Schick Injector

It appears that the model shown here is an E, so I'll comment on that premise. The Type E IMHO is an aggressive injector compared to a G, I or J.
However, once you get the angle down pat, it's one of the closest shaves with little to no irritation. Let's start for the top:

Price - one can still be had in very nice condition for around $10 - 15 shipped CONUS

Quality - For its time they were well made although some might disagree because the Bakelite handles are inherently fragile but to me that speaks more to the material available at the time then to its quality.

User Friendly - In my opinion injectors are easier to use because their heads are already at an angle that for most everyone makes the blade lie flat on your skin. One word of caution, if you're a longtime DE user, muscle memory will make it necessary for you to make adjustments in the angle until you get the hang of it. Again, just my opinion.

Grip - This to me depends on many things, hand size for one. The model shown here has a smooth Bakelite handle, whatever the size of your hands, if you try to grip it and hold on to it with wet soapy hands, you'll have some trouble otherwise I find the size and shape of the handle perfect for me.

Ease of Blade Replacement - What can I say that hasn't already been said. The injector concept makes changing the blade a snap provided you are using a cartridge with a metal key. Current injectors with the plastic key take a little practice until you get it right but ifyou get a hold of some Schick NOS blades from the 1970's without having to mortgage the house or current production Schick injector blades, you're "in like Flint". Anyone who tries cutting a DE blade in half and making it fit into an injector IMHO is asking for serious injury.

Aggressiveness - As I said at the beginning, the Type E is aggressive but not in a bad way. Practice makes for better shaves.

Adjustability - n/a

Balance - Perfect but don't expect it to feel like a Gillette New Deluxe or British Aristocrat, that would be an apple to orange comparison. This is a totally different animal.

Final comments: Previously mentioned was that they are hard to clean; yes, unless it is an early model where the curved spring under the head was actually meent to swing left so the head opens or the later Hydro-Magic that has a lever that you flip up and it exposes the inside of the head.

There you have it, my opinion.

Mike

I have two Schick Injectors, a J-1 and the Golden 500. Both shave extremely well. I learned on a Schick M Injector many years ago so using either one of these is like coming home. While the J series is considered the "mildest" of the Schick injectors, it is still pretty aggressive. I get consistently better shaves with either of the injectors than I do with my Superspeed or my Tech. Perhaps it is because I am more familiar with the Injectors. The only downside for me is that there is no local supply of injector blades.

After using DEs for a long time I eventually went to straights. I love the DE razors for collecting, they are beautifully crafted works of art but I could never get a decent shave under my chin with one. The only DE razor I still use on a regular basis is the Gillette NEW improved, which I love and will keep in a rotation.

After using straights for quite some time I decided to be lazy one day and tried my injector, It's an E type from the 1940s with the Bakelite handle and gold head.

It was one of the best shaves of my life and it lasted all day into the night. It was just like my straights in terms of closeness and it took half the time to shave. Now I will share some tips on how to use this razor:

1) If you slip you'll get badly cut, a lot more than a DE would cut you.
2) Be careful if you have a sharp jawline, this razor can bite you there if you're not careful.

3) I tend to stretch the skin like I am using a straight razor even when I shave with safeties and the results are awesome every time. Give it a shot, but use less pressure than you usually would.

Listen to the razor as it cuts your whiskers, it tells you all you need to know if you need more passes or not.

I love them and I think they're the only safety razor out there besides a 1910 Lather Catcher GEM that gives a straight razor type of shave.

I haven't tried all the injectors I own yet. My comments are based on a G1, I2, L1, and L2.

Although you can see differences in blade exposure between these models, I don't actually feel much difference in aggressiveness. All give very close shaves, and are very easy to use.

Ease of blade replacement can be a 10 instead of a 9 if you use one of the all metal magazines. Unfortunately, a lot of the blades available today come in poorly made part plastic magazines which are kind of fiddly to use.

When you hold one of these in your hand, the build quality doesn't impress quite as much as many of the classic DE razors, but they still last a good long time.

I like to rotate between different types of razor, but if I had to pick one general type, it would be the injector, not a DE or SE.

I honestly wasn't impressed with my old E2 when I first shaved with it. it turns out my angle was all wrong. I experimented with it and have been getting great shaves for about a week.
The main thing that bugged me was the fact that holding it is like holding a Bic disposable. Very lightweight.
But the shaving performance is winning me over. It's a serious whisker whacker.
Easy to load, easy to use, easy to clean. Very aggressive without taking skin graft donations from my face. 2 passes to a DFS. 3 passes to a BBS shave.
I'm really starting to love my injectors. I don't think they'll replace my DE razors, due to blade pricing, but I will use them regularly, provided I can continue getting good blades for them.

I bought my Injector (a 1937 E2 model) for about 17 Euros, which is dirt cheap for the quality you get.

Price If you manage to get a good specimen from ebay or a BST seller, a bargain.

