Rapira Swedish Supersteel/Razorock Mission Today was my first shave with this blade. For this shave I used my RazoRock Mission head on short/light handle. The first thing I notice was that this blade isn't nearly as sharp as the Rapira Super Stainless, which is fine because I actually prefer slightly less sharp blades in the Razorock Mission head. For sharpness I would rate this blade maybe a 6/10. This blade really shines in the smoothness category though. It surprised me just how easy it was to shave with this blade. For comfort I would rate this 9/10. This was without a doubt the most comfortable shave I ever had with my Razorock Mission. I received a 2 pass DFS with touch ups. My neck and goatee area are very sensitive, and this blade handled those areas like a champ. No irritation or weepers to be found anywhere. I'm not sure how this blade would perform in my very mild Merkur 33c because that razor needs a sharper blade like an Astra SS or Rapira Super Stainless. But the combination of a Rapira Swedish Supersteel loaded in a Razorock Mission provides a magical shave !!!
That may be the issue with my experience yesterday. A good shave - not great. I used the Merkur 34c. Being a mild razor it likes the sharper blades which the Rapira Swedish Super Steel isn't quite there. The Rapira Platinum Lux was much sharper.
It's good to know that it wasn't just me who thought that the Swedish steel Rapira wasn't very sharp although it was very comfortable. Now I feel more inclined to try the other Rapira blades since they're apparently sharper.
I still have one more Rapira blade to try. Its the Rapira Stainless. I'll be trying it this coming week. The Rapira Platinum Lux is already on my proposed bulk blade purchase list. I had an excellent shave with it a week or so ago. Part of the problem with my testing protocol is that I am only using each blade for one shave. So some of these blades that performed very well on the first shave may or may not hold up for a 2nd and 3rd time. But I had so many blades in my sample pack that I just wanted to get through them on a first pass and narrow the number down to 10 or less to do further testing.
Jan 2: First shave of the new year. Felt like a Bay Rum kinda day so I went with the Stirling, Merkur 34c, Omega Hi-Brush synthetic, and finish with Dove post shave balm (cold and dry here today). New blade for testing. My thanks to Jorvaljr for sending a few blades to me - ones that I did not have in my sample pack. The one today is one that I wasn't even aware of it. Its the Rockwell Swedish Stainless. Inexpensive - $10 per 100. It came double wrapped. Not a lot of information on the web about this blade. I know Rockwell developed a new razor system recently and apparently decided to manufacture blades as well. Not many venders carry them but you can buy them straight from Rockwell. Results of my shave - very very nice. This is a sharp blade but had a smoothness to it that so many sharp blades do not have. I did three passes with some touch up - no irritation and a very close shave. I still like my Polsilver Super Iridium, Astra SP, Voskhod, and a few others better, but I'm rating Rockwell Swedish Stainless blade in the "very good" category. Since these are so inexpensive and appear to be a quality blade I may add this to my bulk order purchase.
Jan 4: Next to last blade test. Today was the Rapira Super Stainless. Used the Merkur 34c. Captain's Choice bowl, Omega Professional Boar (soaking), Proraso (red), and a splash of Fine Platinum. I had a two day growth and got a very good shave. Interesting that there appears to be different packaging for this blade. This package just said "Stainless" The blade itself said "Super Stainless". Looking the blade up on the internet shows other packaging, same color scheme, that says "Super Stainless". In any event - it is a sharp blade and gave a close and smooth shave. I have now tested three Rapira blades. I thought the Platinum Lux was the best of the three and I rated it in the top category of "excellent". The Swedish Supersteel I thought was not as sharp or smooth and was rated in the "good" category. This blade, the Super Stainless" is in between. Not quite as sharp and smooth as the Platinum Lux but still provided a very nice shave and much better that the Swedish Supersteel. I'm rating the Rapira Super Stainless in the "very good" category. One last blade to test: the Personna Lab Blue. Lots of folks like the Lab Blues - we'll see. I've tested two other Personna blades and I was not impressed. Friday will be the next shave.
