Astra Platinum

[Alphonse]

Yeah, almost as smooth as a rusty saw.

I just tried these for the first time.. The blade seems very nice.. sharp and such.. cuts well. However, the smoothness was an issue for me. They were not as smooth as I had expected/been led to believe. The first pass was excellent and I was almost sold, but a pass or two later and I found that they were not smooth enough for me to join the cult. Polsilvers on the other hand..

I will keep a few handfuls of these around to visit again at a later date. My blade rotation is rather large.

[eizan70]

I also tried one for the first time earlier this week. While I didn't find them to be awful, I did not think they were as sharp as many of the posts state. I don't find them anywhere near as sharp as feathers. That being said, I thought they shaved well and are an excellent blade at that price point.

[talibeard]

Yeah, almost as smooth as a rusty saw.

YMMV it seems but I don't get the love for these either. The comparison with Feathers (or even Feathers and Astras in the same sentence) I get even less. For me the Astras are medium sharp at best (I am in a mild mood today...) and anything but smooth; pulling and tugging all the way, especially ATG.

[Gateway]

These are readily available here in Sydney at $2.50 for 5.
So the deal at $8 for 100 (plus post) is a real bargain. They are twice the blade that Derby is and cheaper....how can that be?

[Gamad]

talibeard

Yep.
BTW, I think I have found your long lost twin. It's Mark Reizen in the role of Ivan Susanin.

[Borotva Penge]

I just received my 100 Astras and paired with R41, I'm pretty impressed. I'm surprised at some of the hate this blade gets, but we all don't have the same face.

Some of my prep this morning changed, since my Proraso Pre/Post Shave cream kicked it on my last shave. I solved that lil' problem by getting the 500ml jar of it from the Italian Barber, which should be arriving soon.

Even without the cream I managed a BBS shave on 3 days growth. The Astra is certainly the "quiet storm" of the lot. Didn't realize it was cutting most of the shave as it is a quieter performer. I have to see how it does on a longer growth. For a 1st shave with it, I'm impressed and will definitely consider getting more of these as my "daily driver".

Also tried the LEA Menthol cream and it's got a nice feel to it. Had to work it pretty good, though, to get the lather I wanted, otherwise it's a nice addition to the cabinet.

[Doctor Love]

Astra SP's are my favorite blade as they are with many wetshavers. In most razors I don't even feel the blade, they're that smooth for me.

I consider myself extremely lucky to be one of those people that this blade shines for in performance. At $8 for 100 blades you can't go broke stocking up.

I have 200 Feathers, 200 Timors & 300 Personna Med Preps for a total cost of $230 for 700 blades.

I have 1500 Astra SP's for a total cost of $120. Somewhat of a no brainer.

I considered trying the Astra SS, but then I asked myself WHY?

I love these blades.

Oh Yeah, I had to edit this post to comment on the wax spots. Many complain about the "glue" spots. They're actually wax and if you just learn to ignore them like I have you'll find they have no affect on the blades performance.
I don't even give them a second thought anymore.

Did I mention, Ijust love these blades!

[Gateway]

Hi Dr Love

1500 ASTRA's at one per week (which I changed after 7 days even though it was still sharp) will last you for 28 years.

Why buy so many? You guys that are buying 10-20 plus years worth of stuff, more power too you, but I am now more convinced not too buy more than I need. Once I bought 300 Derbys which I slit with a mate......still have 50 odd of these left. Will buy blades again but having 150 of these too get through at one or two per week (more than one but not quite two, dunno) was , looking back was quite enough and I am glad I didn't buy more as now I want too try Personna Plats and Astra Plats. The Astras are looking ok at $8 but 100 of these will last me for 2 years. Hmmmm, $8 shaving for 2 years......now THAT's why I originally started this DE thing....frugality.

[DMT]

I must admit that I was put off them for a while, the glue spots on the very first blade I used had smeared to the edge of the blade so I ended up with the poor man's version of this http://www.aaanything.net/wp-content...t_your_god.jpg
Once I got over that little grievance I really enjoyed them. I'm working through a sample pack of various other blades at the moment and, if they haven't been replaced as my favorites, they'll be my first bulk buy

[VirtualAsylum]

Used one in an R41 today...what a sweet combo.

+1. Absolutely perfect combination. Best shaves ever.

