Sputnik Blades

I remember reading something that the Voskhod blades were just Sputniks re branded or vice versa. The Sputniks are in my top two de blades along with the Gillette Silver Blue blade. The only two blades I have bought a 100 pack of each since starting out............all right I bought 100 Derby's many moons ago but let's not get into that , we all do that.
 
1morepasswill said:
I remember reading something that the Voskhod blades were just Sputniks re branded or vice versa. The Sputniks are in my top two de blades along with the Gillette Silver Blue blade. The only two blades I have bought a 100 pack of each since starting out............all right I bought 100 Derby's many moons ago but let's not get into that , we all do that.
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blame it on the alcohol :)
 
It's good news normal service has been resumed with the supply of Sputniks. They were the second DE blade I tried and have been a firm favourite ever since

As far as I can tell, Sputniks are sharper than Vokshods, but equally smooth. Both have a Teflon type coating. I suspect the same sheet steel for both, just a different grind
 
Well , in saying that I did plump for the Sputniks over the Voskhods after trying both so I must have felt a disparity between them. Some people feel the first shave can sometimes be a bit harsh and have sited the teflon coating as the reason. I have felt a harsh initial shave with the Sputnik so when starting a new blade I just strop the edge a few times on my denims or palm.
 
1morepasswill said:
...I have felt a harsh initial shave with the Sputnik so when starting a new blade I just strop the edge a few times on my denims or palm.
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Don't do that as you'll remove the coating which gives the smoothness. It was most likely either your prep or just sub-par soap/cream IMO. Sometimes we all get in a hurry.
 
Bogeyman said:
Don't do that as you'll remove the coating which gives the smoothness. It was most likely either your prep or just sub-par soap/cream IMO. Sometimes we all get in a hurry.
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It works for me. My prep is fine and my gear is well.......the best of gear. It's definitely one of those YMMV things. I'm talking a few strokes on a soft smooth surface like the palm of your hand to smoothen what must be coating roughness on some of them that's all.
 
Yet to try them but I bought 50 of these from gemstone for a fiver plus postage. I have got on well with the Voskhods before so it's good to see that these should compare favourably. Will give some a try this week and report back.
 
I've given them a few tries so far. The first one didn't go at well; I think it was a duff blade. Loads of razor burn and hardly any cutting. This was in a Gillette Rocket HD & a brief try in a Slim in case it was a matter of not suiting the razor.

I've ditched the duff blade and tried again in the Slim a couple of times set on 7 WTG and 5 ATG with some touch ups which have worked well. Too early to say if I'd buy again but it's looking promising.
 
I've been using Sputniks on and off for a just over a week. Smooth from the first to the last shave, but they do seem to die suddenly and go totally blunt from starting out reasonably sharp. I think I prefer Voskhods, and even Rapiras (can't remember which specific Rapiras I've tried offhand, I'll have to check my 'filing system').

Will revisit Sputniks in the future. Will have to, I have 50 of them :D
 
LittleAl said:
...(can't remember which specific Rapiras I've tried offhand, I'll have to check my 'filing system')...
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They are all the same with only different names except for the Lux say many. I would tend to agree as I have tried all and they are IMO a mediocre blade at best. Since it's an entirely Russkie owned & operated outfit without any First World tech input that's what you get.
 
I'll take a Russian smooth blade over almost any other one. Voshkod, Ladas, Rapira. All good smooth blades in my book. The only one's I can use and get a DFS or BBS depending on the day without a face and neck on fire. I got 100 Voshkods and 100 Ladas delivered from Russia for less than £7.00. I cannot think of better value in any blade. For me a more aggressive razor/smooth blade combo beats a sharp blade/mild razor any day. But as always YMMV.
 
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