It is eminently practical as hobbies go, esp. if you're one who sooner or later uses (or at least tries) whatever you buy.
I've never seen anything to suggest that they do...but I've also never seen any other razor blades that are both "ice tempered" and "made in Germany." It kind of narrows the playing field.
Timor blades are rebranded Souplex blades, with Apollo's old logo on a retro package design. I can't figure out if Giesen & Forsthoff (Timor, Souplex) manufactured blades are made by Merkur (Dovo) though. The biggest difference between Timor and Van der Hagen blades seems to be that people actually like Timor blades.
Another forum suggests they might be rebranded Croma Diamants, or from the same plant that makes German Wilkinsons. I've tried a few Merkurs I'd gotten in a sample pack, and they were much better than VDH.
