Blade Review: Polsilver Super Iridium
I thought I'd start a separate thread for these blades. Thanks to Nick from whom I pinched the template and the idea. These are the more expensive sibling to the Polsilver Stainless (brown box) that Nick has been reviewing favourably, but sitting at around 40c per blade from memory. There are loads of Polsilvers and Super Iridiums and Polsilver Super Iridiums and I don't really follow a lot of it, but I'm pretty sure these are from Lodz in Poland and were discontinued when Gillette (or P&G) moved blade production to St Petersburgh. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here.
Here's a couple threads for anyone interesting in where these came from or want to know more about the Polsilver/Super Iridium relationship:
B&B thread about the original Super Iridium, these were sold in Bulgaria under the Polsilver Super Iridium packaging
Brief summary of Gillette's purchase of the Wizamet plant in Lodz, Poland where I believe the Polsilver Super Iridiums were made
Interesting post at Shave Nook
Kit used:
Number of Passes: 2 (1 WTG, 1 XTG)
Sharpness of Blade/Closeness of shave: 8.5/10
Smoothness of Shave/Comfort of Shave: 9/10
Post-shave irritation/cuts: None in the first three shaves, one small weeper on the fourth and three on the fifth when I was in a bit of a rush. A little bit of irritation around my neck on the fourth and fifth go, but to a reasonable degree this came down to my technique.
Overall shave experience: 9/10
Overall score for blade: 8.85/10
Comments: For the first three shaves, I found these to be brilliant. They're very sharp, sharper than the Personna Lab Blue and and marginally sharper than the Polsilver Stainless I think. I think I saw it suggested here that the Stainless and SI's might even be the same blade. I don't think that's true, because I think this is sharper. I've never tried a Feather so I can't compare to that either.
I get irritation on the sides of my neck level with my adam's apple, and I've found sharper blades cut through my beard with greater ease and comfort, giving me less irritation in subsequent days. These blades are the perfect sharpness for me. They cut very smoothly, with a loud audible feedback and felt comfortable with a few variations on blade angle that I tried. I experimented a bit with blade buffing and thought that although it was pretty pointless as a technique, the blade provided a close shave and didn't cut me.
The results of my first three shaves with this blade were very consistent; extremely smooth with minimal rough patches, no bleeding, and a very comfortable and relaxing shave. Stubble didn't really start showing prominently until late the day after, which indicates it was a pretty damn close shave for me. I felt comfortable going for a closer result with this blade, but it was definitely sharp enough to do some damage if attention lapsed.
Unfortunately, it deteriorated noticeably on the fourth shave, it was less sharp obviously and thus caused a little bit of irritation as it couldn't cut through my neck hair quite as easily when going XTG. This may be down to my technique though, as I've only just started incorporating XTG and ATG shaves into my routine. While irritated, I still found it left me with an extremely smooth face with only a few rare rough spots and no nicks or cuts.
I binned it halfway through the fifth shave because I already had a bit of irritation on my neck, but I could have persisted and finished the shave with a bit more care. I switched it out to the Polsilver Stainless which did a very good job finishing up. I was testing the Fatboy for the first time, so I'm willing to concede that the cuts and irritation I experienced post shave were probably down to my needing to adjust my technique for the new razor. I was noticeably sore on both sides of my neck post-shave for about 30 minutes, but it's settled now and very hard to fault the result.
I think there's only a very marginal difference between these and their brown Stainless brethren. I think these are slightly sharper, and that's better for me. Both blades seemed to be at their best on the second and third shaves, the Stainless has left me very smooth on the side of my neck that it finished off with no patches. The Super Iridium has left me completely smooth across my face but a little rough around my jaw, and while the side of my neck that it completed is quite smooth, it's also noticeably red and sore.
These were a 9/10 blade for the first three shaves. I marked it down 0.5 for the last two, mostly because I began noticing the loss of smoothness and began to get irritation. I will concede that this might be solely user error, but I think it was a case of both the blade dulling and a need to adjust technique.
Will I buy more of these? Probably, but I want to give the Polsilver Stainless and the original Super Iridiums a fair go first. By all accounts, the three are extremely similar and these Polsilver SI's seem to be the most expensive of the bunch. These have been the best performing blade for me so far in terms of both result and comfort, but they'll get a run for their money soon with the original Super Iridium, the Feather, and then the Mostochlegmash sampler pack of Rapira's and Voskhod's. I'll update this thread accordingly once I get a perspective on sharpness from the Feather in particular.
I recommend that everyone try these, or at least the Polsilver Stainless brown boxed blades which (IMO) are only very slightly inferior.
EDIT:
I added the rating "Overall shave experience" to my blade reviews because I consider my enjoyment of the shave to be an integral part of the experience. With the blade being the most intrusive part of the shave, I think it appropriate that its effect on my post-shave comfort and relaxation contribute to its overall rating. All ratings are subjective, and obviously your mileage may vary. The ratings are predominantly for my own benefit, and I will adjust them as I try more blades.
