Astra Superior Platinum Razor Blade Review

The first time I used an Astra Superior Platinum Razor Blade I was not a big fan. Full disclosure; it was only my second shave so that fact that I did not like it didn’t hold much weight.

It took me a while to return to this blade, but I finally did for this testing. Astra is one of the fan favorites out there, I was excited to give it another try. They seem to always be available online and the price for 100 is tough to beat.

Astra Platinum Double Edge Safety Razor Blades ,100 Count (Pack of 1)

• Model Number: ASTRA01
• Country Of Origin: United States
• Item Package Weight: 6.0 oz
• Item Package Dimension: 8.0" L x 1.5" W x 8.0" H

Buy on Amazon

Fresh out of the pack the sharpness measured 49. For information on what this means check out Razor Blade Sharpness Testing. This would not be considered sharp like a Feather (32), but it is sharper than a Derby Extra (53). You can click this link to see a Razor Blade Sharpness Comparison Chart with the other blades tested so far.

While I was excited and optimistic to be using the Astra, I was not impressed. I did not find the blade very smooth and it didn’t feel great. I found myself working harder than I’d like to trying to clean up after my third pass.

Even after the effort I noticed some less than smooth spots and minor patches later. If I did not need to do a second shave for review purposes I would have tossed the blade right in the garbage.

After the first shave, the sharpness increased to 46. This seems to be common for coated blades, my hypothesis is that as the coating wears off a bit the blade edge is more exposed.

Note that I shave my head as well as my face and have a pretty thick growth – except for the top of my head. This means that one of my shaves might equal two of someone that just shaves their face, or even more if they have a thinner beard.

I was not looking forward to the second shave with the Astra Superior Platinum, which is a testament to its first performance as I like shaving enough to have a blog about it. I was pleasantly surprised with how the second shave went. I want to be clear, I still don’t think it was a great shave, but it was noticeably better than the first one and I was reasonably happy about. It still didn’t feel the best, but it felt like it had “smoothed out” a bit. Either way, I was happy to be done with it.

After the second shave the sharpness had increased to 44. While the blade appears to be getting sharper, I don’t feel it would have the required smoothness to keep going. That said, I didn’t find it very smooth to start with.

Initial Sharpness = 49
Average Sharpness = 46
Edge Retention = 0.90
Smoothness = 3/5

Overall Subjective Rating = 3/5

Platinum Coated. Made in Russia.

Buy on Amazon

I personally did not like the Astra Superior Platinum and do not plan to try it again for personal use. I may, however, try to push it later for testing to see how many shaves it takes to dull. The Astra Superior Platinum Blade is a perfect example why every shaver (especially starting out) should try as many blades as they can. I have friends who really like this blade, but quite frankly I don’t.

Check out more Razor Blade Reviews or look into how the Razor Blade Sharpness Testing works.

Have you tried Astra Superior Platinum Razor Blades? Be sure to leave your overall rating, the community appreciates your vote!

Astra Platinum Double Edge Safety Razor Blades ,100 Count (Pack of 1)

• Model Number: ASTRA01
• Country Of Origin: United States
• Item Package Weight: 6.0 oz
• Item Package Dimension: 8.0" L x 1.5" W x 8.0" H

Buy on Amazon