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Feather Difference?

Blade-meister

Blade-meister

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I pretty much use feather DE blades all the time in my Parker Variant. The first tucks I ever tried were the feathers packaged in the black and grey cover. Because I have a tough and course beard growth, I pretty much only get 3-4 shaves out of any other blade, but with a feather I was getting 6 or more before replacement was needed. When it came time to reorder I went to Amazon and got the yellow and black packages - 50. With those I was only getting 3-4 shaves with the 4th shave feeling more like a less expensive blade. I was pretty disappointed, but all my research showed that these were supposed to be the same blade just in new packaging, but experience tells me they are not. I looked at the blade and it's not counterfeit (who would do that?). Once all 50 were used up I ordered the black and grey packaged feathers from the Feather Store on Amazon. These blades are the quality I was used to and now I'm getting 6 or more shaves from them. I paid more than the yellow packaged ones, so I have to wonder if the yellow packaged ones I got before were a bad batch sold cheap and resold on Amazon under another seller for much less than Feather would sell them for? I did notice a different UPC code on them. Anyone had this experience?

IMG_1496.JPG
 
Agree w/ @NurseDave. And I just found this on the Feather Japan website. I made a screenshot which cuts off the 2 yellow package formats, but note the note (see what I did there? ;)) at the top stating that all the blades in different packaging are the same blade.

feather blade.png
 
Thanks everyone for their input. I thought a lot about this. When I worked in a deli through high school and college, people claimed that yellow American cheese tasted differently than the white American cheese. I'd show them that the only difference was the orange dye by letting them see the brick package ingredients. They'd still swear they tasted different. Perhaps I'm doing the same thing here I thought? I did notice that the number per tuck was different, but none of it still explains the extra smoothness and the longevity I'm getting.

This is backed up also by thinking about this the opposite way as well. When I got the yellow packaged feathers, I would be expecting the same performance I was used to and was caught by surprise when they were not performing the same. Counterfeits? No, definitely not because there's no money in counterfeiting DE blades. Bad batch sold at a discount to some other person? I don't know. I'd think they'd have the production process down pretty well by now given their reputation. So I'm really left with a lot of questions that don't seem to have answers, yet the results show what is happening in real time. I guess I'll just enjoy the great shaves and stick with the black and grey packaging even if it's just me. If I had to take a stab at it, my theory would be that the yellow packaging is made somewhere else where quality control is not up to snuff.

It does make one wonder why they'd have to tell us it is the same blade in different packaging. Companies spend a lot of money on branding. The yellow packaging looks cheap to me compared to the black and grey - almost Russian made. The blades look identical once out of the packaging. I will say this though, the glue on the wrapper to the yellows is a lot stronger, stickier, etc. than the black and grey. That further makes me wonder about production and where each are really made. Maybe it's just me.
 
When I reviewed these in my bad blade series. My research yielded that the black label is marketed in Japan and asian countries. The yellow label is marketed in the Americas and Europe. It's a marketing decision. I have seen 10 packs of the black, and I have seen 5 packs of the yellow.

The blades are exact same.
 
Yeah, DE blades aren’t as popular in the US as they are in other countries, so it’s hard to understand counterfeiting them. But outside the US it’s big business.

I’ve used both and they do seem the same to me, although I always preferred the yellow packs. I’ve always thought the yellow packs looked more professional, and the black ones looked cheaper.

But I consistently get great longevity (30-60 shaves) from the yellow packs, so I stick with those!
 
Great input guys. I'll chalk it up to be a mystery or some mental preference on my part imparting a bias. I'll take everyone's word for it. Thanks again!
 
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