Thread: Last night...

I did something I never did before. I looked at a super iridium blade with the same magnifier I usually use for my straights. It had 2 shaves under it's belt and looked terrible. Really rough with some nicks folded back areas. This was with around 12x mag. Then I looked at a new one. It didn't have the nicks or defects but the overall finish wasn't too good. If any of my straights looked like that it would be spending some quality time on a hone. I would never shave with it like that. Even the bevel on it was very uneven. Unfortunately I don't have a way to take pics of it.

I wonder how it shaves as good as it does?

Its got the word "super" built into the name. 'Nuff said.



I've had a look at some Gillette blades under a loupe and they really do look rough. But I find they only hold up for about 3-5 shaves, and having looked at them I can understand why!

The Iridium has become my DE blade of choice these days. It gives me close non-irritating shaves, and the quality of the edge lasts longer than any other blades I have used.

* I have had straight razor edges not look great under the microscope that gave me great shaves and edges that looked very good, not give a great shave?!(*? - Go figure!

Gentlemen:

I shaved with the Super Iridium several times way back and gave up on the blade. It was sharp, yes, but rough on the first shave, the second and the third — I replace all blades after the third shave. I retired the Super Iridium and stuck with the Feather and the Gillette yellow pack.

Regards,
Obie

This is the problem with magnification - obsession over how a blade looks rather than how it feels. I'm not saying that I disbelieve anyone when they say that a blade looks bad at X degree of magnification. But I tend to let my face tell me when a blade is spent as opposed to how it looks at the atomic level.

Originally Posted by zepplin

The Iridium has become my DE blade of choice these days. It gives me close non-irritating shaves, and the quality of the edge lasts longer than any other blades I have used.

Me too.
Maybe rough is better, to get a scything action.
Iridiums are made at Petersburg Products International alongside about a dozen other DE brands, including Gillette 7 O'Clock yellows. This factory is 65% Gillette owned and has had massive and continuous investment. It is probably the best DE manufacturing facility that there is and seems to make the very finest DE blades.
So what an Iridium edge looks like under a microscope is exactly what Gillette want an Iridium blade to look like under a microscope.

For my money, they're amongst the better DE blades ... which explains why I tend to pick up a straight instead nearly all the time now.