Bic Astor

Bogeyman

Bogeyman

Messages
7,403
As there hasn't been a thread on these in just shy of five years I thought perhaps now might be a good time to mention this controversial blade. By controversial I mean in two ways. First, it has been mentioned on another forum by a Greek poster that the Bic Astor is merely the Bic Chrome Platinum under a different name for sales internally in Greece where they are made. Some agree & others disagree with this. Secondly, there is probably no greater rift among users as to the shave quality of this blade. It is either love or hate and rarely any gray area. I openly admit that when I first tried both years ago I hated, no despised, these blades! Rougher than a cob I thoughtI Well, as we say on the shooting range more often than not the "problem" is with the "adjustable nut behind the butt (of the firearm)", i.e., operator error. ;)

In a nutshell, I was "green" as grass when I first tried one and had not established good technique nor prep. Years later I decided to retry some blades I had dismissed earlier and to my surprise some were spectacular!! This one was among those. I get Gillette quality shaves from this blade and they are indeed very economically priced. The only caveat I might add is that this blade may be a tad razor specific. I have no idea how they work in very aggressive razors. Try one........if you think you're ready (y)
 
not tried it yet but got it in my sampler pack, i remember someone on another forum posting that they werent no good but that opinion will change from person to person
 
I have some Bic Astor that I will be using in the coming days. On the official website of the historic French company Bic, it can be seen that Astor blades have been produced in Greece since 1952.

 
lozioditalia said:
I have some Bic Astor that I will be using in the coming days. On the official website of the historic French company Bic, it can be seen that Astor blades have been produced in Greece since 1952.

Click to expand...

Found some pics of some vintage ones.


I think these were made before partnership with Bic
1775233612167.png
1775233632070.png

1775233898837.png

1775234044684.png
1775234070738.png
1775234130510.png



This one is with Bic
1775233770072.png


I tried the Astors something like 10 years ago, a good blade as I recall.
 
I have a 5-pack here and also a 100-pack on the way that was reduced slightly, so will get to know them in next few weeks.

'A stór' is a term of endearment in the Irish language but name of these blades seems to be derived from :

"Astor is a surname and given name of Occitan (Old French) origin, meaning "goshawk" or "hawk". It traditionally symbolizes strength, keen eyesight, and is associated with the historically wealthy and influential Astor family. It is sometimes associated with a thunder god in Icelandic origins."
 
tyrano said:
Found some pics of some vintage ones.


I think these were made before partnership with Bic
View attachment 146723
View attachment 146724

View attachment 146726

View attachment 146727
View attachment 146728
View attachment 146729



This one is with Bic
View attachment 146725


I tried the Astors something like 10 years ago, a good blade as I recall.
Click to expand...
The Astor Special and Astor Super Silver may well date from the 1980s or 1990s, so the partnership with Bic had already been in place since at least the mid-1970s. The joint venture between Bic and Violex was established in 1974 and the following year, in 1975, the first disposable razor was launched. It was exactly 50 years ago last year.


The other blades in the photos are clearly from before the 1970s.
 
Last edited:
lozioditalia said:
The Astor Special and Astor Super Silver may well date from the 1980s or 1990s, so the partnership with Bic had already been in place since at least the mid-1970s. The joint venture between Bic and Violex was established in 1974 and the following year, in 1975, the first disposable razor was launched. It was exactly 50 years ago last year.


The other blades in the photos are clearly from before the 1970s.
Click to expand...

Super Silver just says Violex, not Violex Bic S.A.
 
Bogeyman said:
As there hasn't been a thread on these in just shy of five years I thought perhaps now might be a good time to mention this controversial blade. By controversial I mean in two ways. First, it has been mentioned on another forum by a Greek poster that the Bic Astor is merely the Bic Chrome Platinum under a different name for sales internally in Greece where they are made. Some agree & others disagree with this.
Click to expand...
pjgh said:
I have both lined up to try ... after the SuperMax glut. Given the yellow pack is labelled Chrome Platinum and the red pack is labelled Stainless, I'd say on the face of it they're different blades and that is what I'm expected. Likewise, it's been a good few years.
Click to expand...
Some descriptions of the Bic Astor mention a chrome and platinum coating, similar to that of the classic Bic CP
so it’s understandable that users might think it is the same blade.
 
teekay said:
I have a 5-pack here and also a 100-pack on the way that was reduced slightly, so will get to know them in next few weeks.

'A stór' is a term of endearment in the Irish language but name of these blades seems to be derived from :

"Astor is a surname and given name of Occitan (Old French) origin, meaning "goshawk" or "hawk". It traditionally symbolizes strength, keen eyesight, and is associated with the historically wealthy and influential Astor family. It is sometimes associated with a thunder god in Icelandic origins."
Click to expand...

This was posted on B&B-

"In Phillip L. Krumholz excellent book "Collector's Guide to American Razor Blades" it says the Astor blades were named After John Jacob Astor.

From Wikipedia:
John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor;[4] July 17, 1763 March 29, 1848) was a German-born American business magnate, merchant, and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States. He was the creator of the first trust in America.


He went to the United States following the American Revolutionary War and built a fur-trading empire that extended to the Great Lakes region and Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. He also got involved in smuggling opium. In the early 19th century, he diversified into New York City real estate and later became a famed patron of the arts."


Assumedly, that's the fancy fellow that still graces the package:
1775293649520.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom