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Post by rocketman on Jan 14, 2010 22:39:40 GMT -5
I am new to the whole stropping thing...what does the castor oil do? I guess since they are carbon, we could modify them and pop them in VAS and strop them that way too huh? The oil is simply a preventative measure against rust and blade deterioration. You spent the time to strop and dry your blade to prolong its life so protecting it after the shave is done (with oil) will make the next stropping more effective as there will be less rust to remove and result in a smoother shave. |
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Post by etoyoc on Jan 15, 2010 19:28:21 GMT -5
huh... the local Walmart doesn't have the blue stars anymore. Walgreens and CVS have stainless and grocery store has the the made in Korea blades. Any ideas on what national stores may have the Blue Stars?
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Post by wchnu on Jan 15, 2010 20:45:19 GMT -5
huh... the local Walmart doesn't have the blue stars anymore. Walgreens and CVS have stainless and grocery store has the the made in Korea blades. Any ideas on what national stores may have the Blue Stars? Not sure... I get them from a local pharmacy here. Fuzzy |
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Post by etoyoc on Jan 16, 2010 14:38:30 GMT -5
I stopped a large number of places.. nothing than the Korean made ones and ASR made ones which are marked .009RD on the spine. If I had known that everyone was going to quit selling them at the same time, I would stockpiled.
Hey Fuzzy.. those worthless Korean ones were Carbon though weren't they?
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Post by wchnu on Jan 17, 2010 11:10:33 GMT -5
I stopped a large number of places.. nothing than the Korean made ones and ASR made ones which are marked .009RD on the spine. If I had known that everyone was going to quit selling them at the same time, I would stockpiled. Hey Fuzzy.. those worthless Korean ones were Carbon though weren't they? I do not know what they are. other then Trash.. but I would guess carbon yes. Fuzzy |
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Post by tommyers on Jan 20, 2010 21:54:37 GMT -5
I would agree that the Blue Star carbon steel blades is capable of giving a great shave. I don't, however, intend to fiddle around to preserve the life of any blade when I don't need to do that when I use my usual PTFE coated stainless steel Gems.
Inherently, a carbon steel blade is able to be brought to a keener edge than a stainless blade, simply due to the grain structure of the material, but applying the coating to the stainless blades pretty much negates that advantage.
My experience indicates that I can only get 3 or 4 comfortable shaves from a Blue Star, whereas I tend to get at least 8 or 10 from a "Gem by Personna" or the similar stainless blade from Ted Pella.
Regards,
Tom
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Post by wchnu on Jan 20, 2010 22:52:55 GMT -5
Humm I tend to get about the same from both blades.. I must be doing something different with the Pella's. Do you do anything to help make them last Tom?
Fuzzy
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Post by tommyers on Jan 20, 2010 23:13:22 GMT -5
No, I don't do anything beyond rinsing the razor with hot water when I'm done shaving and then hanging it from a stand.
That was really my point, I don't want to have to rinse with alcohol or dry the blades or anything else that might be needed to make the carbon steel blades last longer when I don't need to do anything like that with the stainless ones,
Regards,
Tom
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Post by wchnu on Jan 20, 2010 23:22:26 GMT -5
No, I don't do anything beyond rinsing the razor with hot water when I'm done shaving and then hanging it from a stand. That was really my point, I don't want to have to rinse with alcohol or dry the blades or anything else that might be needed to make the carbon steel blades last longer when I don't need to do anything like that with the stainless ones, Regards, Tom Got ya. I dunno I like the connection with the old stuff using the carbon steel blades.. closer to what would have been used back then. But I will not argue the fact that the Pella is an outstanding blade. Fuzzy |
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Post by etoyoc on Jan 21, 2010 5:57:09 GMT -5
I was at WalMart yesterday morning to get some lab supplies (they are the only place open at 5AM) and saw they had 2 packs of these laying on a shelf, so I am back in stock on Blue Stars for now.
Tom, I do a alcohol or barbiside rinse on all of my razors, DE, SE, stainless, carbon, coated, etc... Otherwise the hard water deposits are a killer around here.
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Post by tommyers on Jan 21, 2010 22:02:49 GMT -5
If an extra rinse, of whatever sort, addresses your problem with the hard water deposits, I certainly can't fault you for doing that.
Personally, I don't seem to have that much of a hard water problem. Our water supply here comes from the Great Lakes. It certainly isn't what you would call soft, but It is quite good for most purposes.
Regards,
Tom
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Post by etoyoc on Jan 22, 2010 5:57:46 GMT -5
I am within 10 miles of Lake Michigan. However, the St. Lawrence Continental Divide is just north of us, so we can't get our water from the lake and have to pull it from an aquifer. I have been places with harder water; however, I have seen slow leaks seal themselves with mineral deposits.
To be more specific on the rinsing needs, I can get "rust" spots on a stainless or coated blade in just one use. On the surface of the blade, they don't affect anything, but if those deposits ended up on the edge, I am sure it would be a problem with the shave. Also being in hard water, the water itself doesn't rinse off all the soap residue from the razor & blade. So the extra rinse is also to help everything stay shiny.
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cmur12
The Bee's Knee's
Posts: 121
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Post by cmur12 on Feb 2, 2010 2:40:58 GMT -5
Has anyone tried the carbon steel blades that Ted Pella sells - the GEMs and the PALs?
So far, I don't notice any difference between the Treets and the GEM Blue Stars. I get a very close shave with a very light touch, at least for the first couple of shaves. The GEM/Personna stainless blades are smoother, but they aren't as sharp and I don't get the easy shave that I do with the carbons.
At some point, I plan to make a major bulk order from Ted Pella, but I need to accumulate some more experience with the Treets, Blue Stars, and GEM/Personna stainless to decide how I'll fill out the order.
- Murray
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Post by wchnu on Feb 2, 2010 15:29:30 GMT -5
Has anyone tried the carbon steel blades that Ted Pella sells - the GEMs and the PALs? So far, I don't notice any difference between the Treets and the GEM Blue Stars. I get a very close shave with a very light touch, at least for the first couple of shaves. The GEM/Personna stainless blades are smoother, but they aren't as sharp and I don't get the easy shave that I do with the carbons. At some point, I plan to make a major bulk order from Ted Pella, but I need to accumulate some more experience with the Treets, Blue Stars, and GEM/Personna stainless to decide how I'll fill out the order. - Murray Lot of good blade discussion here great stuff. I like my carbon blades. I love a shave or so per blade but generally speaking that is not that bad a thing. Fuzzy |
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cmur12
The Bee's Knee's
Posts: 121
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Post by cmur12 on Feb 16, 2010 1:54:54 GMT -5
I just picked up some Treet blades at the local Rite Aid. I can't distinguish these from the GEM Blue Stars, so either one I can find suits me. (Strangely, our local Walgreens doesn't stock the GEM/Personna stainless blades.)
I find the GEM/Personna stainless blades too dull for a good shave, without adding pressure and getting irritation. So, when it comes to SE, it's carbon steel all the way for me.
- Murray
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