I purchased a Rockwell 6 about a 2 years ago. You may remember that I had the razor for some time when I discovered that the top cap wasn't seating correctly. to make a long story - short Rockwell stepped up and I received a replacement. I put the Rockwell aside because I wasn't able to get a satisfactory shave with my usual testing setup. When trying a new razor I've always used the same tools in order to reduce the variability. The same blades (Astra Superior Platinum) soap (Nivea), even the brush. This (I thought) made the razor the only variable. About a month ago I pulled the Rockwell out to put it either into rotation or sell off. My first shave I used a Derby. A blade not known for its superior performance. I got a perfect shave. Close, tug and pull free. I then put in various blades for the next few weeks until yesterday when I put a Astra SP into the Rockwell. WOW what a blood bath. Not literally but pull-tug-pain. I've reset my testing process now to use several different blades in any new razor in order to give the razor a fair review.
i go with an older widely mentioned idea ,the milder the razor,the sharper the blade.though 98 %of razors i use are vintage gillettes,i also tend to stick these days with the various gillette blades available.platinums seem to work in most all of them without issue.nacets only in the techs,vintage spoilers in my adjustables.british red tip mostly 7oclock yellows or greens.etc. face prep goes a long way in helping a shave also.
I'm convinced any razor that Astra SP's don't work in are poorly designed razors. Heh. Okay, not really. Astra SP's are my go to blade, but I always test new (to me) razors with German made Wilkinson Sword blades, because to me they are the perfect baseline blade. Average sharpness, average smoothness, and average longevity. They are the most pedestrian, middle-of-the-road blade I've ever used. Based on a recent thread over on B&B, I'd say about half of the really experienced shavers use German Wilkie's when testing new razors for the exact reasons I listed above. None of them, as far as I know, use them as their favorite blade.
i agree.i have lots of astras and used them often.great blade.my baseline go to is wilkinson also as they are and have been readily available in drug stores since i started DE in 2016.trusted and reliable .. and work well in my type of razor..but they are 10 bucks for 5..
Ouch. I still have about four or five tucks left from when Wal*Mart used to carry them for $3 a tuck. Switched to Feathers when Walmart stopped carrying the Wilkies, then tried Astra SP's because they were $6 for a hundred. There's a handful of blades I like marginally better than Astras, but they are all 4x the price of Astras. I see the war in Ukraine has driven the price up to $8.50 per hundred. It's funny. DE blades are the only thing that have actually gotten cheaper over time since I started this hobby. Edit: I have so many blades I will probably never buy DE blades again for the rest of my life. That kinda makes me a little sad.
very cool.i have a few tucks of wilkies in the den.when i do stock ups and such i throw a pack in for good measure.i like and trust them.never got a dud blade and they are recent as far as i know.all my astra blades both sp and ss are from from 2017,so inked logo and not etched.i spend $15 to 25 on 100 packs of nacet,platinum and other 7 oclock blades quite regularly.cheap really .i i keep my friends in good supply so they don't have to bother.there are trustworthy vendors here that deliver good supplies.in reality they are all inexpensive compared to my 5 mach 3 blades for $20 i used to deal with....even feathers and kai blades..but i like my nacets,gsb,platinums enough to not need others.
The only difference between inked logo and laser etched is the logo, that was confirmed by the manufacturer. And yeah, I've noticed that the German made Wilkies are very consistent blades. The latest and greatest cartridges are up to $50 for 6.
Sharper blade will make a world of a difference depending how close of a shave you are going for. With that said my go to blade which is sufficiently sharp is a BIC Chrome Platinum, unlike Feathers for example which are also sharp, they hold their edge until they don't for multiple shaves unlike a Feather which gets you one good shave then the blade sharpness drops signficantly for shave number 2 and up.