[VirtualAsylum]

Hi Dr Love

1500 ASTRA's at one per week (which I changed after 7 days even though it was still sharp) will last you for 28 years.

Why buy so many? You guys that are buying 10-20 plus years worth of stuff, more power too you, but I am now more convinced not too buy more than I need. Once I bought 300 Derbys which I slit with a mate......still have 50 odd of these left. Will buy blades again but having 150 of these too get through at one or two per week (more than one but not quite two, dunno) was , looking back was quite enough and I am glad I didn't buy more as now I want too try Personna Plats and Astra Plats. The Astras are looking ok at $8 but 100 of these will last me for 2 years. Hmmmm, $8 shaving for 2 years......now THAT's why I originally started this DE thing....frugality.

I used to think the same thing, but here's something to consider. Some people used to love the Super Iridium blade (some called it the best blade in the world) and then they were discontinued. If your skin reacted better to that blade than any other, you're now out of luck if you didn't stockpile them.

Second- do you think blades will get cheaper in the future, or more expensive? I know you have to account for the time value of money and all, but you might actually come out ahead in terms of real dollars spent. And if you don't- if the Astra's get discontinued- you can sell your stash at a nice profit, if you so choose.

On the other hand, they may come out with a blade that's even better for the same price or less.

So it really just boils down to this: what makes sense for you?

[merkur59]

In my experience the SP is smoother (and therefore preferred more) than its blue and more expensive SS cousin.
And the SP works very well in all my razors (fatip, R41, merkur HD, progress, gillette old OC and weber).

[Gateway]

Hi Virtual
You may have a point - its just not for me too go this way. I am more likely too give stuff away than sell it so the chances of me ever making money except working for a living a nil.

I think of the shavepocalypse guys who say "what will you do if it all breaks down and they dont make blades anymore" - my answer is that there will be plenty of other things to worry about by that time and I can always grow a beard or sharpen up a very very old shefield straight I have in the shed - although more than likely I will be using it too cut the throats of various nastys that will no doubt emerge from the muck pool - so I guess I'll just have to grow a beard when the time comes.

G

[pipskicks]

Astra SP's are my favorite blade as they are with many wetshavers. In most razors I don't even feel the blade, they're that smooth for me.

I consider myself extremely lucky to be one of those people that this blade shines for in performance. At $8 for 100 blades you can't go broke stocking up.

I have 200 Feathers, 200 Timors & 300 Personna Med Preps for a total cost of $230 for 700 blades.

I have 1500 Astra SP's for a total cost of $120. Somewhat of a no brainer.

I considered trying the Astra SS, but then I asked myself WHY?

I love these blades.

Oh Yeah, I had to edit this post to comment on the wax spots. Many complain about the "glue" spots. They're actually wax and if you just learn to ignore them like I have you'll find they have no affect on the blades performance.
I don't even give them a second thought anymore.

Did I mention, Ijust love these blades!

Good call on the SS's, you should try some though. They're like an SP clone, felt like it might have been a tad sharper but less smooth, but that defeats the purpose for me since I like Astra for being sharp enough to never tug, yet smooth to also never irritate. Usually I can't tell much of a difference between the SS/SP, unless I mess up my technique on my neck.

Either way, it seems like a few blades sort of have different "types" when they all act the same...

[itsmedave]

Astras are great. When I first started wet shaving I didn't like them at all. After I got my angles down and technique better, I gave them a shot again and love them now. They are amongst my favorites and replaced Feathers in my top 3.

[Absolute Mustard]

Oh Yeah, I had to edit this post to comment on the wax spots. Many complain about the "glue" spots. They're actually wax and if you just learn to ignore them like I have you'll find they have no affect on the blades performance.
I don't even give them a second thought anymore.

My hair gets clogged in the wax spots and it doesnt rinse off cleanly...my hypervigilance doesnt allow me to use these blades

[pipskicks]

I will see some tiny hairs stuck to it sometimes but they're never close to the edge.

[razorx]

I didn't like the first Astra SP blade I tried,and stayed away from the rest of the sample pack,might have been the razor I was using back then.

Tried another a few weeks later in my 1918 Old and liked it quite a bit.I Headshave & Faceshave every day of the week with an Astra SP in an iKon OSS and I can get a week out of one blade.

No tugging of roughness of any kind,if I can get a smooth head shave from a razor/blade combo,then the faceshave's even easier.

IMHO: A lot of bang for the buck,made no sense for me to keep on using what I'd been using.

[D.W.B.]

I really like the Astra's in my Merkur 38c and Muhle r41. Very smooth and sharp enough for me. I have some other blades I want to experiment with enroute, but if they don't work out the Astra's could easily be my first bulk buy. One hundred (or two ) of whatever blade at a time should do it for me though.

[Theido]

I love my Astra SPs. I have 500 of them stocked up in my shave drawer.

As for the wax spots, every time I open a new blade I just run the wax under hot water and can remove them before I place the blade into my razor.