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Cartridge vs injector razors

To my mind, the injector razor pioneered by Schick was the inspiration for the cartridge razor. Injector razors are lightweight and allow for easy blade changing without ever touching the blade. The heads are even smaller than the current crop of cartridges so they allow for easy trimming around beards and moustaches. So why didn't injector razors become more popular than they did? (I don't know the answer to that unless it was just poor marketing - or being outmarketed by Gillette with their mailing of free cartridge razors).

I just bought a Schick adjustable injector razor which came with some extra blades. I've only used it once, and have to play around with the adjustments to find the optimum setting for me. I enjoyed the shave and found it much easier to trim around my beard and mustache. Even though I prefer a heavier DE razor to a lightweight one, the light weight of the injector seemed to suit it well and I had no problem with it. I received both Schick and Personna blades with it and the one installed was brand new, Not sure which brand it was. You are limited in the number of suppliers on injector blades vs DE blades and some cartridges, but that may end up being an advantage (I have too many DE blades of different manufacturers that I've collected over the years because I thought I'd try a new brand). At the low setting, the injector shaves as if there weren't a blade in it, yet it cuts. At 5, you know that it's cutting closer. Not sure where I will end up but I suspect I won't go any more aggressive than 5.

So all of you who have returned to cartridge razors (or never left them), did you consider an injector razor? If not, why not?
 
I have been cart shaving since 1984, DE shaving since 1991. I have been an injector shaver since circa 2007. My Father had an injector. I can only assume they weren't around, and the 1988 Best a man can get from Gillette with the Atra/Contour followed by heavier advertising for the Sensor just decimated the competition if they hadn't been killed off by the Trac II launch two decades earlier. I prefer the injector to the DE.
 

Flintstone65

Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
For those who haven't tried an Injector, I encourage you to make the leap. I shave with DE's, Gem-style SE's, Artist Club-style SE's, Hair Shapers, Shavettes, Straights and Injectors....I am drawn by the diversity. But gun to my head (probably by the love of my life) to choose a razor style, it would more than likely be an injector. I have almost every "type" of Schick/Eversharp injectors, from the original Repeating Magazine Razors (Type A, B and C) to the Type E, F and G, and on through to the Type N (from the 80's) -- basically I'm missing the D and the O, and there isn't a dud in the bunch. I like the Type M as well (aka the Schick Adjustable), it does a nice job of letting me adjust my shave depending on my growth and my mood. But while I can envision being forced into a single blade type (i.e., the injector), I can't imagine trying to choose between my Injectors....so I guess my den is destined to have at least a dozen or so razors in it! :w00t:

For those who haven't tried one yet, go and get one. They are infinitely cheaper than most modern razors, mostly cheaper than most DE vintages, and definitely comparable to GEM style SE razors.
 
Personally I never had any desire to return to cartridges. I normally shave with a DE, but did use a Schick L injector clone for the first time in a while this morning. The pros/cons of cartridges and injectors for me is as follows.

Cartridges
Pros: Pivoting neck makes it easy to use, can get a DFS in one pass
Cons: Irritation and nicks are common, replacement cartridges are pricier

Injectors
Pros: Irritation is rare, replacement blades are cheaper
Cons: No pivoting neck, DFS requires second pass

If I didn't get irritation from carts I would see the appeal of returning to them to save time and not having to pay as much attention during shaving.
 
Personally I never had any desire to return to cartridges. I normally shave with a DE, but did use a Schick L injector clone for the first time in a while this morning. The pros/cons of cartridges and injectors for me is as follows.

Cartridges
Pros: Pivoting neck makes it easy to use, can get a DFS in one pass
Cons: Irritation and nicks are common, replacement cartridges are pricier

Injectors
Pros: Irritation is rare, replacement blades are cheaper
Cons: No pivoting neck, DFS requires second pass

If I didn't get irritation from carts I would see the appeal of returning to them to save time and not having to pay as much attention during shaving.
Injector blades are a lot more expensive than carts.
 
When I first started shaving some 55 years ago, Schick sent me a free Type L injector razor. However, I had difficulty using it as I had severe acne. To save my face, I switched to a Norelco rotary razor. I used that until I outgrew the acne phase. By then Cartridge razors and disposable razors were becoming popular. As I got older, my beard became tougher and my skin became more sensitive. I used either an electric shaver or a cartridge razor as they were convenient. However, I was never satisfied with the shaves as the electric never shaved quite close enough and the multi-blade cartridges caused skin irritation.

Once I retired, I started shaving with straight razors, DE razors and new SE razors as well. Recently, I purchased a Schick Type L razor like the one I first used as a teenage. It came from another forum member along with some vintage Schick single injector and twin injector blades. However, after purchasing some of the Chinese Schick injector blades, I find them to be even better than the vintage blades.

The Schick injector blades are far more expensive than DE blades, but they are still about half the price of replacement cartridges. I have a stash of Schick Hydro 5 cartridges, but only use them for shaving the back of my neck while showering. I find that I get closer shaves with less irritation using a straight razor, DE razor, or SE injector razor. BTW, I have both the Schick injector and a ATT SE1 razor that used the Feather AC injector blades.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
If a person likes cartridge razors and Schick injectors you can have both worlds of those two razors by using a Twin ll injector blade. If you shave daily or every 2nd day the blade should not give any issues, if your prone to ingrown hairs stay away from multi blade cartridge or twin blades IMO. The twin blade is pricey but it lasts, I'm on shave #31 and it has some good DFS yet to be had. It gets boring almost like a cartridge so I only use the Twin ll blade 1 or 2 times a month. I have a large razor rotation and it is getting larger it seems.
Blade Review #6.3 June 26th 2020 (3).jpg
Twin blades (2).jpg
Stick Schick with a 20 year warranty from a G Schick  (2).jpg

............................................................................I put Schick twin ll in my stick Schick L type=excellent results.
Have some great shaves!
 
I only recently got into injectors (less than 3 months ago) and absolutely love them. For me they shave better than a DE. As the OP says they seem to be a middle ground between DE and carts.

I’ve been on a buying spree to try the various schick models . My preference is for milder razors and as such i really like my model L M N injectors so far. I will be buying some earlier models to see how they do.

I’m also baffled why injectors never survived but as some posters mention most likely due to being out marketed by Gillette etc.

Personally given how long ago injectors were made I’m very surprised why they were less popular than DE razors in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Or maybe I’m wrong and they were popular .


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Injectors are some of the best razors ever made. I rate them higher than DEs on average. A downside might be the amount of plastic used for those handles, but some of them are still quite attractive (the amber bakelite type E comes to mind). Finally, there's the stainless steel PAL Adjustable that is just an awesome shaver; one just has to figure out the angle, because it's different than your typical injector made by Schick.

Schick should make new injectors, really. They are similar enough to cartridges, are very nimble and fast. The head design is really excellent, especially when it comes to shaving tricky spots on your neck and under the nose.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I only recently got into injectors (less than 3 months ago) and absolutely love them. For me they shave better than a DE. As the OP says they seem to be a middle ground between DE and carts.

I’ve been on a buying spree to try the various schick models . My preference is for milder razors and as such i really like my model L M N injectors so far. I will be buying some earlier models to see how they do.

I’m also baffled why injectors never survived but as some posters mention most likely due to being out marketed by Gillette etc.

Personally given how long ago injectors were made I’m very surprised why they were less popular than DE razors in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Or maybe I’m wrong and they were popular .


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I think you are sort of right with analysis of the injector razor not being as popular as the Gillette or ASR razors. If you look on _bay the amount of used razors for sale Gillette dominates, ASR razors and then Schick injectors. So I would say Schick sold millions of injectors as compared to Gillette selling 10's of millions of DE razors. Modern Injector razors are still being MFG as are Modern version Gem razors also but not in the millions like in the past. Schick injector blades I think were a little more expensive possibly then Gillette De or Gem blades. ASR was larger than Schick brand and were in the four front of safety razors. Gem(ASR brand) had a twist to open 4 yrs ahead of Gillette brand TTO 1st version. PAL & Personna (AmericanSafetyRazor corp) also made injector safety razors & even Gillette made a injector razor with their Twin ll blade version. Gillette went 1 step further and started making propriety plastic injector cartridge for their plastic razor handles that to this day dominates the world markets. Personna (remnants of ASR)also makes disposable cartridge razors and injected cartridge razors by the 10's of millions of different brand names yearly even today.
 
One of the first razors I ever used (some 55 years ago) was the Schick Type L injector. It was lost over the years when I started using cartridge razors. I now shave with straight razors, DE razors and SE razors. I was recently able to purchase a Type L injector NOS from a forum member. It came with some vintage Schick blades from the Energizer ownership years, both singles and twins. I also purchased some modern Chinese Schick blades. I like them even better than the vintage blades. They are plenty sharp for my tough beard.
 
Injector blades are a lot more expensive than carts.

Maybe in the UK, but not here. I can buy a Schick injector magazine with 7 blades for around $6 or $7 at the local independent pharmacy and get three weeks worth of shaves from each blade - over 5 months of shaving. If I want to buy in bulk I can get them on Amazon even cheaper. You can probably find a cartridge system where the replacement carts can be had for about $1 each, but I've never managed to make even the top carts last longer than a week or 10 days.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Maybe in the UK, but not here. I can buy a Schick injector magazine with 7 blades for around $6 or $7 at the local independent pharmacy and get three weeks worth of shaves from each blade - over 5 months of shaving. If I want to buy in bulk I can get them on Amazon even cheaper. You can probably find a cartridge system where the replacement carts can be had for about $1 each, but I've never managed to make even the top carts last longer than a week or 10 days.
If you want them even cheaper injectors buy them from Connaught shaving UK, You get 20 Personna injector blades per magazine and personally I like them just as much as the Schick blades. The Schick blades that come in a pack of 7 are sharp and smooth but are not as sharp as the Personna's, When you get a very sharp blade like the Personna injector blade you give up a little smoothness but they have excellent longevity and are smooth in the milder Schick injector razors IMO.The more you use a Personna injector blade the smoother they become also. The Personna injector magazine is made of plastic and aluminum and are not the best out there but they take a little more fidgeting but are doable.
With US dollar strong the cost are very good even with shipping.
 
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I am not personally a fan of Personna injector blades, I am thus reliant on Chinese and Japanese blades. I would imagine just for Chinese blades, it's hard to get lower than a £1.00 a blade. Carts, I have 3000, which I believe the average is around 20p each.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I am not personally a fan of Personna injector blades, I am thus reliant on Chinese and Japanese blades. I would imagine just for Chinese blades, it's hard to get lower than a £1.00 a blade. Carts, I have 3000, which I believe the average is around 20p each.
You must of got a deal on those cartridge blades, Just doing a quick calcultation on the Personna injector blades for 200pcs at 30pounds + shipping - they work out to 17p with shipping and I get (10) DFS,BBS range shaves per blade and for a daily shaver that equals 51p per month or 6.12 pounds sterling per year. How can you beat that price for a quality blade that is very sharp and reasonably smooth and gets better as you shave with them.
It's to bad you do not get along with Personna injector blades(I enjoy Personna injector blades) because they are cost effective as much as any DE blade IMO. Harrys razor would have a hard time beating that price.
 
I have the Connaught blades, and some other Personna's. I will have to use them up. I just have 10 packs of Chinese Schicks, and 4 packs of Japanese to get thru. I also have some 10 to 20 NOS cassettes including Dutch and Swedish made blades. I should use them rather than hoard them.
 
I only recently got into injectors (less than 3 months ago) and absolutely love them. For me they shave better than a DE. As the OP says they seem to be a middle ground between DE and carts.

I’ve been on a buying spree to try the various schick models . My preference is for milder razors and as such i really like my model L M N injectors so far. I will be buying some earlier models to see how they do.

I’m also baffled why injectors never survived but as some posters mention most likely due to being out marketed by Gillette etc.

Personally given how long ago injectors were made I’m very surprised why they were less popular than DE razors in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Or maybe I’m wrong and they were popular .


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Well Cary Grant used one in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. It would be interesting to know what the market share was in the 40's and 50's. They are so idiot proof when compared with a DE and comparable to a Gem SE. I can day dream as I do with a cart.
 
At my local Long's drugstore Schick injector blades are $6.25 for seven. Gillette Fusion carts are $42 for eight and Trac II are $22 for ten. For decades I shaved with canned foam and my type L with good results. I always did just one pass with touch ups on the troublesome spots on my neck. I hadn't ever heard of multiple pass shaves until last year. The only carts I have used are the Trac II and the Wilkinson bonded. I don't find either as good as an injector.
 
Well Cary Grant used one in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. It would be interesting to know what the market share was in the 40's and 50's. They are so idiot proof when compared with a DE and comparable to a Gem SE. I can day dream as I do with a cart.
I have that movie and was watching it recently and noticed that razor.....also Roger Moore as James Bond used an injector in Live and Let Die i think. So thats 1970s
 
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