Late Lamented Blades

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wooster

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I'm intrigued as to why the so many people's favourite blades are out of production. I know there are great blades out there but so many put out of production blades at the very top of their lists.

Is the demise of the English Wilkinsons, Polsilvers, Iiridiums etc, proof of an evil conspiracy snuffing out DE blade manufacture or is it simply a case of absence making the heart grow fonder?

As a newbie to the DE game, it makes me feel I've missed out here :icon_razz:

What's the story?

Wooster
 
Interesting isn't it? I've only been at this lark for a year but I've found that a Feather in my DE89 or a Tiger in my HD will give a shave that is so good that I simply cannot conceive that a different combination will significantly improve upon it - and both razors and blades are readily available. This leads me to three theories:

1) I've also a Gillette New head on a BRW handle and have never found a blade that suits it quite so well as my other 2 razors. Perhaps older blades suit older razors and vice versa? Hence, people who like to shave with vintage razors prefer older blades?
2) If people shave with a discontinued blade, do they take more care with their shave since they know that they are using a blade that can not be (easily) replaced. Hence, they get a better shave.
3) Where people like vintage razors, there is presumably a heritage aspect to it. I would imagine that using a modern blade in a vintage razor might grate in that case... hopefully not literally!

Of course, they might simply be better; in which case, I don't want to try them - I'm in my own personal shaving Nirvana with easily available blades: to show me something better and then have to spend the rest of my shaving life constantly seeking out my next fix would not necessarily be an improvement...

_
 
i ordered 10x super iridiums from gifts & care this week to see what all the fuss was about. along with a few other bits.

@ nearly £70 for 250, they would have to be amazing for me to buy in bulk. i think someone is still selling them in bulk on B&B cheaper if i do like them.

EDIT: £52 on B&B for 250, he sells polisilver iridums as well
 
Some of it is curiosity,it's nice to shave with an original blade from days gone by ( providing that they are clean & sharp of course ) you get to feel more or less what the gentlemen of the day experienced.

I shave with a gillette blue blade when the mood takes me as a treat,but wouldn't make a habit of it.

But then again some people love shaving with vintage blades, as they get a lovely shave. Try some out and see if you like them and see for your self
You never know it could put a hole new spin on your shaving experience
:)
 
I agree with all of John's points wholeheartedly. I would rate Schick Krona or Gillette Bleue Extra (year 2000 and prior) to be absolutely superb. But I would also rate current production Astra Superior Platinums and most of the 7 o'clock ranges as superb too. It's nice to have the variety to choose from and appreciating the subtleties of each blade and how it performs in different razors.
 
Everything was better when its not available anymore. Take P160 soap - Cella is just as good and still selling by the brickload.

Super Iridium's are still sold, even though they might be re-introduced AFAIK. Decent blade, smooth and sharp, nothing to get too excited about, but the price is at a premium because of the name.

Got pif'd some famed vintage blades and thought they were crap, pifd them on.

Gillete white wrapper plats (there's masses of other types of plats) are in a class of their own on my face, but due to being discontinued, ebay scalpers want $1.50 a blade for them. That's the real reason hype over discontinued stuff exists, so prices get inflated for little reason. I'll stick with the occasional SIs and Astras, thanks.
 
I find some recent vintage blades are significantly better in certain razors than almost any blade I've tried that's still in production. For example, I love Super Iridiums in my FT Rocket, and Polsilvers in my Slim (though in both these cases a Feather is almost as good). In other razors, a modern blade is better. As for Bleues, the problem there is that the old ones (in the plastic dispensers) were sharp and incredibly smooth, whilst the current ones (individually-wrapped and in a card pack) are nothing like as good, to the extent that they are out-performed handily by a number of modern blades.

Now, I've never tried real vintage stuff (the 1970s seems to be generally acknowledged to have been the period when the best DE blades ever made were being produced), and many who use them would say that they are better than any modern blade due to their longevity - they might not shave any smoother or closer than a really good modern blade, but they might last for 5-7 shaves or even more, whilst the modern type will be dulled after 3 or 4.
 
chrisbell said:
I find some recent vintage blades are significantly better in certain razors than almost any blade I've tried that's still in production. For example, I love Super Iridiums in my FT Rocket, and Polsilvers in my Slim (though in both these cases a Feather is almost as good).
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Sort of renders them pointless, doesn't it?

