Consumer Institute Tests Razor Blades

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31234, 5 December 1966, Page 18

Consumer Institute Tests Razor Blades

Each man has to decide for himself which razor blade suits him best, and no laboratory or user test can fully establish which Is the best for every shaver, according to the Consumers* Institute. The December issue of “Consumer” magazine reports, however, that a test of stainless steel blades by the institute showed that one particular brand gave a better life than any other in the test. For economy and not greatly inferior, the institute regards a chain store brand as clearly the cheapest blade to use. Eight brands of razor blades were tested by a panel of 22 men throughout New Zealand. The institute recognised that no two men shaved in exactly the same way, so shaving habits were taken into consideration when the blades were assessed. Each man had his own method. Water temperature, water 'hardness, the use of pre-shave lotions, different soaps and creams, the time and effort spent in lathering, different types of beard and the way the bristles lie in relation to facial contours—“all these factors can affect the speed and quality of a shave,” the article says. “Consumer” admits that each individual has to decide for himself which blade suits him best and no laboratory or user test can fully establish which is the best blade for every shaver. However, the user test can establish which blades, on average, are likely to prove superior. “The panel noted the number of satisfactory shaves given by each of the eight

blades members had to test,” “Consumer” states. “Not unexpectedly, different users got differing results—one person would find that blade A gave him a number of satisfactory shaves, while another would be disappointed with that brand, even though the samples they used could well have come from the same packet. “This shows the effect of the uncontrollable factors but notwithstanding occasional wild results, agreement between users turned out to be, generally, quite good.

“If the average man shaves 400 times a year it is going to cost him something like 16s a year to use the cheapest of the blades, whereas, his outlay is going to be half as much again if he uses the blade giving him the longest life. Shaving is enough of a daily nuisance without having to pay extra for it, and ‘Consumer’ has decided views on which blade should be used for economy. "While the report was being printed, a ninth blade was introduced to the market. •Consumer’ notes this, but because of the limited time available it was unable to comment. “An interesting point brought to light by the test was the fact that the cheapest of the stainless steel blades was also cheaper to use than any of the ordinary blades tested in 1964.”