Calling all cartridge users - what system are you using?

[Topgumby]

And what if you're not interested in "the Zen of shaving", and just want a good and enjoyable shave?

Define "good and enjoyable", I guess.

It twirls my toes to bake my own bread, but a loaf of WonderBread off the store shelf would make the "good and enjoyable" list of many, many folks.

It's a matter of perspective and priorities, really. At one point, I was rather enamored of the convenience of a Braun cordless shaver. Let's just say my lifestyle was less structured than it is now, and more subject to chemical variables.

 

[Eeyore]

When I finished my shave, my face feels fresh and smooth, and I am still in time for work, then I had a good and enjoyable shave

I don't care if the result was reached with soap or cream, cartridge or DE blade (I don't have a straight or SE).
This morning I had a good shave with a NOS Wilkinson Sword cartridge. Yesterday I had an equally good shave with a Personna "Platinum Chrome" DE blade.

 

[Cosmic Debris]

I started shaving using cartridge razors (Trac II, Atra). Can't remember why or when I got rid of my old Trac II handle. Wish I still had it.

The Mach 3 is expensive, but I hate checking bags and have been stopped by TSA for carrying an empty Gillette DE in my shaving kit. I use a cartridge razor whenever I fly. The single-blade sensitive-skin models are livable, but the Mach 3 gives me a pretty good two-pass shave. Have tried the Fusion, but found the sensation really disconcerting.

Before I started wet shaving five years ago, I was using disposables and canned foam. For me, the biggest improvement to my shave came from the brush and the soap. At home, I mostly use a Gillette Milord and Feather blades.

 

[Cirques]

I still use a Mach3, but I do all the DE prep--preshave oil, quality shave cream or soap, brush, etc. I have tried the Feather and Edwin Jager DE razors, but my face felt raw after each shave. With the Mach3 I get a pretty nice shave and I have a mole on my cheek (like TheDean) that I don't have to worry about (The DE's cut it each time.) The only difference in closeness between the Mach3 and the DE's is the area on my chin line. The DE's got all the stubble, but I still have the tiniest bit of stubble on my chin line with the Mach3.

But when you DE people were starting out, did you also have the raw skin issue I described? I shave every day.

 

[Jopo]

Today I shaved with a NOS "Made in England" Wilkinson Sword Profile cartridge in my Atra razor. I prefer the Trac II, because I don't really care for the pivoting action of the Atra razor.
However, the NOS Wilkinson cartridges are excellent. I don't know if it's the steel, the triple coating, or the lack of a lubricating strip. But they are sharp, and last long. They are as good as the original Gillette Contour cartridges, which have disappeared from the shops in (I believe) the 1990's.

Well go ahead and slide your Trac II handle into those Profile cartridges. Unless it was only the case for a latter version, you can see the packaging states:
"Fits both Swivel and Fixed razors":


These cartridges are still made by Wilkinson Sword in Solingen, Germany under the name Contact Plus, as well as Duplo II (aka Super II).
Older packaging of Contact Plus:

 

[Sabre]

I tried to identify the makers of the main supermarket own brand systems,

In the UK/Netherlands they are:

Personna - Aldi/Asda/Boots/Morrisons/Tesco/Hema/Ex Schlecker
Dorco - Sainsbury/Superdrug/Albert Heijn/Etos/Kruidvat/Trekpleister
Croma -Lidl/Schlecker
Laser or Supermax - Wilkinsons

The German house brands - Rilanja (Schlecker)/Cerrus and Isana (Rossman)/Balea etc. frequently change manufacturer....

 

[ok2shave]

I'm a convert from carts to DE. I used to use a the Fusion ProGlide. So expensive. So for all those wanting to save some money on some good carts, check out dollarshaveclub.com. They have different blade choices and deliver to your door each month. Also the shave butter is awesome.

 

[Sabre]

I'm a convert from carts to DE. I used to use a the Fusion ProGlide. So expensive. So for all those wanting to save some money on some good carts, check out dollarshaveclub.com. They have different blade choices and deliver to your door each month. Also the shave butter is awesome.

Dollar Shave Club mainly has Dorco razors and Dorco sell in bulk online at half the price of the Dollar Shave Club . It's probably is cheaper to buy Atra/Contour (Vector/Slalom/Exacta2/Profile Plus/Contact Plus etc.) razor and blade clones off eBay.

 

[Sabre]

I enjoy mixing it up with DE/Injector/Shavette/Cartridge razors. I used the Hydro3 when it came out, I am travelling a lot now so use the Mach3 disposable, which is often on sale and cheaper than the Mach3 blade pack. I also enjoy using Trac II/Atra/Profile/Ultrex cartridge systems. I will not buy anymore Fusion blades as it's pure extortion....

