Is the general consensus that the Sensor Excel is the best cartridge system?

[Alejandro1969]

I never had a sensor, I remember my Dad using one. When I started to shave 15 years ago I got a Mach 3 and used that exclusively until about a year or two ago when the handle broke. After that I was given a fusion mail sample with one blade and started using the fusion. Well I quickly found that I did not like the fusion as much as the Mach 3 because of price which led me to look into alternatives... Now that I have used DE I never want to go back!

4 Fusion blades are a crazy price! Around €15.00 for 4

In Bestshave you can get:-

100 Rapira blades €4.79
A Yuma razor €1.99
Horse shaving brush €2.13
Derby Soap Tub + 5 Derby Blades €2.99

Total €11.90
The rest is postage! Give or take a buck! I know what I'd rather shave with!

 

[ggamyang]

Gillette Guard

 

[mikey]

The Sensor was Gillette's last decent razor.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[olegunnar]

Gillette Guard with mahogany grip and ivory details is the best

 

[woodfluter]

I remember long ago when I was using Trac II for daily touch-ups around my beard. Then the free promotional mailing of a Sensor got me hooked on that one when I started being clean-shaven again. I never got anywhere near the blade longevity of the freebie promo blades, however. Couldn't figure that out.

Later on, another promo mailing of a Schick Xtreme 3. Wow! Converted. Really long blade life with the included carts. But...just couldn't believe it, never got close to that with any I could buy subsequently.

So, before renewing my long-lost acquaintance with DEs, I tried the Trac II and Sensor and Schick triple bladed cart, and good grief...the Trac II was looking better now. The pivoting heads on the other two gave me no choices. I thought they were a great idea at the time, but later it seemed to give less control and stability. Downside is the Trac II clogged more easily. But if you remembered to rinse frequently and hit it against the heel of your hand, could keep it clear.

I'm suspecting they can make really, really good blades (think Personna 74) and do when they want to convert you, but you won't be able to buy them like that anywhere. So maybe what you buy isn't so standardized as we'd expect? Maybe some of the various preferences depend on where you bought that pack of cartridges, and when. Just sayin'.

 

[Vickers]

Classic - Trac II

Recent - Schick Xtreme III

 

[Rushman2112]

I have only tried the Mach 3 Turbo and the Fusion Proglide (non vibratory, it's usually too early in the morning for a vibratory thingy), and the M3T for me is way better, and it's cheaper.

 

[Amir]

Before I saw the light, I still had/have quite a stash of Sensor/Sensor Excels. I think Gillette got it right with them. Consider using them when traveling by air, because of the checkpoint issues with double edge blades.

 

[Sea-Dweller]

My cleaning lady inexplicably threw out my Sensor Excel handle a few months ago. I managed to find it in the garbage. I have 2 spare Sensor handles, but, man, she scared me there. The excel is my favorite.

I remember when the Sensor came out. A friend thought so much of it that he actually called me to tell me about it. I remember thinking how great it was compared to my Atra. There are certain things from the 80's that should never be discarded...G-shock watches, the plates from Le Menu frozen dinners, Sensor handles....all good.

 

[dridiot]

Hi all,
Trac II / GII and Gillette Atra / Countour is available instore and we shall be adding the Gillette Sensor Excel shaving razor and blades soon.

http://www.doubleedgeshavingplace.com/product/gillette_contour__atra_plus_shaving_razor_with_blades
http://www.doubleedgeshavingplace.com/Gillette_GII__TRAC_II_Shaving_Razor/p1542602_7294345.aspx

Cheers,

 

[cryhavoc]

The Sensor was good but I prefered the Trac II when I was using cartridges.

 

[The Kiwi]

The Sensor was good but I prefered the Trac II when I was using cartridges.

Actually, very recently, I have split-shaved with an Atra and a Sensor, half and half, left/right one day, the reverse right/left the next, and the Sensor came out the winner. A few days later, after locating a bump fighter handle (I'd never liked the Gillette original TracII handle), I did the same with a TracII and a Sensor, and while I didn't think the Sensor had the same level / margin of superiority over the TracII as it did over the Atra, it still shaved better.

I am so far from ambidextrous, I can't quite shave my left cheek / jaw as closely as I can the right, which is the reason that a single split-shave wouldn't be conclusive . .

 

[john999]

Having shaved since 1959, I think the Gillette Mach 3 is currently the best system.

 

[Pat.G.Boisvert]

When travelling I bring the Mach 3 but sensor excel was indeed my first cart razor that I did not mind.

 

[mhdena]

Schick Quattro

 

[Graybeard57]

Best cartridge I ever used was the Sensor, and I probably used most everything that came out. By the time I got to Fusion, I realized that though I was spending a whole lot more money, the shave wasn't improving. So the replacement carts kind of suck now? Too bad.

 

[zirrow]

Gillette Guard with mahogany grip and ivory details is the best

Where did you find an alternate handle for a Gillette Guard?

 

[BlackBard]

Having shaved since 1959, I think the Gillette Mach 3 is currently the best system.

+1.

 

[zirrow]

I think he's being funny.

I was really hoping that wasn't the case. I'm not sure I'd like to go to that extreme, but I use them on my head and wouldn't mind a better handle.

 

[nelson]

For me the Sensor has been the best cartridge razor. I particularly like it with the "original" style cartridges as opposed to the Sensor Excel and Sensor 3 cartridges. Before that I used the Atra razor; by and large I thought it was pretty good. Better than the Trac II, which I thought was much better than the DE razors I started out with. Over the last 6 or 7 years I have been mostly a Schick injector user. Why I never tried injectors during the 60s, 70s, and 80s is still a mystery to me.

nelson