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Review: Shark Super Stainless

Mong.

Mong.

doesn't care for Euro Palmolive
Group Buy Associate
2015 Sabbatical
Blade Review: Shark Super Stainless

The Shark Super Stainless blades are made by Lord Co. in Egypt along with the Shark Super Chrome, and are a fairly well regarded budget blade. They can be had for $9.90 per 100, so in terms of price I'm comparing them to the likes of Rapira and Astra in the budget range. I don't know much about Lord aside from the fact that they clearly make a lot of different blades. Maybe they sell the same blades under a few different names.

Here's a thread on the different Lord blades at B&B

A review of these from Shave My Face with a bit of discussion about the Shark Super Chrome too

Cool packaging:

sharkss.jpg


Anyway...how it fared:

Kit used:

  • Gillette Tech
  • Blobby Foo (TGN silvertip)
  • P160 Tipo Morbido
  • Alum
  • The Body Shop Maca Root Razor Relief
  • Nivea Sensitive Post-Shave Balm


Number of Passes: 2 (1 WTG, 1 XTG on the face only) plus touch-ups

Sharpness of Blade/Closeness of shave: 6.75/10

Smoothness of Shave/Comfort of Shave: 7.75/10

Post-shave irritation/cuts: A small amount on the right side of my neck, but that's been a little trouble spot for the last couple of weeks and was still slightly irritated from a previous shave.

Overall shave experience: 7.5/10

Overall score for blade: 7.5/10

Comments: This blade and razor combination made for a pretty comfortable shave when I was tired. I didn't find the Shark SS to be particularly sharp, and I didn't push it on the first shave. The blade provided a slightly audible feedback as they cut, which I enjoy. It was quite mild and forgiving and although the Tech is regarded as a fairly mild razor, I was left with some redness and irritation on the right side of my neck, which has persisted from an overzealous attempt to get a close shave with an old blade. I don't blame the Shark for the irritation as it hadn't fully subsided, but I do think a sharper blade would have cut through the red patch cleaner and left it in a slightly better state. Although it's red, it's not actually sore and it's settling down quite quickly. I should note that a pass with an alum block gave me nearly no burn, so that's a good indication of how easy this blade was on my face.

I like this blade. Although I wouldn't rush out and buy 100 of them, for about 10c each on eBay I wouldn't feel silly picking some up. I'm keen to try it in my 34C and Fatboy to see how it compares in a more aggressive razor, which I'll hopefully be able to do across the next week. I enjoyed the P160 Tipo Morbido with this blade and found that it provided a good level of cushion and left my skin feeling pleasantly soft, so I'll persist with it while I keep testing this blade. I have high hopes and expectations for being a bit more aggressive with this blade, but being a budget option, I do wonder how many shaves it'll hold up for.

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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.
 
Thanks for the review Mong. Sharks are underrated I think. They aren't the greatest blade out there, but you can get a good shave with them. My last experience with Sharks was a while ago, and I'd like to think that my technique has improved somewhat since then. Will have to give them another go sometime.
 
Nice review Sam, haha your thoroughness is making us other reviewers look amateur!

7.5! Thats a generous score indeed. You sure you're not on the Lord Co's payroll? ;) Nah, the Shark SS's are a good solid blade, I've got nearly 300 or so of the bloody things and they're nothing spesh but by the same token they're ok. Definitely fill the niche for ones for the wife to use or to give to friends who want to 'try' DE shaving.

I don't mind using on my head but I find them a tad tuggy for my face, especially now that I've been completely spoilt by trying all manner of lovely blades....haha there's no way you can load up a Shark when you've got one of these other ones staring back at your from your blade reservoir.

For western DE shavers I'd say Astra's and Rapira's top them as the best 'value' blades for very budget conscious shavers but they're up there as well. Am sure they sell for something embarrassingly low in the land of Pharaohs.
 
Thanks lads. I think the Shark blades are a good example of the way it's possible to get a good shave and actually keep your gear costs down below cart prices. They're sharp enough, cut effectively and are good value for money. I think the result you get from these middle-of-the-road blades is pretty much down to technique, something I'm finding to be true of most of the budget blades I try. These were a good match for the type of shave I wanted though, my face and neck was a bit banged up and these were pleasant and forgiving. My skins looks and feels good today.

I do expect that I will adjust the 7.5 I gave these blades eventually, but it was influenced quite a bit by my random variable: my enjoyment of the shaving experience. This is the X Factor for me. Yesterday, these delivered for me. That said, I've still only tried about 10 blades overall I think, and only two or three of them have been with a mind to review and compare properly. I'm gunna keep going through my stash (which has 15 more blades to review) and review the others slowly, hopefully at the end it'll be a good reference for myself and people with a similar taste in blades. With that in mind, the rating for the Shark will probably drop when I get better perspective on where blades sit in the spectrum for me.
 
Good read Mong. You are sure to find blades you like with the reviews you are doing.

I really don't rate the Shark. I found them to be not very smooth and a bit irritating. Sharpness is typical. They seem to work well for plenty though.
 
Nice review. Right now I'm on vacation in Orlando Fl. Using my Parker clone Shavette and Shark 1/2 blades. The 1/2 's come in a box of 120 individually wrapped and are just easier to use when traveling than whole blades.
Nice, smooth shaves.
 
A few days on, my neck irritation has pretty much cleared up. Big tick of approval from me for that. I'll try these in the 34C tonight.
 
After my follow up shave with a 34C and Godrej cream, I have to agree. Another mild and easy shave, with only a small amount of irritation in my trouble patch. I enjoyed this shave more, just because I think the 34C is a far superior razor in terms of how it feels in your hand. Aside from that, second shave was much the same as the first. The Shark seems to be a solid performer to me.
 
Well, I went and tried out the Sharks again. Tried in a Rocket, and a 1940s Style SS.

As demonstrated by the other posters in this thread, my original post holds true "you can get a good shave with them"

I should clarify this though: some people can get a good shave out of them, but I don't appear to be among them. Despite having a great lather every time, I just found these blades to tug far too much to be comfortable. Glad that some people can get good use out of them though as they are ultra cheap and easily available.

Mong, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the cheap Rapira blades. For me, these are the pick of the ultra cheap DE blades.
 
I've only tried them once, I got a little bit of irritation so I didn't persist past the third shave. In hindsight, that was my fault because my technique was average.

I'll give them another go when I get back to Aus, I'll do a write up if you like. Have you compared any other Rapira or Vokshod blades to them mate?
 
Mong. said:
I've only tried them once, I got a little bit of irritation so I didn't persist past the third shave. In hindsight, that was my fault because my technique was average.

I'll give them another go when I get back to Aus, I'll do a write up if you like. Have you compared any other Rapira or Vokshod blades to them mate?
Click to expand...

No worries, hope your overseas trip is going well.

I've used Vokshods once or twice, but I don't remember what I thought of them! If they were really good or really bad I'd remember, so I'm guessing that I found them to be average.
 
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