BICChrome Platinum Double Edge Razor Blades - 30 Ct by BIC BLADES

Nearly as sharp as Feathers, and easily as smooth, they work well in an impressive array of Vintage and modern razors. I'll always have these blades on hand.

I really hate having to come post a one star review, because after reading some other reviews here and on a professional DE razor website by the main guy who runs the site, I was hoping this would be one of the best razor blades I've used in my life. Alas, it wasn't to be.I didn't order here, but instead I got two of the blades as part of a "choose your blades" sample pack, which I've learned is a much better solution than buying 100 and finding out you don't like them. I have like 60 left from another box of blades that I didn't really like as much as I would have hoped.These, on the other hand, go well beyond "just don't like that much". These were purported to be among the sharper blades available -- not "Feather" sharp, but on up there. Further, the site I respect (which put me onto a few other great blades) said they also gave quite a smooth / irritation-free shave while lasting for several good shaves, unlike, say, the Feather which he said gives one great shave and then isn't so good after that.My experience with these ... I put the first one into my Merkur Progress long handle and set it to the least aggressive (setting 1). I have a sensitive face and can't really go above 2 without really tearing up my skin, and I usually start at 1 until I know a blade. I had just one day's growth and I usually do 3 passes, starting with the grain, then against, then across. Then I finish with a partial 4th, where I feel for rough spots and spot-lather and touch those spots up. Just on that first pass which is usually the easiest for me since it's with the grain, I struggled to get the blade to go -- it was virtually immobilized the whole way, and it was painful trying to get it to make a pass. It really did feel a lot like using the razor on a very aggressive setting, like having it up on 6 or 7, though probably harder to pull. This blade was *REALLY TUGGING*. I couldn't get past a couple of pulls on one part of my face, so I decided to try the same blade in my other razor, an Edwin Jagger DE89, a very mild razor, only to have it perform the same as the other. My thought was that maybe there is just something about that blade with the other razor, but it wasn't. So I changed it out for the other blade from the sample pack, got the same result, and tried that one in both razors. Again, the same.I made myself struggle all the way through a shave with the blade, and it took 3 times as long as usual, with a whole lot of effort, many cuts, a lot of irritation in the end, and still not a good shave at all because I left a lot of rough patches that I never could clean up properly.I don't know what's going on, why the shave was so terrible, if it was just something about my face (doubtful), but I have to think it is possible that I just got two bad blades. If the only two blades I get just happen to be such terrible duds, plus I'm reading others here who seem to have had the same experience, I'm thinking it is possible that the defect rate is higher than I'd like for it to be. I can accept that any razor manufacturer is going to churn out a bad blade now and then, but the QC process should keep entire lots from being bad. I just have a feeling their quality control isn't very good. I also have a feeling that if you do get a good blade, you'll probably get a great shave. I don't intend to take that chance though, so my rating is pretty much as low as it can go, and I'll advise "steer clear" unless you like gambling, and I'll move on to the next blade in the pack tomorrow. Both of these Bic blades went right into the disposal box.By the way, for the specific features, I also had to rate it 1 star for "value for money" because paying ANYTHING for a blade I just can't use at all makes it a terrible value.