Gillette Fusion and safety razors.

[polod]

Today, I decided to shave with my Gillette Fusion razor. I had about 3 days beard growth. I like shaving with safety razors too, but the Fusion wasn't bad. I found that I got a BBS shave under 10 minutes and I had zero irritation and a very close shave. In my personal opinion, if you prep properly, the shave I get from the Gillette Fusion is very good and very close. I think the Fusion is a great razor. The only downside about it is the cartridge prices are very high. Other than that, I don't see any thing wrong with the Fusion. If I have to buy cartridges, I wait until they go on sale. Sometimes they are 50% off and use coupons for further discounts. Also the new Schick Hydro shaves well, although I found the Fusion a bit better. Also I find that both the Hydro and Fusion have very comfortable handles to hold.

Although safety razors are great and the blades are far cheaper, I sometimes will not get as close a shave as I do with the cartridge razors, plus I get a little irritation under the neck with a safety and they odd nick and the shave time takes a lot longer, more like 15 minutes.

I personally think cartridge razors aren't bad, just replacement blades are expensive and the shaves are excellent and quick with no risk of cuts or nicks. On the other hand, if you want to shave cheaply, the safety razor is the way to go as the blades are dirt cheap, but takes more effort to get a good shave. I just think if you can afford to buy cartridge replacements and money isn't a big deal, then that will probably be the way to go.

 

[siouxsie]

I get ingrowns with anything over 2 blades. Plus, I think safety razors are so much more fun. The cart razors are like toys to me now. To each their own, whatever makes you happy.

You should check out injector razors, if you haven't already. You may like them.

 

[michiganlover]

I could be perfectly happy shaving with a Trac II, or Atra. They give me very good results, there is just not the sense of accomplishment (or sense of adventure) that one gets from learning an actual tool that takes skill to use.

You should check out injector razors, if you haven't already. You may like them.

+1

I have 3 Injectors, and love them all. So easy to use (and feels a lot like using a cartridge) that it almost feels like cheating.

 

[Den]

I could be perfectly happy shaving with a Trac II

Same here. Love the Trac II. I've tried all the cartridge razors up until Mach3. None of them can perform at the level that my Trac II can. I'm still unsure why it performs better for me than any other cartridge razor, but it does. Either way, I'm not complaining.

But hey, if the Fusion works for you, then great! Nothing wrong with that!

 

[Go West Young Man]

You can't judge a razor based only one shave. Fusions have a bad rep for causing accumulated damage to your face, lots of guys get get one good shave then they get progressively worse. Also, a lot of people report that a DE BBS lasts all day, where a Fusion BBS starts getting patchy and scratchy much sooner.

 

[DirtyDave]

I never did try a four or five blade cartridge. I have used a Mach 3 and I could not really complain of the shaves I was getting. As I was popping in the last one several years ago the thought that my three blade razor did not shave any better than a twin blade razor and the twin blade did not shave any better than a DE.

I saw Personna DE's at Walmart for about $1.60 for ten blades. I had been buying Mach 3 cartridges from Sam's Club for little over $20.00 for what I think it was 15 cartridge pack.

The great irony is that I started this to save money. Boy, did I have that wrong. This is more fun, though.

 

[Bay Rum]

I get ingrowns with anything over 2 blades. Plus, I think safety razors are so much more fun. The cart razors are like toys to me now. To each their own, whatever makes you happy.

You should check out injector razors, if you haven't already. You may like them.

I have a Spiderman Fusion

 

[taffy]

My trac ii gives me excellent shaves, just as good as any of my de's, the fusion also shaved me well, no better or worse than the trac ii, but a whole lot more expensive, i just love the de shaving experiance, popping a new blade in, building a lather etc and now straights.

 

[polod]

Where can I get an Atra or Trac II handle? I see the cartridges everywhere but where can you get the handles? Does Personna make a compatible handle?

 

[taffy]

Where can I get an Atra or Trac II handle? I see the cartridges everywhere but where can you get the handles? Does Personna make a compatible handle?

Is the bump fighter a trac ii blade holder? got mine from the bay for a few quid, and the vendor section has them.

 

[Den]

Is the bump fighter a trac ii blade holder?

Yup, sure is.

 

[michiganlover]

Where can I get an Atra or Trac II handle? I see the cartridges everywhere but where can you get the handles? Does Personna make a compatible handle?

You can buy a Atra handle here:

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Col-Conk-Chrome-Swivel-Head-Razor_p_385.html

 

[W_B_K]

It's all YMMV. Multi-blades give me irritation and in-growns... DE, SE and straights have all been great for me. I also did not like all the waste associated with cartridges.

 

[GLteam]

Fusions will give the 'appearance' of a BBS shave right away. But, as the hair begins growing out of the hair follicle, that's when problems may occur. The mult-blade carts shave the hair below the surface of the skin, and when the hair starts uncoiling and growing back, it has to push itself through the healed over skin surface. This dramatically increases the chance of ingrown hairs and skin irritations. My 5 o'clock shadow always happened the next morning after shaving with M3's and the like. But when I DE shave, this process isn't really noticed until the next evening.

It's great that cartridge blade shaving works great for some people... keep on getting great shaves with them. You've found something that works great for you.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I used to think the same as the OP, but a recent experience with a Fusion changed that. I came across a new cart under the sink, so I did a full prep and gave it a try. The Fusion tugged, pulled, left patches unshaved, and didn't cut anywhere as closely as my DE routine.

Even after multiple passes (probably five or six, as opposed to the usual three) and getting a DFS, I got stubbly again in 7-8 hours. Further, the extra passes made my face redder and more irritated than DE.

I shaved with a DE89L and a Feather around 1AM this morning and, 13 hours later, am still smooth. I'll be smooth until around 8PM.

I am going to run this experiment again. The ProGlide is almost here and I'll pick one up. I doubt it'll be any better than the Fusion, but I'll give it a fair shake so I can give an honest opinion.

 

[lungho]

Glad the Fusion works for you. For me? It came down to paying the mortgage or buying more Fusion blades. Since I still have modest piece of land that came with a roof I can put over my head and I belong to B&B, it's easy to guess what choice I made.

 

[Slivovitz]

If I were to go with a cartridge razor, it would be the Atra, for which I still have my original two mid 1980s handles. Vintage handles are also readily available on eBay, some of them NOS. The generic cartridges I used were around fifty cents each, and lasted at least four shaves, so not too bad there. For some reason, the Trac II hasn't worked as well for me, although it's acceptable. I have one of dridiots cheapo generic handles for it. Cost less than a Bump Fighter, even shipped from Singapore.

If I went with one of the state of the art expensive cartridges, it would be the Schick Hydro 3, which I tried recently. I got seven decent shaves out of the first cartridge, and it probably wasn't done yet. I tried the Fusion, and it wasn't terrible, but I only got five shaves out of the first cartridge, and there was some irritation. Now of course, there's the Pro-Glide, which I don't plan to try.

The thing is, though, that I'm good enough now with my injectors and most of my SEs, that I can shave almost as quickly as with a cartridge, and get a closer shave into the bargain. Yes, it is easier to nick myself if I don't pay attention, but that actually hasn't happened in a long time. I'll continue to take the occasional cartridge shave just to mix things up a little, mostly with an Atra or a Trac II, or there might be some trip where I don't want to go through the extra gyrations involved in taking real blades on an airplane. In general, though, shaving with a cartridge isn't so much faster or easier that there is any real incentive to use one.

 

[Speedwell68]

I have used many different types of cartridge razor. I started shaving when I was about 16, my first razor was a Gillette Sensor, which was subsequently upgraded to a Sensor Excel and then a Sensor 3 and then a Wilkinson Sword Quattro. I tried a Mach 3 when they first came out, but really didn't like the way the head pivoted. I have always used soap and a brush just because my Dad did.

I have always suffered from razor burn and ingrown hairs, for years I figured that was how it was. A couple of months ago I was in Boots (a big drug store chain in the UK) and I noticed the price of a Wilkinson Sword Classic DE and how cheap the replacement blades were, and thought why not? The first shave I had with that cheap plastic DE was a revelation. Yes I cut myself. Yes I had burn, just like always. But it was so smooth. I then discovered these forums and took advice from it's members and bought myself a Muhle R89 and began experimenting with different soaps, creams and blades. I now have become a shaving addict. But now I have practiced and began to hone the art of shaving to my face, I have no burn, no ingrowns and whilst I probably spend more money on my new hobby than I did with a cartridge razor, I am happy in the knowledge that I am spending a fraction of the price on my daily shave.

IMHO modern cartridge razors are for people that do not want to be bothered with everything that goes with 'traditional' shaving. Some of my friends have actually mocked me for my use of DE razors.

 

[Darth Shaver]

That's Funny, Just this morning I decided to shave with a Schick Hydro. This is the first cartridge shave I have had since I made the switch to DE about two months ago. What I noticed was the Hydro did okay but it wasn't anything special. For me it was much better than the Fusion. But I don't think I will ever go back to a cartridge. For me it is now about the experience.

 

[Greggy_D]

The Hydro 3 is an AMAZING cartridge shaver. I honestly cannot believe how well it works and how smooth my face is with very little effort on my part. But.....like all other carts.....the price is the downfall.