Swedes smell funky

No, I don´t mean the people. I hang out with swedes on a daily basis, and the standards of personal hygiene are probably higher than most countries.

I´ve been going through my blade sampler trying to find an equal for my Feathers. The Derbys were good but not exceptional, the Crystals were crap etc. The Gilettes however were very good, in fact perhaps even better than Feathers. I got a four great shaves off the first one. I did however notice that the blade left a rather unpleasant metallic scent om my face, and I noticed the same thing again when I was loading my slant after giving it a good scrubbing.

I haven´t noticed this with other blades. Is it just me or do swedes smell funky?

It may be the oil coating on the blades. It doesn't bother me and it doesn't leave any scent on my face.

French made Gillette bleue extras have the same problem. Good blade, smell ruins the scent of your soap/cream

I noticed the same thing last night when I tried out a Swede, it took me a while to figure out what was causing the odd smell but now I know what it is I may well steer clear of the blades despite their excellent performance.

My sense of smell isn't great b/c I have a cold, however, I can pick up a faint hint of the oily smell. Just tried out one of these blades and it seems very good. Unfortunately, the blade came out of the little box slightly warped and I ended up nicking myself once during the shave. Has anyone else had this problem? I hope the other 9 blades I have aren't warped like that.

While we're on this topic, who has the best price on these blades if I decide to order a large quantity? Also, are there any other blades that perform similarly? I have some Gillette Russian 7'Oclock greens, KAIs, and Chromas on the way.

Same smell have also my russian Gillette Platinums.

The Gillette Super Silver blades they sell over here in Holland suffer from the same problem.

Stauff said:

French made Gillette bleue extras have the same problem. Good blade, smell ruins the scent of your soap/cream

Click to expand...

There's not been a Gillette DE razor blade factory anywhere in Western Europe for at least 10 years...

SepticTank said:

There's not been a Gillette DE razor blade factory anywhere in Western Europe for at least 10 years...

Click to expand...

OK, then it's french distribution only. Don't know where they're made...

One of the quirks that I love about what we do is the strange things that we wind up saying that would have "outsiders" raising their eyebrows:

Swedes smell strange

Feathers are deadly sharp

etc.

ateace said:

One of the quirks that I love about what we do is the strange things that we wind up saying that would have "outsiders" raising their eyebrows:

Swedes smell strange

Feathers are deadly sharp

etc.

Click to expand...

Oh trust me, anything we say would raise eye brows. Anytime I mention to my friends how particular I am about my shaving routine they look at me as though I just told them I have some very disturbing fetish, or as if I just told them that I'm storing a body in my fridge. I think most guys think caring about ANYTHING is weird

I have always wondered if Gillettes DE blades with the oil coating was a cost saving procedure. Does it cost more to individually wrap each blade with paper?

This thread reminded me that I have a pack and I have never tried them. I handed one to my wife and asked her if it stunk (she's my nose, since mine doesn't smell). She backed away from it and declared (delicately paraphrased here) that it did, in fact, have a less-than-appealing aroma and that I should reconsider the idea of putting it anywhere near my face.
Nice blades, though. I like!

I have not noticed anything since the lather smell overpowers it. I did notice the swedes I have were very greasy like someone sprayed WD-40 all over them.

I also noticed this on the derbys, do those smell too? ~

I use the Gillette Platinums on a regular basis and think they are a great blade.

You'll notice that most blades are usually wrapped when you take them out of their container or package. The Gillettes on the other hand are not and have a special oil coating instead. This is the metallic smell that you are talking about.

To be honest I cant smell it at all unless I put the blade directly under my nose. Those saying that it interferes with the scent of their shaving soap / cream must have an unbelievably good sense of smell.

Maybe I´ve got an unusually putrid pack of blades, because there´s nothing discrete about the odor on mine. Not only does it overpower my most potent smelling creams, it leaves a residue of stench on my face even after a good rinse and an ASB. I can smell it several hours later.

I´ll try another pack, because I really like the blades. Although considering the cost, I won´t be putting up with a foul odor as well.

I haven´t noticed any discernable scent from Derbys.

Tried giving the blades a dip in something like isopropyl alcohol? That ought to substantially remove the oil

SepticTank said:

Tried giving the blades a dip in something like isopropyl alcohol? That ought to substantially remove the oil

Click to expand...

That might. A quick swish in dish soap would knock the oil off, too, I'd think.