I'm not sure if this is the correct place but I just wanted to pass on some info. Having used BlueBird's happily for about 6 months now and now that my R.A.D. has settled down some. I've recently begun revisiting/experimenting with certain other blades. Astra SP's have bubbled to the top. I have found them to be a tiny bit better than the BlueBirds, nothing earth shattering mind you, but better, a little sharper, little smoother, little closer shave w/no irritation and ALOT cheaper. I just wanted to pass it on: You can get a 100 ct box from "Deals for Salons" through Amazon for $8.91 with free shipping as of 9-12-12. The next best deal was from Amazon itself for $9.07(100 ct) plus $4.98 shipping total $14.05 and everywhere else I checked the SP's were around this price point($14.00). The BlueBirds cost $14.95 w/free shipping when I bought them, so the Astra SP's seem like a really good deal to me. I just wanted to pass this info on to the other Astra SP users.
If I didn't have several hundred Voskhods I'd be regularly buying Astras without any question. The price/performance of the Superior Platinums is hard to beat, and made me curious to try the Astra Stainless as well because they seem to becoming cheap and plentiful as well.
How do they do on Penguins? They are not the best blade for me, great price, but I find them to be kind of rough in my razor of choice.
Shouldn't that read "They're sooo good, they can even shave a penguin?" Penguins do have the highest feather density of any family of birds.
Astra's are great. I used one this morning in my slant. Another good blade is the SuperMax Super Platinum.
This is a stupid newb question, but here goes... Do these blades(blades in general) lose sharpness or quality over time when not used? I see people on here with years of supply of blades, and I have quite a few myself (but still want to buy a few more to experiment). If I take these thinks out of the package 2 years from now, 5 years, 15 years.... Are they still fine to shave with? Any degradation? Sorry if this has been covered before. Thanks Brian H.
They will be fine as long as they aren't carbon steel blades, and even those will last many years without being used. Modern stainless steel blades don't have issues with rusting or oxidation. Whenever I can find them, I buy new-old-stock Schick Krona Krome double edge and injector blades that were made in the 1960s. They are fine blades even almost 50 years after being made.
I doubt that razor blades deteriorate with age. If they're stainless steel or platinum, they do not oxidize.
IMHO, the only thing you really need to worry about is excessive jostling. That said, I still have my 1100 astra SPs in ziplock-type freezer bags.
Yeah I kind of wondered about blades too. When I first started DE shaving regularly, Astra's were not really that forgiving since I was just learning the right technique. I'll come back around to them sometime now that my confidence is higher.
I just received my order from JoAnna, and in the order were the Astra SP's. With all the positive reviews, I had to try them out first. First, let me say that they have been extremely smooth, but also have given me a tremendously close shave. The first shave, (which with Feathers tend to be super close but can make me a bit tender) was also super close but very smooth and comfortable. I am now on day three and by now the Feathers that I normally use would be about done. I have not lost the comfort or closeness on the Astra yet. (YMMV). As it stands now, I have a new number one. I still have many other blades to go through yet, but I really have enjoyed these blades.
Thanks for asking this question as I have wondered the same thing! And thanks to the guys who answered. Now its time to start hording blades!!!!
