SE injector razor blade quest from a green newb

[JBlaze]

Hi gentlemen and gentleLadies,
Like mentioned I just got my very first injector razor (pal adjustable) today along with two se gem/ER razors. I'm coming from about 3 years of de razor use and looking at injector blades I'm kind of lost. My questions are
1) what type of blades are there for schick injector and pal razors?(coatings, brands etc)
2) are the blades universal? (what are twin blades used in basically? )
3) I tried using a schick injector blade key and it was super hard to pull out, and the blade was inserted crooked (had to use something to push it back right) am I doing something wrong?


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[garyg]

There are two basic commercially available injectors at present - Schick and Personna. The former are referred to as "Chicks" due to their Chinese manufacture and come in metal injectors of 7 blades. Personnas are made in the US, and come in plastic injectors. My experience, echoed by others, is that the Chicks are sharper, and the Personna blades subject to some difficulty in loading due to the flexible plastic injector. The Personnas are usually more economical, around .33 per as opposed to the Schicks at around .75. Either should give you more shaves than you are used to from a DE.

There are also twin injector blades that need to be imported from Japan, and Schick Proline B-20 blades that produce mixed reactions (the latter also do not come in an injector). There are some fantastic vintage NOS blades still around, notably the Schick Plus Platinums from the 70's and the Personna 74's from about the same time.

I've never had much use for the twin blades, they tend to clog up on me. They can be used only in the later Schick models, otherwise injectors are pretty much universal.

The injetor key shouldn't be hard to insert or remove, though as mentioned sometimes the plastic cases twist and can screw up the blade if the sharp edge gets pushed across the blade stops

 

[Whiterook]

Pretty much just the Chinese-made Schicks and the US-made Personna blades are available in the US. I can buy the Schicks from my local Long's/CVS drugstore. Amazon has both the Schicks and Personna. The Schicks cost more and are a tad sharper. The Personna are good blades but the dispenser is junky.

The blade should load straight in. The razor is designed such that a used blade should be in the razor to be pushed out when the new blade is loaded. Otherwise you risk scraping the edge against the blade stop and dulling it.

The twin blades are used in the newer razors only. I don't go for multiple blades myself so I have never used one.

 

[Ron R]

There are a few common blades for your injector that are used, Schick blades that are made in China(smooth and sharp buy them on Amazon in packets of 7) and the Personna SS PTFE injector blades made in USA(Sharp, good longevity and smooth out after a few shaves). I use both blades in my razors and both are good, the Personna injector dispenser is made of plastic with aluminium and is not the best out there for dispensing. I always get mine to work but others do not like them at all, the blade is very good IMO. I have the twin ll injector blades and they are very good and will give a person a excellent shave ( they come from Japan & are pricier ) the longevity of the blade is excellent. I'm just past shave #31 on mine and still going. They might not be good for long hair growth more than 2 days because they will plug IMO. There is lots of NOS and old stock out there but you take a risk of buying something that is not as sharp anymore.
Try not to buy the Schick b-20 proline for your injector because they were designed for a Shavette and could not seat properly in your injector razor IMO. You can buy a AC blade (P-30 Schick pro line) and trim it to fit a standard injector blade length also. So you if modifiy the AC line that gives you a few other blades like Feather and Kia blades brands to choose from also.

Standard injector blade.............................................Schick B-20 proline see the large radis that is barley seated.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Was there an old blade inserted in your PAL when you loaded the new one? There should have been; new injector razors were shipped with a blank blade pre-loaded so that the key would insert properly and the new blade could be injected smoothly. If someone removed the last blade, the keyway might have been a little tight on insertion. More important to note, when there's no blade in the razor a new blade can run across the stops and dull the edge.

Next thing to note on the PAL - it's a little finicky and in my experience (I have two) they require more attention than non-adjustable injector razors or the Schick Adjustable. Keep the head almost flat to your face until you find the angle, and then pay close attention to maintaining that angle - it's just not a very forgiving razor. The ergonomics of the PAL and it's cousin the Personna SS Injector seem less intuitive and somewhat awkward, at least to me.