SE Blades -Options?

My RAD has now expanded beyond DE razors...I have a GEM on the way. This means that I have to find a source of SE blades. What are my best options?

 

Used to be Razor and Brush. But they're closed for now. So I dont have a clue. Ted Pella only sells them in packs of 200. Could get a group buy together. About $15 shipped between 4 people for 50 blades each.

 

Are the Ted Pella blades good? I'd be up for a group buy.

 

I have a single edge at home and its an ok shaver, nothing to write home about. I got my blades from the neighborhood CVS for $5 for a pack of 10 which are Treet brand. Don't think that there is anything beyonf this available otherwise.

 

There aren't a whole lot of SE brands available anymore. There are several different types of carbon steel SE brands that pretty much all shave the same: PAL, Treet, etc... These rust if you aren't careful.

Then there's the Personna brand stainless, which you can find in 5 and 10 packs at Walgreens and CVS. I get the best price at CVS. They're cheaper if you can find them locally. These are what I use.

There's also Ted Pella, which I haven't tried.

And then there's one bottom of the barrel carbon steel brand that I have only seen advertised online. Even the sellers warn you away from them.

And that's your options. I like my GEM. I use it regularly.

 

I like the Pellas. I would post in the classifieds if you are interested in a group buy, I imagine you will find people quickly.

 

Honestly, I tried the ones you could pick up at the local CVS/Walgreens, I tried Ted Pella blades, I tried a couple from Razor and Brush (GEM Blue Stars, Treets).

Pellas were nice and sharp, but I always got the best shaves simply from the CVS/Walgreens brands. No joke. The Pellas were like Feathers - yes, they could give you a good shave, but were really sharp, and I tended to cut myself more with them than the others. The CVS blades were a nice combo of smooth and sharp. They consistently gave me good shaves.

 

I love my pellas. Group buy took me less than 24 hours to put together as well. I would say that the pellas arent unreasonably sharp. Great in a 1912. Good in a micromatic (even though micromatics suck). Still cheaper than buying them from CVS too. Most people do recommend Pellas.

 

The Personna GEM blades available at Walgreens are the same blades that are available at Ted Pella. The price is better at Ted Pella, but I hear the shipping cost is fairly high.

 

Check your local drug stores....

Gem by Personna (as mentioned, the same as Ted Pella) - Walgreens
Treet - Rite Aid
PAL - Family Dollar (and maybe Dollar Tree or Dollar General?)

Basically, look around, you should be able to get something locally, especially in LA...

And then if you like the Gems, buy them in bulk from Pella

If you can't find any, PM me and I'll pick those three brands above up locally and ship them out to you for cost + shipping...

 

Thank you...I think I'll swing by a Walgreens and pick up the Gem Personna to see how I like them.

 

Cool....

My mileage has found (your's may vary)

Gems - of the 3 the least sharp, but lasts the longest. And that's not to say it's dull in any way shape or form... These are the Stainless Steel, coated blades.
Treet - Middle of the road in regards to sharpness and # of shaves... Carbon Steel
PAL - to me these are the sharpest of the 3, but also last the fewest number of shaves....Carbon Steel (blued?) really cool looking, too...

Good luck....SEs are fun and give great shaves, enjoy!

 

I picked up some Gem Blue Stars (carbon steel) at HEB (local grocery store chain).
I wasn't impressed with my first round with the 1912, but this second try is working much better for me.
I haven't really sought out any other blades yet, but I might have to do so now that I know I can get along with the SE.

 

I usually get 7 great shaves out of a Pella

 

What, no one uses the feathers?

 

ya know, I haven't picked any up yet....

 

Wait... what?
Do you mean the modified feather DE blades or is there actually a Gem-style Feather SE blade?

 

There's an actual Feather SE blade....but it's spineless, so you have to pull a spine off another blade and put it on the Feather blade in order to use it....

 

Ok, yeah, I remember seeing those posts on SMF.
Toooooo much work for this slacker.

 

Well, it's only a matter of about 30 seconds, but I see what you mean about added work. Then again, I've started straight shaving...talk about extra work! I've never tried a GEM blade, so I don't know if the Feathers are substantially better, but they give me great shaves, I can say that much.