I'm not trying to start a panic, but I was perusing eBarbershop's website and noticed that in their blurb on the Trac II Plus cartridges they sell, they say they are "becoming hard-to-find." A little bit lower on the same page, in their blurb for the Personna Twin II Plus cartridges, they say "Trac II Plus blades no longer made by Gillette." Did I miss something? I just bought a pack of Gillette Trac II Plus cartridges at Target a few months ago. I know the Gillettes without the lube strip are long gone, but have they discontinued the Plus cartridges as well? I'm inclined to think eBarbershop is full of it, but I thought I'd see if anybody has heard anything.
Gillette Trac II Plus cartridges...discontinued?
- Thread starter HoratioCaine
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- #3
Hmm...eBarbershop is an American seller, so the fact that Trac IIs are hard to come by in Europe/UK shouldn't be a factor, but it might be enough for them to feel justified in making the "hard to find" statement on their website. I wonder why Gillette should be phasing out, or at least reducing, stock of their older cartridges in Europe, while still making them widely available in the States? Then again, why is it they only sell crap DE blades in the States, but sell a whole array of good ones in Europe? I've given up trying to figure out that company's marketing strategies.
Trac II cartridges are non existant in Australia its Sensor and up and if you are really lucky your shop carries Sensor carts without the lube strip.
Sensor handles abound on eBay! And I can still get them here at Target and the base exchange, probably elsewhere too. In fact, looking yesterday the prices on eBay have gone down since I last picked up a couple. Good luck, John
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- #7
I always prefer to use aftermarket handles for any cartridge, rather than the cheap stock handles Gillette makes (although, they are good for travel). My bigger concern is the availability of the cartridges. If you like the way a particular cartridge shaves, a good handle will almost always make the shave more enjoyable. But obviously a handle without a cartridge does nobody any good.
It looks like a good portion of stuff is "hard to find" on that webpage.
Funny, I still have a bag full of old cartridges and razors I use to use. I've kept everything since I first started shaving. I think it was the tracII I started with. Then the sensor exel, mach3, fusion. I had some more shiek products in there but I forget all the names.
Funny, I still have a bag full of old cartridges and razors I use to use. I've kept everything since I first started shaving. I think it was the tracII I started with. Then the sensor exel, mach3, fusion. I had some more shiek products in there but I forget all the names.
Gillette's patent on trac ii is long expired, so there are several other brands of trac ii blades available (Col. Conk, Personna and Merkur, to name a few).
As long as the Wal-mart Personna Twin II 's are available, I wouldn't panic. I think they're great.
Same with the their Atra clones (Auto Plus). I think their blades give a better shave than Gillette cartridges. The last pack of Gillette Atra cartridges I bought were very harsh. The Personnas are always very smooth. I've tried other "generics" too and none of them have come close to the Personnas.
Same with the their Atra clones (Auto Plus). I think their blades give a better shave than Gillette cartridges. The last pack of Gillette Atra cartridges I bought were very harsh. The Personnas are always very smooth. I've tried other "generics" too and none of them have come close to the Personnas.
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- #11
I've not tried the Conk blades, but neither the Personna nor the Merkur cartridges have vents between the blades, which allows cream and whisker remnants to accumulate and clog mid-stroke. Gillette cartridges have a vented design, which I find helps with this problem. Merkurs actually have a push-button mechanism that pushes the accumulated gunk out from between the blades, but this really doesn't help prevent clogging during the stroke itself, rather than remedy it after the fact. Personnas have no solution at all, and while they're basically good blades (and no lube strip, which is nice) at a steal of a price, I don't like the clogging factor on them. Granted, it's nice to know that if Gillette does discontinue the Trac IIs, I won't totally be up sh*t creek without a paddle, but I still will miss what I find to be a superior cartridge design in the Gillettes.
