You just described my shaving life before B&B!
To the OP, no need to confess other than your lack of using a badger brush to work the goo in; this IS Badger & Blade after all. You had the 'blade' part covered.
marty
A confession, dear friends. I have failed both you and me this morning...
- Thread starter CCS
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To the OP, no need to confess other than your lack of using a badger brush to work the goo in; this IS Badger & Blade after all. You had the 'blade' part covered.
marty
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- #42
Well, hopefully some will be relieved to learn that today's shave was with my freshly restored/replated early 1920's Old Type (thanks to Chris Spencer of Back Roads Gold). I used my T&H (Rooney) silvertip badger brush and T&H West Indian Lime shaving cream. The Old Types are capable of wonderful shaves but they bite the unwary or inexperienced. Not the best razor for drunk shaving (that's for the 10 blade carts). Great BBS shave just now. Waaaaay better than a Mach III but you can shave with the latter with your eyes closed (or drunk). Finished off with some Proraso Azur Lime aftershave balm. Ahhh. 
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Ahh. Welcome back to the fold. We missed you.
Nothing wrong with a cartridge shave, it does what it's supposed to do, but without the fun
Carts shave close, yes. Faster than DE, yes. The only thing I don't miss using carts is having to pluck out the ingrown hairs left behind by carts. I've tweezered out fewer ingrown hairs in 13 years of DE, than I plucked out every week when using carts. And, yes, DE is more fun.
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- #45
I've read many comments about carts causing ingrown hairs but my only regular experience with them was back in the early of the Track II. How is it they cause ingrown hairs more so than a DE shave might? Are the higher blade count carts more problematic or would the same problem happen with 2-3 blade carts?
I have had the same experience as other's, ingrowns, but also razor burn and irritation, using carts. Cart razor blades are not as sharp as DE blades, they dull very quickly, and the performance goes with them. Even with one of those fancy Gillette Mach 5 Fusion blades, they already feel dull when they are new out of the box, as they tug on my whiskers and it feels especially bad, when doing the moostash area.
You gotta realize, there are 5 of those tiny dullish blades in their respective cartridge, and your raking your face 5 times per pass. What do you think would happen if you had 5 dull DE blades, setup in some Frankenstein monstrosity redneck razor, and you started running them across your face? I can tell you right now, they are gonna tug your whiskers, they are going to cause razor burn and irritation, and ding ding ding, you guessed it, ingrown hairs!
Another factor of why I hate carts, is that they clog easy. For each pass I have to make, I have to rinse them out. And even after rinsing them out, shaking them vigorously inside my sink basin full of water, when I shake them out afterwords, I still see hairs in them. I think I heard someone did a health study or at least, observation of cart hygiene, and discovered, ya, bacterial central they are.
So you see, the reason I stopped using a cart razor, wasn't just because of Gillette's outrageous prices on their razor blades. I also stopped using them, because they give me horrible shaves, and sometimes facial health issues. People who are proned to acne, they have to be especially careful when they shave. Making sure their face and their razors are completely clean and all that.
I think the increased blade count contributes to ingrown hairs. That "lift & cut" thing that we've seen in advertising for years has to cause ingrown hairs. First blades pull up the hair and the subsequent blades cut them.
All in one pass!
What's left is a hair follicle that was cut so deep that the skin grows over it first before it's got a chance to grow back out. I think with carts such as the Trac Ii, you had less chances of having that problem. And of course with a SE or DE, it's negligible. The electrics as I mentioned previously would cause me the ingrown hairs. Same principle as the carts because of the multiple blades! I've never used carts but I do use the Bic single blade disposables for travel sometimes. With those I've never had ingrown hairs and I attribute that to the single blade.
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- #48
One reason I asked this is that, according to The Sharpoligist site, it's an internet myth and there's no science to back up the claim. I did have some issues a long time back when I was just using a rotary razor, however.
In this recent use of the Mach 3, I don't see how ingrown hairs are likely but that's merely an anecdotal observation.
When I used multi-blade cartridges I used to get ingrown hairs very regularly. With my DE razors, I very rarely get ingrown hairs anymore.
