Treet Carbon blades
Today’s shave was using the TREET carbon steel blades. Having had excellent results using the orange “Platinum” TREET blades, trying more of their blades was a natural progression. While searching for TREET blades, I came across their carbon steel iteration. The blade is black – how cool is that?! There are a few other carbon blades out there and I was initially considering the “Quick Tiger” blades. But after seeing some negative reviews, I brought my focus back to TREET. I also saw next to no reviews on these slicers, so here is my experience with the Carbon steel TREET blades.
Obviously, we will have to touch on some differences between stainless steel which is the mainstream solution in razor blades, versus carbon steel. First off, I am no metal expert and am basing myself on what I read from various sources on-line. The main perk of stainless steel is the “stainless” aspect which is great for kitchen knives for example. Stainless also implies that the steel will not rust. In the case of a razor blade, this is a very relevant quality as the blade is exposed to water repeatedly. Carbon steel on the other hand is a harder steel that can be brought to a sharper edge. Carbon being stronger implies that the sharper edge would also would last longer than that of a stainless steel edge. As you can see, it’s a bit of a compromise situation. In practical terms, how many times will you use the same razor blade? In my case, it’s a one time usage. The feedback I got from other wet shavers is that they might reuse a blade maybe as many as 3 times before changing. That being the case, we can venture that the rusting concern wouldn’t have time to be an issue and you are simply left with the benefit of a harder and sharper blade.
So how was the shave using this blade? It was very good. I used it to shave off 2 days worth of growth and it was perfectly comfortable and efficient. No tugging, no nicks. Just a nice and smooth shave. Although, this is a very sharp blade it did not feel like I had to be extra careful, like you might be with a Feather blade for example. The blade is also a tad more rigid than Treet’s regular stainless steel blade. Having shaved with thicker blades such as the BlueBeards Revenge, I am now comfortable with this type of blade. But to clarify, the Treet carbon blade is still not as rigid as the one from the Bluebeards. It’s a perfect middle ground.
As you can see in the pictures, the blades comes in a folding box. It looks like the full blown box holds 200 blades. As I bought 100, I got half the box. The blades are packaged in groups of 10 and are individually double wrapped in wax paper. Because these blades are carbon, proper storage is very important. The double wrapping can only protect so much from humidity. I am keeping the bulk of the blades outside of the bathroom and only storing a small pack of 10 with my razor in the said bathroom. The ventilation in there is good, but humidity can still get into anything.
My blades were purchased on eBay from the RazorBladesClub for $13 US (about $17 CND) with free shipping to Canada. They were delivered in just over a week. Interestingly, the seller is in Sweden, but the parcel was delivered by the German Postal Service.
TEST STAGE:
- State: Out of the shower
- Razor: Merkur 180
- Blade: Treet Carbon
- Pre-Shave: None
- Shaving Cream: Rockwell
- After-Shave: Rockwell
The “Test Stage” information is important because, as I have experienced, the different shaving creams will tremendously impact the quality and comfort of the shave. I chose the Rockwell products for this test for two reasons: First off – they are my current favorites. Secondly, they are my favorite because of the great protection (insulation) and lube. Whatever your favorite shaving cream might be, using a thick cream with good lube will make the whole difference.
In closing, these carbon Treet blades were well worth it, rendering a comfortable and quality shave.
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