They're expensive now because I believe production ceased on September so as supplies dwindle, the price goes up. I've been avoiding Pol-Silvers because I don't want to get attached to a blade that won't be around for long. The orange Ascos are almost exactly like the Voskhods so by trying a Voskhod, you'll get a really good idea of how the Asco shaves. In fact I'd say that the Voskhods are better only because they felt a tiny bit sharper. The reason I didn't have the same kind of epiphany when I used the Voskhod was probably because I used it shortly after trying the Feather and SharpEdge, which were phenomenal blades and therefore tough acts to follow. As an aside, I think that I might have had a reaction to the Ascos as I seem to have every single time that I shave, so it turns out that I might just be mildly allergic to generic stainless steel instead of platinum as I thought before. The problem is that having a reaction feels indistinguishable from razor burn sometimes and hives can look like razor bumps, but I'm gonna get to the bottom of this and see if it's maybe my aftershave, the soap, or something else that's causing problems.
While I still have Feather and Voskhod to test - I just ordered an additional 10 blades from "Try A Blade". It may take a while to arrive with Christmas season upon us. The order includes: Asco (orange), Asco (red), Ladas Super Stainless, Perma Sharp Super, Personna Lab Blue, Polsilver Super Iridium, Rapira Lux, Rapira Stainless Chrome, Rapira Swedish Super Steel, and Treet Platinum. I just ordered two blades of each brand. The entire order with shipping was $10. Demidog - you are correct, the Polsilver Iridium ceased production as of 1 August, 2016. There are still large inventories available but as you noted - prices are rising. I figure if it is a truly excellent blade I may buy 100 just to have. After this next batch of blades - I'm calling it quits as far as testing goes (for now). It will be time to make some decisions and buy in bulk my top 3 or 4 blades.
Dec 14: New blade again - Feather. Merkur 34c, SOC boar brush, Captain's Choice North soap, Neutrogena Post Shave lotion, and good old Barbasol. For all the hype - the Feather is sharp - one small nick on the chin but I still have both ears, lips and nose. Other than the one nick, a close shave and no irritation. Due to the sharpness there was little need for much clean up. However, I would not rate this blade as high as many reviews seem to. There are other blades that give me just as close a shave with more smoothness. I'll put the Feather in with my other top rated blades for further evaluation once I have finished the rest of the sample pack. First time for the Captain's Choice North soap. Very clean refreshing scent. Goes well with a rather cold northwest morning. The lather was exceptional.
Maybe it was the razor that I was using at the time but Feather is still my top blade in a manner of speaking. After trying the Voskhod and the Asco, I now break blades into two camps since it feels like there are two different types of comfort. With the Voskhod/Asco, it feels like the edge is gel tipped. With the Feather and SharpEdge, I can't even feel the blade on my face. Both camps give me extremely comfortable shaves although the Feathers give me a much closer shave with much less effort. For me, Feathers actually exceeded the hype around them.
That's why I will go back through the top blades. I have a couple other razors now as well. But I wanted to go through the initial test using just one razor to have some control and just compare the blades themselves. That said, the Feather did give me a very close shave. Friday's shave will be with the Voskhod.
For me my top three blades are Voshkod, Polsilver and Astra platinum. As for Feather just don't go there. I got so much irritation and cuts from those things. If you like them that's great but to me the Japs need a few lessons from the Russians in coating blades for smoothness!
I guess I'll throw my 3 favorites in there too...1) Astra Superior Stainless 2) Rapira Super Stainless 3) Astra Superior Platinum/Personna Lab Blue (tie)
I'll be trying Voskhod on Friday (shaving every other day). Looking forward to it. I tend to like the Russian blades. So far I like the Astra SP, Nacet and Gillette Silver Blue - all Russian. I have ordered some additional blades to try. My sample pack did not include any of the Rapira blades so I have three different ones coming along with Polsilver, Lab Blues, and a few others.
Voshkods are very smooth and comfortable. They are sharper though on the second shave though when a bit of the teflon is worn off. You can jeans strop them or run them through a cork though if necessary. Polsilvers are supposed to be out of production but I have a hundred pack and Astra SPs are just as good for me and cheaper so not too bothered!
To me, that Teflon coating or whatever it might be is magic. I did a second shave with the Asco last night instead of taking my usual one day off and the shave was still smooth even though the blade wasn't as sharp. Lots of people seem to think that some blades perform better after the first use but I haven't encountered that yet. To me, a sharper blade is a safer blade, and even one use dulls a blade considerably for me thanks to my wiry hair. As for my top three picks, I guess I'd choose Feather, 7 O'Clock SharpEdge, and Voskhod. Feathers and SharpEdges are interchangeable for me, and same for the Voskhod and Asco as of right now. Looks like there's a good chance that my next 100 pack will be Voskhods although I might buy some SharpEdges for those occasions where I need an ultra close shave.
