBS shaves with the blades. On fourth shave the blade noticeably start to pull and tug, I couldn't get BBS any more, yet I got pretty close shave anyway although it wasnt BBS.



Smoothness of Shave: My skin didn't notice I removed its hair. Very smooth to me, really.



Packaging: Ecologically speaking - bad; a plastic container which contain only five blades. Either pack ten blades in it, or use a cardboard box for five blades. However, the container is easy to open, and has a space for used blades. Average mark 5.



Alltogether, to me this is on par with certain "unofficial" edition of blades; equally smooth, yet the unofficial ones cost less, while Astra is a bit sharper. Those unnofficial blades I will not name here, it is a completely different topic.