Willy's Premium blades (India)

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by feeltheburn, Jan 2, 2021.

  1. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    For anyone who doesn't want to read the shave by shave on my first 10-pack of these blades (which actually came with 11 blades), here's the TLDR:

    Sharpness: Very good. They never felt tuggy on my fairly tough whiskers and left me with a good close shave every time. No issues here.

    Smoothness: This is the best thing about these blades. They're some of the smoothest I've ever used right out of the box. No need to get a shave or two on them before they settle down.

    Longevity: This is the worst thing about these blades. I consistently got one great shave out of every one of them, regardless of the razor I used them in. However, the second shave was a bit of a crapshoot. Sometimes the blade was still very smooth. Sometimes there was some noticeable roughness. When the second shave was good and I went for a third, there was always some roughness on the third shave. So longevity isn't the best but if you really only look for a couple good shaves from a blade, these could be your huckleberry. For the sake of comparing apples to apples, 3 shaves is a pretty typical longevity for me from more expensive blades so these aren't ridiculously short-lived. Just a little less than normal for me at least.

    Price: Potentially very good. Pearl apparently will sell these for $4/100 but the shipping costs from India make these pretty expensive in small quantities. Eventually someone will probably buy them in bulk and sell them in their store or on eBay so when that happens, they're worth trying if the price is still good.

    _________________________________________________________

    I got a Pearl Flexi for Christmas (review coming later after i get some more time with it) and it came with some freebie blades. These are one of the packs. I figured I'd give them a shot in my Futur, a razor that works well with pretty much any blade I throw in it. I was a bit surprised but my first impression of them is really good. I've been using Gillette 7 0'clock Yellows the past month or so and those are my best point of reference. Compared to the Yellows, these are not quite as sharp but noticeably smoother. These Willy's blades weren't tuggy at all. The only reason I say they're not as sharp is that they didn't take the whiskers off quite as effortlessly as the Yellows (but not many do). With the Yellows I've got a DFS in one pass with most of my favorite razors. The Willy's blades took two. To get to a BBS I needed three passes plus a few extra swipes at some tough spots but I got there. At the end of the shave, I rubbed the alum block on my face and my skin was completely calm. no stinging or even tingle from it. That's something only a very smooth blade ever does for me. The 7 o'clock Yellows, even after a very good shave will usually give me a bit of alum tingle.

    One shave is just a first impression so nothing to hang your hat on. Certainly can't draw any conclusions on longevity yet. But my first impression of these blades is really good. I'll update this as I get some more shaves with them in different razors. I'll probably use this 10-pack up and by then, I think I'll have a better idea whether they're really as good as my first impression.

    Not sure where you can buy these if you're inclined. They came with my Pearl Flexi but I don't know if they're available separately from them.

    Here are some pics of the packaging -
    PXL_20210102_175847683.jpg

    PXL_20210102_175942438.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2021
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  2. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Just out of curiosity, I checked the Pearl website and the price on these is Rs 295 for 100 blades, which is $4/100. Shipping though, looks like it makes them probably not worth it in small quantities - flat rate of Rs 2000. Somebody will probably buy in bulk and put them on ebay at some point though.
     
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  3. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Second shave went just like the first - BBS in 3 passes with a little touching up - no alum feedback at all.
     
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  4. Enrico

    Enrico Popcorn

    I see them here for $175 for 8000 blades ..... If you get enough people on it I'd be on it for $25, but I've been called crazy before. :shocked029:

    Give me a holler if you go for them.

    :eatdrink013:
     
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  5. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    I'm not really set up to deal with a pallet full of blades but one of the shave shops will probably do it sooner or later. I still want to go through at least a 10 pack to see how consistent they are and how they work in other razors. The Futur makes almost any blade look good. Once this blade's done I'll probably try a more aggressive razor.
     
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  6. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Third shave was really good. I felt just a hint of alum tingle after this one so the blade's probably starting to degrade a bit. I could probably get another shave or two out of it but I'm happy with 3 and a bit anxious to try a 2nd blade in another razor. Not sure what tomorrow's razor will be but I'll think about it.
     
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  7. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    I went with the Pearl Flexi this time, mostly because it's new and I haven't shaved with it much. Didn't want to try the first of these blades in a newish razor but feeling pretty confident in the blades at this point. They didn't disappoint. I turned the Flexi up to 3. I usually like it on more like 2. I'm not a fan of blade exposure and this is a heavy razor that magnifies blade feel. It still felt smooth. I could definitely feel it but it felt good during the shave. Had a DFS in one pass. BBS after 3 with no touchups needed. The alum gave me a barely perceptible tingle. Great shaves so far with the 2nd blade.
     
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  8. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Today's shave was a little disappointing. The blade felt a bit rough during the shave and the alum confirmed it was a bit rough afterward. I'm tossing this blade after 1 really good shave and one mediocre one. The test will continue tomorrow with a new razor and blade.
     
  9. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Blade 3 - I decided to try a Slim on 9 and got a good close shave with very slight alum tingle at the end. I'm not a huge fan of Gillette TTOs and when I use the Slim I usually turn it down to about 3 in an attempt to keep the irritation away. They're just not very smooth razors to me. So since this blade has seemed really smooth I figured the Slim on 9 would be a real test for it. The shave was good but we'll have to see how tomorrow's goes.
     
