Will the real "Swedes" please stand up

Unfortuntaley by the time I started using DE blades Swedes had been disc. for quite some time. I managed to get ahold of some from various sources and found a major difference. I had been using the ones from the 10 packs until the other day when I got a few 5 packs.

The blades from the 10 packs were rough on my face and let to many nicks. Very harsh, but also very sharp. I thought it was just me and maybe Swedes just weren't for me. Then at the beginning of this week I get a few 5 packs in the mail. The shaves I get from these are outstanding. Sharp, smooth, long lasting. Nothing like the previous Swedes. The actual blades even look different
The 10 pack blade imprint is much lighter. Their is a "V 3" in the center and the blades aren't numbered around the edges. I didn't get that in the pic though since its only on one side
The 5 pack blades imprint is much darker and they are numbered around the edges







The 5 packs did not come with the cardboard because they person I bought them from took them off in an effort to save space so I am not sure where they were made.
On the forums I have seen both these blades listed as Swedes, but the ones in the 5 pack seem to be the better performers.

I was hoping someone with more experience and insight could shed some light on this.

Well, I thought for a moment that perhaps you might have been scammed with the 10 packs, but it looks like I was wrong. The Gillette Super Stainless Super Inoxydable comes in a similar looking package. I thought maybe someone stuck the blade dispenser on a Swede cardboard backer and sold them as such. So I pulled out a couple packs of the Super Stainless I had to compare to your pictures. The blades look the same as your description of your 5 packs however, numbered around the edges.

Maybe someone else has an explanation.

Both of these blades were bought from reputable members here so I don't think scamming has anything to do with it.

Will P.C. said:

Both of these blades were bought from reputable members here so I don't think scamming has anything to do with it.

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That was just my initial reaction. The more I looked into it, the less I saw it happening. I didn't mean to imply someone here would knowingly put on a scam.

According to my friend, the Gillette Swedes are very similar to the Blue Birds. In fact he feels they are the same blade...just a different label and package. Who really knows for sure. The Blue Birds are made in a location in Europe somewhere....who knows where in Europe? They are a very mysterious razor blade and definitely not the dreaded Derby vertical blades.

Tutti Frutti, Cheers

I believe the 10-packs are somewhat older than the 5-packs. I only tried the 5-packs myself, but I have a box with 10-pack blades in storage. Your report is the first I heard about there being a noticeable difference between the two.

I've used both the 10 pack (NOS pre P&G) as well as the 5 pack (Surrey P&G).

I couldn't make out a difference; if anything, I prefer the NOS 10-packs by a slight margin as they *seem* just a bit smoother.

Will P.C. said:

The 5 packs did not come with the cardboard because they person I bought them from took them off in an effort to save space so I am not sure where they were made.
On the forums I have seen both these blades listed as Swedes, but the ones in the 5 pack seem to be the better performers.

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That's your issue right there. Without the original cards it becomes difficult to make an ID, as Gillette used that dispenser on a few different blades. I have used both 5 and 10 packs, and found them to be identical.

shamus said:

According to my friend, the Gillette Swedes are very similar to the Blue Birds. In fact he feels they are the same blade...just a different label and package. Who really knows for sure. The Blue Birds are made in a location in Europe somewhere....who knows where in Europe? They are a very mysterious razor blade and definitely not the dreaded Derby vertical blades.

Click to expand...

The factory that used to make the Swedes was converted to cartridge operation a few years ago. I've shaved with both, and don't really see the comparison. YMMV, of course.

I have both 10 packs and 5 packs and havnt noticed any difference between the two.

shamus said:

According to my friend, the Gillette Swedes are very similar to the Blue Birds. In fact he feels they are the same blade...just a different label and package. Who really knows for sure. The Blue Birds are made in a location in Europe somewhere....who knows where in Europe? They are a very mysterious razor blade and definitely not the dreaded Derby vertical blades.

Tutti Frutti, Cheers

Click to expand...

Considering that the swede factory has been converted and that blue birds are made by a different company, its hard to believe them being the same blade with different packaging is a possiblility. Although your not the first one to say they are slightly similar to swedes, them being the same blade just isnt a reality.

Has anyone established a chronology on Swedes?
Assuming that the production methods and location were unchanged until they were discontinued, the only comparable information available was the cities listed on the cards. The last production Swedes are referred to as the "Surrey Swedes" and, by all accounts, are no different from the "Oslo/Stockholm Swedes". The recently discovered 10-packs that caused such a run on eBAY are referred to as the "Annecy Swedes" and have re-opened the most interesting discussion of these legendary blades yet.
The "other" shaving forum had a great run of threads when Swedes were discontinued. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and it all made for good reading to those of us in this fraternity.
I am curious still, as to which came first and whether the Annecy Swedes were indeed produced in the same factory as the Oslo/Stockholm/Surrey Swedes.
Any answers? Any guesses? Any theories? Any corrections?

I did some reading on the other forum and saw that their was some variation as far as location goes.

I think that makes for a huge difference, but how does one really know where the blade is made if it list 5 different places on the back? You have to think that they had different standards, machines, etc

I am not sure, but I think those 10 pack are a much older blade because they are labeled "V2" Didn't Gillette used to label the blades they included with the razors?

The ones in the 5 pack have a very noticeable smell of oil. It is a strong smell versus the 10 pack that don't smell at all.

Blades are hard to judge because usually everybody has a different opinion on what works for them. I have a hard telling the difference between many of the blades out their because they all perform pretty similar to me. However, I can def tell that feathers are the sharpest. The 2 worst blades I have used were the Gillette 7ams and Swedes in the 10 pack. These blades performed horrible for me and the last shave I had with the Swede in the 10 pack, I must have had like 10 or more small nicks