Jan 6: Last of the 30 blades in my sample pack. I tested the Personna Lab Blue this afternoon. Using the same razor I used for all the tests - the Merkur 34c. Today I choose Stirling Executive Man along with my favorite brush, the SOC Boar, and a nice bowl lather with the Captain's Choice bowl - finished with a splash of Original Old Spice. I had tried two other Perssona blades - the Crystal and Personna Platinum. I was not impressed with either blade. I saved this blade for the final test as I know a lot of folks like the Personna Lab Blue. Well - I like them too. I still like a number of Russian blades more, but the Lab Blue gave me a very close smooth shave just now. I will rate them in my "excellent" category. I now have 10 blades that were rated "excellent". I'm going to finalize my priority list this weekend and put together a bulk order. For what it is worth, I'll post the results of my entire 30 blade test in the next day or two.
Blade: Rapira Stainless My setup was a Slim set on a 5 with Proraso red pre-shave, white soap, and the white aftershave balm. The blade felt just about as bad if not worse than a Shark. It was skipping around and the first pass was really uncomfortable. This ended up being my longest shave to date because I just couldn't clean up with the blade. Due to time constraints, I ended up having to do some clean up with a disposable that I kept around in case of moments like these. I didn't think that Mostoglegmash could make a blade that I wouldn't like at all but this one just didn't work out for me. Overall: 5/10
I thought that the Shark Super Chrome was much better than the Shark Stainless, but it was still a pretty terrible blade for me. You're definitely right in that overall, I haven't found a chrome coated blade that works for me. I don't know if the coating is necessarily to blame in the case of the Rapira. It was just skipping across my stubble instead of cutting anything and I was tempted to swap it out before even finishing my first pass. I think that I still have a Bic Chrome Platinum that I need to try out but I don't even know why I bought it since I don't like platinum coatings either.
Sometimes I'm using stainless steel blades "Sputnik" made in Soviet times, in my opinion these blades are softer in comparison with contemporary same named blades.
Interesting stuff as always. I have loaded up with a Swedish asupersteel for my next shave in a 24C so will see how it goes. UPDATE: Just had my morning shave using Prorasso Green soap and pre-shave this time. During the shave it did not feel as if it was doing very much and I was receiving little audible feedback (you don't much with the 24c anyway). It felt a lot like a Voshkod without quite the velvety smooth feel. However the result after a three pass shave was surprizingly comfortable with no weepers or nicks and little sting from the alum block. I'm not sure they are worth a 100 pack but are nice. I have some Rapira Premium Platinum blades that I got free with a Rapira razor from ebay so will give those a try next in the same razor then a Lada. Judging from the feedback above i will avoid the Super Stainless!
Blade: Kai I had previously avoided this blade because of how outrageously priced they are compared to other blades, even Feathers. Having just used one, I can safely justify their cost. I used a Fatboy on a 5 with Proraso pre-shave, Proraso white soap, witch hazel, TSD aftershave splash, and Proraso white balm. The blade cut through my stubble with ease. There was never even a hint of tugging and it felt even smoother than the Feather from what I remember. These far surpassed any other blade that I have used to date. My only concern is that I had a little bit of the characteristic irritation that I get from platinum coated blades, but I deliberately overshaved today so there's a good chance that it's just razor burn. There is no room in my budget for these blades at the moment but I will definitely make room in the future. I am happy to give the manufacturers of Kais and Voskhods my business. This blade has spoiled me however and now I feel less enthusiastic about that 100 pack of Voskhods that I ordered. I gave the Feather a perfect 10 but the Kai is even better so I'd say that it's an 11/10. I will never find a better blade for my hair and skin type.
