Panasonic Arc5 2nd Generation Electric Shaver ( An SWCT Review )

[LRod]

Outstanding thread with great contributions. I was a dyed in the wool electric shaver for many years. No longer have interest in electrics. However, here's my $0.02: It seems like I've had something like 50 electrics in my lifetime. If I had to use one, it all comes down to only two. A Panasonic or a Norelco. If closeness is what you're chasing, Panasonic is the way to go by a mile. If 'a comfortable shave' is your bag and 'micro closeness' isn't what you must have, Norelco is the way to go.

Norelco's come a long way though. Last black Friday I picked up a mid-range Norelco for $35 that normally sells for like $100. Of course I didn't need it but at that price I figured why not? I was curious since I hadn't used one in years (I started shaving on a Norelco). I dare say it shaves almost as close as the Panasonic! It's been with me on a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet. And I read a couple articles that the top of the line Norelco is even better! Mine is made in China but the top of the line "Prestige" is still made in the Norelco factory in the Netherlands. The build quality is supposed to be off the charts!
Anyways, I don't want to derail the thread since the topic actually is Panasonic!

 

[sternej]

Norelco's come a long way though. Last black Friday I picked up a mid-range Norelco for $35 that normally sells for like $100. Of course I didn't need it but at that price I figured why not? I was curious since I hadn't used one in years (I started shaving on a Norelco). I dare say it shaves almost as close as the Panasonic! It's been with me on a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet. And I read a couple articles that the top of the line Norelco is even better! Mine is made in China but the top of the line "Prestige" is still made in the Norelco factory in the Netherlands. The build quality is supposed to be off the charts!
Anyways, I don't want to derail the thread since the topic actually is Panasonic!

Norelco's come a long way though. Last black Friday I picked up a mid-range Norelco for $35 that normally sells for like $100. Of course I didn't need it but at that price I figured why not? I was curious since I hadn't used one in years (I started shaving on a Norelco). I dare say it shaves almost as close as the Panasonic! It's been with me on a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet. And I read a articles that the top of the line Norelco is even better! Mine is made in China but the top of the line "Prestige" is still made in the Norelco factory in the Netherlands. The build quality is supposed to be off the charts!
Anyways, I don't want to derail the thread since the topic actually is Panasonic!

Norelco's come a long way though. Last black Friday I picked up a mid-range Norelco for $35 that normally sells for like $100. Of course I didn't need it but at that price I figured why not? I was curious since I hadn't used one in years (I started shaving on a Norelco). I dare say it shaves almost as close as the Panasonic! It's been with me on a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet. And I read a couple articles that the top of the line Norelco is even better! Mine is made in China but the top of the line "Prestige" is still made in the Norelco factory in the Netherlands. The build quality is supposed to be off the charts!
Anyways, I don't want to derail the thread since the topic actually is Panasonic!

a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet.

"The Contractor" on Prime Christoph Waltz is great and so are all the young actors starting out. Love to see new talent.

Norelco's come a long way though. Last black Friday I picked up a mid-range Norelco for $35 that normally sells for like $100. Of course I didn't need it but at that price I figured why not? I was curious since I hadn't used one in years (I started shaving on a Norelco). I dare say it shaves almost as close as the Panasonic! It's been with me on a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet. And I read a couple articles that the top of the line Norelco is even better! Mine is made in China but the top of the line "Prestige" is still made in the Norelco factory in the Netherlands. The build quality is supposed to be off the charts!
Anyways, I don't want to derail the thread since the topic actually is Panasonic!

"a couple of short trips as I've found it light, quick, convenient & super quiet." Yes! 10%%!. Often noise level is overlooked in electric shaver selection. in my bathroom next to my BR, the Pani's were loud as heck. Used to wake my spouse up. And as a Tinitus sufferer especially when I got close to my ears it would drive me up the wall. And agree the Norelcos are nice and quiet.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Hello everyone! Well, do I ever have a surprise for you! Look what I did!​

Thats right, I have upgraded my Panasonic Arc5 2nd generation electric shaver, to a 3rd generation shaver, may the gold be with you. Well, to be fair, the price came down dramatically all the sudden, and so 54 dollars didn't seem so bad, to spend on a new blade/foil set, that is also an upgrade for my shaver. Lets have a look at them side by side. 2nd generation foil on the left. 3rd generation foil on the right.

