I just ordered a Schick Injector razor and I have been looking for blades. They are out there but the cost per blade seems a little high. I just found some Personna Injector blades at what seems like a price closer to DE blades, 22 cents a blade and I wanted to find out how well people like these blades compared to Chinese made Schick Injector blades that cost closer to $1 a blade.
Personna Injector Blades
- Thread starter South Dakota Guy
- Start date
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
That is a decent price for the Personnas, compares favorably with Ted Pella where they run $5.35 a pack, or Bullgoose Shaving at $8.50. For me they aren't as effective or comfortable as the modern Chicks, or better yet some of the vintage Platinum Injectors. There are guys that find them acceptable. The plastic dispenser is wont to failure, but if the price/shave is ok you can transfer the Personna's into an empty metal one ... But try both before committing to to a 240 blade purchase! When compared to DE blades most folk, myself included, get substantially longer life from an injector blade (stands to reason due to their thickness).
For me they are both good blades and I can be happy with either one. Add +1000 to the comment about the Personna dispenser, but you can always shuck them into an old Schick dispenser. I use Schicks more because I can buy them at my local pharmacy and they no longer have their store brand.
Depends on the razor as not all injectors are the same. The Personna is my blade of choice in my Schick G but a Pal Injectomatic really sings with Chinese Schick blades.
I'm fairly new to the whole injector style world and i've used both Chicks and Personna blades a few times in two injectors and I find the Personna a bit sharpener, but also not as smooth (just a little) as the Chicks. I have a E3, G1 (with a broken handle that I won't be using any time soon) and an M3 razors. I think I like the M3 a bit more than the E3 mainly because of the handle.
Once the blades of both razors become dull I will switch them to see if there's any razor-combo difference. For me, both the Chicks and the Personnas have their pros and cons and I have to see how long both last, but I find both to work for me. In the price vs quality chart though, I think the Personna wins for me.
Once the blades of both razors become dull I will switch them to see if there's any razor-combo difference. For me, both the Chicks and the Personnas have their pros and cons and I have to see how long both last, but I find both to work for me. In the price vs quality chart though, I think the Personna wins for me.
- Thread starter
- #6
I am going to give both a try. The Chicks are ridiculously expensive even at 10 shaves a blade. I can get 8 shaves from a Wizamet SI in my DE razors. I also ordered some Schick B20 blades after reading @Dog Whiskerer 's comments about getting 30 shaves from a blade. It looks like I will need to load them into another dispenser first before putting them into my razor. A dollar a blade doesn't seem too bad if I can get close to that many shaves a blade. I had to order them from Japan so I am looking at a 6 week delivery time.
An Injector blade lasts a lot. I have used it for 20 - 30 shaves easily. Too bad I can't source them easily in Europe.
I’ve used a whole lot of Personna injector blades over the years and have always liked them. The dispensers do have some issues. The most economical way I’ve found is to buy the Personna mini hair shaper blades from Amazon or eBay for around $7-10 for 20 blades. The dispenser is keyless but it’s simple to load them into a metal Schick dispenser.
I only have the L1 injector which is quite mild. Those Personnas don't work in it with my beard. My skin hurts and I get a few cuts every time I use them. So the vintage Schick Ultra Platinum and Platinum (both Dutch made) and the Chinese Schicks are 5 levels higher for me.
Thirty shaves with a B20 from a guy who gets over 30 shaves from a Wizamet SI. And you get 8. Good luck.
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- #11
To be honest, I can't say I really pushed a Wizamet. As inexpensive as those blades are relatively, I replace them if I think that they are not cutting as well as I like. Next time I use a Wizamet I might just have to see how many shaves I can get from one.
Injector blades are thicker, and the Schick holds them rigidly. Some folks find that helps with longevity. Thirty shaves with a SE blade...what's that? Sixty on a DE?
Having used both extensively through the years (but only DEs in recent years), I never noticed increased longevity, but then I can shave forever with just about any blade. I just thought the DE lasted longer because it has twice as many cutting edges.
I'm trying to picture the physics of the blades. If the cutting edge of both are equally sharp when new, then how will cutting the same things dull one quicker than the other, because while the blade may be thicker away from the edge, sharpness is determined by the thinness at the very edge as I understand it?
I understand the difference between an ax and a splitting maul. I hardly ever touch up the edge on my maul, it's meant to split and not slice.
So an injector razor chops and a DE slices?
Maybe the rigidity, as @Dog Whiskerer mentioned helps keep the cutting edge perpendicular to the whiskers it's cutting rather than hitting at an angle that causes the edge to bend back? Then would a DE blade in a Short Comb NEW last longer than in other less rigid razors?
I'm trying to picture the physics of the blades. If the cutting edge of both are equally sharp when new, then how will cutting the same things dull one quicker than the other, because while the blade may be thicker away from the edge, sharpness is determined by the thinness at the very edge as I understand it?
I understand the difference between an ax and a splitting maul. I hardly ever touch up the edge on my maul, it's meant to split and not slice.
So an injector razor chops and a DE slices?
Maybe the rigidity, as @Dog Whiskerer mentioned helps keep the cutting edge perpendicular to the whiskers it's cutting rather than hitting at an angle that causes the edge to bend back? Then would a DE blade in a Short Comb NEW last longer than in other less rigid razors?
With modern DE blades I get 3-5 shaves. Injectors - 9 or even 10.
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
Having used both extensively through the years (but only DEs in recent years), I never noticed increased longevity, but then I can shave forever with just about any blade. I just thought the DE lasted longer because it has twice as many cutting edges.
I'm trying to picture the physics of the blades. If the cutting edge of both are equally sharp when new, then how will cutting the same things dull one quicker than the other, because while the blade may be thicker away from the edge, sharpness is determined by the thinness at the very edge as I understand it?
I understand the difference between an ax and a splitting maul. I hardly ever touch up the edge on my maul, it's meant to split and not slice.
So an injector razor chops and a DE slices?
Maybe the rigidity, as @Dog Whiskerer mentioned helps keep the cutting edge perpendicular to the whiskers it's cutting rather than hitting at an angle that causes the edge to bend back? Then would a DE blade in a Short Comb NEW last longer than in other less rigid razors?
Interesting thoughts - I'm thinking it may go back to that old B&B bugaboo YMMV - depends on the beard maybe ..
Me I can't shave forever with any blade, so guessing our beards are different. Maybe a DE being thinner deflects more to its detriment on a coarse wiry beard, not so much on a finer hair? I'm thinking kinda like the difference in a straight, a wedge will shave longer but a 5/8 "singer" may get dull more rapidly?
And like Ivan, I routinely get double the number of comfortable close shaves out of any injector compared to the best Feather DE's
I think sometimes people get confused with the whole notion of how many shaves a person gets compared to someone else. Some people shave every day and that ''might'' be one of the reasons why they get more shaves or perhaps their beard isn't as dense or as coarse. Those are the things most people take into consideration, but no one talks about the passes they make or even the strokes.
Some folks might do 1-2 fast passes and be done with it, but I shave until my face gets as smooth as glass. Since the injectors allow me to shave pretty much everywhere ATG with ease, I go for a 4 pass shave and i'm on my third shave with a Personna and I can already feel slight thuggin in some areas when I go ATG.
It's not about our faces and facial hair, but our shaving style as well. I'm sure I can get around 10 shaves with a DE if I do one pass shave with a slight touch up, but there's no way I can get 10, 3 pass shaves from a single blade even if I shave every day and the same probably goes for the injector blades as well.
Just like some folks even wonder why some Youtubers shave ''slowly'' or use short strokes instead of long stokes. Long strokes just don't work for me and most of the beard is left behind and no amount of technique is going to fix that problem for me. Again, different faces, skins, beards etc and different results.
Some folks might do 1-2 fast passes and be done with it, but I shave until my face gets as smooth as glass. Since the injectors allow me to shave pretty much everywhere ATG with ease, I go for a 4 pass shave and i'm on my third shave with a Personna and I can already feel slight thuggin in some areas when I go ATG.
It's not about our faces and facial hair, but our shaving style as well. I'm sure I can get around 10 shaves with a DE if I do one pass shave with a slight touch up, but there's no way I can get 10, 3 pass shaves from a single blade even if I shave every day and the same probably goes for the injector blades as well.
Just like some folks even wonder why some Youtubers shave ''slowly'' or use short strokes instead of long stokes. Long strokes just don't work for me and most of the beard is left behind and no amount of technique is going to fix that problem for me. Again, different faces, skins, beards etc and different results.
The comparison to straights sounds exactly like what I was thinking, though I never used a straight so I can't say from experience.
I was raised using a DE, though I bought an Injector to keep in my kit bag as sort of a travel razor for deployments. Never went the cart route.
So I tend to think my experience may have a little to do with it. For instance, a lot of people coming from carts seem to be worried about finding the "right angle" and such, while I seem to be able to switch razors and blades and instinctively adjust to get a good shave. I think I would get myself all messed up if I even tried to think about the angle, the pressure, and things others are always talking about. And I do think that the angle and such would depend on how long it lasts. For instance trying to slice straight through a coconut with the knife not perfectly perpendicular would take a lot more force to cut and bend the edge.
I wonder if the way the head is shaped on the Injector also helps hold it at the correct angle being more flat rather than curved. Or maybe the more wedged shaped Injector blade helps tear the whisker after the initial cut is started saving the blade from having to cut all the way?
It does make sense that the coarseness of hair would have a lot to do with it. I would guess mine's not real coarse or fine, and not particularly thick either.
That also all makes a lot of sense.
Now days (post military) I shave 3 days a week, sometimes more for special occasions, do only one pass with minimal touch-up. For what it matters I believe I take short strokes, and there is probably some overlap between strokes, and get a pretty close shave, usually with an Old Type or LC NEW. My beloved old Super Speed seems to be all but retired now. I know some people also think blade longevity also depends on the aggressiveness of the razor, though I think it would tend to even out for me as I would do more touch-up with a mild razor. I generally change the DE blade every two months, probably more as an OCD thing than anything. If I recall I changed them at least every week in the military just to be safe.
- Thread starter
- #18
I tried a Personna injector blade today and it wasn't bad. I had a better experience than with my first shave using a Chick blade. I need more experience with injector razors to make a definitive statement and to test for longevity but my first impression is that the Personna blade is easier on my skin than the Chick blade and it is less expensive. It will be interesting to see if my opinion changes with more injector experience.
When you guys say a "Chick injector blade" is that the US made yellow Schick package?
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
"Chick" is B&B jargon for Chinese Schick injector blades