Quality The razor is 73 years old and looks as if it came from the production line a maximum of 10 years ago. It doesn't get better than this.

User friendly The very definition of. It's practically impossible to get the angle wrong, the small head maneuvers round the face like a sports car: perfect. The perfect razor for a beginner, it's absolutely foolproof; the simplicity of a cartridge shave with the result of a very good DE.

Grip: I have big hands, so the lovely art deco handle could be a bit bigger for me, but there is zero slippage even when the razor is wet.

Ease of Blade replacement: Great IF and only if you get a metal loader. The plastic ones cause no end of trouble (at least with my Injector), but with the proper loader it's not only simple, but actual fun.

Aggressiveness: Some users claim that the E type Injectors are fairly aggressive, I don't agree. But then my go-to razors are a Futur and a Slant, so I may view aggressiveness differently. The Injector gives a very close and comfortable shave with zero irritation. And I mean: zero. Putting on an aftershave, even one that bites with every other razor or blade provides nothing but a cooling sensation.

Balance: As I said before, the razor could be bigger for me; but you can grip it however you like and it will always be well balanced.

If I had tried an Injector as my first razor, I may never have moved on to DEs. A perfect, hassle-free shaver. Easy to use with great results: what more can one ask?
You owe it to yourself to give Injectors a try!

Price
I got mine as a gift from my great Grandfather so the price is great but I
expect that the Blade is available online for a decent price as mentioned above.

Quality
After roughly 56 years the Injector razor still has great performance for my face.

Grip
I would like a longer handle on this model but as I said it is still great to shave with and the grip is still solid without any slipping.

Blade Replacement
This is the fun part every two weeks, getting to inject the new blade. Very easy to use. I wish that a company still sold the smaller blade injector case that would fit in the display box that I have.

Aggressiveness
Some people feel that this Razor can be too aggressive, I prefer my blades as such, at least with this one, and have no problems with nicks or burns.

Adjustability
This goes in tandem with aggressiveness I think, and why many feel teh razor is too aggressive since there really is no way to adjust the blade when it is injected into the razor.

Overall I love my Injector, and wished more people had the chance to use one.

Price
I found it in a "shaving set" I've bought on Ebay. I think the price for the razor would have been about 8 $.

Quality
After 75 years (I have an E3 model), a heavy scrub with car polish & toothbrush and a 20 minutes boiling, looks almost like new (as the first reviewer says, it's a receptacle of crud and verdigris). However I think the original owner was the close cousin of the Hulk, because he somehow bent the head of the razor to an angle (it's solid brass, go figure how he did it). Nothing to worry about, I just bend my wrist accordingly.

User Friendly
Let's put it this way... If a totally noob user, prone to razor burn because of tough, wiry beard, takes a Schick for the first time, and he uses the worst canned crap on the market, nevertheless he will obtain a perfect result. Period.
Just for clarity, I'm not the noob described above.

Grip
The handle is very smooth and quite a bit short. Just grab it with dry hands and you'll have no worries.

Ease of Blade Replacement
The Injector pack makes it a joke... if you have the pack, obviously. I inserted a Feather Super Pro blade in it, saw that it was too long, tried to cut it with paper scissors... and every god since the Sumerian awakening felt the power of my curses
After my left index finger stopped bleeding, I tried to find a European vendor of Injector blades. I discovered there were none.

The vote is 10 if you're American, 2 if European.

Aggressiveness
Feather blade, with almost no protection. Try to guess the results

Adjustability
None. Everything is fixed, the blade angle can't be modified whatsoever.

Balance
Very good, save for the short handle.

My first shave with the Schick Adjustable was a revalation. As a lifelong Bostonian and Gillette user I was amazed at the quality and effiiciency of the shave. Gillette was totally ingrained into me. Back in the late 60s and 70s one of my older sister's friends worked in marketing/product development and I used to get to try stuff before or as it was hitting the market.

After using the Schick, I am more likely to reach for balm than aftershave. I just have to remember to be careful. Right now my preferences are the injector and my New with Feather blades.

There are condition issues with the razors on Ebay. I bought two. One had a crack in the bakelite handle that broke while cleaning the razor. I was able to glue it back together and use the razor. Blade changing is not as smooth as it should be. After 50 years or more of use and storage, mine are a little out of whack. The morale is email the seller questions about the condition, particularly whether or not the seller has actually used or inserted a blade in the razor.

In my pantheon of great beard-decimating devices. which includes 40s SSs, Fats, Slims, Futurs, and straights. Handle it like a scalpel. It will teach you the importance of NO PRESSURE. Used thus, it is magic. Used otherwise, and alum will feel like 200 grit sandpaper on a fresh sunburn. Unlike others here, I find the blade replacement a little fiddly. A great SE alternative to the DEs and straights that dominate our sport.

I have the 1939 version with the lever that moves for easy cleaning and blade removal. I get unbelievable close and comfortable shaves. Mine came in its original case and cost about $15 delivered.

