I had a faulty brand new blade today!

[mr00jimbo]

So I put in a brand new Swedish Gillette, the last of a 5-pack I had. So I pop it into the razor, lather up out of the shower with my T&H cream, and go to shave. I start with my cheeks. Tug...OW! Tug...Ow! What the hell gives? This thing was pulling soo badly!
This was a new T&H cream I was using. I usually use T&H Ultimate Comfort. So I thought "Damn this cream sucks!!!" and used my T&G UC. Still tugged. I was so confused. Brand new blade.

So I opened up a new pack of the same blades, and they shaved very smoothly with both creams. Huh. Turns out that blade was just painfully, painfully dull for some odd reason, despite the fact that it was brand new. What gives?
Haha

Nothing wrong with th new T&H cream, the blade was messed. It was in an HD Slant Merkur. Ah well.

[DunEdinRanger]

Are you sure it was the blade? I had a similar problem a few months ago, and only afterwards learned that I had not properly aligned the blade. The long (horizontal) edges of the blade were not parallel to the top of the razor, and were also not evenly aligned - that is one side was more exposed than the other. Is that a possibility of what may have occurred with you?

[RayH]

Are you sure it was the blade? I had a similar problem a few months ago, and only afterwards learned that I had not properly aligned the blade. The long (horizontal) edges of the blade were not parallel to the top of the razor, and were also not evenly aligned - that is one side was more exposed than the other. Is that a possibility of what may have occurred with you?

That could be the problem, and he could try it again in another razor but from a machining standpoint, it could just be a bad blade that slipped through QC. Machining process varies from machine to machine. The person on the machine (how he's feeling, if he's had a bad day) to the stock being used to manufacture the blades. Or it could even be that it wasn't coated properly.

[mr00jimbo]

Are you sure it was the blade? I had a similar problem a few months ago, and only afterwards learned that I had not properly aligned the blade. The long (horizontal) edges of the blade were not parallel to the top of the razor, and were also not evenly aligned - that is one side was more exposed than the other. Is that a possibility of what may have occurred with you?

Hmmm, it looked to be the same as every other blade. I've used close to 3 dozen Swedish gillettes and i've never had this problem. Everything looked where it should be though, and just quickly popping in the new blade made it all go away.

[RoyalKooparillo]

Yeah, I've noticed this phenomenon before too...With some brands it's worse than others. Derbys have been particularly inconsistent for me. On the other hand, I've never had a problem with Feathers.

They're so inexpensive, I don't worry about it. As soon as it starts tugging, away it goes!

[OldSaw]

I occasionally toss a new blade that just doesn't cut it. For what I pay for them I am not too worried about a bad one here and there.