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  10. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Blade 3, shave #2 same as shave #1. I think at this point I can say these are some of the smoothest blades I've ever used right out of the box. No need to get a shave or two on them before they smooth out. They don't seem to last that long and the longevity seems like it might be a bit inconsistent so far. I'll know more after using them some more. But for a pretty cheap blade, assuming they become easily available where you are, I think they're worth your time to try.
     
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  11. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    3rd shave with blade #3, Slim still on 9. I felt the alum a bit more than the first two shaves but I'm happy. Any blade that can give me 3 good shaves in a Slim on 9 without making me look like I ran into a raccoon in my crawl space is a pretty decent blade.

    3 shaves is about normal longevity for me. With more expensive blades, pretty often I'll get one decent shave, one really good one, then another decent one. 2 out of 3 blades have given me 2 really good shaves before they start to fall off and the 3rd shave was still decent. The second blade wasn't a dud. It just fell off faster.

    Onward to blade #4 tomorrow.

    Side Note: I've been using Haslinger soap this entire time and I thought I had maybe close to a week left on this puck. However I used my Muhle STF 25mm today and I think it went through about half the soap I had left. The thing is a soap destroyer. So at some point pretty soon I'll have to switch soaps. I hate changing an important variable in the middle of a test like this but I've got a tub of B&M I can go to and I think the impact on my results will be pretty minimal.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2021
  12. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Blade #4 - I decided to go with a Pre-war Tech. The shave felt great but there was a little alum tingle afterward. I have trouble getting a BBS with a Tech and today was no exception. 3 passes and a little stubble left on my jawline.
     
  13. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Shave #2 was the same as #1. The alum tingle with the Tech was about the same as the Slim on 9 which seems odd but my experience so far is that the 3rd shave on these blades won't be better so I'm tossing this one and going to a new razor tomorrow. Maybe the Progress?
     
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  14. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Blade #5, shave #1 in the Progress - Great shave. 3 passes, BBS, no alum feedback at all. So far these blades have really shined in the Futur and Progress. No surprise there since those 2 razors perform well for me with almost any blade. They performed a lot better than expected in the Slim and a little worse than I expected in the Tech.
     
  15. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Shave 2 was the same as #1. 3 passes, BBS, no alum feedback. We'll see how tomorrow goes but seems like the way things are shaping up is 2 great shaves most of the time and then the blades fall off. So not super long lasting blades but the first 2 shaves on them have been really good and if the price can be kept low they're probably worth it.
     
  16. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Shave 3 was really good - 3 passes, BBS, very slight alum feedback. I could feel the blade starting to get a little roughness to it toward the end of the shave so I'm not going to push it any farther but I'm happy with 3 great shaves. That's pretty average longevity for me. Tomorrow will be a new blade in a new razor.
     
  17. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Blade 6 was in the REX Ambassador. First shave was really good. Second was not quite as good. Had some definite alum feedback and some mild sting from the after shave splash. These blades may be a little inconsistent or maybe they just like some razors better than others. With the exception of the Slim, all the razors I've used so far are usually good performers for me. When I say maybe a little inconsistent I'm really only talking about longevity. All the blades so far have given me at least one really good shave. Some blades seem to degrade a little faster than others is all. Sharpness and smoothness have been very consistent at least through one shave and sometimes two before I notice any degradation.
     
  18. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Blade 7 was in a new razor I just got. It's called the SNMIRN adjustable. Looks sort of like a Futur and has the top cap held on with magnets. I was a little intrigued by it and the price dropped to $12 on Amazon so I jumped. It shaved pretty well. It has a lot of blade overhang on the ends, covering the tabs plus a whole lot more. Maybe even more than the Futur. That makes is a little hard to get under the nose with but I used my Futur technique and did ok. The blade worked pretty well in this one. First shave was great. Felt some roughness on the second though so these blades are continuing the trend of sometimes degrading a little faster than I'd like. The first shave always seems to be great. The next one is usually somewhere between great and decent. The third, if it makes it that far, is noticeably rougher.

    Blade 8 has been in a Gillette President since it's inauguration time and all. 2 shaves so far and it's still doing well. Smoothness is great. The shaves weren't super close but that's the razor and not the blade.
     
  19. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    3rd shave in the President went fine. The blade was starting to degrade a bit and the shaves weren't super close so I thought I'd move on to a razor that shaves closer. Decided to go with a Razorock Eco which is a pretty aggressive little number that takes half DE blades. I snapped my 9th Willy's in half and shaved with the 1st half today. Got a really close shave with very slight alum feedback. These blades really are very smooth. I'll shave with the other half of blade #9 tomorrow. I figured since I'm pretty reliably getting 2 good to great shaves from these blades, the safe bet was to just try one shave per half. I expect tomorrow's shave to go the same as today's and then on to the last blade in the 10-pack.
     
  20. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    For blade #10 I went with the Parker Variant. Shave #1 was really great. No surprise because the Variant almost always works well for me. As I went to grab a blade this morning I noticed there's another one still left in my tuck. So this tuck came with 11 blades. Bonus!

    shave #2 left me with some alum feedback. Not bad but enough.
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2021

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