Razor blade test. Personna Red vs. Astra SP

I thought I would put my two favorite blades to the test side by side



I am using a Slim for both razors tonight set on 5.



Sengoine 1305 brush. RazoRock classic soap and clubman aftershave.



Three pass shave and they are similar. A little less hair on my right side. Is a little better. Think I will open the razor up to my normal setting of 8, as that is my normal setting for the reds. Clubman felt the same on both sides.

Update. I turned both to 8 and did a touchup pass. Near bbs on both sides

These are two that are always a part of my rotation.

I have 100 Reds on wish list. Will finish the GSB tomorrow. List is growing at WCS.

i like the reds as well as the astras,but the astras are a better value IMHO

I found them very comparable blades as well but I tend to find the Astra to be a tad smoother. Price for both is great for the quality of the blades so hard to lose with either.

I have both Personna's & Astra SP's in my inventory. They're close but I prefer my Astra SP blades.

I really prefer Personna Red over Astra. Astra doesn't agree with my face.

Two of my top 5 blades. I think the Reds have given me some of my best shaves to date, but the Astra's give me one more shave.

I am using a Personna Red in my Fatboy (set at 6) right now; very pleased with the performance, but not quite up there with Astra SP, in my usage, of course.

Shave 2 and the razor on the left had issues and it was binned on the touchip for a new blade. Blade on right no issues and very close to a bbs shave

Personna Red works better than Astra SP for me, for my type of skin and beard.

For me, it's Personna Reds over the Astras.

Both are great blades.

For me, it seems that the Astra SP's are marginally sharper, and the Personna Red's are marginally smoother. Regarding cost, the Astra SP's are such a bargain, but if one buys West Coast Shavings "Red Personna Israeli Double Edge Razor Blades - UK Packaging", you'll find the same blade as a significant savings.

The Personna red was actually a part of a dispenser pack, not individual wrap, so I think I damaged the blade when installing in the slim. will retest with a wrapped Personna. Both are in my top two for a reason. The Astra sp will still be the original as it is good, even though it has one full shave on it.

I have a hundred Astra SP blades, so I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with them. But I have some Personna Reds from a sampler pack that I am working my way through. I do like them fine; on shave two, I got an BBS shave with all Don Marco products. Nice shave. But I seem to get only two good shaves with Personna Reds; an Astra SP is always good for 3-4 shaves. I do feel that blades are cheap enough to bin them early. But has anyone else noted a lack of lasting power with Personna Reds?

Shave last night:

Persoona Red (1) vs Astra SP (3).
Soap Ogallalia Sandalwood bay rum
AS Clubman
Sengoine Brush

Shaves were comparable today. I used the alum block between the second and third pass and found I was VERY close to a BBS on my neck, which normally only happens with a cartridge or OC.

I found this soap to be underperforming compared to Arko, RazoRock, and MWF. A month ago I thought it was the best I could use, but the performance could be due to the fact that I have been rotating in tallow soaps more and more as fall is coming. Love the sandalwood soap, It screams FALL to me, and will use for the scent alone until gone.

Astra SP cannot be beat for the price for quality and performance. The Reds are a little smoother to me. Both blades that I enjoy using.

I do have a little more stubble on the Personna side 14 hrs after the shave, but it is not noticeable by anyone else but me.

Vespasian said:

I have a hundred Astra SP blades, so I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with them. But I have some Personna Reds from a sampler pack that I am working my way through. I do like them fine; on shave two, I got an BBS shave with all Don Marco products. Nice shave. But I seem to get only two good shaves with Personna Reds; an Astra SP is always good for 3-4 shaves. I do feel that blades are cheap enough to bin them early. But has anyone else noted a lack of lasting power with Personna Reds?

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Yes, I have noticed them to be a short-lived blade as well. I find Astra to give me about twice as many shaves.

Where does everyone get their Reds from? After months of samplers the Reds have risen to the top as the best blade for me and I am close (after the GroM - September) to ordering some in bulk. Canadian or cheap shipping to Canada is best for me

dabrock said:

Yes, I have noticed them to be a short-lived blade as well. I find Astra to give me about twice as many shaves.

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Astras give me about one shave per blade, because each time I try one, I cannot stand how rough they are.

Red Personnas give me 6 or 7 shaves per blade, on average. They are super smooth after the first shave, and stay like that for a long time.

Do the math.

YMMV!

As you say YMMV, my math is Reds get 3 or 4 while Astra get 6 to 10. I just don't find reds to have the smoothness beyond a few shaves.