1000 Blade pack question

R

ReaperKit

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11
Location
Stirling, Scotland
Hi everyone :)

I have a question regarding bulk blade purchase. Fiona and I have worked our way through a reasonable selection of blades - and on the whole I have to say I found most to be fine, except some horribly cheap ones we found in a small shop that are scary! (Supermax Super Stainless).

Anyway - we started looking at larger packs to bring the cost down. Gradually you go from 100 blades, to 400 to 800 to 1000. In this particular case we are talking about Astra Superior Platinum blades, but I am guessing my actual question is valid regardless of your blade preference.

The question is - we are talking here about purchasing approximately a decades worth of razor blades (for 1000). My concern is largely storage and / or deterioration. Do people here suggest its a wise plan, or does it make more sense to get, say, 100? Obviously we would try and keep them dry and away from obvious harm, but if just "being in a house" would gradually harm them, its hard to prevent!

Thoughts?

Kit
 
Hello, Good Morning and Welcome to the forum. It's traditional to give us a wee introduction to yourself in the Welcome section :icon_razz:

As for blade storage, you'll be wanting a hermetically sealed temperature controlled vacuum vault - or just somewhere cool and not humid.
 
I also have about a hundred or so Gillettes in my bathroom cabinet, in the short term I don't really think it through that much when it's only that many. I've not found a damaged one yet, they seem pretty hardy things really, I've come across a lot of blades from the 50s and 60s and not really seen any rusty ones; Some of the members here (including the crazy yank) actively love shaving with old blades of 40, 50 and more years vintage.

Longer term, and if I had a thousand I'd probably keep the other 900 in the bedroom in a drawer or a wardrobe, more for storage space than for any other reason but yeah I'd imagine they're ideal conditions and they'll still be perfect in ten years.
 
I have about 10000 DE blades, and keep hem in a closet at work. Cool, dry and not humid. Works well. Among them a lot of nos blades like Gillette Blues,they keep well too. So i would say you could keep them for a decade or so.
 
I have 3000 blades of various kinds. No issues with rusting in my bathroom cabinet, not even pre stainless steel ones. Maybe those types might rust if it gets exceptionally humid for extended periods but the only corroded blades I ever used are 80 years plus. They corroded in their papers
 
Does it really make sense to buy 1000 blades, though. How much do you save per blade compared to,say, 100? Could you make more interest in an ISA or term bond than you save by bulk buying blades? Will you still like these blades in two, five, seven, ten years - or will you be heartily fed-up with them? What supa-dupa new blade will be developed in the next five years?

I so agree about those Supermax SS! Mine came as a freebie with a Parker razor - a blade with snags on the edge in a razor designed for taking tarmac off the road in 3mm cuts. Binned the blades; JE head on the handle and it's a favourite.
 
Most I have ever bought in one go is 30. I suspect this is really because I have only been using them for 6 months, so in the early days it's mainly been about buying small to try blades, rather than bulking up to save money (either way, it's far, far cheaper than the cartridges I was using before).

I imagine now I have pretty much settled on 3-4 blade types I like, I may well invest in bulk once I run down my stocks, but I doubt I'd ever see it necessary to buy 1000. 50-100 would be the absolute max (probably 50)
 
If you're considering these, 1000 for £60:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000-ASTRA-PLATINUM-DOUBLE-EDGE-BLADE-SPECIAL-OFFER-/190631903182?pt=UK_Health_HairRemoval_RL&hash=item2c628bffce

Be careful. The seller is in Turkey, outside of the EU, you will be liable to VAT and customs charges which can make it more expensive than buying 10 lots of 100 from the same seller at £7.75 (providing he posts them all seperately rather than in the same box):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-ASTRA-DOUBLE-EDGE-SAFETY-RAZOR-BLADES-CHEAPEST-/190631903566?pt=UK_Health_HairRemoval_RL&hash=item2c628c014e

Storage, they'll be fine, stick them in the back of a cupboard. Just get a tupperware box with a rubber seal if you're worried.

Toodles
 
TBH this hobbie is not about saving money, initially I decided to go DE because cartridges were getting ridiculously expensive. However, since starting DE, I've definitely spent far more in a year than I would have sticking to cartridges for the next 10.

I don't really care because shaving has become an experience I look forward to and not the chore it was. and I really enjoy the different soaps, nanny's, cella, arko, different blades and razors.

I have 300 or more blades, but the fun is in trying different blades, soaps and razors.

I bought 100 perma sharp blades because I loved them, smooth sharp and good longevity. However I then tried some Gillette thins which were better following which I was piffed some Gillette platinum which are better still.

