After shaving with cartridge razors for at least 20 years, probably close to 30 I switched to DE's. My first was a Merkur Futur which I had to put aside due to its aggressiveness. I then ordered an Edwin Jagger Imitation Ivory. The EJ gave me a milder shave. I used both Gillette and Personna and settled in on Personna Lab Blues. I seem though to be getting a closer shave with my Mach 3. Anyone have a similar experience ?
Better shave with Mach 3 then EJ Imitation Ivory
- Thread starter john999
- Start date
You'll get better with time. Once you've gotten your pre-shave, lather, and blade angle sorted you'll get phenomenal shaves.
B
buyandhold2018
I have friends and customers that tell me they get better shaves with a cartridge than a DE; I believe them, different tools work differently for different people. For me, my best shaves come from a slant DE razor.
Aren't you supposed to be on vacation, Joe?
What did you have the dial set on? The lower numbers are not aggressive at all.
- Thread starter
- #7
Went down to 1.5 and still was too aggressive.
- Thread starter
- #8
I'm disappointed if thats true. I expected DE's to be as good as cartridges.
A DE will never cut any deeper than the first layer of skin, and then only if you have great technique.
A cart can often pull and tug the hair up a touch, and cut it flush with the skin or slightly under the first layer.
For some, this is DISASTER as this causes an ingrown hair.
But for those who don't have any curl to their beard, it often can't be beat, and it is difficult to cut yourself with a cart. While for an untrained and unpracticed user, cuts with a DE happen pretty frequently.
Some with certain skin types do get less irritation with a properly used DE, but for most men, a cart is faster, better, and less injurious.
Which is fine with me, I choose a DE because I LIKE it, not for any reason of necessity or function. But a lot of men on this forum claim that they get a better shave with a DE. I suspect they are either fooling themselves, or have a certain skin type that is irritated by using a DE.
That's how I see it, and that's about all I have to say about that.
A cart can often pull and tug the hair up a touch, and cut it flush with the skin or slightly under the first layer.
For some, this is DISASTER as this causes an ingrown hair.
But for those who don't have any curl to their beard, it often can't be beat, and it is difficult to cut yourself with a cart. While for an untrained and unpracticed user, cuts with a DE happen pretty frequently.
Some with certain skin types do get less irritation with a properly used DE, but for most men, a cart is faster, better, and less injurious.
Which is fine with me, I choose a DE because I LIKE it, not for any reason of necessity or function. But a lot of men on this forum claim that they get a better shave with a DE. I suspect they are either fooling themselves, or have a certain skin type that is irritated by using a DE.
That's how I see it, and that's about all I have to say about that.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks. That makes sense.
The only way I can get a BSS (especially on my neck) is with 2 to 3 passes. I cannot do this with a Mach 3. At least not without a ton of razor burn, bumps, and nicks. I have been using a DE (Gillette Super Speed and just yesterday a Gillette Y2 Tech) and have gotten the best shaves I have ever gotten. Never going back.
Cart razors were never able to give me a decent shave and caused irritation such that shaving daily was near on impossible. I get closer shaves with a DE and experience none of the irritation that I endured with carts. The next member here may have the opposite experience, so find whatever works well for you. No harm in turning back to carts if they give you better results, but don't dismiss DEs or straights too hastily either - it takes some practice to get great results.
Sound logic....but do headlights work at the speed of light? I get excellent shaves with my DEs and SEs. It has been 4 years since I used a cartridge (I think they only had three blades then) andi can't remember them being that great, only expensive. Nevertheless, I do not hate on cartridges...to each his/her own!
I have never had success with cartridges. Before I used a DE, I was only able to shave weekly with a cartridge and typically shaved daily with an electric. Since switching to a DE, I have never had as close of a shave, or as clear of skin. While it may be quicker or closer for some to shave with a cartridge, it is not for me. I can shave with a DE, as quick as a cartridge, but can get a much closure shave with a DE without the bumps. I have never had as comfortable shave, as with DE, and would rather grow a beard than deal with cartridges. There is a reason I found Badger and Blade while using cartidges, because I felt there had to be a better way.
I get a better shave with a cart as well. I used several DEs and stayed on the milder side of the spectrum, from a Weishi to a Parker 71r to a Merkur Bakelite and Wilkinson Sword, and while none of them tore my face up, they all were still giving me more nicks than I wanted to tolerate. Nowadays with a Hydro 5 and its fixed blade angle and 3+ week useful lifespan, I can get BBS every single day with no nicks, no irritation, hell I don't even need aftershave anymore. I know DEs have their place among the internet's highly vocal minority, but after using them for a year and a half I think I can see why they fell out of favor. Carts may not be perfect, but they get the job done like no other. Over and out.
Everyone is different and as Joe has stated, everyone should use whatever razors suits them best.
For me, carts required too many passes causing too much irritation as i had to apply pressure to get a close shave due to my coarse beard.
i would never look back now since finding open-comb razors. With more practice and open combs, you may retract your statement someday. Good luck.
For me, carts required too many passes causing too much irritation as i had to apply pressure to get a close shave due to my coarse beard.
i would never look back now since finding open-comb razors. With more practice and open combs, you may retract your statement someday. Good luck.
I do !
I found that I prefer my Mühle Sophist Fusion razor on 3-5 days stables, and NOTHING that I've tried so far will come close to the quality of shave I get from this cartridge razor, and that includes 10 DE's. 2 japanese straights, 5 other carts and a slant.
However I found that on 1-3 days of stubbles I prefer a DE razor, because the Fusion will just shave a bit too close too fast, and cause ingrown hair on me, so here I prefer the milder DE.
I also use an R41 from time to time and found that I prefer this on medium long stubbles 2-4 days of growth.
But I will NEVER EVER dump my Fusion razor - just find a high quality razor handle and use your Fusion cart in that and then use your regular traditional shaving software and hardware - and you get tons of high quality shaves each and every time.
FYI I have never used pressure with any cart razors to begin with, so maybe this is why I have always gotten fine shaves with carts for 20+ years of wet shaving.
When I use a DE on anything longer than 4 days stubbles, I get less fine shaves and my razors get clogged up with hair, even if I rinse after each short and light stroke, where with my Mühle Fusion I just rinse it after each short stroke and I get no build up of hairs in the razor.....
YMMV as always of course
I usually use a cart on my work days, and DE on my off days because of speed. (I work 4 on and 4 off.). I am still very new to DE shaving and don't have time on my work days to use it right now. I'm hoping with practice, I'll be able to get my shave time down to where I can use the DE on my work days. For me, the DE seems to be a better and closer shave for me in most areas of my face.
It's very possible that you could get better shaves with a cart razor than a DE razor, everyone is different. Use what works for you, for me I get my best shaves with a Micro-matic Clog-Pruf using a carbon steel SE blade.
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