 

[russhatch]

I used them all I think over the years - in search of a better shave. After I switched to a DE and decided that's where I wanted to stay - I threw out probably two dozen razors. I know it's not answering your question, but please bear with me a moment. I head shave and knew I would be using a cart shaver for that - I had several "systems" to chose from right when I was throwing stuff away. I kept my Gillette Sensor from 1993 and a Wilkinson Tech 3 - the Wilkinson is "in case of emergency". I also wanted to keep something around for traveling when I can't take the DE around. I hope this answers your question.

 

[Foyle]

I've been using the TracII for the past 4 weeks now pretty much every day, and I'm really enjoying the shaves I'm getting.

 

[gus1942]

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I get a faster and closer shave with less irritation and no blood with my old Fusion system instead of DE.

However, I do not like to cost of the Fusion nor the size of the cartridge. It's hard to work around the nose/upper lip, etc.

What cartridge system most of you cartridge users are using??

Thanks

I think we are on different shaving planets.

 

[shave/brush]

I think the Trac II was the best cartridge system ever made. I hate the swivel head models, even the Atra's. You can't control the angle of the blade with them. I bought a Fusion once just to try it. I used it for one shave and threw it away I hated it so much.
Here is a Trac II handle I got for $18.00 and I love it.

 

[Heron]

Before I bought my DE I switched from Fusion to the Dollar Shave Club twin. From $5 per cartridge to $3 per month, with the same results.

 

[Bubblehead]

Schick Hydro 5 with the slime strip removed. Each cartridge lasts this daily shaver a month. I couldn't ask for anything better.

 

[Eeyore]

Well go ahead and slide your Trac II handle into those Profile cartridges. Unless it was only the case for a latter version, you can see the packaging states:
"Fits both Swivel and Fixed razors":

Those are the modern ones, with a hybrid design, and a lubrication strip.

I am talking about the 1990's (and earlier) original ones, which have the "Made in England" marking, and no lubrication strip. Those only fit the Contour razor (and Wilkinson Sword's own Profile razor, of course).

 

[Creek Johnson]

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I get a faster and closer shave with less irritation and no blood with my old Fusion system instead of DE.

However, I do not like to cost of the Fusion nor the size of the cartridge. It's hard to work around the nose/upper lip, etc.

What cartridge system most of you cartridge users are using??



Thanks

I am with you. I used DEs for the better part of two years. I was a true believer. I read all the advice and watched the shaving videos on you tube. I tried different blades, experimented with numerous products both cheap and expensive. I was getting a close shave, but my skin always felt raw and tender, even sore. Then I dropped my wildly over-priced DE handle on the tile floor and broke it. I bought a Mach 3 to tide me over till the replacement arrived and surprisingly started getting the best, most comfortable shaves I've ever had.

I'm now using a Fusion and don't plan to ever go back to DE. There is a reason DE was abandoned when cartridges came out -- and it wasn't just advertising.

However, paying $3 a week to get a good shave bugs me.

So I bought a Merkur handle that fits nearly every twin cart system ever made, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with twin blades. Twin blades give many of the advantages of the newer gazillion blade creations and you can buy the twins from .21 to .50 cents apiece.

With carts that cheap I've ran out of reasons to use DE. Even dermatologists recommend twin blades. And they don't have a dog in this fight. DEs remove the top layer of skin when you shave and 4 blade carts shave so close that they cut the hair beneath the skin and cause ingrown hair (for some people).

There is no more reason to use a DE than there is to use a sharped flint like the Romans did -- how romantic.

I have 4 different brands of twin carts ordered and if they don't work for me, I'll be using the Fusion and supporting the oligarchs. The Fusion really is well engineered to always keep the blades at a perfect angle to the skin and at a perfect pressure. And the fifth blade really does make getting those hairs next to the nostrils easy to shave.

 

[Moondancer]

I just received a Guard razor and five cartridges from WCS last Friday. It looks like I'm going to be traveling back and forth to China on a semi-regular basis and I want something I can carry-on. Did my first shave with it Monday with the normal weekend growth and treated it like a DE, i.e. I did my usual three pass routine. Really, really close to my normal DE levels. I think if I were to go back to a multi-blade cart, I'd probably go Trac II.

 

[SilentTuba]

I will never go back to cart shaving on a regular basis, because A.) I'm cheap, B.) I'm stubborn, and most importantly, C.) my DE shaves have WAY less razor burn and discomfort than when I used a Mach 3/Fusion. If I find myself in a situation where I cannot use my DE (like if I'm flying with just a carry-on), then I will use a cheap Bic disposable. Does the job about as well as carts did, and they're cheap.

 

[InkEd]

Shick Hydro 3