Post Shave: London Razors - Mountain Laurel - Aftershave
Fragrance: London Razos - Mountain Laurel - EdP
TL;DR: too close to call
I got a few of these My-Blades from a famous YouTuber, and got right to work coming up with conspiracy theories. One of my theories (well, maybe my only theory) is that My-Blades took the place of Bolzano when Bolzano moved manufacturing from Germany to Egypt. That move happened a couple of years ago.
Why do I think this? The My-Blades company is trying to convince people that they’re based in Germany (even though the business side of things is a lot more complicated than that), and the blades have a similar appearance. All I’m noticing is the common 3 bars printed on each side of the blade, and the fact that the ink printing is of similar “quality”.
To test my theory, I did a side by side shave. I used the same razor, swapping between Bolzano on the left and My-Blades on the right.
Pass #1 - With the grain. Both blades were brand new. I noticed a slight difference in the feel of each blade, but it was too close to call. Both blades feel quite mild. They aren’t tuggy, but you can feel the hairs being cut. They’re both very skin friendly. I should mention that made-in-Germany Bolzano’s are one of my favorite blades.
Pass #2 - Across/Against depending on the part of my face. On this pass, any differences in feel became way too close to call. The amount of stubble left on each side of my face was very similar.
Pass #3 - Against the grain. Much of the same. Lets say I was forced to say My-Blades was milder on the first pass (I still say it was too close to call), I would make the same call on this pass. Each whisker maybe gave a tiny bit more pushback when using the My-Blades.
Final result - Too close to call. The first use of a Bolzano is always a little different, the theory being that the coatings have to wear off. Scientifically that means the results of this test should be ignored. Both sides of my face feel identical. All signs still point to “maybe they’re the same blade”, but more research is needed.
It’s possible, of course, that they changed other things like the metallurgy, coatings, etc. Packaging is different, with My-Blades being double wrapped with no wax, and Bolzano single-wrapped in a waxy paper. Overall I like both blades a lot.
As for My-Blades being sus - I’m not debating that, but they’re a good blade. I just tossed one after 6 shaves, but only for the sake of doing this experiment. Bolzano’s usually last me 8-10 shaves and My-Blades could have probably done that, too. If they reach the level of sus-ness that is the PAA Strangelet, then I’ll for sure lose interest in them. For now, I’m giving them a chance. I still want My-Blades to disclose where they’re made, although I have made no attempt to contact them. Such basic info shouldn’t be so hard to come by.
If they reach the level of sus-ness that is the PAA Strangelet
That would be “11” on the sus-ness scale. Nice comparison. It is unlikely that basic metallurgy or coatings have changed significantly. The production process is already tuned to steels similar to Uddeholm AEB-L (created in the early 20th century).
I’ve seen here that they also sell kitchen knives, cartridges, shavettes and DE razors. The reviews on amazon.de concerning the Mach 3 cartridges are not that positive.
September 24, 2023
TL;DR: too close to call
I got a few of these My-Blades from a famous YouTuber, and got right to work coming up with conspiracy theories. One of my theories (well, maybe my only theory) is that My-Blades took the place of Bolzano when Bolzano moved manufacturing from Germany to Egypt. That move happened a couple of years ago.
Why do I think this? The My-Blades company is trying to convince people that they’re based in Germany (even though the business side of things is a lot more complicated than that), and the blades have a similar appearance. All I’m noticing is the common 3 bars printed on each side of the blade, and the fact that the ink printing is of similar “quality”.
To test my theory, I did a side by side shave. I used the same razor, swapping between Bolzano on the left and My-Blades on the right.
Pass #1 - With the grain. Both blades were brand new. I noticed a slight difference in the feel of each blade, but it was too close to call. Both blades feel quite mild. They aren’t tuggy, but you can feel the hairs being cut. They’re both very skin friendly. I should mention that made-in-Germany Bolzano’s are one of my favorite blades.
Pass #2 - Across/Against depending on the part of my face. On this pass, any differences in feel became way too close to call. The amount of stubble left on each side of my face was very similar.
Pass #3 - Against the grain. Much of the same. Lets say I was forced to say My-Blades was milder on the first pass (I still say it was too close to call), I would make the same call on this pass. Each whisker maybe gave a tiny bit more pushback when using the My-Blades.
Final result - Too close to call. The first use of a Bolzano is always a little different, the theory being that the coatings have to wear off. Scientifically that means the results of this test should be ignored. Both sides of my face feel identical. All signs still point to “maybe they’re the same blade”, but more research is needed.
It’s possible, of course, that they changed other things like the metallurgy, coatings, etc. Packaging is different, with My-Blades being double wrapped with no wax, and Bolzano single-wrapped in a waxy paper. Overall I like both blades a lot.
As for My-Blades being sus - I’m not debating that, but they’re a good blade. I just tossed one after 6 shaves, but only for the sake of doing this experiment. Bolzano’s usually last me 8-10 shaves and My-Blades could have probably done that, too. If they reach the level of sus-ness that is the PAA Strangelet, then I’ll for sure lose interest in them. For now, I’m giving them a chance. I still want My-Blades to disclose where they’re made, although I have made no attempt to contact them. Such basic info shouldn’t be so hard to come by.
Nice sleuthing!
That would be “11” on the sus-ness scale. Nice comparison. It is unlikely that basic metallurgy or coatings have changed significantly. The production process is already tuned to steels similar to Uddeholm AEB-L (created in the early 20th century).
I’ve seen here that they also sell kitchen knives, cartridges, shavettes and DE razors. The reviews on amazon.de concerning the Mach 3 cartridges are not that positive.