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Did cart on one side, DE on the other today

So today I did a double edge on the right side (I'm right hand dominant) of my face, cartridge shave on the left hand side. Have been trying to get good results with a double edge for over two years, decided to do a comparison. Here are the parameters:

  • Creme: Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandlewood
  • Brush: Razor Rock synthetic
  • DE Handle: Simba Series Double Edge
  • DE Blade: Brand new Vidyut Supermax Platinum
  • Cart handle: Gillette Mach 3
  • Cart blade: Gillette Mach 3 with at least fifty uses
  • My face: White male, early forties. Coarse, thick whiskers heavily distributed on my neck and lower jaw, very sparse on my cheeks, moderate on chin and under nose.
  • Growth: Three days
The double edge shave took roughly three times as long as the cartridge shave. I did the standard three passes with each (WTG, XTG, ATG.) I stopped to reapply lather prior to each pass, touching up as needed (with the exception of the ATG cartridge pass, where I did not apply any new lather prior to shaving.) The results can be see below.


Apologies for the poor image quality, photography is not my forte'. As you can see, the right hand (DE) side has numerous open wounds, two real cuts and at least twenty smaller weepers. Not shown are the six or so weepers on my chin and mustache from the DE. The left hand side (cart) has less inflammation and opened zero wounds, despite doing an ATG pass with only residual water and lubricant. Hair removal was roughly the same on both sides, although slightly smoother on the cartridge side.

As stated above I've been trying to get the hang of DE shaving for over two years, and would estimate that I've done over two hundred shaves with the device. Granted, I would have somewhat improved (but still bloody) results if I were to have waited longer, say five days but that is not an acceptable time to wait. I would like to submit this as evidence that traditional shaving is not the universal best solution that it's proponents would have you believe that it is, and that cartridge shaving is the best option for many, if not most men.
 

rockviper

I got moves like Jagger
My neck whiskers grow in different angles and swirls, so I have to pay attention as to when my WTG stroke becomes an ATG or I can get a blotchly neck.
 
Respectfully, I don't agree with your final analysis at all. All that your story tells me for sure is that you get better results from carts. Nothing else.

It is impossible to to declare "most men" will get better shaves using any type of shaving method over another.

I hate the term, but this is a clear case of ymmv.

Sent from my Nokia 7.1 using Tapatalk
 
I would like to submit this as evidence that traditional shaving is not the universal best solution that it's proponents would have you believe that it is, and that cartridge shaving is the best option for many, if not most men.

This is a most ridiculous statement!
You clearly have not figured this shaving thing out yet.
Getting this kind of irritation after putting even half the time in that you have should yield much better results.
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. Those that are happy and see the benefits to it obviously enjoy it for a reason and are getting much better results than you.
Perhaps this is just not for you.
 
To make a fair comparison you should try a really efficient DE razor with a sharp blade. Blade needs to be Gillette Silver Blue, Nacet, 7 o'clock Yellow or equivalent. A nice razor would be a vintage Gillette like Old Type, NEW etc. with an open comb but still smooth. I'd really recommend a SE razor like a Micromatic Clog-Pruf with a Personna PTFE blade. What you are after is an efficient but smooth shave. And this means technique. You can apply pressure with a cart, but a safety razor needs only minimum pressure - let the blade do the work. And learn to stretch your skin and all the other tricks. Your DE shaves should be a lot better than they are!
 
Apart from thr time factor and admittedly i don't rush my shaves now its no contest. DE shaves deliver an irritation free closer shave. I'd say user error rather than the razor is to explain.
 
Getting this kind of irritation after putting even half the time in that you have should yield much better results.
Yes, I agree, I should, if DE shaving was as universally superior as is often claimed.
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. Those that are happy and see the benefits to it obviously enjoy it for a reason and are getting much better results than you.
I'm not telling anyone that does that they are wrong or shouldn't be doing what they are doing, only that their experience is not necessarily the same as others.
Perhaps this is just not for you.
We agree then, it clearly is not. My face simply will not tolerate a traditional razor to provide anything more than trimming, and nothing approaching a shave. I am posting this experience to document the fact that there are in fact people who get a worse, and in some cases far worse, experience with a traditional tool over a modern cartridge system. I see very little acknowledgement of that fact in the double edge shaving community and so am trying to address that, I'm sorry if this offends you.
 
To make a fair comparison you should try a really efficient DE razor with a sharp blade. Blade needs to be Gillette Silver Blue, Nacet, 7 o'clock Yellow or equivalent. A nice razor would be a vintage Gillette like Old Type, NEW etc. with an open comb but still smooth. I'd really recommend a SE razor like a Micromatic Clog-Pruf with a Personna PTFE blade. What you are after is an efficient but smooth shave. And this means technique. You can apply pressure with a cart, but a safety razor needs only minimum pressure - let the blade do the work. And learn to stretch your skin and all the other tricks. Your DE shaves should be a lot better than they are!

I've tried a wide variety of razors and blades, none of which have ever given me a better shave than a cartridge. Also I'm aware of pressure, I use none when using either a cart or a safety razor. My skin is pulled taunt throughout and I hold the razor so loosely that it sometimes falls out of my hand. The results you see above are with nothing more than the weight of the razor.
 
