A very happy new year to all and i’m glad to be back with a review after a couple months of holiday hiatus. As before, each blade will be reviewed based on a 2 pass (plus touch up) shave using a Van Der Hagen long handled razor, Long Rifle 1776 soap and a generic Fento badger brush.
I’ve actually been using a 3 brush rotation for a bit but haven’t really updated this intro. So for foreseeable future, i’ll add that the brushes used for these reviews are the aforementioned Fento badger, an Omega boar and a Yaqui synthetic. I use a different brush each shave so every brush sees at least 2 shaves per brand.
I run through 2 of each blade and use each 4 times; for a total of 8 shaves per brand. I'll be grading based on sharpness, smoothness, longevity and consistency. Price will be a factor but only of it's very cheap or expensive since most DE blades are pretty cheap comparatively.
Up this month is the Gillette Platinum. A big shout out to @Atinofpeas who sent me one to review all the way from Ireland! Now, because it was the one blade instead of my usual two, i was going to make this a mini-review and do a full review later. But, since i slacked so much on my reviews i actually ran through my sampler pack and ordered another which included some Gillette Platinums. By the time i got around to writing this i was actually able to test out two blades and write this up as a full review.
One item to note before we get to the nitty gritty: The blade @Atinofpeas sent me was the “old” style with ink printing. The other blade i used from the sampler has the new laser etching. I’ll state plainly that I did notice a difference in how the blades performed, but i don’t think it was a result of the blades being different. I’ll explain in due course. Anyway, on to the review!
The Gillette Platinum is what i would consider Gillette’s current “flagship” DE blade if such a thing exists. They packaged it with the new Gillette Heritage razor and it’s probably the only one you’re likely to find on store shelves in the US. Blade packaging is simple wax paper with the infamous glue dots indicative of its PPI St.Petersburg factory origins. Yes, this like most other Gillette DE blades is produced in Russia; which is a good or bad thing depending on whether you like Russian blades. As i previously mentioned, the blades used to come printed (pictured) but are now laser etched. The old style had the 1,2,3,4 markings in the corners which are helpful to a blade flipper like myself, but alas, the new ones do not. All in all a pretty simple blade design. With all that out of the way, on to the results!
Starting with sharpness, both blades tested started out mediocre sharp and slightly harsh. I did pick up one or two weepers going atg on my final pass and there was some perceptible tugging. The end result was very good though and i didn’t have much irritation. The second shave saw both blades sharpen up a bit and the results improved as far as the closeness on the first pass. The second shave also seemed to tone down the bit of harshness i felt on the first use.
The third use is where things got a little weird. Both blades seemed to sharpen up but the laser etched sharpened to the point where i got weepers and irritation whereas the printed one actually seemed to become smoother and more comfortable. On the 4th shave the previously harsh laser etched blade toned down and delivered a very good shave while the printed blade seemed to dull a bit more and while comfortable, left some stubble behind.
Smoothness was all over the board with these blades. Both the printed and laser etched versions had their moments when they were enjoyable and smooth and others where they were just straight up harsh. As mixed a bag as i’ve experienced with any blade. The best shave on all blades was the second though.
Consistency was obviously pretty poor. Truthfully it was like shaving with two different blade brands. And as a result, i did something i’ve not done before. I had a third blade (laser etched) and decided to try it and see if perhaps the laser etched blade WAS different from the old printed ones. Surprisingly, the third blade behaved totally different from the previous 2. It seemed to shed sharpness gradually and smooth out with each successive shave. Just very odd and not at all consistent. This led me to believe that the blades haven’t changed; they’re just not consistent. I’ve not been a huge fan of Russian blades in general but consistency has never been an issue with any of them. With these, it was like rolling the dice each shave.
Longevity? Well who knows. The printed blade seemed to be fading slightly on the last shave wheras the laser etched was still plenty sharp at the end of shave 4 and seemed to be just hitting its stride. Hard to say if these would be long lasting or not but neither blade felt “done” by the end of the fourth shave.
Price for these is on the higher end of mid-range at $15.75 per 100 on amazon. Not exactly cheap by DE standards but not expensive either.
As i said before, Russian Gillette’s have never been my favorite but have at least been pretty consistent. The platinum’s were a bizarre mix of everything i hated and liked about previous Russian Gillette’s. One characteristic i just can’t get past though is that when Russian blades are harsh, the are among the most unforgiving blades i’ve tried. Weepers just seem to magically appear and irritation soon follows no matter how light i try to be. The unpredictable nature of the Platinum’s just made the issue worse. I’ve definitely shaved with worse blades but i just can’t see giving these a very high score. Final verdict: 5 out of 10. I think if you like Russian blades there are better ones out there with many of the same characteristics that will give a more reliable experience.
