Sounds a little like a band, doesn't it? Having finished my 3-day trial with the Bic, I disposed of the blade and opened up the sampler package for the Astra. . . before you ask, I learned on the first day that I need to be fully awake to open those wrappers up, so find it easier to load a new blade before I start my morning ritual, which usually has me fully awake during the PSO stage. Before I unwrapped the blade, I could see several spots of glue holding it to the wrapping paper. The glue was thick enough to make unwrapping the blade cumbersome, and annoying to try to clean off. Was this an anomaly, or is this typical of Astra? Does anyone have some tips on glue removal from the blade - it's not on the edge, to be clear - that would make it easier to handle and load?
Actually, it's wax. It doesn't affect performance in any way - just ignore it. Seems to just be a Russian thing...
I don't try to get the wax off. I just load the blade with the wax spots facing down. I noticed with the wax spots facing up it pushed the blade down away from the cap or doors of the razor and seemed to mess up the blade geometry.
"Sounds a little like a band, doesn't it?" -I was thinking the same thing..maybe with an 80's pop sound.. There was a BB thread on this too. Most folks seemed to just ignore it, though there was some concern about the potential effects of the wax on the doors of the TTO. I think someone also said they got a recent batch of blades that had much less glue..or wax on them...
Hmmm. Mine are not like that. The ones I've used so far at least only have wax dots on one side. It is just wax so if you really want to remove the dots, hot water seems to melt them off pretty easily.
My 100th post...WOOHOO!! Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread, as I really do have something to contribute regarding this topic. I just finished 3 shaves using the Astra SP blades (bought as part of the blade sampler found in the TSD shop) and I also found the "sticky" stuff, at first, a concern. In an effort to avoid slicing up my fingers, I decided against trying to clean the blade and just put it in my 3pc razor. Like others have stated, the glue/wax dots did not affect my shaves or the performance of the blade. Infact, I forgot about those dots - probably because I was impressed with the blades performance itself. I will say however, that after taking the razor apart to dispose of the blade, I did notice that some of the glue/wax did transfer to the underside of the cap and on the top of the baseplate. The fix was easy, a hot water rinse and a good wiping. The "film" did come off without too much effort and with no noticeable signs of it affecting the finish of my shiny razor. If other seasoned members suggest that you shouldn't be concerned with the dots, I wouldn't...as, I'm not. Again, it washes off easily enough and I personally, usually clean my razor between blade changes anyway. Shave away my friends!
+1 on the wax facing down. Otherwise I'm afraid it would affect the shave since the top side of the blade is against your skin. Perhaps I'm just paranoid!
Only the edge is against your face, not the side. And I haven't had any experience at all with wax getting to the edge of the blade, dot side up or down. (I flip my blade after every shave. Does it do anything? I doubt it. Figure can't hurt, might help.)
Although not a big deal, it does kinda' suck if you're a clean freak. Something extra to clean off your razors.
Hey! I enjoyed listening to a few tunes by Astra and the Blue Dots at a nightclub last night! Great tunes! Really great bunch of guys. Try to catch them if they come to your town...
Love the blade - hate the dots! Astra's are my favorite blade. Most days I ignore the dots but now and again I do find myself trying to clean them off. Not sure why - just happens once in a while.
The st petersburg blades i have, astra included affect certain razors differently. Merkur type heads: If the blade is loaded so that the wax spots are facing the guard, absolutely no effect. Might have some smaller gap if the spots are facing the head cap ... Gillette type of heads meaning Tech and Super Speed: They have the wax spots what i have seen on mine just on the left and right supports contacting. So I might think a substantial change in blade gap on the left and right side of the blade. If the blade is put with wax spots facing the head cap, the razor is milder and if facing the guard the razor is with larger gaps than with a blade with no gunk spots. Still I am not sure this affects so much the actual shave as the center part is what we use to shave with most of the time.
+1 on what geraldgordon said...Why the Russian blades even have the spots no one seems to know for sure...The fact that the spots are completely "USELESS" everyone seems to agree with....I use shims which makes the spots even more obnoxious as I must always load the blade with the spots up against the cap and not down against a shim...I'm actually hoping to find a blade I like as much as Astra or my beloved Super Iridiums without the spots...I'll even willingly give up a bit of blade performance to get rid of those d**#@ NASTY SPOTS!!!!
I posted the same question a few months ago after using my first Astra, and got the same replies, that you should just ignore the wax. The only time the wax ever interfered with my shave was when I tried to wipe it off with hot water, smeared wax over the cutting edge, and foolishly still used it.
