7 AM Plus Hi Platinum Razor Blades: My Experience with 3 Razors

Reviews that I’ve seen on the 7 AM Plus Hi Platinum Coated Razor Blades seem to be mixed. Generally speaking, I’ve seen roughly an equal amount of greats, ok’s, and hates of 7 AM Plus DE Blade.   The “Swiss Quality” noted on the top and bottom of the tuck piqued my interest a bit.  After perusing their website it appears that the manufacturer, DuraBlade Industrial Corporation Ltd, is located in Switzerland but the blades manufactured in Bangladesh.  I figured I’d give these razor blades a try with three different razors that I view to have varying degrees of aggressiveness in order see where I feel in the spectrum of love and hate for this blade. 

Swiss Quality Noted on the Tuck Piqued My Interest

As with many DE Blades, 7 AM Blades were packaged in a cardboard tuck and each blade was double wrapped, where the blade was wrapped in a type of wax paper and then contained in a DE blade sized envelope. 

My first shave was with my Merkur 34C and decided to go with Soap Commander’s Confidence shave soap.  I had about two days of growth on my head and face and thought that it cut through it nicely with no irritation, no nicks, and no gouges.  I had a great post shave feel, no mild stings from the alum block.  I was pretty impressed with this first shave. But I found that the experience wouldn’t really be the same.

Blades Were Wrapped in a Type of Wax Paper and Then in a DE Sized Paper Envelope 

For my second shave I continued with the 34C that was loaded with the same from my previous shave and decide to use the same soap.  The blade just felt dull and I thought this was odd. The blade didn't tug; but it felt like it wasn’t cutting either.  I had about a day and a half of stubble growth and dragging it over my head shaved very little off.  I gave up and shaved whatever was left with my HeadBlade Sport.  I dragged the razor over face and while I got some spots shaved, it felt like it just wasn't cutting. I flipped the blade over to finish my shave. It did the job without irritation. But it didn't feel particularly close.  So,I blade banked it immediately after the shave.

Tools of Choice for This Shave (L to R): Merkur 37C, Muhle R41 Rosegold, Merkur 34C

I moved on to the Merkur 37C for my third shave and still continued with the Soap Commander Confidence soap. Even thought it was a new blade, it felt dull and I began to question if I had a proper angle for the razor. As with the last shave, it wasn’t particularly effective. Again, I just abandoned it and finished with my HeadBlade.  The face shave was ok; but not wonderful.  I had to go over the same spot a few times to get a decent feel.  But there wasn’t any tugging and no irritation.  Thinking this blade may have been a dud, I decided to bank it.

A Couple Of Times: Had to Bank it After a One Shave

Tried the 37C again with a new blade and continued with the Confidence shave soap.  This time it felt as if it cut better than the last time.  But it still did not perform as well as it did with my first shave with this blade.  It shaved well on my head. But when it came time for the face, it felt as if it had gone dull. So I banked it after only one use.

Moving on to the Muhle R41 Rosegold I decided to switch it up and use the Shaver Heaven Green Tobacco.  The first few with the grain (WTG) passes were just like the first time I tried the 7AM blade. It glided over and effectively took out stubble on my head.  I figured the last two might have been duds and was happy with how this was going.  The blade made it thru the rest of the shave, but last few passes it started to feel dull.  This time I did feel as some slight tugging.

Have You Tried the 7AM DE Razor Blade?

For the last shave in this test, I decided to use the same blade in the R41.  The WTG pass seemed ok. As expected, the blade seemed a bit dull. But I did not feel any l tugging; at least at first.  The tugging was noticeable when shaving above my my upper lip and I even managed to nick myself once.  When all was said and done, I had a slight amount of irritation on the corners of my head and above my upper lip.

Tended to use Soap Commander's Confidence Shave Soap Often During This Test. 

I went through 4 Blades and got 1 great shave, 1 very good shave, and 2 not so good shaves with a new 7AM blade.  I’d have to say that I probably fall somewhere in lower middle end of the scale for this blade. I could have had a bad batch, or maybe I haven’t found the correct technique or the proper razor for this blade. But, for me, blade quality seems a little inconsistent for my taste. I had my best luck with the Merkur 34C. So, if I used this blade again, the 34C, or something similarly mild, would be the razor of choice. I don’t hate them. But it definitely isn’t love. 

… maybe we’re just better off as friends

Have you tried 7 AM Plus Hi Platinum Coated Razor Blades by DuraBlade?  Leave a comment below to let us know what your experience has been with them.