DooDudeThe Captain's Log

Shaving research notes

Who Makes Your Razor? Shaving Razor Details

The more I experiment, the more I find the same thing. Many razor and blade brands are made in the same few factories. Here's the DooDude's family tree of razors.

Last updated

Research notes, not a hands-on review. These notes were gathered from manufacturer catalogs and shaving forums in 2019. Companies buy, sell and move factories all the time, so some details may have changed. Anything marked "unconfirmed" is the DooDude's best guess.

Cartridge Razors

Gillette

  • Fusion
  • Mach 3
  • Sensor
  • Trac II

Dorco (South Korean manufacturer)

  • Dollar Shave Club (Dorco Pace 6 Plus)
  • Every Man Jack
  • Barbasol
  • Lucky Tiger
  • Shave Mob
  • Swipe

Harry’s / Feintechnik (German manufacturer in Eisfeld, Germany)

  • Croma Diamant
  • Bolzano
  • Elios, German Wilkinson
  • Lamix

Edgewell

  • Schick (Hydro 5, Unilever’s AXE)
  • Personna
  • Jack Black (Personna M5 Magnum®/X5)
  • Bulldog (Personna Caliber 5® with Motion Sphere™Cartridges)

King of Shaves

  • Azor (Kai Industries in Japan)
  • Retro 4 (Bic)
  • KOS 5-Blade (manufacturer unconfirmed)

King of Shaves’ UK blades are made by Kai Industries in Japan (a shareholder in King of Shaves). Kai only makes the Azor.

Source: Kai Group razor catalog (PDF)

Companies making double-edge (DE) razor blades

Benxi Jincheng

  • Cheetah. A Benxi Jincheng brand from China
  • Panda. A Benxi Jincheng brand from China

Bic

  • Astor. A Bic brand for their Greek made blades.
  • Bic. Greek made blades from Bic

Derby

  • Bluebird. A second brand from Derby in Turkey
  • Derby. Made from Swedish steel in Turkey

Energizer Holdings Inc.

  • Schick (unconfirmed)
  • Wilkinson (unconfirmed)
  • Crystal. From the Personna factory in Israel
  • Personna. Several different models made in several different factories around the world (unconfirmed).

Feather

  • Feather. Japanese

Feintechnik

  • Bolzano. Now made in Germany by Feintechnik.
  • Croma. Made in Germany by Feintechnik.
  • Diamant. Made in Germany by Feintechnik
  • Elios. Made in Germany by Feintechnik
  • Giesen & Forsthoff
  • Timor. Made for Giesen & Forsthoff (possibly by Medyna) in Solingen, Germany.
  • Van Der Hagen DE Blades are Timor (Timor Solingen) Medyna also makes the Timor blades

Gillette (P&G)

  • Astra. Several different models in this brand. All from PPI Russia
  • Minora. A Gillette brand name used in Africa
  • Gillette Super Stainless. A Gillette brand manufactured by PPI Russia
  • Nacet. A Gillette brand manufactured by PPI Russia
  • Permasharp. In 2003, Gillette moved production of the DE blades to PPI Russia
  • Polsilver. A Gillette brand manufactured by PPI Russia
  • Gillette Platinum (unconfirmed)
  • Sputnik. A Gillette brand manufactured by PPI Russia
  • Gillette 7 O’Clock Permasharp (Green) - made in India for Gillette
  • Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge (yellow) - made in Russia.
  • Gillette 7 O’clock Super Platinum (blue) - possibly PPI Russia
  • Gillette 7 O’clock Super Platinum (black) - made in India for Gillette
  • Rotbart. For the German market. They come in Extra Dunn and Supersanft flavours. PPI Russia
  • Tiger. From the same company in the Czech Republic that Astra blades came from that was bought by Gillette.
  • Gillette Super Thin. Made in Thailand
  • Gillette Rubie Platinum+ Possibly made by PPI

Kai Industries Co

Kai. From Japan

  • Lion Match Co
  • Lion. From Lion Match in South Africa.

Lord

  • Asco. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • Big Ben. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • Crown. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • Lord. Platinum, Super Chrome and Super Stainless. Made in Egypt (unconfirmed)
  • Shark. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • Racer. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • Silver Star. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • Rainbow. Made by Lord in Egypt
  • The Lord Sharks come in Super Stainless and in Super Chrome. There is also the Lord Cool Super Stainless.

https://www.lordshave.net/images/catalogs/pdf/aa37615bf1f6abb3a66039beee413be081c14c48.pdf

Malhotra

  • Centwin. A brand of Malhotra in India who say they are the world’s largest shaving blade manufacturer.
  • Laser. A brand of Malhotra in India who say they are the world’s largest shaving blade manufacturer.
  • Swish. A brand of Malhotra in India who say they are the world’s largest shaving blade manufacturer.
  • Topaz. A brand of Malhotra in India
  • Vijay. A brand of Malhotra in India

http://www.lasershaving.in/tripleblade.htm

Medyna

  • Souplex. Made by Medyna in Solingen, Germany.
  • Chandra Made by Medyna in Solingen, Germany.
  • Gymnastic Made by Medyna in Solingen, Germany.
  • Solingen Made by Medyna in Solingen, Germany.
  • Merkur. Of Solingen
  • Merkur. Germany
  • Mostochlehmash
  • Rapira. Made in Moscow, Russia by Mostochlehmash, from Swedish steel.
  • Voskhod. Made in Moscow, Russia by Mostochlehmash
  • Ladas. Made in Moscow, Russia by Mostochlehmash
  • Ningbo Fuda Blade Co
  • Happy Bird from Ningbo Fuda Blade Co., Ltd. in China.
  • Woodpecker from Ningbo Fuda Blade Co., Ltd. in China.

http://www.fd-blade.com

Samah

  • Balaka. A Samah blade from Bangladesh.
  • Champion. A Samah blade from Bangladesh
  • Sharp. A Samah blade from Bangladesh
  • 7am. A Samah blade from Bangladesh

http://srbil.com/products/

Shanghai Razor Blade Co.

  • Flying Eagle. From Shanghai Razor Blade Co., China
  • Treet Corporation Limited
  • Treet (Platinum Super, DurSharp, &DE) made by Treet in Pakistan
  • Treet also has a Falcon and a Star Plus.
  • Trig. A Treet brand from Pakistan

http://treetonline.com

Vidyut Metallics Limited

  • Super-Max. (SS, SS+, Platinum+, Super Platinum) From Vidyut Metallics Limited in India
  • Zorrick. Another brand from Vidyut in India

Yantai Huamei Razor Blade Co., Ltd

  • Gold Cow. One of several brands made by Yantai Huamei Razor Blade Co., Ltd in Shandong, China.
  • Dinosaur made by Yantai Huamei Razor Blade Co., Ltd in Shandong, China.
  • Quick Tiger made by Yantai Huamei Razor Blade Co., Ltd in Shandong, China.

Double-edge (DE) blade factories by country

This list was compiled from the Badger & Blade “Razor Blades by Country” wiki, a great resource for the shaving-obsessed.

Bangladesh

Brazil

China

Egypt

France

Germany

Greece

India

Israel

Japan

Pakistan

Russia

Serbia

South Korea

Turkey

USA

Single-edge (SE) and injector blade factories

China