I have just recently started using a DE razor and just started using the ASCO blades. I have only had 3 shaves with this brand but the blade feels like it doesn't touch the face very well without an extreme angle. I assume because the blade is slightly smaller than my previous blade. Has anyone that have used these blades noticed them being dull faster or just not aggressive at all? or any number of things? Being new to this I am not entirely sure of the reason's stuff like that happens. Just looking for opinions.
Avoid basing an opinion on a blade by using it only a few times. Likewise, use a few blades of the same brand. You may have a rare, bad blade. The "slightly smaller" thing has my interest piqued. I've always assumed DE blades were pretty much the same dimensions universally.
It just doesn't seem to make contact without a much larger angle. I wasn't trying to make an opinion just ideas. I have 4 more of these blades so I'm not done trying.
Just to add. . . I only shave my neck. No experience on my face. I have nothing to really compare it to, either.
I have the ASCO Reds. They do a good job for me without any changes to my normal routine. I get 4 good shaves from one.
I have the same red box as well. I will go ahead and change my blade. 3 shaves isn't too many but if i have a bad blade I don't want to push it to its limits and make things worse.
A package of Asco blades was included in a sample pack I completed recently. For SS, uncoated blades, I kept the packaging to remind me to consider repurchasing, meaning it was a positive 5 blade shaving experience. I got 3 to 5 solid 3-pass shaves from these blades. My preference following my sampler pack is coated blades, but these were noted as good performers for me even though they were simply SS. I've been using Astra SPs and Voskhod of late, which are top performers for many (me included), but I wish I had another pack of Asco to return to for the sake of comparison.
My thinking is you likely don't have your technique down yet. I spent a few uncomfortable months mastering my neck; not only technique wise but learning growth pattern as well. The ASCO blade is pretty okay in my book. I wouldn't think twice about using one.
I have some of these and never tried them. I think I'm going to have to change that. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab using Tapatalk
Update: I changed the blades out yesterday and had 2 shaves now with the new blade. I am going to chalk up the first blade as just a bad blade. This blade worked good for me.
I have those blades, too. Once these see gone I'll move on to another. Not sure which yet but that's great information, thank you.
Interesting. I was musing about the possibility of variations in blade width last week in another thread, but didn't realize it had been confirmed. It would go a long way towards explaining why blades can be such a YMMV thing and why certain razor/blade pairings (like wine pairings) work so well. For those who might be wondering why... (experts, fee free to correct me) Variations in blade width are going to affect two aspects of aggressiveness- blade exposure and blade gap. A larger blade will likely extend out further along the plane formed by cap and guard; this would be seen as agressiveness. OTOH, a hypothetical smaller blade could actually have an edge which does not extend beyond the plane and would have negative blade exposure; it would be perceived as being very mild, but might encourage the use of pressure to be effective. Blade gap is usually more a function of head design, but in certain cases (Gillette-style Adjustable razors?) where the blade is curved toward the baseplate, it seems like blade size variations would have an inverse effect on blade gap. It would potentially be interesting to measure certain "problematic" blades such as the Derby and Feather and see how their size compares to, say, the GSB and Astra.
I used the Asco (orange) this morning. First time with an Asco blade. Actually had a pretty good shave. I thought the blade was quite sharp even though the smoothness was not there as compared to many other blades. But the results were very good. I too thought the blade was not coated. Per a number of sites, it appears they are. They're coated with PFTE (polytetrafluoroethylene) - otherwise known as TEFLON. Why they don't advertise that I do not know.
I mentioned this before but I've read that all blades used for shaving are coated with PTFE. Some take it a step further with additional coatings like platinum. I've also seen it mentioned that the "Teflon coated" print on Voskhods is just marketing since it's redundant information. My face certainly recognizes a difference however. I thought that the orange Ascos were fantastic but my blade dulled very quickly. Even then it was still comfortable despite not really cutting anything. Someone ran an elemental analysis on the surface of various blades just for fun. All of them have carbon, chromium, and iron. Obviously platinum was detected on the surface of platinum coated blades. Some blades like Personna reds and Voskhods have silicon on their surface. I would think that fluorine would've been detected since it constitutes PTFE. The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that I don't understand any of it. All I know is what my face tells me, which is that Voskhods and orange Ascos feel pretty nice regardless of what's actually on their surface.