When you look at them side by side, there really isn't much differences between them, except, that the 3rd generation foils, have the gold rollers on them, instead of the comb scoops. What is the benefit of the gold rollers you ask, other then making the shaver look good? Well, I am so glad you asked! The gold rollers actually provide for a more comfortable shave, as there is much less chance of scraping your skin with them.

I just did an electric shave today, using my new gold roller foil. I can attest to the fact that the shave was more comfortable, but not massively so. I think the biggest difference to the comfortability of a shave, is weather or not you are using a pre-shave, and of course, weather or not you are doing a wet shave. As it was today, I was doing a dry shave, with no pre-shave applied before hand. So I really was relying on the gold rollers for comfort today.

Is the gold roller foil worth the extra money? If your money is tight, and you just want to buy something to get you by, then my advice is to save your money, and just get the 2nd generation foil. Having said that however, if you have some extra money, and you don't mind jumping deeper into the rabbit hole of mystery, by all means get the gold roller foil, because it is infact marginally better.

Thank you for your time, I hope you all have a wonderful and productive day!

 

[steelwindmachine]

@Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker - do you have a part number for the 3rd-gen foil?

I think the 2nd-gen foil is WES9173

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

@Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker - do you have a part number for the 3rd-gen foil?

I think the 2nd-gen foil is WES9173

 

[steelwindmachine]

@Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker - thank you!

In reading the manual there is no mention of oiling anything. I'm not an engineer, but I suspect the omission of oil may be so as to mitigate potential hair build-up on the foils/blades.

but, I did find this:

What are your thoughts?

 

[CzechCzar]

Thats right, I have upgraded my Panasonic Arc5 2nd generation electric shaver, to a 3rd generation shaver, may the gold be with you. Well, to be fair, the price came down dramatically all the sudden, and so 54 dollars didn't seem so bad, to spend on a new blade/foil set, that is also an upgra

This is the one I am planning to get, I think.

I have seen one with gold rollers vs a gold central bar. I cannot figure out which is better? Have you been able to?

@Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker - thank you!

In reading the manual there is no mention of oiling anything. I'm not an engineer, but I suspect the omission of oil may be so as to mitigate potential hair build-up on the foils/blades.

but, I did find this:

What are your thoughts?

Oil is a must. I use a 5-in-1 spray, too! The metal will get too hot, otherwise.

 

[CzechCzar]

This may be useful

Panasonic Arc 5 Comparison Guide: Which One Should You Buy? • ShaverCheck

Here's the ultimate Panasonic Arc 5 Comparison Guide with all the differences that really matter. Find out which one to get!

shavercheck.com

Nothing about the ES9036 though. How does it compare to the ES9040?

 

[CzechCzar]

Found this:

 

[steelwindmachine]

I see this...

• The second generation Arc 5 shaves the same as the first one, but the smaller head and the better, redesigned cleaning station makes them a better pick. Also, the first generation has been long discontinued.
• The third-generation revisions A and B have a nicer design compared to the second one and the comfort of the shave is slightly better thanks to the comfort rollers. The redesigned central trimmer is also slightly better at catching longer hairs, but nothing significant.
• The revisions C through J come with an updated design and more flexing capabilities of the shaving head (that doesn’t make any difference in practice). The foils are again slightly better with longer hairs compared to the A and B, the latest revision G, H and J foil being the most capable in that regard.

 

[RBRB]

I have zero interest in electric shavers but I read that review from start to finish and found it interesting, comprehensive, and well written. Good job

I have an arc 5, does a decent job. It's packed away, wet shaving definitely rules..

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

@Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker - thank you!

In reading the manual there is no mention of oiling anything. I'm not an engineer, but I suspect the omission of oil may be so as to mitigate potential hair build-up on the foils/blades.

but, I did find this:

What are your thoughts?

