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Post by mjclark on Mar 22, 2015 16:18:04 GMT -6
I've been wondering if all the carbon SE blades are actually the same blade with different spines, packaging and blueing. PAL Blues, Treets, Blue Star 2008, Blue Star 2014 and CVS... ...so let's find out! For every shave I'll use exactly the same set up: ER 1912, Plisson L'Occitane Synthetic and Brian's awesome KFBR Frostbite soap and compare the different blades...
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Post by mjclark on Mar 22, 2015 16:25:04 GMT -6
Round One: PAL Blue vs Blue Star 2008
On their first shaves, the Blue Star was considerably sharper and smoother than the PAL Blue.
Although they are made in the same factory, these are definitely NOT the same blade in disguise.
I expect the PAL will settle in on subsequent shaves.
I've marked the spine of the Blue Star so as not to confuse it with the Treet, CVS and Blue Star 2014 to come and I'm storing all the blades in oil between shaves.
But why would ASR even make different SE blades in the same factory?
And Dick, if you have any Blue Star 2010s available I'll include them in the shave off too...
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Post by mjclark on Mar 23, 2015 15:35:18 GMT -6
Round 2: Blue Star 2008 vs Treet On their first shaves, the Blue Star is considerably sharper and smoother than the Treet. The Treet still gave a very nice and extremely comfortable shave, and it felt very similar to the PAL though perhaps slightly smoother. I could easily believe that the PAL and the Treet are essentially the same blade, and I'll give them a shave off to test this later on. But the Blue Star 2008 stands head and shoulders above both of them.
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Post by mjclark on Mar 24, 2015 14:58:45 GMT -6
Round 3: Treet vs CVS The CVS blade on its first shave was MUCH sharper than the Treet but also much harsher, in fact the harshest blade so far and I came away with a few weepers. These are definitely not the same blade. The CVS is as sharp or possibly sharper than the Blue Star 08, but much harsher than any of the other blades. Who knew?
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Post by fram773 on Mar 24, 2015 17:24:11 GMT -6
Are they all marked "009rd" on the spine?
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Post by mjclark on Mar 25, 2015 1:11:53 GMT -6
Are they all marked "009rd" on the spine? Yes they are, as are the Personna industrial blades.
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Post by fram773 on Mar 25, 2015 7:14:44 GMT -6
Are they all marked "009rd" on the spine? Yes they are, as are the Personna industrial blades. They just may be the same blade. Bias can skew the results. You should do the test blind and see if you can identify them.
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Post by mjclark on Mar 25, 2015 7:28:12 GMT -6
Yes they are, as are the Personna industrial blades. They just may be the same blade. Bias can skew the results. You should do the test blind and see if you can identify them. The 009 RD spine is generic for 0.09" Regular Duty across the board. I could certainly tell the difference between Blue Star, CVS and Treet/PAL blindfolded but between Treet and PAL I'm not sure, they may be the same blade with cosmetic differences. Just for fun, I'm also going to include Feather Seikans and NOS Valets in this shave off. What's still missing is Blue Star 2010 and Dorco if anybody has any...
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Post by fram773 on Mar 25, 2015 11:23:36 GMT -6
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Post by birdlives on Mar 25, 2015 20:09:18 GMT -6
Doesn't surprise me....Probably for different contracts with different store chains....I would try the test blind folded, but the only razor I could shave with blind folded is my Schick Injector.....lol.... I know Tom definitely found a big difference between the PAL Blues and the Treet Supers....I think what we have here is, the YMMV factor has always been so significant with comparing blades....But I sware I have noticed differences aswell...But I love the GEM Blue Stars and PAL Blues and Treets for different reasons...the CVS were unexceptable (maybe factory seconds?) and the Korean SEs....well I would grow a beard if they were the only option....
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Post by HoosierTrooper on Mar 26, 2015 7:57:31 GMT -6
Interesting test, thanks for doing this. As has been pointed out, I can't feel any difference between the Blue Star and Treet labelled blades blades.Someone sent me a couple PAL blades a few years ago and they were horrible, but I can't find them anywhere locally so maybe I just got some that were old or had been stored in a humid area or something.
It would be interesting to look at the edges of each type under a high quality microscope to see if there are any physical differences between the different blades.
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Post by mjclark on Mar 26, 2015 14:30:53 GMT -6
For me there is DEFINITELY a difference between the 2008 Blue Stars and the Treets/PALs. The CVS is also DEFINITELY rougher than any of the other blades... ...but HOLD THE PHONE!! The next round reveals another shocker - Round 4: CVS vs Blue Star 2014 The Blue Star 2014 was duller than the CVS and only marginally smoother. I can happily believe that the Blue Star 2014, Treet and PAL are the same blade but the Blue Star 2008 is far superior, sharper and smoother whilst the CVS is also sharper but initially very harsh. Perhaps the CVS and Blue Star 2008 begin life as the same blade but the Blue Star is factory stropped. Perhaps they all begin life as industrial blades then are rebevelled and finished slightly differently. If only a production manager for ASR was on this forum!
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Post by mjclark on Mar 27, 2015 6:24:02 GMT -6
And now a lateral manouvre... Round 5: Blue Star 2014 vs Feather Seikan I've had good results with the Feather Seikans in Valet razors but perhaps the geometry of the ER 1912 does not agree with it because the shave was almost unbearably tuggy and not particularly sharp. I was tempted to abandon the carbon Feather but perservered - it would seem to be the worst blade so far in terms of performance, about the same sharpness as the PAL or Treet but so so rough. But my face afterwards felt absolutely superb which must be something to do with the Japanese steel. If the Seikan settles in this could actually turn out to be very nice, but we'll find out in the second phase of the shave off later on...
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Post by mjclark on Mar 27, 2015 16:12:20 GMT -6
Round 6: Feather Seikan vs NOS Valet No contest! The NOS British Valet blade beats that Feather hands down. It beats all the other blades so far too - the Valet is super sharp and smooth in the same way as English Wilkinson DE blades are smooth. You can feel and hear it slicing much more powerfully than the other blades. And my face feels fantastic after the shave too and I mean fantastic! This NOS Valet blade just beats the Blue Star 08s for me. And on another forum someone reported a massive difference between the Blue Star 2008s and the Blue Star 2014s so now the differing opinions about the Blue Stars make sense.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Mar 27, 2015 23:59:55 GMT -6
Interesting. I would have liked to use a fresh Valet blade in it's day.
Marcus, when you're done could you rank them maybe 10 to 1 ? Ten being the best and 1 being worst? Or whatever ranking you choose of course.
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