Review Dorco Prime Platinum

Lifes a Peach

Lifes a Peach

...or a mango. But definitely a fruit.
2016 Sabbatical
Charity Auction Team
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
@King of Authentic Shave contacted me recently and offered up a couple of packs of these blades for the Blade Sampler bank. He also asked me if I could try the blade and provide some feedback. Blade performance varies from face-to-face and razor being used so we enlisted the help of a small but diverse team and over the next few weeks we will post up our reviews.

Dorco are a South Korean company. They manufacture the 7-blade cartridge razor that I have been trying out.

The team will rate the blade against sharpness, smoothness, longevity, and value.

First review to follow shortly. Should be interesting!
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Used the one blade for three shaves and unfortunately this blade is not for me. First shave with the blade my initial thoughts were, very smooth, easy glide with no tugging or pulling. With one days growth I finished the first pass WTG and rinsed off to find I still had a lot of growth to deal with. Second pass ATG, still very smooth, rinse off and still a fair amount of growth left. Generally I would do a clean up under the chin and be done but I needed a substantial clean up and I still could feel roughness. Had to stop for fear of irritation. Also had a couple of weepers. It was a good shave but the blade is not very sharp. Second shave with the same blade was a repeat performance. Smooth but not reducing the growth enough so by five o'clock I had a noticeable shadow of growth.The third shave was not any better, in fact, any semblance of smoothness was gone. There was a lot of tugging and pulling and general lack of removing whiskers. In all cases my preparation was identical and I used soaps that are of good quality so as not to add too many variables to the shave. Perhaps in a more aggressive razor the results may be better. This blade did not get along with my whiskers. My scoring is as follows. Keeping in mind my beard has its own uniqueness so these blades may work for you.
Value (y)(y)(y)
Packaging(y)(y)
Smoothness(y)(y)
Sharpness(n)
Longevity(y)
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Review #1 - with a Gillette NEW OC

Now 3 shaves with this blade paired with an Open Comb. My initial thought is that this blade sits somewhere in the second tier area. It's important to re-iterate that blades are a very personal item of shaving and performance can vary with the razor that it has been paired with. For me a Feather in one razor will perform a lot differently in another razor.

The packaging, whilst not a factor for me, is quite good. Standard 5 pack in cardboard pack with each pack wrapped in plastic, which is a nice touch. Each blade is double paper wrapped and no glue spots. Overall quite good and professional looking.

Performance sits in a sea of second tier blades that I have experienced in the last 4 years.. These are the blades that I have thought were okay but without setting the world on fire. Not as sharp or smooth as my favorite blades paired with the Gillette. However the post-shave feel I got when rubbing in some Witch Hazel was a surprise. Every shave was very close and my face felt very smooth. No issues WTG or ATG. No deterioration experienced over the 3 shaves so it stood up well.

Overall not a blade that would compete with my top picks in the Gillette. However on price point these blades would be a good choice. Better than Astra or Derby - may be somewhere close to a Personna Red.

Value (y)(y)(y)
Packaging (y)(y)(y)(y)
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)
Sharpness (y)(y)(y)
Longevity (y)(y)(y)(y)
Overall (y)(y)(y)

Next up - paired with a Standard razor. Stay tuned.
 
Three shaves here with me in a Merkur 34c paired with Tabac for two shaves and Mystic Waters for the final (both excellent Tallow based soaps). All shaves were WTG, XTG, ATG, clean up.

I like this blade. It is smooth, medium high sharpness. It produced a smooth, close result right to the end despite starting to pull. I found I had more clean up than I am used to however but I am not sure what that indicates. As a point of reference I've been using a DE for a month now, and I have tried quite a few blades. 10 now I think. I found the longevity of the blade poor. As mentioned above I felt a sharp drop in cutting performance by the end of my third shave. I would be happy to keep using my normal blade at this point, but I would not be so keen to keep using this one. I think it would still shave well, but would require good technique and effort to keep it going. To me, and the cost of this blade firmly makes it not worth while. These cost 21c each when bought in a pack of 60. My regular blade, a feather is 35c. Astra, an excellent blade but probably not quite on par is around 25c each (but can be had for 20c). Packaging is good. Cardboard box, double wrapped, not big wax glue drops. I much prefer the plastic case complete with blade disposal of the likes of feather and merkur but this is ok.

In summary, a good choice, great value, good shaving but lack of durability is made up for in price. Chuck it early and use a fresh one.

Value (y)(y)(y)(y)
Packaging (y)(y)(y)
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)(y)
Sharpness (y)(y)(y)
Longevity (y)(y)
Overall (y)(y)(y)(y)

Next up - in my Slim Adjustable.
 
@Monsta_AU ... can I get an edit card for the above post please?????

Just found out the blades come in either cardboard or plastic boxes depending if you buy 30, 60 or 100. 100 blade pack contains 10 plastic boxes of 10 blades each which is for sure my preference. So, I would bump the packaging up one 'thumbs up'.
 
Sxot said:
@Monsta_AU ... can I get an edit card for the above post please?????

Just found out the blades come in either cardboard or plastic boxes depending if you buy 30, 60 or 100. 100 blade pack contains 10 plastic boxes of 10 blades each which is for sure my preference. So, I would bump the packaging up one 'thumbs up'.
Click to expand...

Not sure if this has occurred or not. So how many thumbs for packaging and overall?
 
Evening gents,

Review of blade 1 completed just now. For round 1 I'm using the Merkur 34c, which I find is heavily reliant on the blade sharpness to deliver close shaves. 3 shaves completed with a use of both tallow and vegan soaps over those 3. First 2 shaves with 1 day growth, shave tonight with 2 1/2 days.

Summary - Exceedingly smooth blade that is in the low end of mid pack for sharpness, and representing good value at 15-20c/blade (pending pricing reveal of the 100pk).

Detail - Asthetics of the packaging, whilst not important to me, I was quite impressed with. As @Lifes a Peach mentioned, double wrapped (which I do like) without any glue spots. Labels printed on the blade in good quality.

Going WTG in the first shave and I immediately thought to myself, wow these are smooth. First pass with the 34c never tells me much about the sharpness of a blade. XTG and ATG passes on the other hand, always a telling tale. So heading into the XTG pass and whilst remaining smooth, just wasn't as sharp as the permasharp I had been using the days before. I have quite coarse hair with the added bonus of sensitive skin (yeah I know, lucky hey). If a blade is too dull, I certainly experience tugging and irritation on my neck in particular. No such problem with these, but would put just above Derby blades for sharpness. Finished up that day with a DFS (and one nick, but that was pre-existing irritation from user error).

Tonight's shave which was third with the blade, was thoroughly enjoyable. Catie's Bubbles LTV for the lather, a nice clean scent before bed. Pre-shave with hot towels and general face wash with QV. 3 pass (WTG, XTG, ATG) with clean up at the end. Sitting here, irritation & nick free, not quite BBS, but bloody close, I can't really complain.

For blade 2, I'll be using the great equaliser when it comes to sharpness, the #102 slant. You could put a butter knife in that and it would seem sharp (ok, that's a stretch but you get the idea). I'm actually quite keen to see how it goes.

For my ratings in this razor, I'll make a note with reference point or comment below for context.

Value (y)(y)(y)
Pending pricing reveal at @King of Authentic Shave 's website, the 100 pack incoming should retail similar to Astra SP ($15-20 delivered). At this price, it's still more expensive than my beloved Voskhod, but on par with Astra SP which I also appreciate.
Packaging (y)(y)(y)(y)(y)
4 thumbs up for the double wrap, no glue spot. An extra thumb if it comes in a plastic 10pk with razor disposal in the back. Love those things.
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)(y)(y)
One of the smoothest I've tried.
Sharpness (y)
Yeah, not sharp. Does the job well, and give a close shave, but would struggle for BBS in the 34c.
Longevity (y)(y)(y)
It lasted 3 shaves, and I might be able to get another couple out of it if I tried. Honestly, I'm happy to throw away a 20c blade after 3 shaves (9-12 passes).
Overall (y)(y)(y)
I actually quite enjoyed this blade, especially tonight's shave. What has driven the overall score? Voskhod can be obtained cheaper, they're sharper, without sacrificing a heap of smoothness. Permasharp even better yet, for only an extra 7-10 c per blade. Would I baulk at the idea of buying some and using them daily in the 34c... certainly not.
 
Korbz said:
It's still more expensive than my beloved Voskhod
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OK, now you got my attention :D

Just tell it to us straight: don't care about price, packaging etc. (OK, I hate glue spots, but besides that): a one on one of the Dorco and Voskhod please
 
Voskhod has my money still... I prefer a slightly sharper blade, and the Voskhod is just that. Sharper by a couple of notches but only a notch behind in smoothness. Still, that shave tonight was fkn awesome! Just one of the fun, close, smooth enoyable shaves where you catch yourself almost subconsciously stroking your face (or is that just me) :)
 
Korbz said:
Just one of the fun, close, smooth enoyable shaves where you catch yourself almost subconsciously stroking your face (or is that just me)
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Well, not just you, i did the same at my first shave with Dorco Prime. I thought the first pass was almost enough for a nice shave, to my suprise it stated the same in the offical advertisement. :)
 
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Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Dorco Prime Platinum (1)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson 'The Duke'
Soap/Cream: D R Harris Marlborough
Aftershave: Myrsol Antesol



First impression of the Dorco Prime Platinum, not too bad. I quite enjoyed the Dorco blades earlier in my DE shaving life, the Dorco 301 more than the 300, so am favourably disposed to the Prime Platinum. Made in Vietnam didn't thrill me, lots of rubbish blades from that area, but these seem to be better than average at first blush. More to come later ...
 
Review #2 - with a Standard

Completed my 3rd shave with blade 2 this morning with a Standard.

The Dorco Prime blade paired with the Standard was a much better shaving experience. The biggest improvement was comfort. Very smooth whilst delivering a close shave. Some kudos must go to the razor as it has this knack of taming blades and brings out the best of them. Blade performance was consistent from shave 1 to 3. I'm sure I could have pushed it for another shave or 2. No weepers and no sting from the aftershave. The dreaded ATG on the upperlip was a non-event.

Value (y)(y)(y)
Packaging (y)(y)(y)(y)
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)(y)
Sharpness (y)(y)(y)
Longevity (y)(y)(y)(y)
Overall (y)(y)(y)(y)

In summary the Dorco Prime is good, but it joins the long list of middle tier blades. Very comfortable and close in the Standard but a little rough in the Gillete NEW (OC). And do you know what? Most blades I have used in the last few years perform just like that. Even the mighty and expensive Feather can be average for me in some razors. It will be price that sets it apart.

Thanks @King of Authentic Shave for sending these blades for review. It was a good experience.
 
Hi Guys,
I would like to thank you all who has provided their comments and contributed on the Dorco prime platinum blades review. I think it has been a good and an objective review. I would also like to offer free Dorco prime blades to the ones who are interested in trying and optionally providing a review on the forum. The blades are also available at the DE blade bank from @Lifes a Peach. I have also decided on the final pricing of $17.90 for the Dorco Prime blades taking into consideration the reviews provided on the forum. I beleive this is also a good example of direct end user/community influence to the market. I am hoping to have more interaction with the forum users in future. (y)(y)(y). Thank you All.
 
Razor: Weber Polished Head on Bulldog Handle
Blade: Dorco Prime Platinum (4)
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson
Soap/Cream: CRSW Bergamot & Bay
Aftershave: Myrsol F/Extra

Great lather from the CRSW but that is not what we area here for ...