That right there, is exactly why I oil my blades once every couple uses, its recommended by Panasonic for a reason, because it extends the life of the blade, in regards to sharpness. Now, in regards to statement of whisker buildup. Please note, regardless if you oil your blades or not, your going to get build up of whiskers inside the blade chamber. There's really no way of getting around that. Now, by using oil, yes, whiskers have a stronger tendency to build up a bit more, but your going to have to brush out your blades regardless, weather or not you use an oil on them.

Thats why I am saying, part of standard maintenance of your electric shaver, is going to be emptying the blade chamber, and brushing out the blades, or, if your doing a wet shave, you can run the blades while on, to clean it out over the tap. So, once cleaned out, you might as well put a couple drops of oil on them blades to extend their life. I am simply following recommendations from Panasonic, as well as a couple other people, who have done reviews on it. There's really no need to over think it to be honest.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Williams Lectric Shave. This is a product that I have used in the past, but it was many years ago, and I completely forgot about it. I decided I wanted to do something, to make electric shaves a little more comfortable. You folks already know about my upgrade to the gold roller foil. That offers a marginal improvement to the comfortability of a dry electric shave. But even though options are limited when doing a dry shave, there is still more one can do, to improve the comfortability of a shave.

I decided to give this product a try today, and I just got done doing an electric shave a couple hours ago. I first cleaned my face with a wipe, and then I applied Lectric Shave to my face and neck. I've heard people say that this provides a bit of an oil to your skin, once the alcohol wears off. If your expecting this to leave a slickness that a typical pre-shave oil would, you'd be wrong. At most, Lectric Shave leaves a very light and thin oilness to your skin, at least it did for me.

Scent wise, the product smells kind of good, a cologne style scent. Now, as far as how the product performs for the shave. I am on the fence with this product. Because, while I do believe that it improved the comfortability of the shave, once again, however only marginally, and for a limited time period only. I am sure that an official pre-shave oil would do a far better job, but it would be messier, and would require extra cleanup of the electric shaver, if one used an official pre-shave oil.

At the end of the day, the most comfortable electric shave your going to have, is a wet based shave. But I have always had the philosophy that, if one is going to go through all the trouble and mess to do a wet shave, one might as well just do a traditional wet shave with a DE instead. Electric shavers are about convenience and quickness. And in keeping that tradition, I do believe that Lectric Shave offers an additional marginal improvement to the comfortability of a shave.

Just be aware, Lectric Shave is not a miracle worker, don't think its gonna be like PAA's pre-shave cube blocks, not even close lol! But if you got to get your shave on, and you only got 5 to 10 minutes to do it, slap on that Lectric Shave, slap on that gold roller foil, and go to town. I got a very close BBS shave today with my Panasonic Arc5, so I can appreciate that, but I will give Lectric Shave a.................

out of stars.

 

[steelwindmachine]

@Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker - thanks to your thorough review, I bought a second-hand ES-LV65 off ebay for $24 and tried it last night. It worked exceptionally well!

This will be helpful in giving me a decent shave during the week when I don't have time or feel up to performing the ritual of traditional wet shaving.

Whenever the existing blade/foil gives out, I'll certainly upgrade to whatever the current generation bits are for whatever improvements - at the moment it seems the ES9036 set seems the most sensible.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Works great for the ears! And unfortunately, the older you get the more it grows!
For the nose, I can't use nose hair trimmers (the little round tipped ones with the spinning head).
For some reason I must have really sensitive nerves in my nose. I feel a very uncomfortable sensitivity with those.
I have a Norelco trimmer that I use just for that. I just stick in the little corner of the cutting head and it works fine.
That's the way it was done anyways before those nose trimmers existed!

I used a German round tip, curved blade pair of scissors for nose hair for decades. I remember buying it at an Amish knife store we visited as a family: with my wife and our two sons... what a beautiful shop.

