0 Persons are tagged with #razorblades

#razorblades

danie10@squeet.me
Danie

Review: South Africa’s Clicks branded Double Edge Razor Blades for R13 for 5 Blades

A pack of razor blades that are branded with the name Clicks. It states it is German Technology, and they are double edge blades, with 5 blades in the pack.
I just spotted these blades a week ago at Clicks in South Africa, and thought I’d better buy them to try out, seeing we have a really dismal selection of blades in retail stores in South Africa. At R12.99 (US$0.72) for the pack of 5 blades, I was not going to lose a lot of money at all.

The packaging states they are Platinum-Chrome Stainless Steel blades, and German Technology. Unfortunately, not only is there no mention at all of who manufactured them, even the blades are completely blank (I’ve never seen that before). So no indication at all who the original manufacturer is.

Rear side of packaging saying what the blades do (but describes more how they are made), and also directions for use. It further states the plastic and paper can be recycled.Rear of packaging
A silver coloured double edge razor blade with no printing on it at all. It is resting on its open paper packaging, which also has no printing on it.Blade is blank of any branding

The Shave

I was very surprised at how good the shave was, so much so, I decided to use the blade for the whole week before making any comments about it. I Normally shave with the Astra blades and my Edwin Jagger DE89 head. If I am a bit reckless and shave really quickly with the Astra’s I will get the odd nick on the chin or lip area.

Well, my first impression with these Clicks blades was they were noticeably a notch smoother to shave with. They still cut well (no additional passes need), but super smooth. I upped my speed a bit too, and the same experience without any nicks or cuts. They performed consistently for the week, and I’m pretty sure I could go another week on the same blade.

I just need to state here though that any shave is a combination of razor head, blade and skin type, so your own mileage may vary. I can only compare using my own razor. No doubt a more aggressive razor, or a milder one like the Merkur 34C, may produce different results.

For example, when I first tried double-edge razor shaving, I bought Lion blades (pictured below) with the cheap Lion razor. It was a horrible experience! They tugged, and the razor was too aggressive, etc.

I’m very impressed with them, and actually prefer them over the Astra blades I’ve been using for the last 4 years (I bought about 300 Astra blades in bulk because I had to import them).

The Price

Three different packs of double-edged blades sitting on a display. Left is the Clicks blades at R12.99, centre is the Super-Max at R13.99, and right is the Lion at R25.99Clicks blades at R12.99 vs Lion at R25.99 and Super-Max at R13.99

Obviously, there is no comparison between this price, and what would be paid for Gillette Fusion cartridge blades… We can compare this to the Astra DE blades which sell online in South Africa for R17.99 (normally about R25 though).

R12.99 works out to R2.60 per week of use (US$0.14 per week). The Astra’s would cost about R3.60 per week. These blades could actually stretch to 2 weeks of use, and that brings the cost down to R1.30 per week. At this price, I’ll quite happily support Clicks locally.

Bonus: Environmentally Friendly

As with most double-edged blades, the packaging (paper and plastic) is fully recyclable, as are the stainless steel blades (which I collect in a money tin after use).
#Blog, #razorblades, #southafrica, #traditionalwetshaving, #wetshaving

4 Likes