New Rio Safety blade review

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Rio Bravo, Mar 6, 2015.

  1. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    Hi, so some of you might be aware that I purchased a selection of about 15-20 different type of DE blades. So in this stream I intend to provide my review and my opinion of each blade for two different purposes. One with a safety razor and the other in a shavette. At this stage I'm not going to tell you my preferred weapon of choice. I can tell you the only blades I am familiar with is wilkinson swords. Why wilkinson sword? Because my future father in law has a whole cupboard full of them. As of now I will tell you on one thing. I do not like wilkinson swords blades until the third shave.


    So, sit back, relax and get ready for an update every few days.
     
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  2. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    001-A Rapira Stainless - Russia

    image.jpg

    Type of shave: DE Safety
    Razor: 60s-70s Gillette Tech DE
    Passes: Three
    Number of cuts: 0
    Look: Looked cheap
    Speed of shave: Medium to Quick
    Date: 06/03/2015

    Closeness:
    pass 1: 8/10
    Pass 2: 8/10
    Pass 3: 8.5/10

    Review.

    As a first shave, with a brand new blade in an unknown capacity, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. I honestly thought these would be terrible to shave with. With the grain was smooth, across the grain was a little loud and against the grain was quite stiff! I went at various speeds starting off in a timid manner but soon speed up to a quick pace where possible. I expected to cut myself with these blades but am happy to confirm that there were no cuts.

    Would I buy them again? Yes

    Would I recommend them? Yes
    Number of 3 pass shaves achieved:4
    Rio Bravo score 81.7%
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2015
  3. GeneralKinetics

    GeneralKinetics Well-Known Member

    keep this train rolling.
     
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  4. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    002-A Wilkinson Sword Stainless - Germany

    image.jpg

    Type of shave: DE Safety
    Razor: 60s-70s Gillette Tech DE
    Passes: Three
    Number of cuts: 2!
    Look: Solid, professional
    Speed of shave: Medium
    Date: 07/03/2015

    Closeness:
    pass 1: 7/10
    Pass 2: 9/10
    Pass 3: 7/10

    Review.

    I must say that I am always disappointed with these blades. I find them stiff and seem to cause far too many cuts. Perhaps they are a solid and reliable razors but I find them cumbersome. With the grain was scratchy sharp, across the grain wasn't too bad and against the grain was unsatisfactory and almost felt like it was tugging. I went at a medium speeds.

    Would I buy them again? I don't have to as my father-in-law to be has a tonne of them in his cupboard. But if they ran out? - No I would not buy them.

    Would I recommend them? To try, yes, to buy in bulk, no
    Number of 3 pass shaves achieved: 4.5
    Rio Bravo score 66.0%
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2015
    PatrickA51 likes this.
  5. clint64

    clint64 Blind Squirrel

    Very nice write ups. It would be helpful if you listed the razor used in your testing.
     
  6. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    Noted and added. Out of interest, I will use the same Gillette and same Shavette throughout
     
  7. clint64

    clint64 Blind Squirrel

    Thanks for the addition. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews.
     
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  8. PatrickA51

    PatrickA51 Well-Known Member

    I use the Wilkinson Sword Stainless, I have used them for many years. I have a variety of them. I have the ones in the Black Container and also the ones in the White Container. I really do not see any difference between the Black or White. They are great razor blades.
    Well written review.
     
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  9. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    Thank you for the feedback. One thing I'm certainly understanding is that a lot of this is very subjective and down to the individual and their preference. I think the key here is to explore but if you find something that works for you, stick with it regardless of what others may say.
     
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  10. PatrickA51

    PatrickA51 Well-Known Member

    Years ago I was in a Burns Brothers Truck Stop in Portland Oregon, in the 1970's.
    I was in their drivers store, (Boy's and Girl's can you say gouge prices?) any way I needed some razor blades, the only ones they had were Wilkinson Sword blades. They were cheap. So I bought some been using them ever since. A couple of years ago my wife and I were in Winnemucca NV, 2006 (Boy's and Girl's can you say Winddamucca?) If it was not nailed down it would blow away. I went into a Raley's Family of Fine Stores Market, they were remodeling the store They had Wilkinson Sword Razor Blades they were marked do for $.89 ea. Close out. I bought all of them. I still have 2 packages, of the 24 I bought.
    So yes you can say I like Wilkinson Sword razor blades.
     
