Gillette Super Stainless

[Max Power]

I admit that ever since 'discovering' proper wet-shaving with a safety razor and a badger brush/shave cream/Moss Scuttle, I've been a sucker for picking up packets of blades just to give them a test. The funny thing, though, is that the more expensive the blades, the more useless they seem to be

I was in a local pharmacy, and spotted these blades which I had heard were positively dreadful. IIRC I paid about $11CAD for them. I had previously paid about $15USD for 100 Israeli blades...

Knowing I needed to give the blades an honest shot at my beard, I took a good long shower to get the hairs nice and soft. I used my best Taylor shave cream moussed up in my gorgeous Moss Scuttle...All the ingredients for a great start to the day. I slide out a brand new blade and I strap this sucker into my trusty Gillette Safety Razor, thinking (naively) that Gillette perhaps knew how to build a proper razor blade after all those horrendous Mach thingies they've been peddling...WRONG!

I swear to the Good Lord above, on the very first downstroke, the Gillette blade was pulling the hairs out...I double checked the depth...Yup, same as always...Consistency of the mousse...Yep, great. Second stroke, even more painful

I ended up losing a lot of blood and getting a shave worse than anything a Fusion-Mach-Turbo-Phantom had ever given me.

In retrospect, perhaps it was just that the quality of the beer cans coming into the factory were poor that day, or maybe the blades had been stropped with a rusty nail file, but I can say, in all honesty, that these are probably the worst blades in the world. Try them for yourself and see

[momo360]

About 6 years ago i was shopping for some mach3 blades and stumbled upon a made in england, TTO gillette at a local pharmacy here in Montreal. It has no code, it only has the gilette diamond logo, "made in England", a black plastic hand, and the twist mechanism is right under the head before the handle starts.

So i thought to myself: "Cool! i'd love to start shaving the way my Grandpa shaved!" (I remember kissing grandpa and noticing how smooth his face always was)

Anyway, these were the only double edged blades available to go with the TTO at this local pharmacy at the time. To think that these blades were the reason why i didnt start DE shaving all the way back then...

So I got home, all excited. I even remember thinking how cool it was to handle one of these blades and how neat the packaging was. As soon as the blade touched my skin HOLY WOW did i ever regret even thinking about DE shaving. This blade literally yanked each hair out. (At this point i was thinking something along the lines of "Men simply put up with the pain back then, Thank God for the Mach3!") I admit that i was using Gillette canned Goo (TM) but nevertheless, no one deserves that kind of pain. I recently saw them on sale at a WalMart for $8 a pack of 10 blades.

Most horrid baldes on the market, hands down. These things should be illegal.

[Ishidan]

So I got home, all excited. I even remember thinking how cool it was to handle one of these blades and how neat the packaging was. As soon as the blade touched my skin HOLY WOW did i ever regret even thinking about DE shaving. This blade literally yanked each hair out. (At this point i was thinking something along the lines of "Men simply put up with the pain back then, Thank God for the Mach3!") I admit that i was using Gillette canned Goo (TM) but nevertheless, no one deserves that kind of pain. I recently saw them on sale at a WalMart for $8 a pack of 10 blades.

Most horrid blades on the market, hands down. These things should be illegal.

I think the problem was the canned goo. My father swears by these (but then, they are what is available at the local drugstore/superstore, that and the store brands: he's not much for importing such things if he can find them locally), and he's used Rise brand foam for all that time. Rise has a consistency about that of Barbasol.

I recently made the jump when I found out that you CAN still get DE frames (can't find them locally, just the drugstore blades and several purveyors of soaps. Even Crabtree and Evelyn only sells upscale Mach3 frames. Hooray for mail order!).

I've tried shaving with soap and brush (many different soap brands, too), and I've tried shaving with canned foams and goos, all under my new Merkur HD or my new Weishi. You know, the good way when I have the time, the cans when I just need to zap the stubble and get out the door. The difference is massive. The day I tried mixing my Merkur and Gillette Mach3 ComfortGel was a day of pain. Even mixing Merkur and Colgate/Barbasol/whatever other leftover foamy cans I had under my sink didn't shred me like trying to use that goo.

Try again, with a right prep, and see what you get.