Blade: Astra Superior Stainless I shouldn't have shaved this morning since I shaved last night, but the Asco was so dull by the third use that it was hardly cutting anything. I didn't feel like looking scruffy today so I gave the Astra a shot. Just like the Astra SP and the Personna blue, this is a solid performer that defines the middle category if I'm just ranking blades as excellent, good, and bad. I did quite a number on my upper lip but it's not the fault of the blade; it's just what I get for shaving less than a full day apart. Surprisingly, the Asco was still very comfortable despite being totally dull for the previous shave. That coating is really something else and I was missing it today with the Astra. The irritation that I usually get from Astra SPs usually sets in a few hours after shaving and it lasts for a full day or two. It has been quite a while since my shave this morning and apart from my upper lip and the usual pain that I get after every shave, I'm not noticing the same kind of irritation. Another strike against platinum coatings but I'm still not convinced that platinum is the main culprit behind the pain. Comfort: 7.5/10 Sharpness: 7/10 Longevity: not testing I think that I do have one Sputnik in my second sample pack. If it's like the Voskhod or the Asco, then it should be good. I'm not expecting too much from the other blades at this point so I will probably order a 100 pack of Voskhods and maybe the 7 O'Clock SharpEdge very soon. It might be easier on my face to alternate between one of those blades and a sample blade instead of just jumping from one sample blade to the next.
Wow - I'm impressed. I just ordered some more blades from "Try a Blade". Placed the order on Tuesday and the blades showed up today in the mail. I figured I wouldn't see them until next week some time. Just in time, since this afternoon I was going to test the last of the sample blades I had. The fun can continue now.
The blades I got today include both the Asco orange as well as the red. Anxious to try them out. It will probably be Monday's shave for one of them, as I'm doing the Voskhod this afternoon.
I haven't tried the Asco reds but judging by Lord's other blades, I wouldn't expect much more than the performance of a Shark. The Asco orange got dull very quickly but the coating made up for it, although I wouldn't use them for more than two shaves again. I'm looking forward to your reviews. I hope that you enjoy the Voskhod or Asco orange as much as I did because it's a good feeling to finally use a blade that far exceeds your expectations. Hopefully I didn't hype it up too much for you as I did with the SharpEdge and Feather.
The Voskhods get excellent reviews across board - so I expect them to perform. The Asco I really had not heard about until you mentioned them. They will be fun to try. I also have three different Rapira blades and a Treet. They all seem to get good reviews - so I'm expecting a certain level of performance from those as well. At this point I could probably stop the testing and go with a few of the ones I like so far and be happy for a long time. I just find it exciting to see what's around the corner - something new.
Dec 16: A most excellent shave this afternoon. As always - I shave in the afternoon on Fridays to get ready for date night. Merkur 34c, Captain's Choice bowl, a new Omega 20107 Professional Boar brush, another great B&M soap (Bay Rum this time) and a splash of Fine Platinum. The blade this time (as part of my ongoing test) was the Voskhod. Boy this is getting hard. I now have several blades that have given me really great shaves. I need to add the Voskhod to the list. Sharp and very smooth. No irritation and only the slightest of touch up needed. Really nice blade.
Blade: Nacet Finally another stainless blade that's good enough to be in league with the Feather and the SharpEdge. It wasn't as sharp as either of those blades but it came pretty close. This was the closest I've come to looking totally clean shaven since I used the SharpEdge. For the first time since I started shaving again, I had a colleague actually comment on the fact that I looked freshly shaved this morning. One pass WTG actually got me close enough that I didn't even feel the need for a second pass except on my upper lip, but I did one anyway for the sake of consistency. I ended up overdoing it and since I've been shaving my mustache and my neck every day this past week, I felt some wicked razor burn on my upper lip after my shower. It didn't help that I skipped the pre-shave as well since I woke up late and was in a rush. The blade had a little bite to it that I noticed on the second pass but that could've just been the result of doing an unnecessary second pass. At least the trade off was that I looked fresh and totally clean for a change. Sharpness: 9/10 Comfort: 8.5/10 Longevity: To be determined
Dec 18: Old standby soap - Cella. Merkur 34c, Omega Hi-Brush synthetic, and a bit of English Leather. Blade tested to day is an interesting one - Asco (orange). Made by Lord in Egypt. I liked the Lord Platinum which I tested a couple months ago. Lord also makes the Shark series of blades - they were ok but nothing that I would order in bulk. This Asco blade is their Super Stainless, no coating as far as I can tell. Very sharp - close shave. Not as smooth as many other blades but a very good result. I bought two blades from Try A Blade. Problem is that there does not seem to be anywhere you can buy these in bulk. There is also the Asco "red" which is available but not the "orange". All in all a very good shave today - now for a day of football.