The point I'm getting to is there's always going to be a better blade so investing in 100 maybe too many let alone 1000.
 
Garbe said:
TBH this hobbie is not about saving money, initially I decided to go DE because cartridges were getting ridiculously expensive. However, since starting DE, I've definitely spent far more in a year than I would have sticking to cartridges for the next 10.
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Exactly the same. Although I do feel the spending will now start to subside. I bought about 20-25 creams or soaps within the first 3-4 months, but have now pretty much satisfied myself with using what I have. There are still a few I want to try, but I realise now I was silly to rush it all in when there are still years ahead to look for different stuff.

I don't really care because shaving has become an experience I look forward to and not the chore it was. and I really enjoy the different soaps, nanny's, cella, arko, different blades and razors.
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Agree in principle, not so much on the soaps listed here, but in general the point holds up. I love my shaves now.

I have 300 or more blades, but the fun is in trying different blades, soaps and razors.

I bought 100 perma sharp blades because I loved them, smooth sharp and good longevity. However I then tried some Gillette thins which were better following which I was piffed some Gillette platinum which are better still.
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I haven't got quite as many as that and while there is still fun in trying new stuff, as stated above, I don't feel the need to rush. I'm quite happy with what I have now, but I'm certain I will add to the stash - just a bit more slowly than the last 6 months.

The point I'm getting to is there's always going to be a better blade so investing in 100 maybe too many let alone 1000.
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I'm not sure to what extent I agree with this. I'm now at the point where I get amazing shaves with the few blade types I have highlighted as favourites. I'm not sure how much better a shave can get, can a BBS be that much better than a DFS? I suppose by definition, then yes it can, but is the differential that much that it's worth continuing what may be a fruitless search for a better combo?
 
Bechet45 said:
Does it really make sense to buy 1000 blades, though.
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Shipwrecked said:
IMP I can't see the point of hoarding, I buy 100 at a time.
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Suppose you're using "blade X" and getting low you go to buy more and find they're either no longer available or they relocated production to somewhere else and totally changed the blade - after you spent 3 years finding "the" blade or blades that suit you... This production cease or relocation happened to me at least 6 times in as many months. Certainly wasn't happening the 7th.

Garbe said:
I bought 100 perma sharp blades because I loved them, smooth sharp and good longevity. However I then tried some Gillette thins which were better following which I was piffed some Gillette platinum which are better still.

The point I'm getting to is there's always going to be a better blade so investing in 100 maybe too many let alone 1000.
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That's why (once you're consistent in your approach) you run through as many different types of blades as you can... to see what works best for you.

What you choose to do with the info from that is up to you... personally I chose to invest a modest sum in a stash of blades that'll keep me going until I check out (or alternatively I'll be so old that I won't care about shaving) so when you fellas that "don't see the point" are back to shaving with rusty coke cans from China with little/no QC because there's nothing else (or you're paying £silly per blade for the vintage stuff) - I'll still be shaving with a selection of blades that I like with no carping that "Blade X" (or Y or Z) is no longer made or costs a bomb or is prone to counterfeiting because of the high price it commands.

For those thinking "he's talking BS":

UK Wilkinson Sword - were available in retail stores as little as 18 months ago - GONE (factory closed in 1999 so it was a fairly long tail) - left the German ones which are ok in an emergency in comparison.
Gillette Bleue Extra - Production relocated from Berlin to Lodz, Poland and on to St. Petersburg, Russia - still on the market, but it is no longer the same blade and not for the better.
Gillette Platinum (the erroneously named "Swede") - same as Bleue Extra
Nacet - similar story
Tiger (Czech blade) - similar story
Polsilver - they vanished off the face of the earth for ages - suddenly came back at a premium price - production move to St. Petersburg
Iridium - like Polsilvers - but also some particularly poor counterfeits (made by 'Boctor & Hamble' if I recall correctly) appeared...

Those are the ones I remember instantly... no doubt there have been others and will be more as time passes.
 
joe mcclaine said:
If I knew then, what I know now.

Could have made an absolute fortune. Fortune, I tells yer.
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<Sob, sob> tell me about it - I spent 3 months in the Gillette factory in Lodz just before they relocated production of the DE blades to St Petersburg... (that was about 18 months before I found out I'd been shaving wrong for 20+ years) and there were thousands of cartons of Gillette Platinums about & available cheaply for sale in the staff shop :icon_sad:

Cartons being the boxes in which the boxes of carded blades were shipped... I think it was something like 24 boxes per carton, 100 blades per box...
 
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