Next up, i’ll be reviewing that perennial Japanese favorite, the blade that needs no introduction....the Feather Hi-Stainless! Until then, happy shaving!
I’ve actually been using a 3 brush rotation for a bit but haven’t really updated this intro. So for foreseeable future, i’ll add that the brushes used for these reviews are the aforementioned Fento badger, an Omega boar and a Yaqui synthetic. I use a different brush each shave so every brush sees at least 2 shaves per brand.
I run through 2 of each blade and use each 4 times; for a total of 8 shaves per brand. I'll be grading based on sharpness, smoothness, longevity and consistency. Price will be a factor but only of it's very cheap or expensive since most DE blades are pretty cheap comparatively.
Up this month is the Gillette Platinum. A big shout out to @Atinofpeas who sent me one to review all the way from Ireland! Now, because it was the one blade instead of my usual two, i was going to make this a mini-review and do a full review later. But, since i slacked so much on my reviews i actually ran through my sampler pack and ordered another which included some Gillette Platinums. By the time i got around to writing this i was actually able to test out two blades and write this up as a full review.
One item to note before we get to the nitty gritty: The blade @Atinofpeas sent me was the “old” style with ink printing. The other blade i used from the sampler has the new laser etching. I’ll state plainly that I did notice a difference in how the blades performed, but i don’t think it was a result of the blades being different. I’ll explain in due course. Anyway, on to the review!
The Gillette Platinum is what i would consider Gillette’s current “flagship” DE blade if such a thing exists. They packaged it with the new Gillette Heritage razor and it’s probably the only one you’re likely to find on store shelves in the US. Blade packaging is simple wax paper with the infamous glue dots indicative of its PPI St.Petersburg factory origins. Yes, this like most other Gillette DE blades is produced in Russia; which is a good or bad thing depending on whether you like Russian blades. As i previously mentioned, the blades used to come printed (pictured) but are now laser etched. The old style had the 1,2,3,4 markings in the corners which are helpful to a blade flipper like myself, but alas, the new ones do not. All in all a pretty simple blade design. With all that out of the way, on to the results!
Starting with sharpness, both blades tested started out mediocre sharp and slightly harsh. I did pick up one or two weepers going atg on my final pass and there was some perceptible tugging. The end result was very good though and i didn’t have much irritation. The second shave saw both blades sharpen up a bit and the results improved as far as the closeness on the first pass. The second shave also seemed to tone down the bit of harshness i felt on the first use.
The third use is where things got a little weird. Both blades seemed to sharpen up but the laser etched sharpened to the point where i got weepers and irritation whereas the printed one actually seemed to become smoother and more comfortable. On the 4th shave the previously harsh laser etched blade toned down and delivered a very good shave while the printed blade seemed to dull a bit more and while comfortable, left some stubble behind.
Smoothness was all over the board with these blades. Both the printed and laser etched versions had their moments when they were enjoyable and smooth and others where they were just straight up harsh. As mixed a bag as i’ve experienced with any blade. The best shave on all blades was the second though.
Consistency was obviously pretty poor. Truthfully it was like shaving with two different blade brands. And as a result, i did something i’ve not done before. I had a third blade (laser etched) and decided to try it and see if perhaps the laser etched blade WAS different from the old printed ones. Surprisingly, the third blade behaved totally different from the previous 2. It seemed to shed sharpness gradually and smooth out with each successive shave. Just very odd and not at all consistent. This led me to believe that the blades haven’t changed; they’re just not consistent. I’ve not been a huge fan of Russian blades in general but consistency has never been an issue with any of them. With these, it was like rolling the dice each shave.
Longevity? Well who knows. The printed blade seemed to be fading slightly on the last shave wheras the laser etched was still plenty sharp at the end of shave 4 and seemed to be just hitting its stride. Hard to say if these would be long lasting or not but neither blade felt “done” by the end of the fourth shave.
Price for these is on the higher end of mid-range at $15.75 per 100 on amazon. Not exactly cheap by DE standards but not expensive either.
As i said before, Russian Gillette’s have never been my favorite but have at least been pretty consistent. The platinum’s were a bizarre mix of everything i hated and liked about previous Russian Gillette’s. One characteristic i just can’t get past though is that when Russian blades are harsh, the are among the most unforgiving blades i’ve tried. Weepers just seem to magically appear and irritation soon follows no matter how light i try to be. The unpredictable nature of the Platinum’s just made the issue worse. I’ve definitely shaved with worse blades but i just can’t see giving these a very high score. Final verdict: 5 out of 10. I think if you like Russian blades there are better ones out there with many of the same characteristics that will give a more reliable experience.
Next up, i’ll be reviewing that perennial Japanese favorite, the blade that needs no introduction....the Feather Hi-Stainless! Until then, happy shaving!