I know lots of blokes love to have heaps of razors and blades and try different blades, and they can perform quite differently together. This is mostly to keep shaving interesting. But it creates a lot more variables and inconsistent results, which after 4 years of DE, I prefer to avoid. I only use 2 razors, one of them 98% of the time. I get excellent results with my preferred blades, and if a blade doesn't work in it, then it's no good to me.

chrisbell said:
Now, I've never tried real vintage stuff (the 1970s seems to be generally acknowledged to have been the period when the best DE blades ever made were being produced), and many who use them would say that they are better than any modern blade due to their longevity - they might not shave any smoother or closer than a really good modern blade, but they might last for 5-7 shaves or even more, whilst the modern type will be dulled after 3 or 4.
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On our Aus forum guys are getting 6-8 shaves from a vintage test. They're a bit thicker so probably hold their edge for longer. Personally, I've found my preferred big brands of today to be superior in every other respect - performance, comfort and cost. Who can't afford to toss a 25c blade after 3 shaves?
 
"I'm intrigued as to why the so many people's favourite blades are out of production".
They better not be doing away with MY DERBYs! Better sock up on a couple of 1000 more!
 
wooster said:
I'm intrigued as to why the so many people's favourite blades are out of production. I know there are great blades out there but so many put out of production blades at the very top of their lists.

Is the demise of the English Wilkinsons, Polsilvers, Iiridiums etc, proof of an evil conspiracy snuffing out DE blade manufacture or is it simply a case of absence making the heart grow fonder?

As a newbie to the DE game, it makes me feel I've missed out here :icon_razz:

What's the story?

Wooster
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PM me your snail mail address and I'll send you a Personna 74 to try out for shits and giggles. The least I can do for a newbie that missed out. Let us know how many shaves you got with it. Regards, Robert
 
wooster said:
I'm intrigued as to why the so many people's favourite blades are out of production.
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Well people will naturally want what they can't get. It's just my opinion, but for me it's not because they shave better.

I had several packs of the fabled Gillette Swedes, and I thought they felt exactly the same as an Astra. They shaved off my stubble without any catching, and they were smooth feeling so yes, they were good, but no better than ten other current production blades.

People see them talked about in hushed tones on fora like this and they have to have some, hence the silly prices.
 
Canuck said:
wooster said:
I'm intrigued as to why the so many people's favourite blades are out of production.
Click to expand...

Well people will naturally want what they can't get. It's just my opinion, but for me it's not because they shave better.

I had several packs of the fabled Gillette Swedes, and I thought they felt exactly the same as an Astra. They shaved off my stubble without any catching, and they were smooth feeling so yes, they were good, but no better than ten other current production blades.

People see them talked about in hushed tones on fora like this and they have to have some, hence the silly prices.
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Agreed Canuck. Let's see how Wooster gets along with the fabled P74. Worth the price to send the Tungsten blade over to him. Tungsten Plus - the blade they stopped production on because it was too good. A fine line between BS and embellishment? Perhaps. I did get 16 shaves on one blade before I stopped counting and tossed it in the bank. Then again I'm only a two pass shaver and very satisfied with that. Have a good one. Regards, Robert
 
I think it's a combination of things, the biggest being YMMV.

For example, most people highly rate 7 O'clock Yellow's and Sharks, personally I'd rather burn the stubble off my face using the gas hob in the kitchen than use either of these things, but I appreciate that for others they're utopia.

I love Swedes, but can't stand Bleue's, I adore vintage UK Wilkies, the Chromium coated version from the 70's are as different as night & day from most modern blades (to me). I'm not saying all modern blades are crap, I love Perma Sharp's, 7 O'clock Black's, Personna Lab's, Polsilver's and Feather's all for different reasons, or I should say for different razors.

Now I'm not claiming to have any Zen like shaving insight, but from stroke one of any new razor loaded up with my benchmark Perma Sharp, I can tell which blade is going to be the one for that razor, whether that be a bit or a lot sharper or a bit or a lot smoother.

This has only come from lots of experimentation which has been a fun exercise in itself and has taught me that there are so many variables no one can tell anyone else what they should or should not be trying/using. Another example being the Jagger DE head most recommended and widely liked razor, but for me I'm back at the kitchen hob again.

The other thing I think it's down to, is that in today's world manufacturers want/need to sell at the highest price possible, whilst using the cheapest materials and process available, it's all about margins. This differs to what was being done in the 60's and 70's new processes and technologies were evolving and manufacturers wanted their product to be the best out there, no matter what.

They don't make em like they used to.....
 
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