Dorco ST300

Over the next few weeks I am going to keep a daily running experience of different blades. Mainly so that I can remember what they were like. Hopefully, you will find this interesting or helpful as you try different blades. Each blade will be used for 7 days unless they are a really bad blade.

Dorco ST300



Dorco ST300

All Dorco blades are micro grinded and coated to provide a smooth, clean shave. This double-edged razor blade offers the most convenient shave at a reasonable price. Made in Vietnam.

Shaving conditions:

Beard Type

Light beard growth, thicker on and under the chin, very sensitive on the neck. Susceptible to razor bumps on and under the chin area.

Preshave Prep:

• Shower
• Shave Secret (four drops)
• Van der Hagen Premium soap or deluxe soap melted into a shave stick.
• Merkur Classic razor
• Soft water
• Maggard 22mm knot synthetic brush

Post Shave:

• Dickenson's Witch Hazel (Blue Bottle)
• Pinaud Clubman Original
• Nivea Balm for Sensitive Skin

The Shave Week

Day 1 Shave

• Smoothness: Average smoothness. The blade felt sharp at the start of the shave, but seemed to loose that sharp feeling toward the end of the shave.
• Tugging: A small amount of tugging on the neck area, but not enough to cause weepers or bumps.
• Razor Burn: Some razor burn on the chin and neck area but diminished after about an hour.
• Nicks: No nicks or weepers.
• Closeness: Shave was not BBS. I had to do quite a bit of buffing on the chin area to get a close shave. After the shave and the skin settled down, I could feel a slight noticeable amount of stubble on the cheeks and visible stubble on the chin. After ten hours, I noticed a shadow appearing and noticeable stubble all over the face and neck.

Day 2 Shave

Change the blade over to my Maggard MR1 razor for a little more aggressive shave for the rest of the week.

• Smoothness: Noticeably sharper blade exposure. Tugging on the neck area increase resulting in a couple of small weepers and more razor burn. Sharpness was still fairly good for the second shave but noticeably duller due to more buffing on the chin area.
• Tugging: More noticeable tugging on the neck area.
• Razor Burn: There was more razor burn present on the second shave compared to the first. I attribute this to the more aggressive razor.
• Nicks: Several small weepers that healed by themselves. A lot of tiny weepers on the front of the chin below the corners of the lips. This area is difficult to shave clean if the razor is dull and produces a lot of little weepers if buffed to much to get a close shave.
• Closeness: After about an hour, the skin felt smooth on the cheeks and neck area, but noticeable stubble could be felt. The chin area still showed stubble that did not cut cleanly and chin area at the lower corners of the mouth was still bumpy, sore and noticible razor bumps were beginning to form.

Day 3 Shave

• Smoothness: The blade felt sharp and ragged. Not smooth at all. My skin felt tender and trying to get a close shave was very painful.
• Tugging: A lot of tugging on the neck area that was painful and produced  several weepers.
• Razor Burn: The razor burn had increased a lot since the last shave
• Nicks: Several weepers on the nick and chin area.
• Closeness: Not close at all. After the shave noticeable stubble was left behind on the chin. The only smooth part of my face were my cheeks. Noticeable razor bumps were appearing on the jaw line by the chin.

 Concluding Thoughts and Score

I had to stop using this blade after three shaves. It was a matter of self preservation.  In my opinion it is not a good blade for tender skin and I could not obtain the closeness I like without damage to the skin. Lots of weepers, stubble and painful skin. I just do not like the way my skin hurt after just three shaves.I doubt very seriously if I will try the ST301 blades that I have.

After these three shaves, I am going to have to go back to the Merkur Classic with the Voskhad blade and eliminate the ATG passes for a while. At least until I heal up.

If I were to score this blade form 1 to 10 I would rate it an overall 4.

• Sharpness: 5
• Smoothness: 2
• Tugging: 3
• Razor Burn: 3
• Closeness: 3
• Overall: 4