Gillette Sensor

[Patriot45]

I am probably going to sound like a heretic discussing this on this forum. But, I recently purchased a Gillette Sensor as a backup in the event I don't have time to perform my DE shave. I thought it best to get the Sensor instead of sticking with my Fusion because the Sensor would reduce the formation of bad habits by keeping my wrist at a fixed angle, similar to what I would need for my DE. I haven't owned the Sensor for many years. I shaved with it this morning. Man!!! What have we done to ourselves??? The Sensor gave me a much better shave than the 5-bladed Fusion. I think these 4/5 blade razors have taken us a step backwards and are more marketing gimmick than anything else.

Anyway, thought I would share. I think I used the Sensor for a good 7-8 years before I purchased a Mach-3. I will never go back to anything other than a 2-blade (for my backup of course...)

 

[njpaddy]

I liked the Sensor, but then went to a M3 and then a Quattro (never made it to 5). A few weeks before I started DE I ran out of Quattro cartridges and bought a 2 blade Sensor. For a few shaves I even used it with Proraso and brush while waiting for my DE. I don't know why I ever switched to the 3 & 4 blades. Haven't used the Sensor since I got my first DE, but I'll keep it just in case all 7 of my backup DE's fail.

 

[crocto]

i'm young enough that my first shave was with a senor. ah to be 9 again. hey i'm italian we start early. anyway yeah the senor is pretty good.

however the best 2 bladed razor was the shick tracer FX. that thing was awesome.

 

[BroJohn]

I have always believed that the Sensor was the best of the cartridge razors. It was downhill from there for Gillette. If you're going to shave with a CR, the Sensor would be the way to go.

-- John Gehman

 

[mrscottishman]

Talk about what have we done to ourselves! My wife was bringing home what I call horseshoe handle disposables. They have bent handles. How are you going to get the angle right when it depends on where you hold it? Also they didn't fit my hand. They were a big factor in my push back to DE shaving.

have a great shave,
mrscottishman

 

[congochris]

I've got two sensors myself. It's what I started with, and I recently picked another up to replace it if/when it dies. Heck, it's 16 or 17 years old.. It went into my dopp kit for flying and such. Along with a can of goo. I'm considering working up a different dopp kit with a brush, but it's on the back burner for now since my "spare" brush is now in use as my son's brush. He's 2, and very possessive. He'd yella t Daddy if "his" brush disappeared from his shelf.

And sadly, I also have an M3, a Fusion, and a quattro I never used. Got the Quattro free from an online give-away thing. No idea why I bothered anymore...

 

[michiganlover]

What have we done to ourselves??? The Sensor gave me a much better shave than the 5-bladed Fusion. I think these 4/5 blade razors have taken us a step backwards and are more marketing gimmick than anything else.

I would add the 3 bladed Mach 3 into the horrible crap category as well. In my opinion, there have been no improvements to cartridge razors since the Gillette Sensor. The 3rd blade of the Mach 3 was nothing more than a marketing gimmick that for many people leads to extra irritation.

In my opinion the best cartridge ever made was the Trac II, mostly for the fact that since it is non-pivoting, it is the closest shave to a double edge razor of all of the cartridges.

 

[HoratioCaine]

the Sensor would reduce the formation of bad habits by keeping my wrist at a fixed angle, similar to what I would need for my DE.

I agree with your take on the Sensor (my preference is for the Excel); it's an excellent cartridge razor, a good deal better than the Mach3, and infinitely superior to the ghastly Fusion. It's actually my razor of choice most days. However, when you say it will keep your wrist at a fixed angle, I'm not sure where you're coming from on this. The Sensor has a pivoting head, which means you do not have to maintain the angle with your wrist, since the pivot finds the angle for you. The only cartridge razor Gillette had without a pivot was the Trac II. The Atra ushered in the era of the pivot, and it has been with us ever since.

 

[Patriot45]

HoratioCaine,

Agree with what you saying regarding the pivoting head. My only point is that my primary razor is the DE. I have to use the Sensor for the days I get my butt out of bed late, etc. If I have to use a CR as a backup, a Mach3 (or later) razor would definitely not have you maintain any kind of wrist angle at all. The Sensor, despite its pivoting head, at least helps keep your hand off your face (a bit of exageration there). One of these days I am considering getting the Trac II though. But, I just love that Sensor! Thanks!!!

 

[bladebuff]

In the days before switching to the DE safety razor I worked my way through all of the cartridges razors, the Sensor and Mach 3 remain favorites from those days.

