Modern Gillette and Schick Cartridge Razors
- Thread starter santamariasteve
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Whatever method works for YOU is great !
DEs are romanic to me cause I remember, (late 40's), my dad going through his routine with brush, mug, & de. So this morning I again broke out My 34c, with my usual brush, mug & CF cream. I made it through the 1st pass, but with stinging and tugging plus a fair amount of residual beard.
My 2nd pass I used a Gillette, mach3, cart on its 5th shave. It was for ME much more comfortable & cleaned the remaining stubble.
Moral of story: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I am sure many folks would have reverse effects.
Best regards, Ron
DEs are romanic to me cause I remember, (late 40's), my dad going through his routine with brush, mug, & de. So this morning I again broke out My 34c, with my usual brush, mug & CF cream. I made it through the 1st pass, but with stinging and tugging plus a fair amount of residual beard.
My 2nd pass I used a Gillette, mach3, cart on its 5th shave. It was for ME much more comfortable & cleaned the remaining stubble.
Moral of story: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I am sure many folks would have reverse effects.
Best regards, Ron
I have tried three blade razors Mach 3, sensor 3, Bic Flex 3, Schick Xtreme 3, and Schick Hydro 3. I think 3 blades are just overkill and can lead to some skin problems, mostly ingrown hair and bumps. I like the Atra better than my Trac II simply because it hits the problem area under my jaw with better results. It gives just as close of a shave as the three blades.
Disposable twin blades are built down to a price and not up to a standard. Hence, I ignore them. I have used personna carts in my Atra with excellent results. I tried one pack of Schick ST2 in the Atra years ago and wasn't thrilled. Maybe that is why they are no longer made as a cartridge.
It is DE for me unless I'm in a hurry then I go Atra. The Gillette Atra blades available in the US are made in Asia and I feel the quality has suffered when compared to the older American made ones. I was tempted to try the Contour carts that are online. Any of you guys in Europe know where the Contours are manufactured? Trac IIs in America are now made in Poland.
See what you like and stay with it. Like everything else give it some time to obtain the beat results.
Disposable twin blades are built down to a price and not up to a standard. Hence, I ignore them. I have used personna carts in my Atra with excellent results. I tried one pack of Schick ST2 in the Atra years ago and wasn't thrilled. Maybe that is why they are no longer made as a cartridge.
It is DE for me unless I'm in a hurry then I go Atra. The Gillette Atra blades available in the US are made in Asia and I feel the quality has suffered when compared to the older American made ones. I was tempted to try the Contour carts that are online. Any of you guys in Europe know where the Contours are manufactured? Trac IIs in America are now made in Poland.
See what you like and stay with it. Like everything else give it some time to obtain the beat results.
I'm a cartridge shaver. DE doesn't work nearly as well for me. I broke in as a teenager on a Fat Boy and then later to a Black Beauty Slim. DE left with with nicks and weepers nearly every day. After joining here I made a diligent effort to go back but had the same results.
Anyway, I have several cartridges systems. I like the Gillette Power Fusion well enough, but was driven to try others by their pricing. None of the Gillettes last very long for me. I get about three shaves per cartridge. Last I checked, Fusion cartridges were about $5.00 each.
The Schick Hydro 5 shaves nearly comparably, but it is a bit less expensive and will give me at least a week per cartridge. Much to my surprise I really like the Schick Quattro and it is still a bit more affordable. Blade life is about the same as the Hydro.
Harry's is nice. When I first tried them I would get skips where the blades didn't follow close enough on my face but they redesigned the plastic hinge and they are much better. They seem to last a little longer than the Shicks.
Then I discovered Dorco. Dorco is the main supplier for Dollar shave Club so the three, four, and six blade razors are the same but the Dorcos are less expensive, especially if you pay attention to the sales. I get about three weeks to cartridge. I use a Dorco 7 for WTG and a Dorco 3 for ATG as the gets around my mouth much better. I was surprised about the Dorco 7. I thought the blade count would be awkward but it isn't. If I watch for the sales Dorco 7 cartridges run about $2.00 each. That gives you an idea about the cost compared to Gillette and when comparing pay attention to the blade life.
