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Weird experience with a new blade

I just had a strange experience with a new Persona Red. I put a new blade in my Merkur 34C, my regular razor, and started my shave. I noticed after my first pass that my beard was hardly reduced, and even after the against the grain pass there was still more stubble than usual. I eventually got an acceptable shave, but it seemed to take more effort than usual, especially with a new blade. Can one just come across a dud now and then?
 
It happens. Blades are mass produced by machines that operate at an incredible speed. I've come across blades with gouges in the edge.

It is rare but nothing is imposable when you are talking about a product that cost a fraction of a cent at the production level
 
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Duds happen once in a while. Bad shaves also happen. I can go months with very satisfying shaves and out of left field I'm hit with irritation and frustration. Typically, it happens when I get lazy on the prep or if I switch the razor and/or blade combo up.
 
Yep, QC with blades, like anything else, is not perfect. If it happens again, dont finish the shave with a bad blade. Chuck it mid-pass and start over with a new blade. The odds of getting two duds in a row is pretty low.
 
Yep, QC with blades, like anything else, is not perfect. If it happens again, dont finish the shave with a bad blade. Chuck it mid-pass and start over with a new blade. The odds of getting two duds in a row is pretty low.

Good advise considering how cheap DE blades are.

I just thought I would also add that I have experienced dud Gillette ProGlide cartridges before. Its not just DE blades, its everything that is mass produced. Quality control can only do so much.
 
Where does come from that blade? i mean it´s from israel or from mexico? some people says they are the same blades but i dont concur with that. I live in mexico and i have serious reasons to say that.
 
Thanks for the replies. I figured QC was the case. These are the Israeli Personas. I finished the shave, but chunked that one and will go with a new one tomorrow. As was said, I'm only out a few cents.
 
This morning I used a brand new Tweet Classic, which has always worked "alright" in the past. But today I may as well not have had a blade in the razor, new or not. Running my finger across my face would have cleaned off more whiskers. After three passes, I gave up and put a Wilkenson in and got a near perfect shave. I don't get it...but it is what it is.
 
So the next morning after my bad Persona shave, I tried again with a new Persona, from a new pack no less, and had the same experience. I thought I would give it one more try, so this morning I used another new Persona. This time my shave seemed to be more or less back to normal. Everything felt the same, my process -- two full passes and a touch up pass -- had the results I had experienced before. So I'm not sure what was going on. Some difference in my prep (though I do the same thing every morning, with the same products)? Or maybe slight changes in how I was angling the razor? Or just two bad blades in a row? Who knows? I'm just glad to be back to a close, comfortable shave in a reasonable length of time. Definitely an interesting blip in my DE shaving experience.
 
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