How Much for Your Favorite Blade?

I have no problem paying $0.60/blade for some of the vintage blades I use. For modern production blades, I would pay in the $25-35 range for 100.

THIS --> "I guess the reason I asked is that the classic vintage blades that we admire would cost about $5 to $7 per pack adjusted for inflation. Furthermore it ignores the rise in average family income. Which means realistically, a five pack of Spoilers would sell for about $10 or more today if we took income changes into account and kept relative prices the same."

So far, I have only made one bulk purchase of Dorco-St 300. 100 of them were a little less then $8, and they have been good with me so far.
Other blades have cost somewhere between $1.39 to $2.49 for 5 or 6 depending on the brand. Of my favorites, the Rapira Plutinum Lux where $1.39 for 5, so a little more then $0.25 a blade, the Gillette Super Thins where $1.79 for 6 so $0.30 a blade.

The only vintage blades I would really pay extra for are Tungsten family Personnas... my experience with other vintage blades hasn't really impressed me, some are good, others are very good, but none has exceeded the performance of my top ten picks in modern blades and with a fresh pack of current production blades, you really don't have to wonder if they have corroded, are stuck together, or have failed coatings.

I think the fact that YMMV really does sum up the differences between blades has a lot to do with some peoples unwillingness to pay more for blades and others willingness to pay a large amount more... If I had to name my overall favorite modern blade right now it would be a $10/100 count Pakistani blade, at least for me a premium priced blade like a Bolzano or PolSilver doesn't even perform as well as the Dura-Sharp, let alone justify a higher price! Then there are folks who can only get acceptable shaves from brands that cost more, for them paying six times as much per hundred is the better bargain and they have to adjust their outlook on blade prices accordingly.

But in terms of what I would pay to keep shaving with a DE razor as opposed to disposables (Bic single blades excepted!), electrics or multi-blade cartridges, that's a different story and is why I would willingly pay $30 to $80 per 100 for DE blades (or more for injectors if it came to that). When a cartridge that costs $3 (on average) lasts about 5 moderately acceptable shaves, that works out to 60 cents a shave... to equal that price per shave with a DE blade that gives 3 *excellent* shaves per blade you would have to be paying $120 per 100 count. Frankly, I like the economy of DE shaving a lot, but the real reason I do it isn't the price, but the fact that I get much better shaves than I ever got with cartridges! I might not be happy about it, but if DE blades were as expensive as carts, I'd still buy the DE blades over the multi-blade cartridges even at an extortionate 60 cents a shave price.

coase said:

Given that this is already a forum for shaving mavens, this makes clear why there's so little done to greatly improve modern blades. In fact, given their low cost, the best blades today are amazingly good. If even the few thousand most dedicated shavers won't routinely pay over $40 per 100, that pretty much explains why we don't have Super Spoilers today.

Click to expand...

Another reason I've valued DE blades as I have: cartridges. Unlike some folks who've developed a real hatred for them, I can still use a nice soap with a Fusion and get a great shave. I can also get nearly a month out of a $3 Fusion cart. So once I hit a certain price point, I might as well just use the cart razor.

frstplce said:

I've paid $0.30-0.40 each for well known vintage blades such as Spoilers and Plus Platinums.

But for a modern blade to go out of production, I probably wouldn't exceed $25 per 100. Beyond that, I'd return to seeking out vintage blades.

Click to expand...

yeah, $30/100 for current production blades like Polsilvers or Perma-sharps which I usually get 5 or 6 nice shaves from. $60/100 for vintage blades like Gillette Super Stainless, Gillette stainless or Gillette platinum plus but only because the vintage Gillette blades hold an edge much longer so usually last 12+ smooth, sharp shaves for me. I will always have some vintage blades in my stocks. They don't make them like they used to and plus the vintage blade dispensers are pretty cool.

I simply wouldn't go back to cartridges so I would pay what they were going for, or grow a beard.

Astra SPs, around $19 for 200.

coase said:

Let us say your favorite blade (it could be modern or vintage) were to go out of production but that enough of a stock would remain so that you were guaranteed at least 100 of the blades a year for the next few decades. What's the most you would pay per hundred and which blade would it be? And no stockpiling for resale -- just your own use.

Click to expand...

I have enough of my favorite blades (not just one brand) for the rest of my life, hence I would pay nothing for additional blades: 0.00$ / 100
And no, I don't need 100 blades per year, but yes, given my blade stash I could can get way over 100 years old.

I'd pay $20 or so for Gillette Silver Blues. If they went away tomorrow, no crying, just move on to another brand.

I like these, but I feel that me and most guys here could not tell brand X from brand Y if the maker's graphics were removed.

While my favorite blades are the premium-priced Polsilver and Feather, I also like the budget-priced Treet DuraSharp and Voskhod. I am inclined to say that if the shaving gods raised the price of all blades, I would switch to one of the budget blades. I would not pay up for the Polsilver or Feather.

Probably around 2 Billion dollars and 50 more years. I need a time machine to go back and buy all the Boots blades from England.

or something more realistic.....I really like the Gillette Wilkinson Sword from India. Which are around 10-15 bucks for 100 on the bay.

i currently have enough to last me 10 years the way i shave now i use the blade once if that were to happen id be forced to use them at least 2 times but i wouldn't wanna spend more than 20 dollars for 100 persona labs or crystals