Interesting Gillette Development

Uncle Bertie said:
So, what would you compare them to? #intrigued
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IMO they (so far) are as good as the top tier Russian blades. I for one don't believe Gillette held back technology in their Third World plants as that just doesn't make sense. Granted, QC can be a problem in those countries unless closely monitored.
 
So you don't believe that they would keep manufacturing the old blades at the lowest possible cost (allowing for target market conditions) by keeping with the older (usually cheaper) materials, (already paid for) tooling, machinery & methods until either they are making the new blades cheaper or a newer new blade comes along to displace it in the value chain and the tooling can be transferred (or the expense of replacing/retooling can be justified)?

Gillette were never a charity - they would have done whatever they needed to do to legally maximise profit (fiduciary duty to shareholders) - if that meant they were manufacturing old technology blades in some locations because the market was there, they would do it.

You might not consider the difference between blades at 10c per blade or 9c per blade is significant - in some countries (I'm thinking India & Bangladesh here) there are areas of the country where *single* blades are sold because the users can't afford the opportunity cost of buying a "whole" pack of 5. If Gillette made & sold more expensive-to-manufacture blades, they may actually price themselves out of a significant market - thus cutting their own sales (and therefore profit) - or have to discount to the "old" price and make less profit per blade (because manufacturing costs are higher).
 
2014 photo from Brazil. Price on the pkg. of three blades is 6.61 reals which = $1.70 American = £1.17. In other words, even in the country of origin it's obvious they weren't marketing these to indigenous cannibals deep in the jungle. That constitutes a First World price point.

 
And compared to rural India - Brazil is quite well-developed.... which means wages are rising, so manufacturing costs are going up and the manufacture will tend to move to cheaper locations - in this case they may well even run separate lines (or production batches) for separate markets - but they will always manufacture the lowest cost item they can for any particular market.
 
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I bought these in Chinatown , Bangkok a couple of days ago. Gillette super stainless and Gillette super thin.

Also bought 2 different feathers , blue Astra and Dorco
 
Well, I just completed perfect shave #7 with the blade in question here. Man, this is a FANTASTIC blade!!! It is easily the equal to the made in Russia Rubie IMO, which is my pick for best modern DE blade. Perhaps Walgreen's will distribute some of these through Boots as well so my tonsorial brethren can experience this delightful blade.
 
FWIW, I did a SxS test with one of these and a NOS Made in the USA Platinum Plus blade which is considered by many to have been the best Gillette 'Golden Age' DE blade made. I did five shaves and although I tried I could discern absolutely no difference between the two. None. It appears that Gillette used the same type machinery & specs in Brazil as in the USA per my educated guess.
 
Guy1307 said:
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I bought these in Chinatown , Bangkok a couple of days ago. Gillette super stainless and Gillette super thin.

Also bought 2 different feathers , blue Astra and Dorco
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What are the Super Thins like? Also, have you any experience of the Super Stainless Gillette Blues which are marked "Shanghai, China"?
 
Ferrum said:
What are the Super Thins like? Also, have you any experience of the Super Stainless Gillette Blues which are marked "Shanghai, China"?
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Both excellent blades. I shaved with a Blue this morning. There are lots of good blades from China, cheap as chips bought directly - but you do get some seriously duff ones on occasion.

Search 'Mr Tao' and you should find reams - we had a spree a while back.
 
Bechet said:
Both excellent blades. I shaved with a Blue this morning. There are lots of good blades from China, cheap as chips bought directly - but you do get some seriously duff ones on occasion.

Search 'Mr Tao' and you should find reams - we had a spree a while back.
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Cannot search here with just those two words as too short. :confused: Can you 'spoon feed' a link, please?

The reviews I see on other sites for the Blues are dismal at best. However, I cannot help but wonder how rife the market is with cheap Chicom knockoffs. I would like to try one, but I'd need a rock solid vendor.
 
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