Can’t disagree or add to anything you said.
Are electrics really that bad?
- Thread starter FireDragon76
- Start date
I discovered this return gig no long ago.... like all those crazy people that go in and buy more stuff that they can afford.
I would have returned them NOW...but it's too late....I actually contributed to global pollution= tossed them in the garbage. Now only have a Panasonic
I don’t think the return policy of the shaver manufactures can be compared to people buying more stuff than they can afford. Electric shavers require a couple of weeks of usage to acclimate your face and to develop your technique to the new shaver. This is especially important going from a blade to an electric or from a rotary type to a screen type. Some folks will love it and keep the shaver whale others will not like the results and be able to get a refund.
It’s really a buy it to try it idea.
- Thread starter
- #44
I used to put a bit of mineral oil on the foil occasionally. I've only had a foil really wear out once, the cutting head chewed through the foil.
Braun recommends applying light machine oil to the screens if you use or clean the shaver with water. The only screen shaver that I ever owned that the screens wore out or tore was a Remington. That shaver was the worst electric shaver I have ever owned. It gave good shaves as long as I replaced the cutters and screens often. I was replacing both the screens and the cutters monthly. The shaver was waterproof and I cleaned it under running water which I assume corroded the cutters. The screens were very flexible and cracked easily. Eventually, I trashed the shaver and bought a Panasonic which was excellent partially because the screens and cutters were made of stainless steel.
As a result of the experience with the Remington I don’t use any water on my Braun shaver. I shave dry first thing in the morning and tap out the cuttings onto some toilet paper on the sink counter. I’ve done this for the past nine month without any problems and it’s described in Braun’s owner’s manual.
Until electric shavers were waterproof I always cleaned my screen shavers by brushing or blowing out the cuttings with no ill effects. This worry about sanitizing your electric shaver by using a cleaning station or soap and water is ridiculous unless you are sharing your shaver with your closest friends.
The $45 price was from Amazon.
I am not good with remembering routine maintenance - like oiling- and the cartridges did eliminate that need. But no question not the cheap way to go.
That was the Williams Shave Electric Shave Gel. That was great stuff.
Clayton
I think they do run better, and the foils and cutters last longer when you rinse them, and clean them. Even before we had cleaning units I took the shaver heads apart and cleaned them with rubbing alcohol after I blew and brushed them out. afterwards they got a light spray of Remington, or Eltron shaver lube and protectant. Feel free to rinse your Braun Series-7 the foils are made with better materials than the Remington foils.Braun recommends applying light machine oil to the screens if you use or clean the shaver with water. The only screen shaver that I ever owned that the screens wore out or tore was a Remington. That shaver was the worst electric shaver I have ever owned. It gave good shaves as long as I replaced the cutters and screens often. I was replacing both the screens and the cutters monthly. The shaver was waterproof and I cleaned it under running water which I assume corroded the cutters. The screens were very flexible and cracked easily. Eventually, I trashed the shaver and bought a Panasonic which was excellent partially because the screens and cutters were made of stainless steel.
As a result of the experience with the Remington I don’t use any water on my Braun shaver. I shave dry first thing in the morning and tap out the cuttings onto some toilet paper on the sink counter. I’ve done this for the past nine month without any problems and it’s described in Braun’s owner’s manual.
Until electric shavers were waterproof I always cleaned my screen shavers by brushing or blowing out the cuttings with no ill effects. This worry about sanitizing your electric shaver by using a cleaning station or soap and water is ridiculous unless you are sharing your shaver with your closest friends.
Clayton
I'm going to revert back to my Norelco 8260XL this morning. It has HQ-9 heads and normally gives me a smooth comfortable shave. During the Summer it's my headshaver too. It even came with a clean/charge unit that I don't use very often.
Clayton
- Thread starter
- #50
I only had one Remington. It was OK... a close shaver but the foil just didn't last very long. I much prefered the long life of the Braun foils, even if they didn't cut as close.
- Thread starter
- #51
Braun recommends applying light machine oil to the screens if you use or clean the shaver with water. The only screen shaver that I ever owned that the screens wore out or tore was a Remington. That shaver was the worst electric shaver I have ever owned. It gave good shaves as long as I replaced the cutters and screens often. I was replacing both the screens and the cutters monthly. The shaver was waterproof and I cleaned it under running water which I assume corroded the cutters. The screens were very flexible and cracked easily. Eventually, I trashed the shaver and bought a Panasonic which was excellent partially because the screens and cutters were made of stainless steel.
As a result of the experience with the Remington I don’t use any water on my Braun shaver. I shave dry first thing in the morning and tap out the cuttings onto some toilet paper on the sink counter. I’ve done this for the past nine month without any problems and it’s described in Braun’s owner’s manual.
Until electric shavers were waterproof I always cleaned my screen shavers by brushing or blowing out the cuttings with no ill effects. This worry about sanitizing your electric shaver by using a cleaning station or soap and water is ridiculous unless you are sharing your shaver with your closest friends.
The mineral oil was my idea because I used to use Remington Shaver Saver, and it's really just silicone, which is similar to mineral oil.
If you wash the shaver with a moisturizing cleanser (like Dove), it's probably not needed. That's what Panasonic used to recommend with their wet/dry shavers.
You really have to dry out a shaver after you wash it, though . I had a Philips develop funky smells that took a while to go away. Dry shaving is definitely less hassle, as a result.
I dabbled with a cheap Braun Series 3 and a Panasonic Arc 3 for a few months last year. I used both wet with shaving gel and they actually worked pretty well. I dont know that I would say they gave me a BBS shave but they were certainly DFS and were very close to BBS.
At the end of the day though for me, they just werent as enjoyable as my DE is and turned shaving back into a chore and something that I had to do, instead of something that I enjoyed and looked forward to doing.
For me, there is just a certain kind of mystique and nostalgia of the good ole brush, soap and DE.
I considered using the electric for travel but for me it doesnt work well dry and for the 2 or 3 times a year that I travel, it wouldnt make sense to keep it just for travel (Id have to remember to charge it before every trip) when I could just buy a pack of Bic Senstitives or similar knockoff for a few bucks and pack a small brush and a puck of VDH soap and spend less money on it.
Electrics certainly have their place, especially if shaving is something you have to do but dont really care about, just want something quick that gives you a socially acceptable shave and dont want to go the route of a cart or disposable.
At the end of the day though for me, they just werent as enjoyable as my DE is and turned shaving back into a chore and something that I had to do, instead of something that I enjoyed and looked forward to doing.
For me, there is just a certain kind of mystique and nostalgia of the good ole brush, soap and DE.
I considered using the electric for travel but for me it doesnt work well dry and for the 2 or 3 times a year that I travel, it wouldnt make sense to keep it just for travel (Id have to remember to charge it before every trip) when I could just buy a pack of Bic Senstitives or similar knockoff for a few bucks and pack a small brush and a puck of VDH soap and spend less money on it.
Electrics certainly have their place, especially if shaving is something you have to do but dont really care about, just want something quick that gives you a socially acceptable shave and dont want to go the route of a cart or disposable.
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
+1 Every once in a blue moon I notice the thought of an electric, but then an electric costs $$$, and would obsolete the store of blades & gear & software & technique I've hoarded up. And, quite likely as I have tried the things a couple times over the last half century or so of shaving, they wouldna work for a tinkers damn on my heavy bearded mug. And I've grown pretty fond of the BBSish shaves I get wet shaving.
And as some have already pointed out, there's a certain satisfaction you get from using a brush to create a lather which facilitates a sharp blade ..
If you find an electric shavers forum you’ll also find a ton of people that love them. Trouble is....being a traditional wet shaving forum....a lot of guys are here because electric shavers didn’t work for them. So it’s not that they are bad. It’s just that most the people that hate them are here.
- Thread starter
- #55
The stuff I remember was a pale blue liquid.
I'm not crazy about the scent of Lectric Shave. It smells very old fashioned, similar to Aqua Velva. I'm surprised there weren't any real competitors. Adding green tea a few years ago helped, but it's still a Chypre scent with the characteristic eternal struggle between earthy and fresh.
But I think preshaves in general aren't likely to get a resurgence. Most people would prefer to opt for using shaving lathers or gels, even though they make the whole process of shaving with an electric shaver more complicated.
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Well said. Awhile back I remember reading a different thread about electrics where someone asked why they're aren't more electric shaving related forums, or atleast threads, and SOTD type posts (pretty sure this lead to the currently running 'electric SOTD' thread) in relation to them. Most people don't use products with their electric and the ones who do may use a cream or soap or maybe just a pre-electric splash. Someone commented something along the lines of, "after my 3rd SOTD post showing my Braun shaver and Williams 'lectric shave... They would start to get pretty redundant" which makes sense. I have tried several braun models and for many months now I've been exclusively using my Philips Norelco oneblade with brush and cream. I hate to say it but I really can't see myself going back to the blade. My absolute best shaves I ever had with any bladed device still took double the amount of time as an electric shave, still produced some irritation and/or ingrowns (my hair grows flat against my skin), and bought me maybe 1 extra hour TOPS of smooth skin.
There is something poetic about choosing a razor, whipping up a lather, taking a nice slow multi pass shave... But I'm 30 with a busy job, busy band, new house, wife, dog, etc. I want to take the hair off as quickly and comfortably as possible without having a teenage acne looking ingrown breakout like I used to. So, yeah, Electrics for me.
The Philips Norelco oneblade is really cool in that it works great with brush and lather, really improves the closeness of the shave. With any of my foil or rotary shavers I found I had to use them absolutely bone dry as any moisture of any kind (sweat, humidity, water, lather) would cause them to drag on my skin. For those I would only use a light splash of plain alcohol or witch hazel as a pre-shave.
At one time there was an electric shaver forum but the guy who ran it decided to close it because he lost interest in shavers. He lived in Toronto and we spoke on the phone and planned to meet for a drink which never happened. He even had a sponsor which was an electric shaver repair and sales shop. Although, this forum mostly caters to wet shaving with blades there is room to cover electric shavers. The line between the two is becoming blurred. Not only are there electric shavers that can be used wet or dry, and there are electric blade shaver devices such as Phillips One Blade. There’s now a safety razor that heats up.
One major difference is that wet blade shaving requires more time and higher concentration to prevent cutting yourself. After all the safety razor was invented to speed up the process and reduce injuries. The number of steps required to shave wet becomes a ritual whether using a blade or an electric shaver.
Electric shavers have become high tech devices with digital battery indicators and speed adjustments with various indicator lights and buttons. My first Norelco fliptop shaver didn’t even have an on/off switch.
Or, people on this forum don’t have an opinion about electric shavers. I think some of those who don’t care for them expressed their opinion here in this thread.
Maybe. No right or wrong answer. It’s all a matter of opinion.
- Thread starter
- #60
Does the Oneblade work sort of like the old slotted shavers?
I might work better wet than my Philips. That gets a funk inside the hair catcher compartment, even though I wash it out meticulously. Cleaning it out is too much of a pain.