I thought I'd start a separate thread for these blades. Thanks to Nick from whom I pinched the template and the idea. These are the more expensive sibling to the Polsilver Stainless (brown box) that Nick has been reviewing favourably, but sitting at around 40c per blade from memory. There are loads of Polsilvers and Super Iridiums and Polsilver Super Iridiums and I don't really follow a lot of it, but I'm pretty sure these are from Lodz in Poland and were discontinued when Gillette (or P&G) moved blade production to St Petersburgh. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here.
Here's a couple threads for anyone interesting in where these came from or want to know more about the Polsilver/Super Iridium relationship:
B&B thread about the original Super Iridium, these were sold in Bulgaria under the Polsilver Super Iridium packaging
Brief summary of Gillette's purchase of the Wizamet plant in Lodz, Poland where I believe the Polsilver Super Iridiums were made
Interesting post at Shave Nook
Kit used:
- Merkur 34C (Shaves 1-4)
- Gillette Fatboy on #4 (Shave 5)
- Blobby Foo (TGN silvertip)
- Proraso Sandalwood and Shea Butter (Red) cream
- Alum
- Ed Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum
- Nivea Sensitive Post-Shave Balm
Number of Passes: 2 (1 WTG, 1 XTG)
Sharpness of Blade/Closeness of shave: 8.5/10
Smoothness of Shave/Comfort of Shave: 9/10
Post-shave irritation/cuts: None in the first three shaves, one small weeper on the fourth and three on the fifth when I was in a bit of a rush. A little bit of irritation around my neck on the fourth and fifth go, but to a reasonable degree this came down to my technique.
Overall shave experience: 9/10
Overall score for blade: 8.85/10
Comments: For the first three shaves, I found these to be brilliant. They're very sharp, sharper than the Personna Lab Blue and and marginally sharper than the Polsilver Stainless I think. I think I saw it suggested here that the Stainless and SI's might even be the same blade. I don't think that's true, because I think this is sharper. I've never tried a Feather so I can't compare to that either.
I get irritation on the sides of my neck level with my adam's apple, and I've found sharper blades cut through my beard with greater ease and comfort, giving me less irritation in subsequent days. These blades are the perfect sharpness for me. They cut very smoothly, with a loud audible feedback and felt comfortable with a few variations on blade angle that I tried. I experimented a bit with blade buffing and thought that although it was pretty pointless as a technique, the blade provided a close shave and didn't cut me.
The results of my first three shaves with this blade were very consistent; extremely smooth with minimal rough patches, no bleeding, and a very comfortable and relaxing shave. Stubble didn't really start showing prominently until late the day after, which indicates it was a pretty damn close shave for me. I felt comfortable going for a closer result with this blade, but it was definitely sharp enough to do some damage if attention lapsed.
Unfortunately, it deteriorated noticeably on the fourth shave, it was less sharp obviously and thus caused a little bit of irritation as it couldn't cut through my neck hair quite as easily when going XTG. This may be down to my technique though, as I've only just started incorporating XTG and ATG shaves into my routine. While irritated, I still found it left me with an extremely smooth face with only a few rare rough spots and no nicks or cuts.
I binned it halfway through the fifth shave because I already had a bit of irritation on my neck, but I could have persisted and finished the shave with a bit more care. I switched it out to the Polsilver Stainless which did a very good job finishing up. I was testing the Fatboy for the first time, so I'm willing to concede that the cuts and irritation I experienced post shave were probably down to my needing to adjust my technique for the new razor. I was noticeably sore on both sides of my neck post-shave for about 30 minutes, but it's settled now and very hard to fault the result.
I think there's only a very marginal difference between these and their brown Stainless brethren. I think these are slightly sharper, and that's better for me. Both blades seemed to be at their best on the second and third shaves, the Stainless has left me very smooth on the side of my neck that it finished off with no patches. The Super Iridium has left me completely smooth across my face but a little rough around my jaw, and while the side of my neck that it completed is quite smooth, it's also noticeably red and sore.
These were a 9/10 blade for the first three shaves. I marked it down 0.5 for the last two, mostly because I began noticing the loss of smoothness and began to get irritation. I will concede that this might be solely user error, but I think it was a case of both the blade dulling and a need to adjust technique.
Will I buy more of these? Probably, but I want to give the Polsilver Stainless and the original Super Iridiums a fair go first. By all accounts, the three are extremely similar and these Polsilver SI's seem to be the most expensive of the bunch. These have been the best performing blade for me so far in terms of both result and comfort, but they'll get a run for their money soon with the original Super Iridium, the Feather, and then the Mostochlegmash sampler pack of Rapira's and Voskhod's. I'll update this thread accordingly once I get a perspective on sharpness from the Feather in particular.
I recommend that everyone try these, or at least the Polsilver Stainless brown boxed blades which (IMO) are only very slightly inferior.
EDIT:
I added the rating "Overall shave experience" to my blade reviews because I consider my enjoyment of the shave to be an integral part of the experience. With the blade being the most intrusive part of the shave, I think it appropriate that its effect on my post-shave comfort and relaxation contribute to its overall rating. All ratings are subjective, and obviously your mileage may vary. The ratings are predominantly for my own benefit, and I will adjust them as I try more blades.
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