I have found My Super Iridium Replacement!

[OkieStubble]

Which SI did you try fin? The POL or Russian?

[finotti]

Which SI did you try fin? The POL or Russian?

Russian. I got it as one of the trades with the Blacks. It is too early to tell how much I will really like it, but I am impressed with the first try.

[JonnyVain]

I bought two 10 packs of Crystals, which have been my favorite blades after trying Personna reds, Feather, and Derby. I also picked up a 5 pack each of 7oclock black and blue. Tried the black today. Wish I would have just bought a 100 pack of these.

I'm thinking the Crystals were the smoothest blade I had tried. I could tell they pulled a bit, but were very forgiving. The 7oclock blacks barely pulled at all on a 3 day beard (although a thin beard admittedly), yet seemed very forgiving. I went against the grain for a BBS shave and have no irritation, no burn from the alum application post shave.

[OkieStubble]

Russian. I got it as one of the trades with the Blacks. It is too early to tell how much I will really like it, but I am impressed with the first try.

After you get a few shaves under your belt, let me know whatcha think compared to the Blacks.

[pirateskull]

although feathers are my favorite these blades are a very close 2nd.

[finotti]

After you get a few shaves under your belt, let me know whatcha think compared to the Blacks.

Will do. It might take a little while to get a solid evaluation, though. I now have a few blades to try: Med Preps, Voskhod, Gillette Silver Blue, Astra SS... The Blacks I had tried a while ago (and really liked them) and just recently got a bunch of them. So, it is also a bit new to me. I have been using mostly Astra SP and Feathers (which I didn't like at first, but now are working well), and Perma Sharps every once in a while. (FWIW, I use an EJ 89L almost exclusively. Every once in a while I use my Gillette NEW, but I usually get some irritation with it and have not had the will to stick with it for long.)

I had my 3rd shave with SI today, though, and I am still impressed. They worked very well for me!

[Emcphers]

Happy that you discovered the 7OCBLK's. They're right near the top of my favorites. I fine the 7OCBLU's to be similar, not quite as sharp but a little smoother, a nice blade as well.

[shyrlock]

I just bought 100(+40) of the 7:00 Blacks the other day.
I like them very much, smooth and sharp.
But, $50.00 for 140?
I guess thats the price of top quality blades.

[Sled Dog]

These were in my mailbox today (ebay find)

[Galhatz]

When I started this hobby almost 3 years ago, I fell in love with the Iridium Super DE blade. Suddenly and unexpectedly it quit being manufactured and I was caught totally off guard. So instead of hording my favorite blade, I took on the idea that I would just easily and simply begin a search for another brand that would take the place of my most beloved blade.
... The 7'Oclock Black manufactured in India.
...

Based on your recommendation I bought a pack and I think the blacks are superb.
My current favorite are Lord Plats which are super smooth and very forgiving. The blacks are almost as smooth and sharper. While I felt maybe too comfortable with the Lords, the blacks remind me to pay a little more attention.
But being sharper, they are more efficient. I am now on my 2nd day on this blade and I want to see how many good shaves i can get out of it.
They are pricey but who cares, its my face after all.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[talibeard]

It's funny how YMMV with blades. I liked the SI blade and used it frequently. However, the only blade that does not agree with me is the Gillette blacks. Any of the Russian Gillettes are fine but the blacks irritate my skin. Could never figure out why that is.

I ended up using the Personna Medical and Lab blades, the Personna Reds, Astras, and any of the Lord blades. Each shaves differently but all give me a close, smooth shave.

Always funny how YMMV works. I am with you on all Personnas and the Lords while Astras don't do it for me at all. The Indian Blacks are supersmooth for me while all of the St. Petersburg blades irritate my skin in various degrees, with the Gillette Super Blueu's as dubious number 1. I do however get good results with many of the Chinese Gillettes (from the Flying Eagle plant in Shanghai).

[ltjaw]

So what is the deal with the current Polsilver Super Iridium blades available?



Aren't these the same as the old SIs? A write up on a respected vendor's website claims that they are. Apparently the "disappearance" of the blades was related to a change in distribution to P&G Poland.

[xillion]

So what is the deal with the current Polsilver Super Iridium blades available?

To me the original SI and the PSI are the same blade in different packaging. But as always with blades YMMV.

I did a PIF a while back where I gave a few of each blade to the winners for comparison.

Results thread and more info below.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...cussion-thread

and

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...m-vs-Polsilver

[ltjaw]

I'm going to use one of these "new" SI blades tomorrow. I already loaded it into my razor, and it looks identical to the old SIs. I am totally buying the change in distribution story and think these are the same.

[crfcom]

There is some conversation that they may not be exactly alike, but I can't tell any difference. Which is a good thing. I have a few hundred of each. You can't go wrong even though they're a little pricey. I get 6-7 shaves from either one, with shave number 6 being indistinguishable from number 1.

[ltjaw]

Well it's true they aren't exactly alike - the packaging is different. I suspect that's where the differences end.

[JCinPA]

Another fan of the 7 O'Clock Blacks! I quit experimenting in favor of bulking up on these.