The most surprising of all though is the Micro Touch cartridge system. It is a three blade cartridge. You get a handle and 12 cartridges for about $20.00. The system isn't as pretty as the others, but it performs exceptionally well. I get about three weeks to a cartridge. They advertise a month per cartridge and I'm sure it will last that long for many people. I use mine for travel. They are made by the same company as Harry's.
I enjoy trading off so roughly every month or so I rotate in something other the the Dorco / Micro Touch mix just for fun. Today I used a Fusion. I can see a Quattro coming up sometime next week.
YMMV
Anyway, I have several cartridges systems. I like the Gillette Power Fusion well enough, but was driven to try others by their pricing. None of the Gillettes last very long for me. I get about three shaves per cartridge. Last I checked, Fusion cartridges were about $5.00 each.
The Schick Hydro 5 shaves nearly comparably, but it is a bit less expensive and will give me at least a week per cartridge. Much to my surprise I really like the Schick Quattro and it is still a bit more affordable. Blade life is about the same as the Hydro.
Harry's is nice. When I first tried them I would get skips where the blades didn't follow close enough on my face but they redesigned the plastic hinge and they are much better. They seem to last a little longer than the Shicks.
Then I discovered Dorco. Dorco is the main supplier for Dollar shave Club so the three, four, and six blade razors are the same but the Dorcos are less expensive, especially if you pay attention to the sales. I get about three weeks to cartridge. I use a Dorco 7 for WTG and a Dorco 3 for ATG as the gets around my mouth much better. I was surprised about the Dorco 7. I thought the blade count would be awkward but it isn't. If I watch for the sales Dorco 7 cartridges run about $2.00 each. That gives you an idea about the cost compared to Gillette and when comparing pay attention to the blade life.
The most surprising of all though is the Micro Touch cartridge system. It is a three blade cartridge. You get a handle and 12 cartridges for about $20.00. The system isn't as pretty as the others, but it performs exceptionally well. I get about three weeks to a cartridge. They advertise a month per cartridge and I'm sure it will last that long for many people. I use mine for travel. They are made by the same company as Harry's.
I enjoy trading off so roughly every month or so I rotate in something other the the Dorco / Micro Touch mix just for fun. Today I used a Fusion. I can see a Quattro coming up sometime next week.
YMMV
The sad truth is that ALL "modern'' razors can't hold a candle to any DE razor.
They save you slower,they don't shave you as close and they look like tennis shoes.
Not to mention that they are way more expensive and fill the environment with plastic waste.
Once you have your technique down there is absolutely no reason to even look at them.
When traveling by plane buy a pack of BIC metal or any two blade disposables and you will be ok,it will take a bit more time to shave but what can you do with the silly airline regulations?
They save you slower,they don't shave you as close and they look like tennis shoes.
Not to mention that they are way more expensive and fill the environment with plastic waste.
Once you have your technique down there is absolutely no reason to even look at them.
When traveling by plane buy a pack of BIC metal or any two blade disposables and you will be ok,it will take a bit more time to shave but what can you do with the silly airline regulations?
Gillette still makes the Sensor Excel razor for foreign markets. Check out the Bay, there is Sensor Excels and an Indian version called the Vector. My buddy has a Vector and swears by it.
I just remembered why I hate Gillette. I was looking through my shaving draw and found 3 packs of BIC 3 blade replacement cartridges. I was lured into buying them thinking that they were replacements for the Gillette Sensor Excel. The BIC cartridges were for the BIC HYBRID 3. The BIC cartridge is the same as the Excel but about 2mm wider mount. If I want to use the BIC cartridges I need to by the BIC handle. I have 3 Gillette Excel handles, but no Excel cartridges.
