The Astor

[malocchio]

The Astor blade is the companion blade to the Bic chrome platinum blade in the yellow box.Made in Greece,the Astor blade goes way back in blade history.I like the Bic chromes,I get 3 decent shaves with no problems.The Astor seems to be a little classier,and my first 4 shaves were trouble free.The blade itself reminds me of a medical prep blade,
these blades are meticulously clean,devoid of any oil spots,streaking,off center lettering and such.Speaking of fine quality lettering,the logo and directional "arrows" on these blades is as good as the lettering on golden age British Gillette super-silver blades,really a first class looking blade ,and the shaves are great.If you like the Bic yellows,this one you'll love !.

[bernards66]

Umm....sounds kind of interesting. I'm not a big fan of the regular Bic DE blades ( which was a major disappointment a number of years back because I really expected them to be top notch ), but it certainly does sound as if the quality control on these Astor numbers is quite high. How difficult are they to get?
Regards,
Gordon

[brothers]

Gordon, I had that question also. I'm not speaking for Malocchio, of course. Other than ebay, I checked and found them at Bestshave.net, a firm in Turkey, if I'm not mistaken. They're in stock at around $2.49 for a box of 5 blades, plus shipping charges. When Malocchio says they're on a par with the prep blades, then I had a feeling I might have to get a box or two and compare them. I didn't order though. But at least I know where to find them if I change my mind.

[malocchio]

The blade is "as clean as" the med prep blades,shave wise I would say it comes much closer to the med-prep smoothness than the chromes do,and I suspect you could squeeze 5-6 shaves from the Astor blade as well,although I am satisfied if I get 3 good shaves,blades are not all that expensive ,and I love to have variety in life.Bestshave does have them,but as far as I see,only in 5 packs,and not the 100 pack.I received these in a trade with a gent in Serbia..I hope the yellow pack dealers start selling these,they're a little better than chrome and the price in Bulgaria is about 8usd per 100.....not sure what the Serbian price is...

[Squire]

Sounds like a good one. I like the Greek made Bics so these may be worth a try.

[brothers]

I've sent an email inquiry through his website to Double Edge Shaving Place (see SMF Shopping forum) to ask if he might be able to get these blades in 100 or 5 packs. He carries the yellow Bics, so maybe? I'll let you know what he says.

[brothers]

I received a response from Jason at Double Edge Shaving Place. He says he doesn't carry the Bic Astor blades. It's good to know we can get them from Bestshave.net if we want to check them out.

[bernards66]

Sigh....I have no friends ( or even acquaintances ) in the Balkans, alas. Still, at least they ARE available ( thanks Gary ) if I feel like taking a risk. It would be nice if some more overseas vendors adopted the policy that that Polish firm has ( the one who will sell the WARS cream sans shipping cost ).
Regards,
Gordon

[66GilletteSlim]

Looks interesting, I never knew that Bic had blades.

[Squire]

Yes they do, from Greece of all places. No reason they shouldn't be made there but with such International recognition for the Bic name connected with shaving you would think one of the major centers for DE blade production would have some Bic product lines.

I did a review of the Bic blades in a sticky at the top of this forum.

[malocchio]

Bic sells plastic landfill razors worldwide,and are very big with 2 shaving creams,an a/s gel and an a/s balm in Brazil.They also make foam bombs as well.I've tried both creams,and they are excellent.

[bernards66]

If I'm not mistaken, Bic also produces some razors or blades in Brazil? I had a client once whose girlfriend worked for Bic out of Colombia and did quite well for herself.
Regards,
Gordon

[malocchio]

The Bic razors in Brazil are landfill type razors made in Greece...Greece also exports disposable blades alone,where they are inserted into Chinese handles and sold under many names.

[CMur12]

Procter & Gamble manufactures blades in Brazil. I know that they do Wilkinson Sword there and I believe they do some Gillettes for the Latin American market.

- Murray

[66GilletteSlim]

Yes they do, from Greece of all places. No reason they shouldn't be made there but with such International recognition for the Bic name connected with shaving you would think one of the major centers for DE blade production would have some Bic product lines.

66 I did a review of the Bic blades in a sticky at the top of this forum.

Thanks I'll check it out.

[Raze R. Blade]

Bestshave carries the Astor blades, but are sold out at the moment. They must be pretty good blades. Hopefully, they will get more in soon.

Yet another blade to try. It just goes to show that there are blade brands out there yet to be discovered.

[Squire]

I just noticed when reading my quote above there was a 66 in the last sentence which is a typo and means nothing. Good thing my new glasses are due in soon.