What's new

Learning curve of an injector

Wanting to try an injector, a couple months ago I bought a pair. An E2 and a black handle I1 (which I mistakenly thought was an I2 Hydro-Magic). I heard some scary things about the E2, so for the time being, that is just a collectors' piece for me. When I got the I1 and some blades, I had my first injector shave. You know how you always read how it is impossible to get any nics or weepers or even razor burn? Well, this is where the YMMV part comes into play. My face was bloody after that first shave, two passes (WTG and XTG), and I still had a 5 o'clock shadow. I realised my mistakes quickly, though. I was using pressure and I was doing long strokes at a fast pace.

After giving my face a week to heal, I tried my second injector shave, making sure to use no pressure, and to go slow with short strokes. The results? After one WTG pass, I had to stop as I was getting more nics. Perhaps my face needed longer to heal.

Giving my face about 10 more days to heal (using my go-to corded Remington rotary shaver in the meantime-- again, YMMV is important-- I know a lot of guys here hate electric shavers, but for me, the Remington rotary gives me a perfect BBS shave with zero irritation and never any nics, every single time), and using aloe vera gel a couple times a day, I tried my third injector shave. First, though, I changed the blade. A side note. I took both the "wasted" first blade, and this second one that gave me the bad shaves, and followed xxvaleria's advice and did some lengthwise strokes on a whetstone, dulling the sharp edges, making a couple "blanks" for future use. Anyways, the results of the third shave? Much better. I was able to do two passes, WTG and XTG. Got a SAS, and only a few small nics. I noticed it was during the XTG pass.

So for my 4th injector shave, this morning, I did 2 passes, both WTG, although the second WTG pass was on a slight angle, not enough to be XTG. DFS achieved. Still got a couple tiny nics, but things are improving.

A couple questions for the more experienced injector users here. How does the I1 compare to the I2 Hydro-Magic? Are they identical or is one more aggressive than the other? How about the type Gs (specifically the blue handled G4 and G5) compared to the I1?
 
IMO the I1 and I2 shave the same; the I2 just has the HydroMagic lever. I have a G4 and I really love it, but I think it feels just like the I1. I'm a little concerned about the problems you have experienced because in my experience, the I1 is a smooth, forgiving razor. You obviously know the trick of loading an empty razor, so the blade shouldn't be damaged. Does the razor itself have any problems, such as an uneven blade gap or a bent guard bar? Are both ends of the blade behind and resting upon the retaining nubs? Is the blade tight in the razor? Since injectors are not being manufactured any more, you might have gotten a damaged one. There is another thread on this forum where the gentleman got a damaged I1. It is at:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/381636-Schick-Injector-I-1-Black-and-White-Handle-Differ

BTW, don't fear the E2. It's a more aggressive razor than the I, but as long as you are careful you shouldn't have any problem. If I were you, I would try a shave with the E and compare it with the I. Just be careful and take it slow. If the E works for you, then I would think the I has been damaged.

At any rate, I hope that you have better success in the future because injectors really are great razors.
 
Last edited:
sounds like a blade alignment issue. Did you get a clean injection of the blade with the old blade shoved completely out when you put your first blade in?

You may try sticking the key back in (the noses of the injector blade holder) which will release the spring then pulling it back out to reset the blade in the head. IF that does not give you any improvement, put in a fresh blade and see if it improves as you may have had the blade slide down the guide and dull when it installed.

Are you using the new Chinese Schick injector blades or are you using NOS carbon ones from the bygone era?

I like the PTFE coated Personna (ASR) injector blades the best of the ones that are still manufactured but they are difficult to locate "in the wild" Many vendors stock them online so if you can't find any locally order a pack or two and see if a smoother blade helps.

Injector razors shave differently than DE and SE razors. They just don't have the heft that solid metal razors have so they take a different shaving technique (pressure/angle/stroke)
 
IMO the I1 and I2 shave the same; the I2 just has the HydroMagic lever. I have a G4 and I really love it, but I think it feels just like the I1. I'm a little concerned about the problems you have experienced because in my experience, the I1 is a smooth, forgiving razor. You obviously know the trick of loading an empty razor, so the blade shouldn't be damaged. Does the razor itself have any problems, such as an uneven blade gap or a bent guard bar? Are both ends of the blade behind and resting upon the retaining nubs? Is the blade tight in the razor? Since injectors are not being manufactured any more, you might have gotten a damaged one. There is another thread on this forum where the gentleman got a damaged I1. It is at:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/381636-Schick-Injector-I-1-Black-and-White-Handle-Differ

BTW, don't fear the E2. It's a more aggressive razor than the I, and yet extremely mild, but as long as you are careful you shouldn't have any problem. If I were you, I would try a shave with the E and compare it with the I. Just be careful and take it slow. If the E works for you, then I would think the I has been damaged.

At any rate, I hope that you have better success in the future because injectors really are great razors.
+ 1,000,000
yeah something is way off. and really the E is not aggressive monster. I've got 8 of them. The G is super also, it just doesn't open.
Was there a blade in the razor? or did you load it empty--which can do a big bad number to the edge.There should be a blade in before loading.

ps--listen for the sound of toast being butterd
 
Last edited:
I'm a little concerned about the problems you have experienced because in my experience, the I1 is a smooth, forgiving razor. You obviously know the trick of loading an empty razor, so the blade shouldn't be damaged. Does the razor itself have any problems, such as an uneven blade gap or a bent guard bar? Are both ends of the blade behind and resting upon the retaining nubs? Is the blade tight in the razor?