The Dorco Prime Platinum. As I mentioned I was favourably disposed to the brand but dubious about the place of manufacture. Despite this I tried to review with a fairly open mind keeping the Astra SP and Personna Lab Blue as my reference rather than vintage blades. The results, IMHO,


Value (y)(y)(y)(y)
Given pricing noted above by @King of Authentic Shave I'd give this a four thumbs - better than average
Packaging (y)(y)(y)
I cannot get excited about packaging and the double wrap to be seems excessive but I don't really care - an average score.
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)(y)
Definitely smooth from day one and this is a strength
Sharpness (y)(y)(y)
Not Feather sharp by any means but that can be a good thing. I would categorise as average in the attribute
Longevity (y)(y)(y)
Four shaves in with is about average. Not sure if I want to push further but no real need to
Overall (y)(y)(y)

Was tossing up between three and four overall. I will chuck a Personna Blue in and compare more directly then may revise on the next blade.

Would I rush out and buy heaps - no. Would I include in a recommended list to try - yes.

Certainly a worthy middle of the road blade, give them a go!
 
My second review, this time in a Gillette New - open comb.

I found the results in this razor on par with it in my 34c. I don't think there is anything I would change so;

In summary, a good choice, great value, good shaving but lack of durability is made up for in price. Chuck it early and use a fresh one. I would add this in the high mid tier of my blade preferences.

Value (y)(y)(y)(y)
Packaging (y)(y)(y) (greater result would be achieved if the supplied them in the plastic box's in all sizes.
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)(y)
Sharpness (y)(y)(y)
Longevity (y)(y)
Overall (y)(y)(y)(y)
 
I've noticed that most of the reviews on here are based on shaving with this blade about 3 times and then binning it. I found it surprising that my 4th to 7th shave with this blade was very good to excellent.

I managed to nick myself a few times during my first three shaves, therefore I don't think sharpness is an issue. If I had binned the blade after three shaves, then I personally would not have thought much of it, but it grew on me from the 4th shave onwards (I'm talking about 3.5 passes and a medium course beard). I had hardly experienced any audible feedback during my first three shaves (maybe it was the double-coating suppressing the sound), however I was suddenly getting audible feedback from the 4th to 7th shave.

I'm not sure what it was, but it did feel smoother after 3 shaves - maybe its double-coating was wearing in certain areas to adjust to the contours of my face (just another guess). Although I decided not to risk it and therefore bin it after 7 shaves, I do think I could have easily extended its use. Therefore, longevity for me, was not an issue.

I'm not sure if its such a good idea to judge a blade after shaving with it a few times - Just like any wet-shaving product, it can take some time to dial it in. I'm looking forward to testing it again in the near future.

Value (y)(y)(y)(y)
Packaging (y)(y)(y)(y)
Smoothness (y)(y)(y)(y)
Sharpness (y)(y)(y)(y)
Longevity (y)(y)(y)(y)
Overall (y)(y)(y)(y)
 
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Nice review @Volare !

With modern blades *most* people get 3 - 5 shaves from each blade and then bin them. Feathers tend to last less and few go well beyond 5, seven is commonly as far as most modern blades tend to go.

So a review around 4 - 5 is normally pretty fair if other stuff is consistent and what you are very familiar with. I'm still using mine as you can see here 0 Shave of the Day Thread - 2016

Often blades are reported to be better from the second shave onwards, in fact some people 'cork' blades before using them at all to get the same effect. This is the case even when other gear remains the same and simply each time a new blade of the same type is switched in so it is not a case necessarily of dialing in a new bit of kit.

Blades though seem to be the ultimate variable for people.

Apart from @Osman who clearly didn't enjoy the blade, which is OK!, the other reviews are in the 3-4 thumbs range so fairly consistent as an average to a little above blade.
 
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