Gillette Rubie Platinum Plus I acquired 3 tucks of these blades in a trade a few months ago but just got around to using one today. I have never heard of or seen these blades before and I was surprised to learn they are still in production. With that being said, these blades are very nice. They feel very similar to Personna Lab Blue on my face. They have a good balance between sharp enough and smoothness. For today's shave I used a Razorock Mission, VDH Luxury Soap and Omega S-Brush. The result was a very comfortable shave with only a drop of blood from my upper lip which stopped the second I rinsed my face and no irritation. This blade didn't blow me away like the Astra SS or Rapira Super Stainless did but I really can't find a negative with these blades either other than the price. $18.99 for 100 is too expensive, especially when there are blades just as good or better for 1/2 that price.
Interested to read about the KAI blades. If they are like feathers though I would probably not be too interested. Sharpness without smoothness is of no interest to me an Feathers are far too harsh for me. I always end up with weepers if I am lucky and cuts if I am not.
I don't remember Feathers being harsh but Kai blades are definitely sharp and smooth at the same time. They might even be a little less sharp than Feathers but they are sharp enough to cut through my upper lip and chin with ease, which no other blade can do apart from Feather, the yellow SharpEdge, and maybe Nacet. Excellent sharpness with very good smoothness.
Blade: Polsilver Absolutely phenomenal shave with this blade, easily one of the best shaves of my life. Thanks to @sky pilot 83 confirming that these blades aren't actually being discontinued, I went ahead and ordered a tuck. Setup was a Fatboy on a 5, Proraso pre-shave, Proraso green cream, witch hazel, and TSD aftershave splash. The blade was smooth like the Kai and nearly as sharp. Two days of growth and it didn't tug or get stuck on my problem areas. To date, I believe that only the Polsilver, Kai, Feather, and SharpEdge were sharp and comfortable enough to allow me to go against the grain on my upper lip, which is extremely important to me. I only have two complaints: I don't like the wax dots and I don't like that the price keeps getting jacked up due to the false claim that they are being discontinued. I just checked and the price has increased yet again very recently. Although it stands next to Kai as one of the best blades that I will ever use, I will not purchase any more in the future. I'd rather not support P&G anyway and apparently they own and control the distribution of these blades. I'm a bit hesitant to go back to Voskhods now. These last few blade tests have taught me that my face appreciates sharpness just a bit more over smoothness, which means that I should have gone with Ladas blades instead. I blame the orange Ascos for previously convincing me that sharpness didn't matter at all as long as the blade was smooth like jelly. When I finish this 100 pack Voskhods after a year or two, I think that Ladas and Kai blades will be my staples.
Not a problem man, have you tried the Wilkinson sword classic blades, the ones made in germany? Those things were just waaaaay to sharp for my skin. I know your face appreciates sharpness above smoothness but these are as smooth as they are sharp. I think they'll offer the sharpness you're looking for while offering you smoothness as a bonus. As always ymmv. Also I'm just wondering if you shopped around for the best price? I'm finding polsilvers for around 17-18 bucks a hundred on flea bay which isn't too bad of a price. I tried voskhod blades hoping they'd be a contender for a daily driver but they weren't that smooth on my face or sharp so it was a wash for me. The Gillette Silver Blue, Astra SP are my second favorites and Derby Extras leave me BBS in 3 passes with plenty of sharpness and smoothness. Sent from my Z936L using Tapatalk
I haven't really shopped around too much for Polsilvers. I just know that most mainstream vendors charge in the range of $30+ for a pack of 100, which is about what Kai blades cost, and the guy who ships from Bulgaria and used to have the lowest prices has been steadily increasing them. The German Wilkinson was one of my top picks but I didn't find it substantially better than Voskhods, although they are a lot pricier. I was really impressed with the first Voskhod that I ever tried but after ordering my 100 pack, I'm finding my first tuck to be really hit or miss. I think I've used 4 Voskhods from this pack so far and 3 of them have felt really uncomfortable. Hopefully the other tucks will be better. Voskhods work extremely well for me when the blade works as it should.
Sometimes i wish i could start a blade and safety razor making business just so that i could control the quality. It'd be nice if we had american blades to choose from rather than just personna. Sent from my Z936L using Tapatalk
