I'm curious to hear people's theories on why the Swede Gillette blades in particular are sharper than G. blades in other countries?
Swedish Gillette Blades
- Thread starter AmericanPsycho
- Start date
perhaps better quality steel is available locally? or just better quality control and work ethics. Whatever it is, there is no question that it is a better quality blade than their US blades
It can also come down to the particular manufacturing equipment used.
Best source of Swedish Gillettes in this country? (US)
- Thread starter
- #5
Presumably Gillette blades are made all over the US, Asia, Europe but for some reason the Swedish are the best, its just interesting.
Perhaps Swedes just demand more from their DE blades than we do! We are used to cheap cookie cutter crap, so perhaps Gillette gives us their low grade blades because Americans will pay outrageous amounts for so-so products.
dont forget the russian rubie blades, designed to shave skin, not hair,
At least for shaving prosciutto - if nothing else. 
Guys, I was in the local Rite Aid and saw a 10pk of Russian Gillettes.... for the low, low price of........$9.99
With prices like these, I can see why DE shaving went the way of the dinosaurs in mainstream America
With prices like these, I can see why DE shaving went the way of the dinosaurs in mainstream America
I remember, years ago, as a budding young musician, meeting a former percussionist with the NBC Symphony and NY Philharmonic. He showed me much of his equipment, but was the proudest of a small set of orchestra bells. "See that? Hear that tone, the attack and the presence? That's because these are made of Swedish Steel!" He swore by the stuff.
I suspect if the Swiss used Swedish Steel in their army knives, we'd know them as sharp, decent pieces of cutlery, instead of amusing collections of useful tools. I once Drove a piece of Swedish Steel, a Volvo 240. The steel in in was just fine, but I'm not sure the Swedes are 100% "up" on electrical systems!
It would be an interesting study to look at this-- what would make Swedish Steel different than any other...
Randal Made Knives of Orlando FLA used to tout their use of Swedish steel. Now they say their carbon blades are made from 01 tool steel. Not sure if it is from Sweden. They were very proud of their Swedish blades though.
O1 is type of tool steel originally used for making precision drill bits used in CNC macines and other macines used to cut metal, it has a high carbon content, with a very uniform displacement of the carbon crystals. It primarily produced in the USA. It is a superior steel, but it is not as corosion resistant as some other tool steels. It takes a keen edge and it's edge holding capability is exceptional. If I remember the Swedish steel that Randall was using was a Sandvik stainless steel. Sandvik steel company is known for it's quality controls. They put out product that is consistent and with very little impurities. I think this might be the reason that the Swedish blades are better than the American blades. The steel that Gillette receives in Sweden is probably more consistent in it properties than the product received by the American factory.
- Thread starter
- #13
That makes a lot of sense.
What with Gillette's murky manufacturing lines, how do we know that the blades are even manufactured in Sweden? Sure they are distributed from there, maybe even packed, but how do we know that they're pressed, honed and spluttered in Sweden, let alone produced from local steel?
Or have I missed something...
Or have I missed something...
There's ALWAYS one! You're the same kind of guy who will tell me that my Cadillac isn't really an American car, and that Toyotas are made in Ohio or something...KILLJOY!
I remember sitting in a barbershop in Michigan, just minutes from the Oldsmobile Factory in Lansing, during the late 1970's. The local evening news was on, and another "Jap car" had been overturned in the parking lot of the Old's factory. A cheer went up from the clientele. I was a smart-alec college graduate, who pointed out that we were all watching a Panasonic TV, obviously made in Japan.
That was the only time I was ever thrown out of a Barbershop...and several of the clients followed me to my car, a spanking new 78 Ford Fairmont!!! I got in it and drove home.
And I laughed to myself..."Those silly men! This car was made in Windsor, Ontario! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Let's just THINK these blades are made in Sweden, with Swedish Steel-- and that the Swedish Steel is good. This is kinda like the way I still believe Keebler crackers are made by little elves in a hollow tree, that Werther's Originals are made in a tiny little candy shop in a mythical little village by a kindly man, that Wilfred Brimley really DOES eat Quaker Oatmeal, and that my John Deere baseball cap really isn't assembled in Honduras with US components.
Thanks for the illusion.
- Thread starter
- #16
Well, that is an interesting idea. But, the point is that people seem to think that Swedish Gilette blades are sharper (or the sharpest) of all Gil. DE blades. So, if they are not made in Sweden, this could mean either that its simply power of suggestion, i.e. people THINK that the Swedish blades are made of good steel therefore they percieve a good shave. Or that the blades are indeed made somewhere else (say Japan for example) but are still better than the other Gil. blades regardless.
Guys, I was in the local Rite Aid and saw a 10pk of Russian Gillettes.... for the low, low price of........$9.99
With prices like these, I can see why DE shaving went the way of the dinosaurs in mainstream America
I had to buy these blades one time. My GF and I were on vacation in Provincetown, MA and I realized that I hadn't packed any blades for my DE. There was pretty much only one pharmacy in any reasonable distance: a Rite-Aid with Russian Gilettes. It was either those, a pack of Good News disposables, a Mach 3, or my GF's V3nus. I think that I went with the least of the evils, but my face wasn't especially happy. I still use them in my shavette for getting rid of unibrow, but that's really all they're good for.
They are definitely sharper and more importantly smoother then any other blade I have tried. I am not sure now that the packaging has changed if anyone can figure out where they are made...... or even if they are the same. I haven't tried any of the new ones but they were the superior blade IMHO and I hope that they still are.
I'm 99.9999999% sure they're not made in Sweden. The name "Swedish Gillette" came about because the blades in reference came in packages that listed Scandanavian cities as distribution cities. No where has anyone ever been able to determine where they are made. By the way, the new P&G packaging has UK cities listed as distribution cities.
I've sent out a large number of blades with the new packaging and everyone agrees they're the same blade. Additionally, the distributor says they're the same (as can be seen by identical UPC, BIN, etc... codes).
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