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  11. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    That's the kind of success story I like to hear. I get the impression that it's a similar story as to why my future father in law has so many. He basically told me he went past a shop that was closing down in the 90s and saw that they had a box, unopened. He took it to the counter and asked for a deal. The manager came out, asked him to follow him and showed him 5 other boxes of the same size. These boxes are the size of a shoe box!

    Congrats on the bargain deal.
     
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  12. PatrickA51

    PatrickA51 Well-Known Member

    When they closed a K-Mart Store here close to our house my wife bought me all the DE/SS Blades they had on the counter for me. I think I probably still have some of them around here also. They were in a plain White razor blade container They closed that store many years ago. Maybe 15 or 20 years ago. it's still standing there vacant. Now it has a 12ft high chain link fence around it. I guess Sears/Kmart have more money than they need so they can keep it empty. I think the city now owns it under eminent domain ?
     
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  13. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    003-A Supermax Blue Diamond - India

    image.jpg

    Type of shave: DE Safety
    Razor: 60s-70s Gillette Tech DE
    Passes: Three
    Number of cuts: 1
    Look: trustworthy premium
    Speed of shave: Quick
    Date: 08/03/2015

    Closeness:
    pass 1: 7/10
    Pass 2: 7.5/10
    Pass 3: 8/10

    Review.

    As a first shave, with a brand new blade I found them quite scary. It had a feeling as though these blades were cutting my face to pieces and also causing me a terrible rash. With the grain was like nails, across the grain was a little better and against the grain was a little sharp! I expected to cut myself with these blades and did once but through my own stupidity. I can't believe how sharp and scratchy these blades feel. After the shave I checked myself in the mirror and can confirm no rash or scrapes. Just one stupid cut!

    Would I buy them again? No

    Would I recommend them? Not sure
    Number of 3 pass shaves achieved:5
    Rio Bravo score 69.4%
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2015
    PatrickA51 likes this.
  14. PatrickA51

    PatrickA51 Well-Known Member

    Good review I have to agree I have never tried them. But from the way you describe the way they feel i will steer clear of them.
    I an still in my self imposed sabbatical.
     
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  15. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    Very strange shave. I have had the same feeling before with a cheap straight razor once and the aftermath was terrible. I honestly felt like I should discontinue the shave at one point. I'm not sure what was going on but my face looks fine!
     
  16. Latherette

    Latherette Active Member

    As always, YMMV. These are some of my favourite blades and they perform great in all my razors.
     
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  17. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    Agree. It's quite subjective and I appreciate in its world of blades, everyone has an opinion and a preference. I must say they did a good job but the feel for me was very strange
     
  18. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    Must confirm that I did manage 5, 3 pass shaves and get the feeling that I might be able to get 6! I believe you have to learn these blades
     
  19. Rustty

    Rustty Active Member

    Great balanced reviews so far Rio B, very informative. It's amazing how subjective a de blade can be. Looking forward to reading the next reviews.
     
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  20. Rio Bravo

    Rio Bravo Well-Known Member

    004-A Polsilver Super Iridium - Russian

    image.jpg

    Type of shave: DE Safety
    Razor: 60s-70s Gillette Tech DE
    Passes: Three
    Number of cuts: 0
    Look: Looks boring
    Speed of shave: Quick
    Date: 11/03/2015

    Closeness:
    pass 1: 9/10
    Pass 2: 9/10
    Pass 3: 9/10

    Review.

    Oh my goodness, wow, for a brand I had never heard of these are amazing. I must say that I was completely mesmerised by the performance. I honestly thought these looked cheap and boring. With the grain was smooth, across the grain was smooth and against the grain was almost perfect! I went at a very quick speed and believe I could have got to a level 10 shave had I have gone a little slower. I don't know what else to say.

    Would I buy them again? Yes

    Would I recommend them? Yes
    Number of 3 pass shaves achieved:4
    Rio Bravo score 90.0%
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2015
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