It can't be this bad, can it?

[Texas Don]

Shaving with a Schick injector razor I mean. Holy $<(&&#37;$@ that was painful and uncomfortable. I have a type G that I picked up along the way. I thoroughly cleaned and sterilized it, then loaded it with a vintage blade from a Schick injector pack of 20 that I purchased from the garage sale emporium. That was a mistake. First pass, I relieved myself of some skin beneath my nose and created a 1st degree razor burn on my right cheek.
I stopped and finished the shave with a 1972 Super Speed and thought at the time, "What a difference".
My assumption was that the vintage blades had deteriorated over the years and what I needed was a new blade. Off goes an order to EMS, (which they bungled). I finally received the blades yesterday afternoon so I scheduled a rematch with the Schick for this morning. No loss of skin accompanied by profuse bleeding as in last time but a horrible pulling and tugging, followed by an immediate burning sensation and some colorful language. I alway shave after my shower with my face still wet.
I changed nothing except my razor and blade combination. I tried it with less pressure, almost no pressure, after changing the blade again, etc. Maybe the top one was somehow damaged. Did I mention the pathetic plastic dispenser?
I stopped again and finished my shave with the reliable Super Speed once more. This time I waited a little too long and had razor rash on both cheeks. I've treated it with Nivea sensitive AS lotion and it is slowly feeling better.
I thought about trying to find some more recent vintage Schick blades but really, why bother? I have 9 other safety razors, 8 that I use, to shave with. This razor and the blades are going to be leaving home. My hat's off to anyone who actually shaves with one of these. Life's too short and I have too many other options to fool around with this one.

 

[Mike'sWorld]

I've got a G type in my rotation with a cartridge from Fred's, which I think is the same blade. You're right, the cart is crappy, but my shave is almost too mild. Reminds me of shaving with my Sensor. No nicks or cuts, but also not a really close shave. Could you be scraping the blade as it's being loaded?

 

[amishmotorboat]

How is the blade loading? Is it rubbing on the blade stops along the way? Sometimes that can happen and then you are all but guaranteed a horrible shave. It shouldn't be this bad.

 

[Slivovitz]

. . . Life's too short and I have too many other options to fool around with this one.

You're right that you've got other good options, and there's no reason to aggravate yourself with something that just doesn't work for you.

On the other hand, those of us who like injectors do so because they really do work well for us. I've had best-shave-of-my-life-so-far moments with several models, including a G1. Got a BBS this morning with a type A.

Just a couple of other things before you put these aside for ever. You do know that the angle has to be a lot shallower than with a DE, right? The head of the razor should be fairly close to flat to your face. For me it's just a few degrees off. Also, it's really easy to apply more pressure than you need, and you do need a good prep and lather.

 

[Texas Don]

Good suggestions. I will pay particular attention to the next blade I load. Small angle, plenty of superb lather using my custom ccnutman Royal Ebony Silvertip, positive attitude, Anchors Aweigh playing lustily in the background. One more try.

 

[BBrad]

When I first started shaving (back in '72, and didn't like the Super Speed my father gave me) I tried a Schick injector (G-type) that belonged to my grandfather. It was smooth as silk, and was my daily shaver until I enlisted in the Army in 1974. (My recruiter told me I had to have a Mach II . . .)

Fast forward many years to recently . . . I picked up a G-type in a lot of razors that I bought on eBay, and purchased some Personna blades at Rite-Aid. Cut my face all to s#!+.

I was then fortunate to have PIF'd to me another G-type from one of our fellow members. It was an incredible improvement over my other one, but still did not come up to par with the smooth shaves that I had with Gramp's razor. I pretty much wrote it off to the ASR blades, and hoped to find some good Schick blades somewhere to try.

It actually got to where I was bypassing my injector in my rotation . . . getting better shaves from a multitude of Gillettes and my trusty Gem Jr . . . when just the other day I picked up another lot of razors . . . and included in it was an L-type Injector. It cleaned up nicely, and I was immediately tempted to load it up and give it a try!

I used it for my touch-up last night before I went to work . . . smooth, clean, and no irritation! This morning's "real" shave was just as nice!

As I write this, I just checked my chin . . . and I can bypass my usual touch-up before I leave for work shortly . . . this one has earned a place in my regular rotation! (OK, I may do the touch-up anyway . . . it just feels good! )

I'm not sure what the reason is for the difference . . . visually they all seem to clamp the blade firmly (if anything, the L-type almost seems more loose) and I don't see where the blade edge is catching anywhere during loading. I was ready to trash the blades, when along comes another razor that gives me the same quality shave I remember from years ago!!

Anyway . . . I won't be parting with this L-type any time soon. (Anybody want a good used G-type? It was PIF'd to me . . . I'll be glad to pass it along!)

 

[SirWhiskers]

I didn't have a good experience with the Injector either. I think my skin prefers thin flexible blades (DE), over the more rigid thick Injector blades. Same poor experience I got with a GEM SE. But the Sensor works very well for me, I think it's the best modern razor ever made and I tried them all. The Sensor is my comfort razor I go back to when I butcher my face experimenting with various things.