I did buy a Panasonic nose/ear hair clipper... with the round, rotary blades. I love it... I really do. But I can understand sensitivity issues. I always had them with the electric razors of years gone long by... the 1970s. I always had Norelco rotary electric razors back then.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Are you folks ready for another product review? I sure hope so, because I have some amazing news for you! Are you an electric razor user? If you answer yes to that question, then please by all means, read on.

So what are you looking at here you ask? You are looking at the worlds best Shea Butter, from none other then, the artisan So Denay's Bath & Body Essentials! Those who have been following this thread, know that I have been on the hunt for a product, that makes dry shaving with an electric razor, more comfortable. I began by converting my Arc5 razor to a 3rd generation foil with gold rollers, for a marginal improvement in comfort. Then, I tried out Lectric shave, which again, only provided marginal improvements to comfort.

Today, this most wonderful product from Ms Denay's got delivered to my door. When I opened the lid, I was greeted by a most pleasant scent, I could swear this came from angels. This is a refined based whipped Shea Butter. But its not the consistency of a soft whipped cream however, this is more the consistency of Proraso's Pre-Shave creams that come in the jar. I scooped up a small amount with my finger tip, began working it up in my hands, then I began applying it to my skin on my face and neck. I applied this Shea Butter 5-hours ago.

A fascinating thing about this Shea Butter, is that after applying it to my skin, it left my face feeling ever so slightly warm, almost as if my face was being hugged by an angel, and it left an oily sheen on my skin. I just had a shave with my Arc5 several minutes ago. I immediately noticed the difference right off the bat. Not only was my electric razor able to glide over my skin with incredible ease and precision, but I was able to achieve a full BBS shave, and this time, my face doesn't feel itchy in the slightest!

My neck is usually the area that gives me the most trouble, I have to go over it more, and many different directions, in order to achieve a BBS shave, simply because the whiskers on my neck, go in all sorts of directions. I was left with much less irritation afterwords, no itchiness! And, my face and neck felt warm throughout the entire shave too. I mean, yes I know, its a warm day today, infact warmer then weather reports predicted, we got to 79F. But I know that Shea Butter hugs my face with warmth, so just know going in, your shave is going to be met with the luxury of royalty.

Behold, for SWCT has now seen the light. Was the product 27 dollars with shipping included worth it? Heck yes this product was worth it. And because it provided me the most comfortable shave I've ever had with an electric razor in my entire life, it will be my honor to keep buying from Ms Denay's in the future. Behold, for I have finally unlocked the secret to a comfortable electric razor dry shave, this should earn me 1000 points to Griffindor.

So Denay's B&BE Refined Whipped Shea Butter gets a solid.............................
out of stars!

 

[steelwindmachine]

this makes me think that i could use my grooming dept or ariana & evans soap to make a slick, light lather using my fingertips.

i’d bloom the soap and rub it with my fingers and then transfer to my face. let it sit for a minute and then hit it with the electric razor.

 

[steelwindmachine]

this might be another option to consider: afrikaimports Whipped African Shea Butter Creamy, White, 16 oz. https://a.co/d/8GgnGgV

a 8oz is also available

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

this might be another option to consider: afrikaimports Whipped African Shea Butter Creamy, White, 16 oz. https://a.co/d/8GgnGgV

a 8oz is also available

While the Shea Butter that you linked me too is less expensive, its ( A ) sold on Amazon, so I don't trust it right from the very start, and ( B ) its unrefined Shea Butter AKA Natural, which means its likely not going to smell very good, and has a chance of going rotten quickly. You can go ahead and try it out if you'd like to, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[steelwindmachine]

amazon isn’t perfect by far, but neither are most of its competitors. nonetheless i don’t blame anyone for not doing business with them.

natural shea butter has a nutty scent that diminishes over time.

enriched shea butter, what you bought will eventually go rancid from the oils. natural shea butters’ shelf life is 2-3 years on average.

what i don’t like about the product you’re touting is that their page doesn’t indicate the volume of product. it’s too late for you to inform us since you already used some. lack of transparency when it comes to cosmetics isn’t exactly endearing in my opinion.