Best and Worst DE Blade

Even the French couldn’t hang on to their razor blade factories. Although when Gillette closed the factory in Annecy and moved production to Russia there were big protests and a diplomatic row. I think Gillette made a promise they would maintain branding, quality and prices. Which is why until recently you could still buy Bleue Extras and Super Silvers in any French supermarket. Whereas when the market for DE razor blades began to pick up in the UK Gillette actually stopped selling Gillette Platinums (Swedes) here.
 
Best:
Gillette 7o'clock black,
Gillette winner platinum
Voskhod

Worst:
Qshave (managed a 3 pass shave but it was starting to struggle with ATG)
Merkur (didn't even last one pass for me - terribly tugging even atg)


Still got plenty of blades to try! there's been few other good ones and bad ones too, but these definitely stood out for me.
 
I honestly believe that once a shaver gets their technique & prep down pat as well as settles on a few select DE razors then there is relatively very little noticeable difference among the top tier blades. It becomes more of a case of "magician over the wand".
 
I honestly believe that once a shaver gets their technique & prep down pat as well as settles on a few select DE razors then there is relatively very little noticeable difference among the top tier blades. It becomes more of a case of "magician over the wand".

I know what you mean but everyone has their own view on the "top tier blades". Fo instance I think Derby Extra is a very good blade but I know many will diasgree.
 
No, there aren’t any English made blades now. The Wilkinson Sword factory in Cramlington in Northumberland was the last one. I think they kept going until the 1990s then they shifted manufacturing to Germany.
You could still buy English made Wilkinson Swords in corner shop Chemists until maybe ten years ago? Then they were replaced with German made ones. There was a tiny difference in packaging but a massive difference in quality.
It’s a mystery why the the countries who always made the best blades - England, USA, France, for instance - don’t make them any more while some of the countries who made the very worst - Germany for instance - still make them.

Testing at the Wilkinson Sword Factory at Cramlington:

gettyimages-873995748-1024x1024.jpg

Every day at the factory of the Wilkinson Sword Company in Cramlington, outside Newcastle, 270 men who make the razor blades shave on duty as part of the production. From the many used blades a number are taken for examination in the laboratory. This is not all. A study is made when someone complains about a poor shave. Here the physiological background is studied. Sometimes the man is not feeling well, other times he might have been having a few late nights, or even a row with his wife. All these things add up to skin condition and whether they get a good shave or not, our picture Shows: Nearest the camera George Moffatt, next Robert Martin, Gordon Watson and Frank McAlroy. 6th March 1967. (Photo by Freddie Reed/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
 
Even the French couldn’t hang on to their razor blade factories. Although when Gillette closed the factory in Annecy and moved production to Russia there were big protests and a diplomatic row. I think Gillette made a promise they would maintain branding, quality and prices. Which is why until recently you could still buy Bleue Extras and Super Silvers in any French supermarket. Whereas when the market for DE razor blades began to pick up in the UK Gillette actually stopped selling Gillette Platinums (Swedes) here.
Please forgive me for my geeky interest in our lost razor blade factories (also if it's irrelevant to this thread, though for me NOS blades are my favourites) and especially as I'm a newbie, but from the LA Times:

Gillette Plant Issue : U.S.-French Ties Take on a Hard Edge​

By RONE TEMPEST
NOV. 29, 1988 12 AM PT
TIMES STAFF WRITER
ANNECY, France —
When the 400 workers of the Gillette razor blade factory in this picturesque lakeside city heard rumors early this fall that their American parent corporation planned to close the plant, they launched an energetic counterattack.
They dipped into union funds to take out full-page advertisements in Paris newspapers charging that Gillette planned to “shave” France of an important employer. They staged a highly publicized “reverse strike” in which they posed before television cameras toiling “harder, longer and better” than ever before.
Finally, on the eve of a crucial meeting between Gillette management and the French minister for industry in Paris, four plant workers climbed to the summit of nearby 15,771-foot Mt. Blanc, Western Europe’s highest peak, to unfurl a banner protesting any closing of the plant. Television crews filmed the event from hovering helicopters.
gillette annecy closure.jpg
Didn't stop Gillette moving production to Russia though. And although the best Russian made blades are very good I don't think they're as good as the blades once made in Annecy?
 
Best:

Gillette Platinum
Gillette 7 Black
Personna Lab Blue
Gillette Swedes

Worst:

Derby
Astra Green
Gillette 7 Yellow
Lord Anything

I used this razor and that, vintage stuff and modern stainless but always come back to my trusty Merkur 34c as it just works effortlessly and this razor is what my blade choices are based upon.
 
Corps. have but one purpose: to make money for their shareholders. They aren't running a Catholic charity. Unfortunately, the cruel reality of mercantilism is a double edged sword as what's good for profits isn't necessarily good for the 1st World as relates to jobs as those were exported abroad as we all know all too well. This is the downside to having cheap Third World production. We made our bed. We have met the enemy and he is the man in the mirror.
 
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Testing at the Wilkinson Sword Factory at Cramlington:

View attachment 68906

Every day at the factory of the Wilkinson Sword Company in Cramlington, outside Newcastle, 270 men who make the razor blades shave on duty as part of the production. From the many used blades a number are taken for examination in the laboratory. This is not all. A study is made when someone complains about a poor shave. Here the physiological background is studied. Sometimes the man is not feeling well, other times he might have been having a few late nights, or even a row with his wife. All these things add up to skin condition and whether they get a good shave or not, our picture Shows: Nearest the camera George Moffatt, next Robert Martin, Gordon Watson and Frank McAlroy. 6th March 1967. (Photo by Freddie Reed/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
That is fascinating, and what a brilliant way to do your r and d!
 
I know it varies for everyone and that's what I find interesting, that one person can find a blade to be the best thing since Sliced Bread and another think the same blade is truly Woeful.

Just for fun what are your 1,2 or 3 Worst ever blades and the 1,2 or 3 you love the most.

For Me

Worst:

Shark Super Chrome
Lord Platinum
Gillette Wilkinson Sword


Best:

Gillette Sharp Edge
Gillette Nacet
Kai Stainless
Awesome idea, nice to read through other people's lists as well.

Best
- gillette nacet
- gillette 7 o'clock super stainless green
- gillette wilkinson sword saloon pack (I think they're the Indian ones, not Chinese.

Worst
- feathers (mostly because of my terrible technique I expect, they feel like my everest)
- shark super chrome
- Derby

The last 2 I feel like I have to do far too much to get anywhere near close and end up with some irritation.
 
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