Legendary Personna 74* loaded and ready!

**itsmedave** · 06-19-2012, 06:31 PM

If any of you gentlemen would like to sell 2 or 3 of the 74's please PM me. I'd love to buy a couple to try before hitting every antiques place in the Southeast to try and find as many as possible.

**awa54** · 06-20-2012, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by bakerbarber

I ditched the first P*74 I ever tried after 8 shaves.

Shave 1 through 6 were great.

Shave number 7 was tugging and pulling. It took an extra pass to get a passable shave.
Shave number 8 was considerably worse and left me with a weeper and spots of stubble.

This morning I used the same razor with a Treet Classic and got DFS in two passes.

I agree that the cost per shave equation doesn't work out unless you can push a P*74 for a month or more. I have the rest of the pack I opened to experiment with.

Drying and rinsing the blade was not anything I took too seriously with the first blade, but when I get done with the Treet (maybe two more shaves) I will try the P*74 again.

I kept a journal of the shaves and rated all but the last two a 10 out of 10 for smoothness, comfort, and results.

It seemed shocking to see such a dramatic drop in performance on the 7th and then 8th shave. Honestly I considered changing blades mid-shave on day number 8.

I'm committed to getting at least two whole weeks out of one of these blades. I know how nice the P*74 Injector blades are and I'm going to push the DE blades to the limit. My face cried uncle this time though.

maybe you got a bum blade....I usually get a maximum of four or five shaves from normal blades and I made twenty with the 74*, lots of folks with either better technique or easier beards go for thirty or more shaves on a single 74*

by the way, I just rinsed the blade well and set it to dry like normal, no special alcohol rinses or anything like that. also the blade I used was the coated version, which might make a difference in both smoothness and corrosion resistance.

**bakerbarber** · 06-20-2012, 11:17 AM

I didn't realize there were coated and uncoated versions.

My pack said Tungsten Steel and had a square plastic blister on the cardboard. I've seen many different variations to the packaging. I'm trying blade #2 tomorrow morning and restarting my shave journal. I'm going to keep the soap and brush and razor the same for the duration.

**awa54** · 06-20-2012, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by bakerbarber

I didn't realize there were coated and uncoated versions.

My pack said Tungsten Steel and had a square plastic blister on the cardboard. I've seen many different variations to the packaging. I'm trying blade #2 tomorrow morning and restarting my shave journal. I'm going to keep the soap and brush and razor the same for the duration.

The coated version is called "tungsten plus".

While I applaud the attempt to control experimental conditions in your 74* use, I would say that if it isn't working out well try different razors to see if it behaves better in a specific head (my choice is the Muhle/Edwin Jagger closed head).

Good luck!

**retiredguns** · 06-20-2012, 06:25 PM

I was gifted 2 P74s and went a straight month on one blade. 1st few were sharp as any blade I ever loaded, the next dozen or so shaves were spectacular. The next 15 or so shaves were still sharp enough for a BBS and continued to be smooth. I finally pitched it and am saving the 2nd blade for a review after using my usual Gillette Super Platinums for a while. My technique & longevity allows for a great shave regardless of blade (barring Walmart Wilkinsons for some reason) so I won't say they are the greatest blades on earth but if they were abundant at $2 a pack they would be my "go to".

**goby** · 06-20-2012, 07:13 PM

My record is 41 shaves. I've also got 28 shaves from a Derby.

They are amazing blades, but not worth $4.00 a blade. I'd much rather have 50 Derbys for the same price.

**Nova316** · 06-22-2012, 10:50 PM

It finally drew blood
Didn't even feel it just cleanly sliced off a thin piece of skin leaving me to bleed
Oh personna 74 how sharp it still is after 26 shaves now

**bakerbarber** · 06-23-2012, 02:30 PM

I finished #3 today on blade #2.

I'm going way out of my way to keep this blade dry between shaves and also to not let anything but my face touch the edge.

My first attempt I encountered some rust that I think was a galvanic reaction between my hard water and the razor & blade combo.
I took the blade and stropped it about 20 times on each side and on each edge. I think this did more harm than good. It didn't really take any surface rust off, but it did make the subsequent shaves rough.

I think in retrospect I did about 10 - 15 shaves worth of wear on that blade trying to 'rub' the rust off stropping it.

Onward to Victory!!

**mctmatt** · 06-23-2012, 04:37 PM

Bakerbarber I was able to pick up an unopened package that is the exact same as yours. I paid $1.25 for them and I also got a couple of unopened Schick Platinum Plus blades. I have not used any of them as of yet. I am trying to save them and hoping to try one of the Personna 74 blades on July 4th as part of the Patriotic Shave.

**Nova316** · 06-29-2012, 08:25 AM

3 day growth, Personna 74* still the same one loaded (Shave 31), ploughed through it like it was nothing, slight tug at the chin but everywhere else it was smooth

**bakerbarber** · 06-30-2012, 07:19 AM

Shave #9 today.

Feels just as good as the last 7 shaves. I did a touch more "buffing" and cleanup, but zero tugging.

Keeping this puppy dry between uses is paying off big time. So far no signs of rust or drop in performance.

Shave #1 and 2 were much sharper though. It lost the scary sharpness, but has leveled off to a very high plateau.

**Nova316** · 07-03-2012, 09:28 PM

Today is a sad day
Personna 74* has given its last shave
The past few days the cutting of the hairs has been noticeably louder and kept increasing
today I felt partial burn and tug as it struggled to cut hairs and couldn't finish after the first pass

He rest in the blade bank after a glorious 34 shaves
Until we meet again

**man00ver** · 07-03-2012, 10:26 PM

Nicely done, Nova. That's a heck of a run. Congrats on using it up!

**Nova316** · 07-05-2012, 06:51 AM

Thanks John for the PIF
It was a wonderful run but a few times I was itching to change it 34 shaves it a lot to get from one blade haha when astra SP only last me 4-5

**bakerbarber** · 07-05-2012, 01:31 PM

WOW!

Way to go.

I'm on #15 so far and looking for another 15 more.

**bakerbarber** · 07-07-2012, 07:09 PM

16 shaves and I dropped the blade.

I loosened the end of my razor to shake the water out and must have loosened it too much. The cap and blade went whomp on the floor. It was a Merkur HD by the way.

So luckily the cap and threaded stem are ok, but the blade hit the tile and rolled an edge. The blade remained on the thread, but turned 45 degrees so that nearly one fourth of one edge took a solid impact against the floor. I could see the edge there had bent. In the soup can blade safe it went..

It must not have been meant to be...