That's been my experience as well. I did succumb to temptation and bought 100 of these, so I'll be revisiting these after awhile, but for now, they can't touch my two low-cost favorites, the Voskhod & the Personna Super "Labs". I'm glad they works so well for many others though.
Astra Platinum
- Thread starter MrDentini
- Start date
That's been my experience as well. I did succumb to temptation and bought 100 of these, so I'll be revisiting these after awhile, but for now, they can't touch my two low-cost favorites, the Voskhod & the Personna Super "Labs". I'm glad they works so well for many others though.
Very hot water and the corner of a face cloth is normally enough to get rid of them.
I've been using the Astra Platinums for several months in my Merkur 23C and they're currently my favorite blade. (The wax has not proven to be any problem, though I was worried about it, initially.) I think it's interesting that other people hate the Astras and prefer Feathers, but no matter how careful I am, I can't use a feather without nicks galore and a serious case of razor burn.
I was actually going to post a new thread looking for blades to try, based on my preference for the Astras (my other favorite of late has been the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (blue labels.) when I stumbled upon this thread.
I've tried Derby, Lord Platinum, Shark, BlueBird, Feather, Treet Platinum and the Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless (green lables) but none of them were as good as the Astra Platinum or Gillette blue labels.
Also, I would think buying blades in bulk, in addition to making sure you have a future supply of your favorite blade if they go out of production, also allows for trading among other shavers to try blades you haven't picked up yet.
I was actually going to post a new thread looking for blades to try, based on my preference for the Astras (my other favorite of late has been the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (blue labels.) when I stumbled upon this thread.
I've tried Derby, Lord Platinum, Shark, BlueBird, Feather, Treet Platinum and the Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless (green lables) but none of them were as good as the Astra Platinum or Gillette blue labels.
Also, I would think buying blades in bulk, in addition to making sure you have a future supply of your favorite blade if they go out of production, also allows for trading among other shavers to try blades you haven't picked up yet.
Man, I only have 400 on hand...need to order more!
To chime in here, I've recently begun reassessing my blade of choice.
After my blade sampler I took a liking to Shark Super Chromes, and was the flag bearer for them wherever I could be.
Eventually I also got a 50 pack of Feathers for use in some of my razors, while continuing to use the Sharks on most of them.
I can't say I ever had a bad shave with the '52 Blue tip SS with a Feather, or my 30s NEW with a Shark.
My point being that perhaps we can agree that for different razors, different blades may pair better for different people.
Some want as close of a shave as they can get, while others want a quick and easy.
Even more might want a smooth comfortable shave, yet for some price point is the most priority.
I tried the Astras when I first started out and found I did not like them at all.
I tried one the other day, and had a better experience than when I started out, but still find others more to my liking with a balance of sharpness and comfort.
Of my current trials, I would have to say as a blade that works well in all my razors across the board, the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Dark Blues (Ruskies) seem to be in the lead, with Red Personnas trailing second.
More are queued up.
As always, YMMV...
After my blade sampler I took a liking to Shark Super Chromes, and was the flag bearer for them wherever I could be.
Eventually I also got a 50 pack of Feathers for use in some of my razors, while continuing to use the Sharks on most of them.
I can't say I ever had a bad shave with the '52 Blue tip SS with a Feather, or my 30s NEW with a Shark.
My point being that perhaps we can agree that for different razors, different blades may pair better for different people.
Some want as close of a shave as they can get, while others want a quick and easy.
Even more might want a smooth comfortable shave, yet for some price point is the most priority.
I tried the Astras when I first started out and found I did not like them at all.
I tried one the other day, and had a better experience than when I started out, but still find others more to my liking with a balance of sharpness and comfort.
Of my current trials, I would have to say as a blade that works well in all my razors across the board, the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Dark Blues (Ruskies) seem to be in the lead, with Red Personnas trailing second.
More are queued up.
As always, YMMV...
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I love Feathers but couldn't pass up the price on the Astra SP on Amazon Prime. Hope I like them.
I scrape the glue off with the last blade I used, no biggie.
Where is the glue on these blades? why is there glue on the blades? I am waiting on a box of the Astra SP's
That's pretty much my experience, too. The only blade I like as much (but not more) than the Astra SP is the Personna Red. Not as sharp as an Astra, but guaranteed irritation-free shaves. I prefer an Astra in a Superspeed or a Tech, but the Personna in my EJ DE89.
+1 SPs are a very good solid blade, but not in my first tier.
I'm fortunate enough to have received 100 Astra SP as a gift last Christmas. It's a great blade and I can't see how blades that cost 3 to 4 times more can be better than this. Thank you again for the member who sent me this gift.
I too am a believer in the SP's. It's the blade that provided consistency as I was learning to use a DE and it has kept giving me great shaves. I'm tempted to try some of the other samples that I have in my cabinet, but I just can't stand the thought of not having a great shave in the morning. And while I may find a better blade, I don't really want to. As many have mentioned, the price on these things is terrific. I'm really happy with it. I don't want to fall in love with a blade that gives a slightly better shave but costs four times as much.
Might be my favorite blade too. I have tried most of the Gillette blades. The one that reminds me of the Astra SP the most, would be the Gillette Yellow ( they even have the same wax spots on them) . Whenever I am trying out a new(different) razor, I use an Astra SP blade as my benchmark.
I'm looking forward to try this VERY popular blade for the first time. It will probably be at ... sunday.
Put the new blade on a flat surface and use the old blade to scrape off the wax.
Oh, yeah, thanks. I've read a lot about this wax on Astras LOL
I seem to be getting a pretty good shave with these. I jumped on to see what others were thinking, whats your issue with them, other then the rusty saw comment...?
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