So I’ve always used Astra blades because they work awesome on my face. Recently ran out of them so I purchased some on Amazon. They were hard to find honestly, but I noticed when I got them that they didn’t shave the same as the ones I ran out of. Are these not made in Russia anymore? The stamping on them is kind of faded and not straight. Could they be fake? Or is the US not allowing these blades to be exported from Russia anymore?
I saw a thread somewhere that the faded stamping is just the machine running low on ink. Also, the thread indicated that there is no profit margin to be gained in counterfeit blades. You probably just got an end run in the manufacturing process for that batch. This statement does not address your concern about a degredation of the shave.
I purchased some Astra SP's and they had the same issues. The faded labeling I can live with, but I'd swear the blades don't perform the same. Always felt the Astras were very sharp, maybe I'll switch to Feathers. Herm
All of the blades comming out of gillette in russia switched to lazer etching instead of ink, if you get a newer run it will look very different. Polsilver, permasharp, astra and all of the 7 o clock, gsb and platinum have all had runs with the new lazer etching.
The machine they make them on probably needs to be tuned up, some companies do it annually and some dont. And sometimes you just get a bad run.
Also its rare but it could be a fake astra, its not usually one of the blades targeted but it is possible as the company that makes fakes will package it however a customer wants. More common faked blades are feather, polsilver, gillette 7oclock blacks and gillette wilkinsons blades. But those faked blades rarely make it out of asia.
I feel the same way about the labeling. No big deal if it’s faded but the performance is so bad compared to what I’m used to. I know it’s hit or miss with blades and I only paid $10 per 100 but just like most things these days, quality just isn’t high up on some companies lists. It’s only natural to try and eek out as much product before maintaining/cleaning machines but it really shows in the product when that happens.
This has been brought up in a number of threads on various wetshaving forums before, including here as far back as 2009. It appears that the blades are legit. Even so, a number of people are claiming something has changed. https://www.atgshaving.com/threads/astra-blades-counterfeit.7457/ https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edg...gn_change_old_blades_on_the/#thing_t1_djm5gn9 https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/comments/1zddxr/are_there_fake_astra_sp_blades_out_there/ https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/astra-super-platinum-new-design-or-fakes.58126/ https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/astra-superior-platinum-new-packaging-or-counterfeit.15638/