 

[No Pressure]

Still keep my Sensor around too (I have the Excel version) for when I'm feeling a bit lazy or in a rush. Funny thing is that when I use it, it's still with DE products (soaps, creams, brush, etc.) and prep. Guess new habits are hard to break!

Anyway, the Sensor is in the medicine cabinet (unless SWMBO uses it on her legs...)

 

[Strikermike]

I started shaving at 15 with the Trac II and canned foam or gel. Then at 25 started using a brush and soap with the gillette sensor until about 37. Then I went to water only with the sensor for the last 15 years. (Don't ask me why). After finding this forum, I am back to a brush and 1949 Aristocrat,and am having much better shaves. An added plus is that I smell better.

 

[redwoolf]

I used the sensor until Target stopped carrying their private label cartridges for it. It always seemed a better shave and value to me than the M3.

 

[ateace]

I still have a Sensor in my travel kit and my former daily one is still in the shower for use on the back of my neck and, umm....ears.

 

[john parker]

I, too, used a Sensor Excel for many years, and with very good results. Nice smooth shave with no nicks everytime. But about a year or so after joining, and after starting with a brush again, I decided to try the DE after some 30 odd years. And it just feels better. Shave isn't any smoother, I don't believe, but my face just feels more like I've shaved if that makes sense. So now I have ended up with a Super Speed, a nice Aristocrat and my newest toy - EJ DE89L! And I have my Sensor handles and cartridges up for sale. But I will keep one for travel. The idea that TSA might take one of my razors, even with no blade, scares me!!

 

[Patriot45]

Yikes Strikermike! You are quite the man shaving with just water!

 

[FL shaver]

Somewhere along the line I used the Sensor Excel, but returned to the Atra Plus. As part of a marketing survey I tried the early 3 blade cartridges and felt they were only "good" for a couple of shaves. I knew then the 3, 4, and 5 blade systems were bunk! Not as close a shave as the 2 blade cartridges, didn't last as many shaves, and more expensive. How can these be so popular? I walked the shaving aisle tonight and saw all of the multiple blade systems. A couple even come with a battery!! Crazy! Can't wait for my HD to get here...

 

[michiganlover]

How can these be so popular? I walked the shaving aisle tonight and saw all of the multiple blade systems. A couple even come with a battery!! Crazy!

Why are they so popular?? Because a large company with lots of marketing dollars says they are "the best shave a man can get". Gillette does a pretty good job of brainwashing the masses, who assume that bad shaves are par for the course, since everyone they know get's equally poor results.

Sensor handles are no longer widely available in many areas, so it's hard to do a side by side comparison, and find out that the so called "improvements" of the 3, 4, and 5 blade razors are nothing more than marketing hype.

 

[Bogframe]

I started with a DE back in 1974 or 75. I bought aTrac II and then an Atra when they came out and used that until The Sensor Debuted and I bought (into) that. I've also been guilty of using Bic disposables now and then. When the three and four bladers came out, I got disposable versions of those and tried them.
Here's the problem: I have very coarse beard hair and ALL of these had one thing in common, they clogged to the point where rinsing wasn't enough. Screw that; I went back to my DE and was very happy, not to mention smooth.
On my 48th birthday, my wife told me she wanted to see what my face looked like under my beard (I shave my cheeks and neck, but wear a full beard), so she took me to George's Hairstyling in the Wall Street area for my very first BBS. Wow. Full Kyle's prep, straight razor shave and my face was as smooth as a baby's butt. I went out and bought some vintage straights and a strop off eBay, and have been shaving with either a straight or my DE since.
Here's the point: Progress is a wonderful thing...sometimes, but not IMHO when it comes to shaving. My DE and my straights use one blade and shave closer than two, three, four or even five blades, plus they don't clog. I hope the razor manufacturers read this and the other forums devoted to wetshaving and get the hint that a well-crafted single blade is both needed and wanted now!

 

[PipPip]

Agree on the Gillette sensor. I used a sensor for my whole shaving life until the recent switch to DE shaving. Well, I did once try a Mach 3 and at the very first stroke it cut a 0.5cm chunk out of my cheeck which bled all day and was borderline needing a stitch. I sent the blade off to Gillette with a photo of the cut and an explanation letter. They sent me vouchers for £100 of Gillette products with an apology letter and said that according to their lab tests the blade was a normal Mach 3 blade. That was my one and only deviation from a sensor during 20 years of shaving until a month ago when I moved to DE after becoming so fed up with the price of the cartridges here in Paris. I now get better and infinitely more satisfying shaves out of my DE kit that I ever did with a sensor, but its OK for a back up or for a very fast shave if running very late.