The razor is pristine, excellent condition. The guard bar is not bent. The blade gap looks even (see the pic)
$0118141953-00.jpg

The blade is tight, and resting upon the nubs. I'm using new Chinese Schick blades. I'm thinking the issue isn't so much the razor as I just haven't found the right combo of angle, pressure, and stroke.
 
Last edited:
Are you keeping the flat part of the head pretty close to against your face? I know if I drop the handle closer to my face and increase the blade angle, my face doesn't like it.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
Just to muddy the waters some more...:ohmy:

The first time I used an injector, after a few decades, it was an E2 that hoosiertrooper loaned me. It was in great condition but it tore me up. I finally narrowed it down to a bad pack of blades! It wasn't just one blade, it was the whole pack!

I tried a new pack of blades and I haven't gotten a bad pack of injector blades since. Just a thought.

I regularly use an E3, G1, or an E2 and they shave just fine...if a new pack of blades doesn't work you can narrow it down to technique.

I found my L2 Stick Schick about a year ago, that I bought new in the early '70s, that I'd been looking for for a long time but finally found it in an old cigar box in the top of a closet while I was looking for the original factory grips for my S&W.

The L2 is a bit too mild for me now and I prefer the E and G models, but I've been using vintage SE safety razors again for a few years now and my face has had time to adjust, and you did say you use an electric...unless that was just to let your face heal.

That being said, as long as you've been on this site apparently you know that any vintage razor can tear you up with wrong technique.

Try another pack of blades to take out that variable. If that don't work....

As has been mentioned, I'd also try the E just to see how it shaves.
 
Last edited:
I agree with the advice about another pack of blades. I bought an injector in the box with a vintage brass injector cartridge full of blades and had the same shave as you experienced with every blade in the pack. Bought a new pkg. of Chinese Schick and problem solved.
 
I have no doubt the first blade (the second in the pack) was bad. When I changed blades (the 3rd in the pack), I got a much smoother shave, albeit still with a few nics and a little razor burn on my right jawline (chalk that up to technique).

Simon1 asked about the electric. I guess you can consider me a "part time" wetshaver. I usually only wetshave on weekends. During the week I do use a Remington rotary electric, as I said in the first post in this thread, it gives me BBS shaves with no nics or irritation, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I wanted to trade the I1 for an I2 Hydro-Magic (I put an ad in BBS last Sunday, but got no trade offers), but if they shave identically, I guess the only reason to would be for the easier cleaning. Maybe I should try to trade for an L1?
 
I have been shaving with an injector for a week so far, and I don't know why, but I find myself going a whole lot slower than when using a DE. I get a pretty good shave, just some irritation on the lower part of my neck, has to be an angle thing I guess.

I hope you keep at it. I think once I master my new tool, it'll give me a nice, easy BBS every time.
 
My first injector shave was with an adjustable M and some old Plus Platinum blades from my Dad. That thing on 8 burned me like no other. I got some irritation and ingrown as a result. I bought an I2 later and found that to be my favorite injector so far. I got an E2 and G, but haven't tried them yet. I picked up an adjustable Pal injector and put some Chinese Schicks into it as opposed to the Plus Platinums, and that's been a little rough as well. I'm shaving with my CJB and cleaning up with a GEM Junior or I2 while my neck recovers. The I2 is perfect for blade buffing. I haven't tried the G or El because I was waiting for my Chinese Schicks. I seem to be having the toughest time with the adjustable injectors.
 
Weird. My first injector shave was with E type with the bakelite handle. I have a pretty coarse beard, but I was able to get good, not great, shaves with it off the get go. As in, some razor burn, but no nicks or cuts at all.

The PAL adjustable however, gave me a huge nick on my chin the first time I used it.

I haven't shaved with either in awhile, but I feel like the injector is kinda fail proof (eliminating of course a bad blade) You just want the razor head to be pretty much flat on your face.
 
OK, here's an update. I tried a couple different blades, but still got the same results with the type I1-- weepers and razor burn. I came to the conclusion the type I is too aggressive for me, and I sold it. At this point I am far too chicken to attempt to use the E2 I have. It will remain a collector's piece for the moment.

Now, I recall (but I can't find the thread-- searched for it with no luck), someone said they had an I2 Injector with the chrome head, and they found that to be more aggressive than their gold head I2. My I1 was the black handle version with a chrome head. I wonder... were the type I variants with chrome heads more aggressive than the more common gold head counterparts? Can anyone confirm that? If so, I would like to try an I2 hydro-magic with the gold (presumably milder) head. If, however that's not the case, then perhaps I should look at the other types.

How are the J hydro-magics in mild vs aggressive? I'm guessing the L and N are the mildest choices. Hopefully, if I can get one of them, they will be kinder to my face. If not, I might have to just concede that as much as I want to be compatible with 'em, Injectors may not be for me.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom