Personna 74

NotTheStig

NotTheStig

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I know the provenance of these blades. Smooth, sharp and very long lasting. But are they worth £10 a pack, or even £80-£100 for 50-55? That's what a search for completed listings on ebay has revealed.
I would like to try them (in no particular hurry) but I'm not paying more than a pound a blade, even though I love (some) vintage blades.

So hype aside, what are these blades really like? Is there a blade or two that they are quite similar to (even if not in terms of longevity). Hopefully I will get a lot of responses.
 
Some one at another forum was asking me about some of the top ranked blades in my testing and asked to take away the price and availability issues to see which blades were the top performing.

The full test is in this thread, which contained the rules and conditions:

http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/forum/thread-13224.html

The top twelve blades based on performance with the number one blade accounting at 100% is seen below.

7431458292_1d0d24ce21_z.jpg
 
NotTheStig said:
I know the provenance of these blades. Smooth, sharp and very long lasting. But are they worth £10 a pack, or even £80-£100 for 50-55? That's what a search for completed listings on ebay has revealed.
I would like to try them (in no particular hurry) but I'm not paying more than a pound a blade, even though I love (some) vintage blades.

So hype aside, what are these blades really like? Is there a blade or two that they are quite similar to (even if not in terms of longevity). Hopefully I will get a lot of responses.
Click to expand...

Sure you wanna hear this, NTS? I'm already partially to blame for your 'healthy enthusiasm' regarding old beat up blades.......

Well, the Personna74 is a top blade for me, and I'll get one out as a special treat if I'm using the right razor. These are waaay too sharp for my taste, except in a mild Stahly head or dialed down in an adjustable. These feel about the closest to a Feather, except more forgiving (very smooth). Sharper than the Iridium and SharpEdge....that's for sure. Matter of fact, I'm using a Personna right now in my Executive dialed down one number. Really a fun shave.

Far as being worth the cash......what can I say. Seen em sell for as much as $4 a blade, which is pretty nuts. I can easily get 6-7 shaves per blade and probably more, so there's that to consider I guess. Still, they probably average around $2-3 a piece, which still ain't cheap.

The Personna74 injector blades are even sharper than those old Gillette Platinum Plus ones that you like. They're also even less forgiving, which is why I don't use em. With those things I need to pay more attention to detail than usual. Those blades are also expensive, although not like the DE version.

I'm surprised I never sent you any to sample. I'll mail out some of each this week for your spreadsheet. Pretty unusual blades.

Martin
 
That's really good of you Dodgy, especially at those kinds of prices. I've had a lot of freebies from you and you've always declined anything in return; let me pay you for these. I only want a couple of blades. PM me with details if you would.
Thanks again (again again)
 
NotTheStig said:
That's really good of you Dodgy, especially at those kinds of prices.
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Well NTS, my price on those was less than retail.......lots less. Thanks for the offer of payment though. Maybe if you find some at a good price, you can return the favor then. I have a few of each in dispensers, which should be plenty to see if you end up with a new monkey perched on your back. I am guessing yes.

Martinabler
 
NotTheStig said:
I'm sure i'll be keeping my eye out for cheap Personna 74s once i've tried them. I'll be sure to send some your way if that happens.
Click to expand...

At the same time can you keep an eye out for some hens teeth and rocking horse shit.

Only having a laugh mate, you never know persistence and patience often pays off. Good luck with the hunt.
 
I doubt i'll ever find any cheap to be honest. Maybe we should all agree to slag them off as much as possible, bringing the value down. Mwahahahaha!
 
I really wanted to get my hands on the personna 74's and the brit version but the price was a major issue for me although i did manage to score around 100 of the british personna blades earlier this year for next to nothing but have yet to use them because if i like them im going to have trouble finding and buying more..
 
The P74s are excellent, in fact the very best ever made, but not worth chasing at 4 to 5 U.S.D. per blade.

Dave.B. if you react like I do then the British Personna blades will become a favorite of yours. One thing about them is that they will hold up for a shave or two longer than many blades so you will extend that 100 out service wise over the average blade.
 
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