Please bring me up to speed: Polsilver/Iridium->relationship

guitarslinger · Nov 23, 2009

Okay, the way I understand it:

1. They are both Gillette owned.
2. Polsilver has been discontinued.
3. Super Iridiums are made in St. Petersburg Russia
4. Polsilvers had been made in Poland?

Now, I remember hearing SOMETHING along the lines of, "the remaining Polsilvers are being packaged as Super Iridiums."

This leads me to believe, I, or other people might be slightly confused. The reason I say so; Polsilvers shaved like butter, and felt like extra smooth Gillette Swedes. Super Iridiums felt like Astra superiors, not the worst ever, but NOTHING like the Polsilver.

I currently possess both brands in their respective packaging. I bought them from the un-nameable outlet about 2 years ago.

can somebody clarify?

zliv · Nov 23, 2009

Years ago there was a plant in Lodz, Poland called Wizamet [look at the "W" logo on both polsilvers and iridiums]. About 15-20 years ago Iridiums were called Polsilver Super Iridium. Here is a photo of it. http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk43/tjggriffin/mnop1246767230m.jpg In recent years Gillette acquired the plant in Lodz and continued making Polsilver stainless there up until 2 years ago. Gillette continues manufacturing Iridiums without the Polsilver name on them in their Russian plant in Saint Petersburg. Also in the last few years Polsilver stainless and Polsilver Super Iridium were made in Russia http://spodlady.com/zasoby/grafiki/polsilver.jpg Regular Russian Polsilver stainless is the same design but brown. I've been told that this newer design of brown Polsilver is still manufactured in Russia (but only for Poland, if I remember correctly).

lamina · Nov 23, 2009

By my experience the Pols' were inferior to Iridiums and i always choose Iri' over Pols at the shelves...maybe a bad pols' pack?!

zliv · Nov 23, 2009

Indeed. Iridium has always been the higher class Polsilver blade. I've been talking to gentlemen in my country who used both many years ago and they say that Iridium has been the finer and sharper blade and hard to find back then.

guitarslinger · Nov 23, 2009

whoa, interesting stuff.

Keep it coming, gentlemen.

Here's the polsilver blade I love:

Here's the super iridium I can't use:

john parker · Nov 23, 2009

guitarslinger said:
whoa, interesting stuff.

Keep it coming, gentlemen.

Here's the polsilver blade I love:

Here's the super iridium I can't use:

Why can't you use it? That is the one I have used several times, and it is doing great!! Is there something I don't know? Thanks, John

Cains Boy · Nov 24, 2009

I loved the Super Iridiums, but not long ago you couldn't find them. I finally found some and ordered them, but when they arrived, they were PolSilver blades in Super Iridium boxes / wrappers.

I still have about five boxes left and am really fighting my way through them (don't care for the PolSilver).

guitarslinger · Nov 24, 2009

john parker said:
Why can't you use it? That is the one I have used several times, and it is doing great!! Is there something I don't know? Thanks, John

because my face lights up like a a red led Christmas tree, then, it becomes Ray jackson's head on Bloodsport.

compatibility issue. YMMV.

guitarslinger · Nov 24, 2009

Cains Boy said:
I loved the Super Iridiums, but not long ago you couldn't find them. I finally found some and ordered them, but when they arrived, they were PolSilver blades in Super Iridium boxes / wrappers.

I still have about five boxes left and am really fighting my way through them (don't care for the PolSilver).

PM'ed.

Cains Boy · Nov 24, 2009

guitarslinger said:
PM'ed.

LOL. PM-ed back.

Rufust445 · Nov 24, 2009

From this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=117554

"I have here in my hand a yellow carton for Gillette 7o'clock SharpEdge blades.

On the bottom edge of the carton there is the following:

"Made by Petersburg Products Int., Pulkovskoye shosse 54, St. Petersburg, 196140, Russia under license from the Gillette Company, Boston, MA USA."

On the back of the carton is another address:

"Correspondence:
Gillette Middle Ease,
PO Box 1996, Dubai UAE"

Petersburg Products is 65% owned by Gillette/P&G, and the rest by the Russian government. That's the deal they could cut in the early '90's to get their foot in the door. The plant back then was in a rundown waterfront/warehouse district of St. Petersburg, making Sputniks, Astras, and other such blades. I believe a new plant has since been built on the outskirts of St. Petrsburg.

At about the same time in the early '90's, Gillette purchased Wizamet S.A. in Lodz, Poland They continued making Iridiums, Polsilvers, and "Swedes" there until 2005, when P&G decided to move all DE blade production to St. Petersburg. The Lodz plant was converted to making Mach3's and Fusions. The "W" on Iridium and Polsilver wrappers is the Wizamet logo.