I really enjoy using the Schick Injector. It's light, very aggressive, and all business. If I had to compare it to a gun it would be a Glock. Not pretty but works great everytime. This razor is not for the showroom but it is meant to be used. That is where it excells past sooo many other razors...it mows down the beard like a miniature staight razor.
I gave it a 6 for quality because you will bend or break something if you try to hard to open the blade area. I think the intended use was simply to inject and go!!!

I'll echo everything SlagleRock posted in his review. This bugger shaves great, I can see why the only stopped making them a few years back.

To explain my scores:

Price: Dirt cheap, even on Ebay. Excluding minty examples and the stick shift model, you can get them for a nice price.

Quality: It's a practical tool, but it's an ugly duck compared to a Gillette. They look cheaply made by comparison, but they work fine.

User Friendly: I'm torn here. They are a snap to load with blades (it's really fun to change blades, in fact ) but getting them stripped for cleaning is a bear. I busted the handle on one trying to get it apart, but in fairness, I don't think they were designed to be field stripped. In use, the thin head lets you do maneuvers on the neck and under the nose that Gillette TTO razors can only dream about.

Ease of Blade Replacement: WINNAH! I could sit and change blades for hours! It's like using a stripper clip on a Mauser, and that is supposedly what inspired Col. Schick to design the razor. Ease of replacing blades on the wallet is another story.

Aggressiveness: Like SlagleRock, I found the burn from my After Shave kicks in to Hyper-drive after using an injector, but it doesn't feel razorburny on the skin. Is razorburny a word? Anyway, it feels so mild in use that I usually go for four passes, and get rewarded with BBS shaves, and I mean a Baby's Butt that has been Teflon coated, buffed and waxed.

Adjustability: No, not on purpose. You can bend the neck trying to take it apart and adjust the angle of the head, if you are as klutzy as me.

Balance: It's balanced, in a whippy, featherweight sort of way. It doesn't feel substantial in the hand, but it can maneuver around your face like nobody's business.

If razors were US military rifles, the three piece Gillettes would be M1903 and '03A3 Springfields, the TTO Gillettes would be Garands, the adjustable Gillettes would be M-14s, the multiblade cartridge razors would be M-16 and the Schick Injector would be.... an M1941 Johnson rifle?

Well, if you aren't a gun junkie you probably don't know those names, and the Schick Injector is certainly overshadowed by the Big G in the popularity field. It is, like the Johnson, a clever design that will be in most minds "that other razor".

For me, at least, it shaves superbly, but wielding an Injector reminds me of using an Atra or M3. It doesn't look classy in the stand like a SuperSpeed does. It has plenty of performance and it's a no nonsense, practical design and it looks... well, it looks old and interesting.

I'll keep one because it shave so darn well, but when I'm shaving for the pleasure of it, and not just for the results, I'll probably reach for something else.

Wow! I had my first shave with an injector today and it capped off a week of perfect shaves. At the risk of being torched I'd say it may have provided a better shave than any of my DE's even. The one draw back however was that the AS splash following my shave burned more than any other EVER. Great razor, great shave. Every serious wet shaver/collector should have at least one.

This razor performs great. It is easy to handle and very aggressive. It gives me great shave without any nicks. You can buy them on EBay really cheap as well.

I was very curious to try one of these and so when I found a supply of blades and a cheap one on eBay I was off.

First impressions--not good. It's a cheap,mass produced item, stamped out of sheet metal with a glued-on handle. It's a mile away from the machined and milled precision of a Gillette or a Merkur, and the look is dated and quaint rather than cool and timeless.

And it's a dirt trap: tapping it on the desk produces a great shower of verdigris and it's still got an old blade in it--eek. After a bit of a struggle I manage to get the blade out and dislodge the holding spring underneath. The razor flops open for cleaning, which is great but even so it's a maze of little nooks and crannies that harbour grime.

There's also quite a bit of effort to get it closed up again, and I worry that I might be bending the cheap metal parts, even just by vigorous cleaning. Sure enough, it's a bit rattly on the first go, so we get the big tin of Brute Force and Ignorance out of the cupboard and soon it's gripping the blade firmly. The phrase "the suffering of metal" comes to mind...

But blade changing: five stars! Dix points! The injector system itself is superb, I could run through a whole packet of blades just playing with it.

As a razor it performs OK--the head is small and manouverable, but there's none of the authority of something like the HD. It's just shaving--I'm very much reminded of my old fixed head cartridge razor. And I nick myself a couple of times, but that's probably just carelessness.

To sum up: I probably should shave a bit more with this before I review it but I'm not sure I can be bothered. If this had been all there was available from the "old days" would I have shifted from my old plastic handle plus twin-blade cartridges? Probably not.

I'm sure though that an implementation with modern materials could produce a superb, stylish and hygienic razor--if there was any market left to sell it to. Perhaps with a more modern handle this systemcould be promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to cartridge systems/disposables for people who don't fancy messing around with DE blades.