I am posting this experience to document the fact that there are in fact people who get a worse, and in some cases far worse, experience with a traditional tool over a modern cartridge system. I see very little acknowledgement of that fact in the double edge shaving community and so am trying to address that, I'm sorry if this offends you.

Carts can give you a good shave - sure. That's not really the whole issue, though. They're more expensive in blades, boring, charmless and just not something that anyone would be hooked on collecting. Safety razors, on the other hand, are often beautifully designed and made and a joy to collect. Since you can get a really close shave with them, there's really no reason to put money into repeated cart purchases which give you nothing other than "a shave".
 
Apart from thr time factor and admittedly i don't rush my shaves now its no contest. DE shaves deliver an irritation free closer shave. I'd say user error rather than the razor is to explain.
Two years ago I would have agreed. In the interim I've tried a wide variety of razor and blade combinations, as well as every possible angle from holding the razor perpendicular to holding it horizontal to my face, as well as different pre-shave prep routines, I've eliminated pretty much all the variables other than the skin itself being incapable of tolerating the more aggressive blade.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
I would like to submit this as evidence that traditional shaving is not the universal best solution that it's proponents would have you believe that it is, and that cartridge shaving is the best option for many, if not most men.

Well, not for me :).

I used a Mach 3 for around 20 years and never had a BBS finish, or a comfortable shave with it in all those years. It left, and still does leave, my skin raw and damaged as do all multi bladed carts/disposables. I've tried a few too.

Using my Fatip Grande I can shave with a single buffing pass ATG and a clean up over my swirls in the opposite direction for a 12 hour BBS and feel like I havent even shaved. The same as with my MMOC and a PTFE blade. Its a quicker end to the same place with a longer lasting BBS finish and even more comfort.

DE Handle: Simba Series Double Edge

I'm not familiar with that razor, but it looks to be the same Baili manufactured razor as the RR Tech II which is highly praised around the forum by many.

DE Blade: Brand new Vidyut Supermax Platinum

If I used that blade, and I have, you'd see blood trickling down my neck from my swirl if I took the same picture.

My neck whiskers grow in different angles and swirls, so I have to pay attention as to when my WTG stroke becomes an ATG or I can get a blotchly neck.

Yep, me too. If I shave with the wrong razor, blade, or in the wrong direction both sides of my Adam's apple will look like the OP's left side neck and far worse.

This is my map.

beard-grain-map-1.jpg

Understanding the directions of growth and shaving into them accordingly is important.
 
Carts can give you a good shave - sure. That's not really the whole issue, though. They're more expensive in blades, boring, charmless and just not something that anyone would be hooked on collecting. Safety razors, on the other hand, are often beautifully designed and made and a joy to collect. Since you can get a really close shave with them, there's really no reason to put money into repeated cart purchases which give you nothing other than "a shave".
Many treat shaving as a hobby, and that's great. I'm into collecting action figures and video gaming. We all have our tastes. I tried DE shaving hoping for the better results of which many say can be obtained, but didn't get them. For me shaving is a chore and the razor just a tool. Others are welcome to making more of it.
 
Did you say your Mach 3 Cart had 50 uses to it?
Yup. I wipe it down after each use to keep corrosion down, and I strop it prior to each use. I don't have an exact count but I can use a cartridge until it practically falls apart.
 
Yup. I wipe it down after each use to keep corrosion down, and I strop it prior to each use. I don't have an exact count but I can use a cartridge until it practically falls apart.
Mind telling us how you strop your cartridge? I'm curious.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
Mind telling us how you strop your cartridge? I'm curious.

Thats actually fairly common to do with cartridges and disposables.


I tried it on denim, it didnt seem to do much of anything for me but I have very little patience for that sort of thing.
 

rockviper

I got moves like Jagger
It's all about cleaning and drying the blade more than what straight users would call stropping. From what I understand, it does work to a certain degree.
 
I read this thread with interest. I wondered how someone who has been shaving with a DE razor for a couple of years could still be getting poor quality shaves, including weepers and cuts. There are three possibilities: poor technique, poor equipment, or both.

I had never heard of the Simba Series Double Edge razor. When I "googled" the razor, I found a reference on Amazon. The reviewers rated the razor as 2 start our of 5, and 59% of the reviews rated the razor as only one star. It appears that Amazon no longer sells the razor. If you look up other razor brands (Edwin Jager, Merkur, Muhle, Parker), they are rated around 4.5 out of 5. Even Weishi gets similar ratings. Thus, I have a strong suspicion that a poor quality razor has contributed to the poor shaves.

Again, I had never heard of the Vidyut Supermax Platinum blades. There are a few reviews, but not many. Thus, I do not know if these blades are an issue.

If your technique is good, you can shave with nearly and razor, but if you learned to shave using a poor quality razor, you may be trying to compensate for the flaws of the razor, so it would be difficult to develop good technique.

I would suggest trying to obtain another DE razor or higher quality. That does not necessarily mean expensive.

Any blades made by Gillette are generally pretty good. Some are sold under the Gillette name and others are sold as 7 0'Clock, Polsilver, etc. Personna blades made in the USA or Israel are also good.

A good DE razor, fitted with a good DE blade and used with appropriate technique will give a shave as good or better than a cartridge razor. However, a cartridge razor with a pivoting head is more forgiving of poor technique.
 
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