Safety Razor Recommendations in India

Hi guys

I have just started DE wet shaving (about a month) and have been learning and experimenting to see what works. Of course, the primary reason to switch was the cost of cartridge shaving and the fact that I could not ever get a close and comfortable shave with it.

I have started with a Gillette Sterling Razor (read that it was a mild razor, so good for a beginner). It came with a pack of 7 O' Clock blacks, which are really good. Sharp and smooth, I get around 4 comfortable shaves from each blade. Of course, being a cheapskate, I am searching for even cheaper blades to try.

Unfortunately, Feather's or other blades are not really available here, and if they are sold, they are too expensive (think more than the cost of a Mach 3 cartridge). So in and around my area the blades I have found have been

1. 7 O'Clock Black Super Platinums (Rs. 10 per blade)
2. 7 O'Clock Green Permasharps (Rs. 4 per blade)
3. Gillette Wilkinson Swords (Rs. 2.4 per blade)
4. Some Local Brand (Can't remember... Maroon and Gold packaging) (Rs. 3 per blade)
5. Vijay/Topaz Platinum Blades (Rs. 2 per blade)

In addition to the 7 O' Clock Blacks, I have tried the Greens and the Wilkinson Swords. I was skeptical about the local brand, and after reading the not-so-favourable reviews of the Vijay and Topaz Blades, am skeptical to try them as well.

My findings:
1. The Permasharps (Green) were not really smooth. I ended up with bumps and some razor burn the two times I tried shaving with them.
2. The Wilkinson Swords were better. Still not as smooth as the 7 O'Clock Blacks, but Pretty decent. I would not mind shaving with them. But the local stores seem to have a limited stock.

Any recommendations of other Indian manufactured blades I can try? I might have to travel a bit more around my city to find them, but that's ok. Or should I give the Permasharps another go? I know my technique is still in its infancy so maybe a bit more practice would make them ok to use?

Mind you, I can use the Blacks for my daily shave and I love them. Just that I would like to find something cheaper.

Hummm there is the Vidyut Super-Max Platinum, Super-Max Sunrise, Super-Max Super Stainless & Super-Max Stainless.

Maxime D. said:

Hummm there is the Vidyut Super-Max Platinum, Super-Max Sunrise, Super-Max Super Stainless & Super-Max Stainless.

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I just checked with my local store. The only Vidyut blades he had were the Super Max Stainless. Are these worth getting. I have read good reviews for the Platinums and Super Stainless variants, not so much for this one.

I have not shaved with the stainless but, from memory, both platinum & Sunrise were good.

I don't like the Vidyut Super-Max Stainless blades - and they don't like me !! Super-Max Super Stainless and Super-Max Blue Diamond are both ok
I found that 7 O'Clock Black were a bit scratchy after the 3rd day, but 7 O'Clock Green were smooth up until buffing on the 4th day
I tossed out a Gillette Wilkinson Sword this morning after 2 bad days in a row - I preferred the Dorco ST300
Vijay Stainless, Topaz Platinum and Laser Ultra were all so-so for me

If you can find them, Centwin Super Platinum and Kleen Shave Premium might be worth a shot


As well as Gillette Wilkinson Sword, the others that I hated were Laser Stainless and worst of all Topaz Stainless - YMMV, but I wouldn't use them to clean a fishtank !!

adamchur said:

I don't like the Vidyut Super-Max Stainless blades - and they don't like me !! Super-Max Super Stainless and Super-Max Blue Diamond are both ok
I found that 7 O'Clock Black were a bit scratchy after the 3rd day, but 7 O'Clock Green were smooth up until buffing on the 4th day
I tossed out a Gillette Wilkinson Sword this morning after 2 bad days in a row - I preferred the Dorco ST300
Vijay Stainless, Topaz Platinum and Laser Ultra were all so-so for me

If you can find them, Centwin Super Platinum and Kleen Shave Premium might be worth a shot

As well as Gillette Wilkinson Sword, the others that I hated were Laser Stainless and worst of all Topaz Stainless - YMMV, but I wouldn't use them to clean a fishtank !!

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Thank you for the information. I could not find the Centwin and Kleen Shave Blades. Will avoid the Laser and Topaz Stainless ones. Will try and find the Super-Max Super Stainless or the Blue Diamonds.

I think I will get back to the 7 O'Clock greens again and try another pack to see if I get better results. Else stick with the Blacks, which agree with me wholeheartedly.

I'm a very big fan of the Gillette Wilkinson Sword

Supermax Platinums are good, but the Gillette Blacks are a particular favorite of mine. I put them in the same class with Silver Blues and Polsilvers.

Tried a new Permasharp Green blade today. Same old results. It could not cope with the first pass WTG and was tugging the hairs at places. Did the second one ok but by then my skin was irritated. Got a few more bumps and some burn. Guess I'll have to go with the Blacks.

My question is, how can a blade like the Permasharp Greens, get a lot of good reviews, but they simply feel bad when I use them (not sharp at all). The blacks are particularly good, I guess in part because they're platinum coated? I think I'll try other platinum coated blades.

@avi5550m

mosey over to www.tryablade.com and run his list by country of manufacutre.