[cylis007]

These were the first blades that I tried with my first DE razor. I was not pleased with them and moved on to other blades like the Merkurs and Wilkinson's. After getting my technique down, I thought I would try these again for a more appropriate experiment. Nothing much has changed. They are costly compared to quality. I had great difficulty shaving with them due to their lack of sharpness. I really can't account for longevity at this point. Packaging is the best part about them. I am really disappointed in this product.

[m1ndpl3x]

Decided to have a quick shave today before my tennis game and since I ran out of blades I decided to try the Precisions (~$1.50 per 10) at Wallmart. The Precisions were sold out so I grabbed the only other brand they had which is these Gillette's at $8.88 per 10 which are made in Russia.

I popped one of these babies into the Fatboy, filled the basin with hot water and lathered up some Proraso.

The first stroke was smooth and clean and cut through my couple of days of hair growth like a hot knife through butter. Subsequent downwards strokes were just as smooth and clean.

After finishing my first pass, I rinsed with hot water, and lathered up for the second round.

On the second round I decided to become a bit more daring so I cranked up the aggressiveness on the Fatboy and I used upwards strokes. The blade did not disappoint me nor did it maim me so all in all, I'd say this is a very good blade on a short notice when you need to tame the hair.

The only irritant that I found with the blade is the dispenser. Upon trying to release the first blade it became stuck with the last quarter part still stuck inside and upon closer inspection there is a little plastic tab in the middle which is not yielding easily... After a minute of coaxing the blade out of the box ever so gently, it finally yielded but I hope this was just a defect in one dispenser.

Summary: The blade is decent but I'd skip the dispenser and the price is just about right for something readily available in large box stores.

As a personal side note, I don't consider myself to have sensitive skin as I rarely nick myself or otherwise bleed when shaving but I can feel that this blade could have adverse effects for people with sensitive skin. So if you have sensitive skin then either use or turn down the aggressiveness of the razor in conjunction with this blade.

Gotta head out... Apologies for the quick review but just wanted to throw in my five cents on this blade.

[RogerDash]

I bought these at my local Rite Aid store. Being in a rural area I have a hard time finding blades at all. My wal-mart doesn't carry any and said they "discontinued" them.

I was a bit annoyed when I found these blades to be $10 for 10 blades. I bought wilkinson swords for $1.38 and figured these babies must atleast be a little better because of the price.

I found these blades to have 0 resistance and really just went smoothly across my face. I believe the great shaves were only because I went back to the basics and reconfigured my technique and started using a hot damp towel for 40 seconds on high in a microwave.

Overall I would say these are ok blades but like I said I think it's because of my prep work thats giving me the results I was looking for.

[Sir shavesalot]

Im new to the whole DE shaving but still figured id throw in my 2 cents anyway!
So, I give the Gillette Super Stainless a all around 5 cause my experience with blades is limited to store brand blades! With that said i did enjoy using them i got a smooth shave with NO pulling NO tugging and NO irritation just buttery smooth strokes. I too bought them cause i had heard how horrible they were and just wanted to see for myself.Well, other than price i REALLY like them but unless the price drops i wont buy again.As for the packaging pretty simple (packaging doesnt affect my buying, That why packaging gets a 9) but it can be a challenge to get the blades out of the dispenser(-1) other than that all around GOOD blade.

Charles.

[RogerDash]

going back to my reivew about these blades I have to make some changes. They're horrible. I only said they were good because they were the only ones in my area, but now that I got my sampler pack the world is a much larger place.

[bubalu]

These blades have to win the Worst Blades for the Highest Price award. If fact, they probaly win the all around award as the Worst Blades at Any Price. Maybe Gillete sells these blades to get people off of DE shaving. Recycled Beer Cans-- implying that they shave like ripped in half beer cans is the best description for the performance of these blades that I have heard.

[Dubbya]

I tried one of these right out of the pack last night. Garbage. I new that they were biters so I loaded it up in my tech and still got three weepers and a pretty substantial rash on my adam's apple.

Tonight I tried one after palm stropping it 4 passes on each side of each edge.
Not half bad. It's no Feather. It's not even a Derby but there was marked improvement. The dragging sensation was gone and the stropped blade felt much sharper. I still had to follow up with a Swede ATG to get BBS but it became an acceptable blade.

That doesn't excuse the price. For the price of 10 of these($7.95), I could have gone in on a 100ct case of BIC Platinums and gotten 50 good out of the box blades.

All in all, not worth the price. If these were $1/pack blades, I would excuse having to strop them to get a decent blade but they're pushing $1/blade so never again. I'll just buy Personas from the beauty supply store for $2.50 if I'm out of good blades ever again.

