My conclusions - the old Gillette Mach 3 design is the best razor i ever tried !

[idan]

the mach 3 old design head is the best cart i ever tried its the only one razor i can go against the grain and no razor bumps ! . i tried many razor and in each one I find a disadvantage:

Gillette Mach 3 old design head, it's also known as Gillette Mach 3 Start and Gillette3 (very very recommended) - just perfect no bumps no irritation feels smooth and great and sharp and non clog easily, the shave is always BBS !
it's also cheap and also economical, really great value (for me) !

Gillette Mach 3 new design/mach 3 Turbo new design (i tried both) - feels harsh, and rough: gives me skin irritation and the shave not smooth even if i going against the grain.

Gillette Fusion 5 - The shaving results are always BBS ,but i get always razor bumps with this cart and the feeling is also rough on the skin...
The disadvantage is: expensive carts.

Gillette Fusion Proglide(recommended) - Actually pretty good , feels smooth on the skin (not smooth as old mach 3) and always BBS results , i get razor bumps with this razor but really seldom (Especially when it loses its sharpness).
The disadvantage is: expensive carts,and enough for only 6 shavings per cartridge.
and in shave number 6 its feels dull.

gillette sensor excel - feels rough and aggressive , and provide many cuts if you are not careful with that , the results is not BBS .

schick hydro 5 - very smooth on the skin but the results in not bbs and not smooth as gillette razors.

all de razors and de blades - many cuts and not bbs like carts razors, the shave takes a much longer time than carts, i have heavy beard and i must to do 3 pass shave wtg , xtg , atg, if i skip on the xtg pass and going atg in the second pass i get cuts (Because of the resistance)...
In addition: you must make proper preparation for each hot shower before the shave , if not , its feels tugging and pulling.
with de razors i must to take a hot shower before.
With all the add-ons: aftershaves, shaving creams, soaps and accessories etc. In the end it comes out more expensive than the cartridges
The advantage is: that if you make do with the same tools(and don't buy new things) then this is economic.

and the winner is: Old gillette Mach 3- also known as Gillette Mach 3 Start and Gillette3

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for your thoughts. I have always liked pivoting head Carts, many do not but I do. I still have my trusty Schick Super 2/Ultrex that I use when a DE shave is not going according to plan.

 

[warman2012]

the mach 3 old design head is the best cart i ever tried its the only one razor i can go against the grain and no razor bumps ! . i tried many razor and in each one I find a disadvantage:

Gillette Mach 3 old design head, it's also known as Gillette Mach 3 Start and Gillette3 (very very recommended) - just perfect no bumps no irritation feels smooth and great and sharp and non clog easily, the shave is always BBS !
it's also cheap and also economical, really great value (for me) !

Gillette Mach 3 new design/mach 3 Turbo new design (i tried both) - feels harsh, and rough: gives me skin irritation and the shave not smooth even if i going against the grain.

Gillette Fusion 5 - The shaving results are always BBS ,but i get always razor bumps with this cart and the feeling is also rough on the skin...
The disadvantage is: expensive carts.

Gillette Fusion Proglide(recommended) - Actually pretty good , feels smooth on the skin (not smooth as old mach 3) and always BBS results , i get razor bumps with this razor but really seldom (Especially when it loses its sharpness).
The disadvantage is: expensive carts,and enough for only 6 shavings per cartridge.
and in shave number 6 its feels dull.

gillette sensor excel - feels rough and aggressive , and provide many cuts if you are not careful with that , the results is not BBS .

schick hydro 5 - very smooth on the skin but the results in not bbs and not smooth as gillette razors.

all de razors and de blades - many cuts and not bbs like carts razors, the shave takes a much longer time than carts, i have heavy beard and i must to do 3 pass shave wtg , xtg , atg, if i skip on the xtg pass and going atg in the second pass i get cuts (Because of the resistance)...
In addition: you must make proper preparation for each hot shower before the shave , if not , its feels tugging and pulling.
with de razors i must to take a hot shower before.
With all the add-ons: aftershaves, shaving creams, soaps and accessories etc. In the end it comes out more expensive than the cartridges
The advantage is: that if you make do with the same tools(and don't buy new things) then this is economic.

and the winner is: Old gillette Mach 3- also known as Gillette Mach 3 Start and Gillette3

I see you never mentioned one type of razor. See, I was like you in that I thought carts could only give me a descent shave, that or disposable razors like the ST2. Here lately though, I've found something you may have overlooked, that being Injector razors. These razors are SE and shave almost EACTLY like a cartridge, just with one sharp blade instead of three+ dull blades. I hated DE and threw all my blades and such away. With the Injector I bought, its smooth sailing. May wanna have a look at the Single Edge forums here to know what they are. There are also GEM razors as well.

 

[warman2012]

Also, you can just be old el cheapo like I am. You could just buy Gillette or Edge shave gel and just use that with an Injector. I did, and the shave was pretty good. If you really want to cheap out on shave kits, the Van Der Hagen sets are on sale at places like Walmart and Target. I scored a brush, bowl, and soap for about 15 bucks where I live. Proraso is pretty cheap from what I hear, and picking up a brush at Amazon or otherwise would set you back cheap wise at about $10 bucks or so. These are one-time investments, as the soaps usually last for quite a few weeks or even months; your millage may vary.