I'm a big fan of Astra Green. Has become my preferred daily shaver in terms of performance/price. Personally, I find them to be remarkably smooth for at least 2 - 3 shaves. How do the Blues stack up? They are nearly twice the price, so I've been a bit hesitant to take the plunge.
You see this is why I shouldn't have joined this forum!! I didn't even know there was such a thing as an Astra blue until I read this post.. So I did some research, first off I use and like the Astra SP's(Superior Platinum-greens) Very much! From what I've read the Greens and Blues are close in performance "YMMV", but as you mentioned the Blues are about twice the price of the Astra SP's. That said they are less than half the price of Polsilver Super Iridiums...So heres my cautionary tale: I was VERY happy using BlueBird razor blades, so happy in fact they were my first bulk purchase(I bought a hundred). Then on "THIS" forum I read about Astra SP's and just had to give them a try. After all they had LOTS of good reviews and were cheaper than BlueBirds... I now have 300 Astra SP's!!! Ok, so no problem, after all the Astra SP's are a "MUCH" better price and I "LIKE" them alot!!! If only I had STOPPED there!! BUT NOOOOOOOOO I had to try the Polsilver Super Iridiums!!!! These are the "BEST" blades I've ever used and the most "EXPENSIVE"!!! At least 3 times more expensive per 100 than Astra SP's, but I love these blades So I got a 100..Then I went and tried Voshkods and yes another 100 blades were purchased!! The Voskhods kind of tie for me performance wise with Astra SP's, but the Astra SP's are cheaper. For whats its worth my advice: 1) If you "REALLY REALLY" like Astra SP's DON"T try another brand, especially if the other brand is MORE expensive!! 2) No matter how a blade rates in reviews(good or bad). The "ABSOLUTE" only way to know how a particular razor blade works for you on your face,with your razor, is to try it out.. 3) It's said in the "END" you "ONLY" regret what you HAVEN"T done!!!! In my research I saw Amazon has a 50 blade ct of Astra Blues for $10.95 with free shipping. I'll be ordering it today..... I swear there is "NOTHING" wrong with me I've been checked!!!
Haha I love my feathers but really wanna try the astras. I like the voskhod a lot first shave got irritation second shave and a lot of irritation third shave
Since the blues are called Superior Stainless and the greens are Superior Platinums, I'd be led to believe that the green SP's are actually the higher end blade. They could be the same blade with an additional coating? Hard to say but it seems "Platinum" is usually a higher end blade than a plain "Stainless" in other product lines.
I like both. Can't honestly pick much difference between them. The blues are a little cheaper where I buy them from. Odd that you say they are twice the price.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Me personally, I suffer when using any platinum coated blade. I always get ingrown hairs and irritation when using a platinum blade.
I find the greens a hair bit smoother (they are coated / or coated differently than the blues) and to be a hair sharper. YMMV. But, I have 1100 or so greens and no blues. So, QED.
Yeah, I'm probably going to stick with Green unless I get the opportunity to try a Blue. My face tends to prefer platinum coated blades anyway.
I picked up 100 SPs for eight bucks. I should have picked up 400 for 32 bucks and I could have used a new blade everyday for a year. Although not my very favorite, I think it's a great blade and for eight cents each a great bargain.
I just started using Astra SPs (greens) about two weeks ago. I had a bunch of Dorco ST-301's that I doggedly kept using (because I thought they were 300's) until they ran out. The Astra SP greens are the most comfortable blade I've used aside from Feathers.
I'm a big fan of the Astra greens but got some blues with an eBay purchase and tried them out. Seem a bit smoother than the greens and maybe a bit sharper. Can't seem to buy bulk from my usual online supplier. They're not that radically better than the greens so I'm sticking with them. You have to ask yourself if they're twice as expensive are they twice as good. For me to pay twice as much (I buy 100 greens for under $17) they have to give me at least 2x the number of comfy close shave, or make the hair on the top of my head come back, or take the crows feet away from the corner of my eyes!
I haven't tried the Blues yet, but the Greens are my go to blade. For my face, in virtually all of my DEs, the Astra SPs are pretty much in a three way tie for "best", and they are the least expensive of the three by quite a bit.
