Best go to blades

As always YMMV but for me they are totally different...

Today, I broke out one of the old Platinum White (paper) box blades (only have less than 10 blades now) and as in the past I cannot tell any difference between it and the modern Platinum in the white box with blue edging. I honestly believe they are the exact same blade. With that said, I will know for sure when these new Blue box ones arrive if they are smoother and I hope that they are. That's not to say that these other two are bad blades as quite frankly they are in my Top 5 best blades overall. ;)
 
Well for me this new blue and old blue are not the same. Old had extreme sharpness near to feather and was a piece that needed all the attention when shaving. New one is most comfortable and smooth blade that I ever used.

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Similar experience here. Got hold of some of the blue box variant from a Bulgarian eBay seller and they are definitely smoother

Another significant change is that the branding on the blade has gone minimalist. Just some basic laser etching on one side, along with what appears to be a serial number (to deter fakes I presume)
 
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I still haven't found a go-to blade. It's been 4 months since I started though, and I'm not really sure how to go about finding one. The method I'm using is fairly 'long winded'. I've managed to find a go-to Razor, it's the DE89, and just by accident I found a razor and blade suited for my head. (Feather popular & Derby xtra)
 
Similar experience here. Got hold of some of the blue box variant from a Bulgarian eBay seller and they are definitely smoother

Another significant change is that the branding on the blade has gone minimalist. Just some basic laser etching on one side, along with what appears to be a serial number (to deter fakes I presume)

You are the fourth person who has said this and I hope this holds true for me when mine arrive from Bulgaria which I am eagerly anticipating. I can hardly wait. :)

Here's why the blades look different:

https://www.freshpatents.com/-dt20180621ptan20180170084.php
 
I have three shaves on one of the "new" Gillette Platinum Blue Box blades. Shaves #1 & #2 with a post war English "ball end" Tech were at least for me uneventful in that the blade shaved exactly like the other Platinum blades which is not to say they were bad as I personally love these blades. For shave #3 I used a Baili 3 piece razor, which to me shaves just a tad less closely than a Tech, and a smoother shave I have never had. Needless to say, I need to experiment some more with this blade as blades are often specific razor dependent. If pressed I would say they are the same, but I will be open minded.........for now.
 
So, in the name of objectivity I shaved today with a new Blue Box Platinum blade & duplicating everything I used on the earlier shave (#3) except for obviously it was a new blade and I used my trusty "Ol' Betsy" English "ball end" Tech instead of the Baili. I used the same Cashmere bush and most importantly the same soap. That soap be Santa Maria Del Fiore Sapone De Barba as sold by Italian Barber:


Prep was exactly the same. The results surprised me for I got the same silky smooth shave as I did on shave #3 with the prior blade using the Baili!! It was if I were using an injector as it was that smooth!! Now before I get carried away I need to reassess the fact that the only thing that changed was the soap (factoring in I had used the prior blade in the Tech two times before). No doubt the SMDFDB is a superb soap, but it was really a "game changer" in this respect!! If I recall I used Arko for the first shave on the first blade with my Tech as it's sort of a standardized set point more or less. I do not recall which I used for shave #2. :confused:

In all honesty it appears that a better soap allowed this blade to really shine and also ram home the fact that there is more to traditional DE shaving than just using a good blade, razor, prep & yes, even technique. All those factors may be for naught if we don't create the best "highway" in the overall mosaic. I am going to try next other top tier artisan soaps with it.
 
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