Now don't laugh (too hard) but a review of the Treet Carbon blade

JayDee

JayDee

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Location
Sydney
OK. I'm probably asking for general derision but for absolutely no good reason I bought 50 Treet Durasharp carbon blades from Connaught for two thirds of sweet FA. I'd stumbled across a few favourable reviews ( one guy bought 2000 of them, he loved them that much), so I thought, what the hell.

Image lazily pinched from the net because I'm too lazy to get my camera out:

treet_zpsg5me7fwy.gif


I've had three shaves with this blade, the first with much trepidation as I'd used a carbon blade once before and barely escaped alive. That said, I must admit I'm pretty impressed with the smoothness of the blade but not its longevity, which is to be expected and hence the reason carbon blades pretty much got punted by most people for stainless blades. All shaves were with a DE 89, Shaver Heaven Barber Shop soap and Aqua Velva as the aftershave ( the AV bit will become clear in a minute).

Shave 1, last Friday: The previous two blades I'd used had been a Personna Red and a vintage Aussie Gillette Stainless that Mark1966 had kindly sent me. I rate the OZ Gillette up there with my stash of Spoilers. Great blade. I'd rate the sharpness of our Pakistani blade between the Red and the Gillette. No shit. I was surprised too. And smooooooth. After a few tentative strokes, I was chucking around my face without any cares. No cuts and a BBS with my usual 2 passes plus a touch up. Here's where the AV comes in.. AV is a magnet for the tiniest cut/abrasion and WILL sting. Virtually no stinging, at least less than I would usually get from a sharpish stainless blade.

Shave 2, last Monday: 3 days between shaves but my beard grows fairly slowly so about the equivalent of 1.5 to 2 days for most people. Still a good shave but it had lost it's virginity and I could feel the slightest tugging in the heavier sections of my beard. Still sharper than say a new Merkur blade. Me and Aqua Velva are still playing happily together.

Shave 3, today: 2 days between shaves. Did the job fine but I can definitely feel it going off. To be honest I'm happy that I got one great, one good and one decent shave out of it. YMMV. There is rust on the blade which is to be expected not being stainless (I didn't treat this blade any differently to a stainless, rinsed it and left it in the razor, no mucking around with taking it out and drying it) but the edge still looks rust free.

So there you have it. If anyone wants to try one, just PM me your address and I'll chuck a couple in an envelope. You can stop laughing at me now :)
 
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The SS Treets were alright IIRC. Bit rough but I was using 34C at the time. I reckon they'd be a decent shave in my 23/30Weber
 
Nice review - much have a try of the one you kindly sent me :)
 
Quelle surprise!
I've got uranium ore in the office if anyone wants some?
Could make your own.
 
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eggbert said:
Quelle surprise!
I've got uranium ore in the office if anyone wants some?
Could make your own.
Click to expand...
Processed or natural state ?
 
Might actually get away with sending that to Bankstown area :p
Considering the only reason I'm not working at Lucas Heights is a lack of private transport at the time of being interviewed, it's fair to state I've a respectful interest :)
 
JayDee said:
There is rust on the blade which is to be expected not being stainless (I didn't treat this blade any differently to a stainless, rinsed it and left it in the razor, no mucking around with taking it out and drying it) but the edge still looks rust free.
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I just caught up with @MrT and he has picked up a tip from Nick Shaves that may help you out. He keeps a small jar of isopropyl alcohol to dip the razor head in post-shave. It displaces the water so the blade lasts longer. It would be especially excellent for these carbon blades. Worth a try since you have so many of them. If you get another shave or two out of the blade...
 
Well @JayDee was kind enough to send some of these for me to try.

I ditched after four shaves, probably should after three, but that is up there with some other modern blades for longevity (talking to you Feathers) so not a BIG issue.

The first shave with a new blade/razor combo I often find is a settling in period- especially the first pass and this was no exception. Using in my trusty Slim on 7 BTW.

Second pass on first shave and shaves two and three were really quite good - up there with the average to better blades.

Shave four it was starting to show its age this morning and I'm off early to ADL tomorrow morning so will not push it with a fifth day.

At GBP5 per hundred (about $A9.60) plus postage they are the same as Dorco, half Astra SP and Sharks my usual cheapies, a quarter of the cost of Feathers and even cheaper than Derby. So they remain a faily cost effective blade.

Certainly work a try.
 
JayDee said:
@Mark1966 . Any opinion on sharpness or smoothness?
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Yes, these are VERY subjective terms :)

I would not rate them as sharp as a Feather but they still do the job.

Smoothness? Gee I have to confess I'd struggle to differentiate most blades too much on this characteristic alone. It was certainly not noticeably failing in this way.
 
Treet DS Carbon are a personal fave of mine. I've given quite a few away in an attempt to spread the good news but I've found that many recipients don't rate them very highly at all. I think most people find them a little dull. They certainly feel different on the face to a 'normal' (i.e. stainless) blade. They're exceptionally comfortable in my opinion.
 
Thread revival... I tossed one in my DE89 (my current favourite razor) this morning more than a month after last using one. In short, best shave I've had in a month.
 
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