It might be cheap enough to order from him but at least you can do some research on the blades made in India..

$0.02

avi550m said:

Tried a new Permasharp Green blade today. Same old results. It could not cope with the first pass WTG and was tugging the hairs at places. Did the second one ok but by then my skin was irritated. Got a few more bumps and some burn. Guess I'll have to go with the Blacks.

My question is, how can a blade like the Permasharp Greens, get a lot of good reviews, but they simply feel bad when I use them (not sharp at all). The blacks are particularly good, I guess in part because they're platinum coated? I think I'll try other platinum coated blades.

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There is no shortage of blades that feel great in one razor but not in another. You might find you like the greens in a different razor.

The platinum coating is likely a hardness coating used to make the blade last longer. It will normally be coated on top of that with some kind of anti-friction coating, but the labeling of such things is pretty inconsistent...

Javelin said:

There is no shortage of blades that feel great in one razor but not in another. You might find you like the greens in a different razor.

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So I guess I need to try a new razor then . Don't really want to spend $$ on a merkur or something expensive. There is sadly not much choice in the market over here. I used the Sterling because I read that it was similar to a Tech (mild shaver). Other razors are no-name chinese ones, or other clones of the Sterling/Tech head (Laser etc.). There is a feather popular razor which gets good reviews on amazon india and costs around rs. 999 (around $15). But then, instead of buying a new razor in order to use the Greens, I can spend the money on around 120-140 7 O'Clock Blacks, which work very well for me. Decisions... Decisions...

Maybe I should order some blades from abroad. Any suggestions which ones are good. I have read many reviews and I would like the blades to be cheaper than $15 for a 100 (cost of 7 O'Clock Blacks in India). I found these Personna Double Edge Blades on amazon. For $11 per 100 blades, seems like a good gamble to make. Suggestions?

https://www.amazon.com/Personna-Double-Razor-Blades-Count/dp/B0077LAJT2/ref=zg_bs_13271084011_5

The Sterling is a great razor. I have the Rubie version, same thing really. Don't give up on it, but maybe one of those cheap chinese razors has a decent handle.

Amazon has the Astra SP blades, they are cheap and smooth.

Thanks for all the help and information guys. I thought I could order either the Personna Lab Blues or Astra SP's from amazon.com, where they are around $10-11 for a 100. Unfortunately, with shipping and import duty the total cost doubles. So, buying a 100 of these blades would cost me around 40 per cent more than buying the 7 O' Clock Blacks locally. Hope my cousin comes down soon, will ask him to get me a 100 Astra SP's and Lab Blues. That would be the last thing he would expect me to request.

avi550m said:

So I guess I need to try a new razor then . Don't really want to spend $$ on a merkur or something expensive. There is sadly not much choice in the market over here. I used the Sterling because I read that it was similar to a Tech (mild shaver). Other razors are no-name chinese ones, or other clones of the Sterling/Tech head (Laser etc.). There is a feather popular razor which gets good reviews on amazon india and costs around rs. 999 (around $15). But then, instead of buying a new razor in order to use the Greens, I can spend the money on around 120-140 7 O'Clock Blacks, which work very well for me. Decisions... Decisions...

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Haha. Ya, I'm not suggesting you need to go buy a new razor to make the blades work for you, I just wanted to point it out since otherwise some of the reviews just make no sense. You can try a razor blade that just feels awful to you and then see someone else post a glowing review!

Astra's are nice, as are the 7 o'clock yellows and greens that come from Russia. But I agree, its doubtful that the Astra blades are better than the 7 o'clock blacks so I wouldn't pay a premium for them. But if you can get them for $10 for a 100 like you can in the states they are about the best deal around.

Good News! I managed to find a store which sells the 7 O'Clock blacks. They were about a year old stock, but that simply means the prices were lower than they are now . Each pack contains 5 + 2(free), or 7 blades a pack, and cost Rs. 50 each(or 75 cents). Immediately bought all the stock they had. Now have 70 blades. Will still be interested in trying out the Personna Lab Blues and Astra SP's later if I can, but damn happy to find these blades today.

Gillette Wilkinsons work great in the Sterling razor.

Green Permasharps are great blades in some razors but apparently not in the Sterling. Pearl Razor Company(from Gujarat) makes razors for RazoRock, Maggard and many other shops. I would imagine they should be available in India.

play said:

Gillette Wilkinsons work great in the Sterling razor.

Green Permasharps are great blades in some razors but apparently not in the Sterling. Pearl Razor Company(from Gujarat) makes razors for RazoRock, Maggard and many other shops. I would imagine they should be available in India.

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Yes, the Wilkinsons work well in the Sterling. Still not as good as the 7 O'clock Blacks, by then they do cost half as much. Have heard of the Pearl Razors but the reviews online are not great, especially of the tolerances. Apprently the blades do not fit well. They cost around Rs. 500 - 650 online ($7.50 - $10).

Instead of the Pearl Razors, I was thinking of getting a weishi 9306 from aliexpress. With shipping they cost around the same ($ 9 - 12), and they get good reviews. Most likely wont, i'm quite happy with the sterling. Still curious about other razors though...