Sharp are made in Bangladesh along with several other brands such as clifton and Champion to name just two. Sharp also come in various types. Astra blades were made in Russia St Petersberg and are now made in India. Ladas are made in the Russian owned plant Mostochlegmash where Rapira blades as well as your favourite blades (Voskhod) are made.

There are several Derby Blades floating around. There are some Derby Extra blades in white plastic tucks with vertically prints whilst there is an almost identically packaged Derby Extra which is horizontally aligned print insert in the plastic tuck. The ones with the vertically printed insert are said to be of the older stock whilst the new ones are horizontally aligned which is made on newer equipment along with Platinum (Black Plastic tucks) and USTA blades. Some people prefer the old and some people detest them. I have used all of them and they all appear to be fine. The only ones I have not used from this factory is the Bluebird blades but I vaguely recall other blades being made there but my memory fails me. (ZAZA is another blade that I forgot) Derby Extra are also available in orange and also blue labels. The Blue packaged ones are simply packs of 10. The new ones can also be had in tuckless bulk packs that are singly packaged in one little box. (used a fair few of these ones) Derby are very forgiving and probably most peoples starter blades at least they were which is where I suspect they get their poor reputation from.

It’s worth noting that Shark also have several different types of blades. Stainless, Chrome and Platinum. Platinum being the newest of the three types.

Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge (yellow) and Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) still appear to be made in Russia however their quality may have declined in recent years. I cannot verify this myself as I have a large supply of several of these blades and none of mine appear to be made in recent years. In regards to the 7 O’Clock blades you have I would suggest the Super Stainless as they appear to be reasonably sharp and smooth whilst the yellow ones can vary due to changes made over the years. As of today the yellow SharpEdge ones are not bad but some say they are not as sharp as they used to be. I prefer how they shave now in comparison to the older ones I also have as they were not very smooth at all. I would rate the Green blades a little higher than the Astra superior Platinum blades. If I want a decent, no fuss shave I would chose the Green blades out of these. Gillette Silver Blue are a little dearer. I have found them to be more razor dependent than the Greens but are still pretty decent. Since these are all Russian made blades then availability might be a bit difficult. It is perhaps worth mentioning that I believe the 7 O’Clock blades are made for the Arabic nations (Sorry, a better description of the region is not coming to me) so availability might still be good which explains why they are still readily available. There is a version of Gillette Platinum blades that I enjoy that are still being made and I suspect for this reason also. I also suspect that the Silver Blue and Perma-Sharp blades are made for this market also. Prices may vary as some resellers are milking the market right now too.

Astra have been favoured by many as their first “decent” starter blade but due to the manufacturing location changes it is still early days to form a solid opinion and reputation but as with everything you are going to have fans of the old and fans of the new and then some people that hate change. Everyone’s opinion has their merit but since the ones you have are very likely made in Russia I would not depend on these as you will find it difficult to procure them now as they are starting to be overtaken by those made in India.

India, Pakistan and Egypt manufacturer a large assortments of blades not to mention China too. Treet is a reputable brand that make a good variety of blades are largely inexpensive and made in Pakistan. India make a fair few blades including a Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Platinum (Blacks) which are nice but for some reason have a big markup and are not worth the price if you ask me as their are other equally if not better blades made in India and elsewhere. Egypt make a ton of blades under several different brands. Bolzano, Rainbow, Lord (being the largest), ASCO, Elios, Shark and Silverstar etc. Vietnam Make Dorco blades which are not bad either. Greece make BiC blades of which there are two types Astor (Stainless steel) and the BiC Chrome Platinum blades.

I am keen to hear how you go with the Derby Extra blades you have.

I personally never found the Voskhod blades to be that great but there was a rather large batch that were faulty many years ago which is when I bought them. (probably before year 2005)

Perhaps you could clue us in what country you are located in so we can make some recommendations based on availability and prices too. We might even be able to provide you with a decent store to buy them at and at the best prices. As with everything I am not a fan of Amazon as you may not be getting what you pay for and may also be paying more than you should. Another factor ould be what razor you are using too as i believe some blades perform differently in different razors.