As far DE blades that I can walk into a local store and buy, I would most definitely say yes, without a doubt. They have performed just as good, if not better than personna's from Salley's, and they are a smoother feeling blade for me. This platinum plus blade is, imho, just as good as the nacet blade, ymmv though. Unless the economics changes, 100 nacet for 12 bucks trumps the platinum plus. But like I said earlier, these are a great blade that you can buy off of the shelf locally. Hopefully distribution will become more widespread.
I have some too. I will try them today. I figure if cartridges are $3 each this is still a good deal for the convenience of getting them locally. NB: Studio 35 blades are not Personna red blades. I bought some. They are awful, most likely Dorco (Korean) blades and not worth ones time and money.
shave 1- would have been great but these things caught me by surprise I guess...I use adjustables so keep that in mind and I use a different setting for feathers then I use for astra's (the only blades I use now)....So not knowing any better I set them at the same setting I use for astras and it bit me...after that I made the adjustment and they were great, so take shave 1 with a grain of salt as the only reason im not saying they were great is because of that....after my 1st shave with these, I would say they are the best of both worlds for me (only using feathers and astra's), as they have that sharpness/finish of a feather but are sooo much smoother like a astra.... this is the 1st modern gillette blade I have used, so I dont know how they compair to the others and I have used a lot of the modern DE brands for compairison...so keep that in mind that I prefer astra''s over all other blades I have tried, but if I can get these blades dialed in and my "trial" with these continue to be good (and I find them for a better price), I will have a new blade.....we shall see how they hold up over the long run though.
I just found these at our local Hy-Vee and couldn't resist trying them. I think I am on my 4th shave and I have been surprised at how well these blades have hung in there. I have been using them in a Fatboy on 5 and 3. I have keep expecting them to be increasingly tuggy with each shave, but I really can't say I noticed a big difference from shave one to four. I will say that the packaging I was less than impressed with. The adhesive they use to hold the blade in was different than other blades. It seemed smeary and the paper inner wrapping seemed very cheap and thin. I also had a pretty serious sharp hook on one of the blade tabs, which I always seem to scrape against my ear. Plus, supporting the big boy Gillette kinda makes my skin crawl. Still, I have to say the blade itself performs very well so far. Just not worth the $1.00 a blade to be a daily driver for me.
A funny thing just happened. Shortly after posting here, I started my shave with the blade in question. As I was shaving I noticed the blade seemed to have gone down a notch in its sharpness and smoothness. I said to myself "Well, here is the limit of the new Gillette Platinum Plus from Brazil." After having done my first pass with the blade I decided it was time to change it out. To my surprise when I opened the barn doors I saw a Personna Lab in there instead! I had forgotten I had put it in the razor last night. When I switched back to the four times used Gillette it was much sharper and more smooth...on its fifth shave no less! I'm beginning to be impressed with this blade
I think these are worth every penny. I never, repeat never get more than two uses out of any blade. On this, I have three and it doesn't seem dulled at all. I concur it is very sharp and not at all irritating. I didn't need my aftershave balm, which has never happened. As to the price, I wonder if creating a market for them with other stores competing will bring down the price. Right now, Walgreen's is the only place to find them. Where is our buyer from Target? Maybe he can shed some light on this.
Just completed 4th shave with these, and it almost feels likes it has gotten smoother and hasnt dulled at all...I am kind of the standard 3 and out with ANY blade I have used because I can feel a difference even towards the end of the 3rd shave...So, I was almost hoping to hate these blades (it is still early) due to the cost, but depending on how many shave I get out of these it might not be that bad of a price (considering cost of other blades)..Like I said, Im still on my 1st blade so I dont know if it will vary blade by blade, but so far this really is a great blade that I truely enjoy using...I understand some being turned off by the cost but for me they are raising some eye brow's, is there a compairable at a cheaper price? or has anyone found these in bulk? I would like to buy 50-100 but dont want to drive all over the state to try and find that many or pay what it would cost.
This is the first bit of possible corroboration I've seen of that rumor Gillette was going to start making their razors again...
Mine gave up the ghost after 5 shaves. That's still better than the 2 I usually get out of most. With that in mind, I don't think the cost is unreasonable.
Most Russian DE blades are made at the Gillette factory in St. Petersburg. Here is a fairly comprehensive list: http://www.bruceonshaving.com/2010/...ts-international-where-great-blades-are-made/ A few are made by another company, Mostochlegmash (ain't that a mouthful). Ladas and Voskhod are probably the two best known blades from them.
Procter and Gamble that owns Gillette has bought the rights to all those blades that are being made in their St Petersburg Russia plant...But believe me, they have kept the original blade designs for each of those blades...So the Perma-Sharp Super is the exact same blade as the old Perma-Sharp Super made in Turkey, on Y the QC is better...and the Astras are the same as the Eastern European Astras.... P&G also own a huge facility in India.....But the only real Gillette blades made are the ones with the Gillette name on them, and there are quite a few.... Seems most of the World still uses DEs...Only the First World can afford the cartridge systems....Because of that Gillette tried to keep from giving us the choice to use DE...The fact they are now allowing us to buy de blades locally is something of a step forward I believe....
Just to follow up, I am still using the first Gillette Platinum Plus of the three pack I bought the other week. It is still providing a very nice shave even at around 8 shaves now! Pretty impressive
Picked some up last week at my Walgreen's in town, on sale for 4.99, had to try them. I'm hooked! They are a little on the steep price side but being at a local store is nice. I was able to get 3 good shaves with one blade, then It started to tug. But for me a feather, personna red and a few others, I only get 1 good shave so with that, there not all that expensive.