Sounds like BIC mislead you with their name. Not sure why that reminds you why you should hate Gillette. I hate how big pharma seems to <blankety> Americans, while elsewhere it's available at a fraction of the cost, especially when it's old formulas that R&D has long since been payed.
Yes, it was BIC's fault for copying the Gillette mounting system with suttle changes. Gillette however gets the credit for the entrapment with their no stop product change. The changes from Trac 2 to Excel to Sensor to Mach 3 to Mach 3 Turbo all happened within a year or two. I got the feeling they hated their customers. The bait was a free handle with three blades offer.
What's a cartridge razor......LOL
The reason price discrimination works is because drugs are expensive to develop and cheap to make. Sell high in one area and lower in other areas. Not fair, but that's the reason.
I think highly of my Sensor but have yet to use the Mach-3 which I purchased New Years Eve 2016, so I cannot pass judgement on the latter. I've used a few disposables and while they get the job done, they are generally too expensive and do not last very long.
Im a big fan of the Mach 3. IMO, its all you really need. I recently tried the Schick Hydro and really liked how it shaved but didnt like the, "goo pools" on it. I just didnt like the strings of lubricant sticking to my face as I shaved. It actually did a great job lubricating the face and I could get an easy 3-pass BBS with it. Id probably go with that if I went back to carts.
It did? IIRC Trac was 1971, Atra 1977, Sensor 1990 and Mach3 1998. That was 27 years of development. Sensor Excel works on Sensor handles and M3Turbo on Mach3 handles. Of course, competitors came out with their own similar but incompatible products along the way too.
Probably less hating their customers than trying to maintain profitability by always having a patented and uncloneable product on the shelves.
Yes because that's what companies should do.
Yes, you are correct on the timing. After checking I was suprised to see I missed the Atra. More reason to hate this product development cycle. I'm amazed that I need to revert over a 100 years to find standardization.
Not sure if sarcastic.
In a perfect world this might not be so, but in this world Gillette is too big and has too many current and legacy costs to make any money on commodity products. A Gillette that can't offer high priced products in first world countries collapses under its own weight and ceases to exist as a going concern.Not sure if sarcastic.
Sorry, meant no sarcasm.
What @pdieten said
I was going to point out.Going to go shave. What! The GSB doesn't seem to load in my GEM 1912 properly for some reason. Guess I'll use a PAL or GEM or ??? any other blades?? Guess Gillette won that battle, and has been winning since. I do hate the half truths and misleading statements used by them, but that is advertising. Very few companies will reveal weaknesses of their product, and when they do, most often it is about a preference with a minute market share. SO they appear to be an open and honest, trustworthy company. I always look for what isn't said:
no <blank> added - how much did it start with?
Gluten free - are you charging me more because you pointed out meat doesn't contain wheat?
etc.
If I were to use a cartridge, it would be a Mach 3. I frequently would have week/s worth of a beard and could shave and "clear" the head of them as long as I stopped the stroke when it stopped shaving down to skin. Every other cartridge I tried would require a toothpick at that stage to clear, even single bladed ones. At some point I would bend a blade, scratch my face, and have to use another cartridge, or more to complete the shave. I would continue to use the Mach 3 cartridge for quite a while after removing the beard, often up until I let it grow out again.
I understand recouping development costs, but I'm talking about after that is done, and in some cases after the patent is even out. Seems like they have an insider deal where they don't compete on drugs with low profit margins, so the companies can charge what the market will bear. Strange that people will spend all of their money to live. Those drugs don't cost that much to make. Which is why if you don't have insurance and contact the companies, they will often sell them to you at such great rates. People think they are being altruistic hen they do that. They are just increasing their profits even more and increasing goodwill in the process. They're selling it to you at what should be the normal markup; What they sell for in other markets. Don't get me started on mandatory car and now life insurance and the insurance industry.
Another Mach 3 fan here. I still use it to head shave if I'm in a hurry (which turns out to be most of the time).
