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A confession, dear friends. I have failed both you and me this morning...

Wow!
I think most of us here suffered from the use of modern carts or electrics and we then discovered the wonders of DE's (modern and/or vintage).
That sounds a bit more accurate. ;) But I get that not everyone thinks the same as most of us who use DE razors instead of carts. My last experience with a full shave and a cart was a couple weeks ago with a Mach3 using the Gillette gelfoam that came in the box. Found in back of a closet and likely an Xmas gift from long ago. Not a horrible shave as I recall but certainly not a good one. I suspect the more blades, the worse the shave. I keep a bag of disposable twin blade carts for occasional missed whisker clean-up. They work fine for that. But so does a DE.
 
Carts are my usual go to, as DE shaving hurts my neck and back (because of the position of my hand and the length of time) and there are too many inconsistent shaves (I'm not good enough). (Yes there is nothing like a good DE shave when it goes well).

People say with carts I'm drunk shaving or perhaps lazy (and not even being mean about it), but there's still technique, however subtle, and focus needed to get a shave without a shaving bump or other irritant after the shave. (At least for me haha :) ). Using DE techniques with my carts have improved my cart shave. Also, I was always satisfied with a comfy shave over a BBS.
 
I used a cart for the first time in years yesterday as I was late for a meeting. Mach 5000000 or whatever the latest expensive Gillette multi blade cart is.

I shaved in the shower with just water. Know what? It was a damned good shave!

I wouldn’t go back, but for the odd time, they can be handy.

My new travel razor is a 1 blade BIC Metal BTW. Excellent razor.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
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 didn't have any issues with the Fusion Power handle... it came in a few varieties... I prefer AC and DE shaving and not by a subtle margin. I didn't have many ingrown hairs with the Fusion Power.. and I don't get them now very often. I think I've had one since I started using an AC razor in the middle of February. I haven't been able to figure out why I got the few ingrown hairs I've had. I can't seem to tie them to anything... probably because it takes a couple days for me to see them and by then, I've forgotten if something felt off, etc.
 
Since my purchase of a Feather AC SS w/ proguard blades 3 weeks ago, I've not used anything else. If I was rushed, I'd go back to my mach III without hesitation. They are "good enough" and quick.

I'm retired, so I can enjoy the simple pleasures of life: a warm towel shave, a nap, an afternoon in the library, a day in my woodworking workshop...
 
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.
I have had ingrown hairs from carts, de’s and straights, I was shaving closer than I should have.
 
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?
A blade is a blade, shaving too close with any type can cause ingrown hairs from my experience
 
I don't believe carts cause ingrowns but I've never used a cart with more than 3 blades and never shaved regularly with one, just tried it a few time from a gift box I had. The only cart I used for awhile was back in the early days of the Trac II and keeping a stash of disposables to clean up a spot I might have missed, or, more commonly, a stray whisker. One should NEVER pull out an ingrown with tweezers, just get it to the surface and shave it off. I find a needle is a better tool but they are quite rare for me. My biggest risk for them had been during times of using an electric rotary razor when traveling.
 
A blade is a blade, shaving too close with any type can cause ingrown hairs from my experience
Not me!
Ingrown hairs with electrics as long as I could remember (I never used carts). And never again with a DE or SE!
And my wet shaving evolution led me to the closest shaves I've ever had. I only use razors that are mega efficient & aggressive and leave me with shaves that are impossibly close.
I guess as always it depends on the person.
 
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Not me!
Ingrown hairs with electrics as long as I could remember (I never used carts). And never again with a DE or SE!
And my wet shaving evolution led me to the closest shaves I've ever had. I only use razors that are mega efficient & aggressive and leave me with shaves that are impossibly close.
I guess as always it depends on the person.
There is so much internet lore that is taken as fact these days. Honestly, I believe almost nothing I read online, especially from Wiki in particular (and any news site). Anyone can write anything in Wiki and edit pretty much anything someone else has written. Sites like B&B are useful, primarily, to introduce readers to products and techniques but everything here (except for what I write, of course ;)) is an opinion piece and readers, especially those new to wet shaving, are well advised to decide for themselves about razors, blades, creams, soaps, brushes, etc., etc. I've bought a couple of razors and brushes (as well as soaps and creams) that have many recommendations here and found they were actually crap for me. And things I swear by can turn out to be crap for someone else. A recent thread about the Muhle Rocca razors was the latest example I remember.