The four large wax/glue spots under the wrapper are a trademark of any blade made in the St. Petersburg plant. They are a deal breaker for me. I'll use up what blades I have from there, but won't be buying more."

I prefer the Polsilver to the Iridium because it's smoother even if not quite as sharp or long-lasting. It's a moot point because once the 16-17 Polsilvers I have are gone, there will be no more. The Polsilvers were cancelled because they weren't as popular, and the fact that eight or more brands/models of blade were being made in the St. Petersburg plant. The complexity led to confusion and quality problems, like Polsilvers showing up in Iridium wrappers.

The glue/wax spots are a deal breaker for me because of the very spots shown in the Iridium picture above, that encroach on the edge area of the blade.

As always, YMMV.

guitarslinger · Nov 24, 2009

whoa ^

That's the exact info I needed .

THANKS!!!!!

h2oman · Nov 28, 2009

Rufust445 said:
From this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=117554

"I have here in my hand a yellow carton for Gillette 7o'clock SharpEdge blades.

On the bottom edge of the carton there is the following:

"Made by Petersburg Products Int., Pulkovskoye shosse 54, St. Petersburg, 196140, Russia under license from the Gillette Company, Boston, MA USA."

On the back of the carton is another address:

"Correspondence:
Gillette Middle Ease,
PO Box 1996, Dubai UAE"

Petersburg Products is 65% owned by Gillette/P&G, and the rest by the Russian government. That's the deal they could cut in the early '90's to get their foot in the door. The plant back then was in a rundown waterfront/warehouse district of St. Petersburg, making Sputniks, Astras, and other such blades. I believe a new plant has since been built on the outskirts of St. Petrsburg.

At about the same time in the early '90's, Gillette purchased Wizamet S.A. in Lodz, Poland They continued making Iridiums, Polsilvers, and "Swedes" there until 2005, when P&G decided to move all DE blade production to St. Petersburg. The Lodz plant was converted to making Mach3's and Fusions. The "W" on Iridium and Polsilver wrappers is the Wizamet logo.

The four large wax/glue spots under the wrapper are a trademark of any blade made in the St. Petersburg plant. They are a deal breaker for me. I'll use up what blades I have from there, but won't be buying more."

I prefer the Polsilver to the Iridium because it's smoother even if not quite as sharp or long-lasting. It's a moot point because once the 16-17 Polsilvers I have are gone, there will be no more. The Polsilvers were cancelled because they weren't as popular, and the fact that eight or more brands/models of blade were being made in the St. Petersburg plant. The complexity led to confusion and quality problems, like Polsilvers showing up in Iridium wrappers.

The glue/wax spots are a deal breaker for me because of the very spots shown in the Iridium picture above, that encroach on the edge area of the blade.

As always, YMMV.

In depth report there. I can say they shave great but those glue spot do come a lot closer to the blade edge then I like. :thumbdown

cbrigstocke · Sep 16, 2010

I know this is an old thread, but check this out.

Taken from this page.

zliv · Sep 17, 2010

cbrigstocke

Did you happen to read my post #2 in this very same thread http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1642608&postcount=2

Btw, the blades on the photo you posted are available in Bulgaria since April. As far as I know they are available in Poland and Bulgaria, but not in all Eastern European countries. They are the same blade as the Super Iridiums available at Westcoastshaving. It is only that they have the word Polsilver.
You also might want to check this thread http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149720

cbrigstocke · Sep 21, 2010

I guess the Polsilver brand must really mean something in those markets.

zliv · Sep 22, 2010

cbrigstocke said:
I guess the Polsilver brand must really mean something in those markets.

Yep. Until the 70s in Bulgaria they sold only Russian rubbish blades (which were cheap but terrible) and Gillette, Schick, Wilkinson Sword, which were not easy to find, very expensive though long lasting and smooth. And then came Polsilver from Poland which were almost as good as Gillette/Schick but as cheap as the Russian blades. Even though the Russians reduced their prices more than half, nobody would buy their rubbish anymore.

dirtdog · Sep 23, 2010

john parker said:
Why can't you use it? That is the one I have used several times, and it is doing great!! Is there something I don't know? Thanks, John

I have read where they are sharp only second to the Feathers.
Might be too sharp for his tastes

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Please bring me up to speed: Polsilver/Iridium->relationship

guitarslinger

zliv

lamina

zliv

guitarslinger

john parker

Cains Boy

guitarslinger

guitarslinger

Cains Boy

Rufust445

guitarslinger

h2oman

cbrigstocke

zliv

cbrigstocke

zliv

dirtdog

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