M3 vs injector, cheek vs cheek in a steel cage match!

[vputz]

Well, after getting my "old man razor" via ebay (a 1940's brass-and-butterscotch-bakelite Injector which looks like something my grandfather would use) I decided at the urging of my wife (who is fascinated with my interest in shaving, bless her--this is the same one who puts up with my $5 PVC shaving stand and suggests improvements) to shave half my face with the old Mach 3 turbo and half with the injector.

Fun little experiment. It's both very fair and a little unfair; unfair because on the M3 side I only did one pass with the grain and on the injector side I did three passes (with, across, and almost-against; if I do full-on "against the grain" with the injector it scrapes badly)... and very fair because I tried against-the-grain with the M3 and it just pulled too badly to be worth trying--and besides, three blades are marketing-wise supposed to be "three passes in one". Sorta.

So the results are fun, not really as a fair comparison between the two but as a "this is what I used to do; this is what I get now" sort of deal. And it's very obvious; one pass with the M3 doesn't hold a candle to a 3-pass injector shave. A few hours later, the stubble comparison is very obvious both to touch and visual inspection--and it really shows on my neck, where the M3 is terribly bristly.

I'm going to try this again in a "Merkur HD vs Series-E Injector, 3 passes" mode, but it was nice to see that the improvement in shave wasn't purely subjective...

 

[teamacacia]

Very nice comparison, look forward to phase 2

 

[Kyle]

This might be an interesting method for testing cream vs cream, cream vs soap, etc.

 

[vputz]

Well, the DE-vs-injector cheek-off (so to speak) was interesting. I can't say there's a conclusive winner there. 3 passes on each side of the face; DE blade was "5 shaves old" and the injector blade was "3 shaves old", so both fairly new (I usually change my DE blades after 5 shaves just because they're cheap and it's easy to remember "Monday is New Blade Day", but this shaved as well as I remember them shaving).

Immediately after the shave, I would be hard pressed to tell any difference between the two sides by touch or by visual inspection. I did notice when applying the Proraso aftershave that the injector side was noticeably more tender/raw--not offensively so, and not painful, but just stung a tiny bit more.

It's been several hours, and both cheeks/chin/upper lip areas feel about the same still. On my neck I can tell a slight difference in favor of the DE, and that only right under the chin.

So I'd say the shaves are very very comparable indeed, closer than I thought they'd be. The DE is ever-so-slightly closer and more comfortable, and the injector is noticeably easier and more convenient. So it's something of a wash; I still favor the DE because it's a little more involving and "fun", but the injector is a great razor (and both beat the pants off the M3 Power I was using). I'll keep both in my shaving stand and take the injector when I travel.

I do like the injector--it makes me wonder why there are so many DE razors on the market (okay, not hundreds exactly, but quite a few) and absolutely no injectors made today. Sure wish Feather made injector blades...