I don't know about the science (or it being an internet myth) but plenty of people have reported those results. And they're mostly from carts & electrics. And then you see the results from people that haved moved over to a single blade and no more ingrown hairs.
Just read @StewB up above and his experience. One of the many!
I'm wondering though if you would have that experience with continuous use of the Mach 3?
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- #51
Lots of people say lots of things on the internet and confirmation bias is real. I have read so much wrong information here over the years that I tend to leave it alone. But when it comes to shaving, everyone is right about whatever their experiences are. That said, I don't plan to have the experience of continuous use of the Mach 3 or any multiblade cartridge but it was interesting indeed to do a complete shave with it. However, I like shaving with OLD Gillettes, not new ones!
Today, I shaved with my recently restored and replated Gillette Old Type and can't imagine a better shave than I can get with a good DE using proper technique.Edited to add, where I said I've read so much wrong info here over the years, I should be more broad because the internet is full of bad info on any type of discussion site: cars, guns, sports, guitars, _____, etc. Caveat emptor.
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Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
I do think it is the best or very close to the best electric made. I have it and a Norelco that cost 25% of what it did, but does 80% as good.
Sadly my Arc 5 has not been used in about 2 years. It is a great razor especially used pre shower with some Williams 'Lectric.
Same here!
I just use it now occasionally for rogue hairs around my ears. Ever since I got into wet shaving, that was the end of electrics.
Interesting though, have you seen that Panasonic came out with an ARC 6?
It's a 6 blade electric!
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Same here!
I just use it now occasionally for rogue hairs around my ears. Ever since I got into wet shaving, that was the end of electrics.
Interesting though, have you seen that Panasonic came out with an ARC 6?
It's a 6 blade electric!
Electric shavers suck for me, they simply can't handle my sand paper course whiskers, not without taking all day to do it, and not doing it without irritation. I have the Panasonic Arc 4. Thought I loved the shaver at first, but last time I used it to test out Duke Cannon aftershave balm, well, it cemented my dislike for the Arc4. And what have we seen with each new model iteration? They get more and more expensive, which to me, equals diminish returns.
My Panasonic Arc4 could be had at the time for around 80 bucks. Replacement heads for it at the time were around 50 bucks. The Arc 5 costs like 140 dollars, and its replacement heads are around 75 bucks. The Arc6 costs over 200 bucks, and I haven't checked on replacement heads, but I am just gonna assume they are probably around 100 bucks per head.
Unfortunately, it appears to me, that Panasonic are going the way that Gillette has with cart razors. Just trying to invent a BS need for more blades in a head, to drive up costs, that get put on the consumer. You pay more, for garbage, its that pure and simple. I think electric shavers probably work great for those who have soft whiskers and NOT sensitive skin.
But if you have sensitive skin like me, and sandpaper course whiskers, then electric shavers are just gonna rip a hole in your wallet with no positive returns. So yeah, I know about the Arc6, I've seen it, I've seen the cost of it, and all I wanna do is puke my guts out. At least when I payed well over 200 dollars for my Timeless TI95 razor, I was paying for titanium quality, and considering the amazing shaves I get for it, for the price, I'd say I got my money's worth, and excellent value in comparison.
I used mainly Norelco's, and a Braun that I took to China with me 20 years ago. Really hated them, but got nothing but nicks form the Astra carts I used before that. I think I used a Trac 2 also, but not really sure about that anymore. The expensive replacement heads for the electrics were only good for the first few shaves, then they began to suck and tear up my face like all the rest of electric razors I tried over the decades.
I got a better shave from my DE1 that cost less than $10 shipped and that was the end of electrics for this kid. And yeah, my Ti95 is a wonderful and comfortable to use razor. Worth every dollar. My Wolfman is too.
~doug~
To really do it justice for carts, you need to do it again with a modern cart, not a heritage keepsake, using your best shaving soap and brush. You might be surprised at the results. May I suggest a power Gillette Fusion, a power Schick Hydro 5, or a power Dorco with a 7 blade cartridge. This is a challenge from someone that has spent most of his life suffering from the use of DE razors before discovering the wonder of what the modern cartridge razors can do.
I'm waiting for the Arc 20 to come out. You'll simply press it up to your face, release and done!
