Out of every 100 Rapira Platinum Lux blades, I would say there are one or two really bad ones. Rough, blunt, and basically unusable. While that is a relatively low number, to me it seems they are less consistent than e.g. Personna Israel or the Russian Gillette blades. Am I just unlucky, or do you have the same experience?
I have the same experience with Voskhod (same factory). This is one more argument against the one of each sample packs. I think the best sample packs are the ones with a full tuck of each brand.
Never tried Platinum Lux but Rapira Super Stainless and Rapira Swedish Super Steel are very consistent. I have tones of each and they have all been great so far !!!
Hmmm... been at this for over 9 years. Don't ever recall coming across a bum blade in an otherwise good package.
I had 3 or 4 bad blades out of a 5 blade pack of the Rapira Swedish Supersteels. The blades were dull. I did like the one good blade though. I also had a bad blade in a pack of Astra Super Stainless. There was one good and one dull side. I will probably jinx it, but I have never had a bad Personna blade.
I've used many blades (I think I used a Rapira once) and don't remember any really bad ones except Dorco. But then blades are so inexpensive I don't pay them much mind as to how long they last anymore. If I get a bum blade I just chuck it. For last several years I mainly use Astra SP, Viking Sword, Voszhods. Gillette SB and I've started using Personna Platinum Red pack again lately with good results in my slant.
I have shaved with various "Made in Israel" DE blades and twin blade cartridges for over 30 years. In my memory I never can recall a real dud. Especially the Personna Platinum Chrome blades are very consistent. My personal experience is that I find much more variations in the Rapira blades, which I have only been using since the past few years.
Likewise with Voskhod blades. The first one I used from a sample pack gave me one of the smoothest shaves ever. The second one from the same sample pack wasn't as great but not too bad. I went ahead and bought a 100 pack. Used an entire tuck and I'm pretty sure that every blade did a terrible job so I moved on to other blades for now.
BIC blades. Those Monday and Friday blades are terrible. Unfortunately I can't tell by looking at the tucks. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
I've yet to get far in my Voskhods, but I'd be pretty ticked off if so many were bad. Once in a blue moon is understandable. I guess Feathers aren't bad, even at their price point. Have you tried Perma-Sharp ? Ruski Gillette blades that are excellent, one if the best IMO.
I'm told the Gillette Rubie Platinum Plus blade are very similar to Rapira Platinum Lux I would like to see a complete blade review and shave against Gillette Rubie Platinum Plus vs Rapira Platinum Lux
Same as you Sir, I use mainly straight razors now, but when I do use a DE its always a Rapira Super stainless and I have never had a dud in a pack yet (I have about 300 of em, and have used over 100. Never tried the Platinum LUX though.
I read somewhere that if you hold a blade up to a light in its wrapper and one side is touching the top or bottom of the wrapper then there's a good chance that at least one side of that blade will be dull. May be why some blades come with the wax dots that hold them in the center of the wrapper. I have some Personna Blues and they are "rough" and feel dull on my face. The wrapper they came in I noticed practically every one has a side touching where as my Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellows have the wax dot to hold them in the middle of the wrapper. So far every shave with those have been sharp, smooth and comfortable. Something to think about......
I never had a problem with any Rapira blade, j I have used both blades, and personally the Rapira Lux is a better blade, much smoother and sharper.
I've had that issue with Voskhods. I've eliminated them from my rotation. Even gave some away. The Rapira LUX are in my rotation but they are my least favorite blade. I do get 7 decent shaves with them but they are not as sharp as my others. Smooth, but more work to achieve a DFS to BBS shave. My current rotation includes Personna reds, Astra SP, Gillette Nacet, Gillette 7 O'Clock (green) and Rapira LUX. Reload for Sunday's shave, toss after 7 shaves. BTW, Joe at IB has both the Nacets and 7 O'Clock greens on sale. $9.99 for a 100 pack.
I've also read that's why many blades come with the wax dots. It's mostly to protect the blades during shipping since they would otherwise bounce around and rub against the wrapper. On the other hand, I currently use Kai blades, which don't have any wax dots whatsoever and they are some of the smoothest and sharpest blades that I've used to date. I've probably used at least 3 tucks so far and I haven't had a single dud apart from one that felt slightly below average but was still very usable.
I've never tried Kai blades. Once I discovered the "Yellows" I knew for me I'd found my blade. After watching a video I made the classic "Newbie" mistake and bought 100 of the Personna Blues without trying them. I occasionally use one and then throw it away after the first use because it's totally worthless to me after that, lol. Just trying to get some of my $ out of them.
Until last week! I had a PPC blade that was completely dull, like it was a blank or just a stamped out blade that had not been sharpened yet.