But to the point of ingrown hairs, don't blindly blame the tool, look at what you might be doing wrong. In my case, with Norelco razors, I can get ingrowns and I think it's because I either don't use the razor correctly or maybe they suck. I really don't know so I try not to use one at all unless I'm traveling (which I do very little of anymore).
 
Not me!
Ingrown hairs with electrics as long as I could remember (I never used carts). And never again with a DE or SE!
And my wet shaving evolution led me to the closest shaves I've ever had. I only use razors that are mega efficient & aggressive and leave me with shaves that are impossibly close.
I guess as always it depends on the person.
Sorry, I meant an exposed blade
 
There is so much internet lore that is taken as fact these days. Honestly, I believe almost nothing I read online, especially from Wiki in particular (and any news site). Anyone can write anything there and edit pretty much anything someone else has written. Sites like B&B are useful, primarily, to introduce readers to products and techniques but everything here (except for what I write, of course ;)) is an opinion piece and readers, especially those new to wet shaving are well advised to decide for themselves about razors, blades, creams, soaps, brushes, etc., etc. I've bought a couple of razors and brushes (as well as soaps and creams) that have many recommendations here and found they were actually crap for me. And things I swear by can turn out to be crap for someone else. A recent thread about the Muhle Rocca razors was the latest example I remember.

But to the point of ingrown hairs, don't blindly blame the tool, look at what you might be doing wrong. In my case, with Norelco razors, I can get ingrowns and I think it's because I either don't use the razor correctly or maybe they suck. I really don't know so I try not to use one at all unless I'm traveling (which I do very little of anymore).
I agree about blaming the tool
 
I still have most of a bag of Bic single blade disposables for those rare times I have to travel. I've always gotten decent enough shaves from cartridges, good enough that performance wasn't the issue. It's always been about price. A 100 count box of Sharks or GSBs cost less than the larger count pack of Fusion carts (with around the same number of blades I think). In the 5 years or so of dedicated DE shaving I think I've saved about $150 total. And that's with me now owning several razors, a few brushes, lots of soaps and creams, and of course blades. If I were more minimalistic that number would be much higher.

I went from shaving being a chore to enjoying my shaves to actually looking forward to it. Looking forward to a shave a couple years ago would have been unfathomable if not unconscionable.

I think it's a byproduct of so many areas to fiddle with. This razor, that blade, this razor, that brush. With 4 basic areas each contributing to the overall shave I'm really able to dial in my shave and tailor my experience. And still saving money!
 
I still have most of a bag of Bic single blade disposables for those rare times I have to travel. I've always gotten decent enough shaves from cartridges, good enough that performance wasn't the issue. It's always been about price. A 100 count box of Sharks or GSBs cost less than the larger count pack of Fusion carts (with around the same number of blades I think). In the 5 years or so of dedicated DE shaving I think I've saved about $150 total. And that's with me now owning several razors, a few brushes, lots of soaps and creams, and of course blades. If I were more minimalistic that number would be much higher.

I went from shaving being a chore to enjoying my shaves to actually looking forward to it. Looking forward to a shave a couple years ago would have been unfathomable if not unconscionable.

I think it's a byproduct of so many areas to fiddle with. This razor, that blade, this razor, that brush. With 4 basic areas each contributing to the overall shave I'm really able to dial in my shave and tailor my experience. And still saving money!
I'm pretty sure I've saved nothing over the decades but that's OK. I prefer shaving with a DE razor (I just have way more than I need along with blades, soaps, creams, and aftershaves). But it is a lot more fun than shaving with an electric or carts and I get far better shaves. TBH, I don't have lots of experience with carts past the original Trac II and disposables that I've always kept a few of to catch strays (not to do complete shaves with).
 
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I'm pretty sure I've saved nothing over the decades but that's OK. I prefer shaving with a DE razor (I just have way more than I need along with blades, soaps, creams, and aftershaves). But it is a lot more fun than shaving with an electric or carts and I get far better shaves. TBH, I don't have lots of experience with carts past the original Trac II and disposables that I've always kept of a few of to catch strays (not to do complete shaves with).
It doesn’t take long to realize that you will not save money here, however I am glad I found this forum you can always learn something new including different types of cartridge razors which I bought and use.
 
I still use a cart to shave my head. I'm just not brave enough to shave the back of my head by feel with my Gillette Fatboy, no matter what the blade. I use the DSC Executive for that. Everything else is old school. :)
 
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