[Aaron]

When I was first starting shaving with a DE I bought a pack of these overpriced blades at the local Rite Aid. I didn't get a good shave with them then. Now that I've improved my technique I thought I'd try them again.

So I put one in my Slim yesterday and gave it a try. Out of all of blades I've tried these are the worst. They felt dull right out out of the package. Not only did I not get a very close shave I had a significant amount a razor burn.

Dull, overpriced blades that give you razor burn, what's not to like?

[FrankPoole]

Price About $0.50 s blade

Quality Disappointed overall
Sharpness A rather dull blade that did not even cut paper well when compared ot how other blades fared. I felt like I was scraping my skin.
Longevity I never went to a second shave since I was so disappointed in the first
Smoothness of shave Felt like I was being scraped rather than shaved
Packaging Loved the blade bank or safer disposal

OK. I used a Gillette super speed shaver since I remembered it from my college days. I bought the Gillette blade since I used them back them and felt they would pair well with the razor. After one pass the there was stubble left on my neck and I had something of a mild burn and small cut on my chin.
I trashed the blade in the slot provided with the blades and the next day inserted a Merkur blade I had 4 shaves on already.
The result??
Whola! one pass and my face was as clean and smooth as a baby's bottom.

Moral of the story do not buy and use a blade for nostalgia sakes. I shudder to think that back then I thought these were good blades.

If you have any of these blades; just do what I did... simply toss them in the trash.

[Bob R.]

I read all the negative reviews but decided to give 'em a shot anyway. The main thing in their favor is that they're readily available. They are definitely overpriced (about $11 for a 10-pack at my local drugstore). But I've been getting very good smooth shaves out of them with none of the hair-pulling or dragging to which others have referred. They seem to hold up well for a week's worth of shaving per blade.

I haven't tried all the brands by any means, but these don't seem all that bad to me. Everyone's face/beard is different; one man's "can lid" might be another's "gold standard". I think that if you're caught short, you're better off grabbing these than most of the store-brand cheapies. At this price, though, I won't be grabbing them too often.

[DonOhio]

I just noticed these today at Walgreens (first time I've seen them anywhere in my area). Did not buy them because I still cannot believe they were $15 bucks a pack! And the packaging was rather cheap looking, compared to the Personnas which are far cheaper.

[Bflotom2]

These are my go-to everyday blades. I have tried Derby's (didn't do much for me) the Israelis, and love the Gillette Swedes. But I love these babies. As for importing I have to import from Canada because no one near me sells them. I get a smooth shave without drag or cuts. I don't know if mine are different because they are made in Russia. I get them Shopper's or WMart for 10.76 (inc tax, less exchange) for 10 blades. Will last 5-6 3 pass shaves.

[sandmountainslim]

I have a pack of these made in Argentina and the ones I have are better than the ones described (these were apparently made in several different countries over the years). Not quite as good as the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless or the Schick Plus Platinums but a bit better and WM Personna in my opinion.
The price however kills the whole deal, I thought I overpayed at six bucks for a pack but have recently saw them priced at ten plus While the blades seem decent they are nowhere near worth the asking price when you can get over fifty 7 O'Clock blades or nearly 100 Derby's for roughly the same amount of money.
Wp

[Hagbardr]

I bought these at a grocery surplus store for $1.99 for 10.

I tried these in my Slim and set it for 5, VDH was my soap of choice.

These are the worst blade I've tried yet. If I had a choice between shaving with these and growing a beard, I'd take the beard.

They were neither sharp nor smooth. The blades tugged at my hair, but left some stubble behind.

I rated longevity at zero because I binned the blade after one pass. There was no way I was going to attempt ATG with this one.

Packaging has a slot in back for old blades. I like that.

Some people have reported different origins of manufacture, which may account for differences in blade quality. This package came from Mexico.

[sas71]

i was hoping id get lucky and be the one person that got along with this blade. sad to say that didnt happen. i cant say anything that hasnt already been said. i toughed it out for 2 shaves. above my jaw line i got a good close shave but the jaw line down it was hit or miss and my skin is ragged and irritated. i wont be shaving with these on my face anymore but will use them in a shavette to trim the back of my neck/hairline.

if you are a collector and find an unopened pack for your display by all means get a pack but for shaving ..be warned.