Trac II/ Atra razor - will they ever be extinct?

[ryan2022]

Hi guys,

This may be in the wrong section.

I'm currently enjoying my DE shaves, but started shaving years ago with my Dads atra. He still uses it, although I've picked up a coulple of vintage DEs for him that he subs in.

Do you think the Atra/ trac II cartridges will ever be impossible to find? Personna? gillette etc?

Just curious,

Thanks,

ryan

 

[oldspiceboy]

The Wilkinson Sword Super II carts are good. The price is even better. 3.46 for 10! I dont know about the Trac II but the Atra is sold as the Vector overseas. In my area the Atra blades seem to sell very well. If there is demand for a product then they should keep them on the market.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Hi guys,

This may be in the wrong section.

I'm currently enjoying my DE shaves, but started shaving years ago with my Dads atra. He still uses it, although I've picked up a coulple of vintage DEs for him that he subs in.

Do you think the Atra/ trac II cartridges will ever be impossible to find? Personna? gillette etc?

Just curious,

Thanks,

ryan

I hope they don't go away anytime soon, I kinda like using both the Atra and Trac II occasionally.

 

[ateace]

The Vector (Atra) is actively marketed in some countries, so I don't see that platform being yanked out from under us anytime soon.

And DE blades are probably more threatened than TracII-type carts.

So I think these two formats will be around for a while.

 

[michiganlover]

The Trac II debuted way bay in 1971 (41 years ago, for all of the math lazy. ). If Gillette is still selling replacements for a product that debuted 41 years ago, I don't think we have to seriously worry about the product leaving the market.

Besides, any money Gillette makes from these carts is nearly pure profit, as they no longer need to advertise for this product, and any research and design costs were made up long ago. If Gillette didn't make the carts a competitor would. No reason to give good business away to a competitor.

 

[mark_mw]

Sold this Atra setup on the bay last December for $41.00....my Dad kept it in a bag for decades and didn't have the heart to throw it away!

 

[Sledgehammer39]

I hope they don't, I get good shaves from them.

 

[The Kiwi]

My vote goes to the TracII, but in a better handle (for now, that's a Bump Fighter). I've done a two-way test here at home between several, TracII on right side, Atra on left, then reverse, and the TracII shaved me better. I've done the same with a Sensor, which beat the TracII handily. I've not done it with anything with more blades, even though I do have a Hydro3. What's interesting, the original Gillette TracII handle has more metal in it, more weight / mass, than the bulkier-looking Atra does.

Back in their day, I didn't like either Atras or TracIIs very well because they were so very light in weight (which doesn't explain how / why I ended up with so many Atras, half of which were not used at all; this in spite of knowing I might have bought a couple of spares when the cost for just cartridges was higher than the cost of handle plus cartridges. I found six here, and one I remembered wasn't included).

 

[RABIDMONKEY]

Im worried I use them for shaving my head , quicker than a using a de . My walmart has stopped stocking the trac II wilkie blades , Im going to check all my walmarts , as I cant find them on line

 

[Azarius]

The only reason I had stopped using my Atra and had switched to disposables was because I was unaware that they still made blades for it. I still have my Atra that was sent to me from Gillette on my 18th birthday, just no blades.

Which commonly available blades fit, as some mornings when I do not have time for a full blown luxury shave, I would love to take her for a spin.

 

[The Kiwi]

When I bought the Bump Fighter setup, I threw out the blades it came with, and bought (maybe) some from a 99-Cents Store for about 99 cents. Thing is, I found Schick "FX" blades inexpensively somewhere else, the ones with the plunger, and those are what I tested the Atra with. I can't be sure what cartridge I have in the Bump Fighter, if that was a two-way, although I THINK it was strictly TracII only. A month ago, plus or minus, I spent several days checking thrift shops and "Dollar Store" outlets for whatever they might have as shave gear, used or generic.

I may have bought the two kinds the same day. But I always did like the Schick version better because the blades are too close together on both the Atra and TracII, so they will clog up (at least, they did for me). The plunger thing clears those clogs. They were more than a Dollar, and thinking harder, it was a "Family Dollar" -- Schick FX, about $2.79 to 3.79 for 10 cartridges.

 

[Azarius]

...it was a "Family Dollar" -- Schick FX, about $2.79 to 3.79 for 10 cartridges.

Thank you sir, I will need to pick some up.

 

[michiganlover]

My Family Dollar just recently started stocking Trac II/ Atra combo carts. They had never stocked them in the past. They are the "made in Korea" Dorco carts, which are not the greatest carts, but it was still nice to see them stocking a product they hadn't stocked before.

 

[rsp1202]

I never did get along with the Bump Fighter handle so continue to use the Trac II with its original. There's not that much of a leap between it and my N-type injector, 'cept for weight and the fact that the injector is the superior shaver. The Atra is okay but the Sensor Excel is, for me, the best shaver of all the carts, including the Hydro 3. I wanted to like the Tracer FX Diamond but the blades weren't smooth enough. Go figure.

 

[itsmedave]

I love my Atra Handle and the cheapie Wlkinson Blades. Sometimes, I"ll use it for touchups and sometimes I do a full shave with it

 

[The Kiwi]

Thank you sir, I will need to pick some up.

It's been no more than six weeks since I looked over that particular display in that Family Dollar, and there were no TracII or Atra cartridges for sale today, and not even a label on an empty peg where the FX package had been. I did see Gillette's own brand on both Atra Plus and TracII Plus cartridges at the supermarket I go to most often (HEB), where I looked at the Gem "Blue Star" SE blades, and saw that those are what I have loaded in the Clog-Pruf Gem here.

Sorry about the bad call, if your Family Dollar has done the same as mine has done!

The Gillette branded Atra Plus and TracII Plus are priced around $15 for ten at the Supermarket, not that far below Sensors for $19.

 

[bluesbishop]

CVS here has there branded carts for atra's and sensors fairly cheap...havent looked in awhile....

 

[razorx]

I use Atra blades for head shaving,they can be used as replacements for the HeadBlade

They shave more agressively than the HeadBlade branded triple blade carts,cost much less and last longer.

In the Chicago area they're available at Jewel Osco - Not as cheap as others (I think they're like $18 for a 20 pack)

 

[The Kiwi]

... I did see Gillette's own brand on both Atra Plus and TracII Plus cartridges at the HEB supermarket I go to most often, where I looked at the Gem "Blue Star" SE blades, and saw that those are what I have loaded in the Clog-Pruf Gem here.

The Gillette branded Atra Plus and TracII Plus are priced around $15 for ten at the Supermarket, not that far below Sensors for $19.

Not long ago, I was writing a comment here about finding so many Atra handles when digging out razors from junk drawers (two turned out to be Schick's clones). I had two different varieties of the all-metal, very shiny versions.



The one I consider most common is on the right. The other one looks like a nicer style to me.

 

[Ray Todd]

I started shaving with a Trac II in about 1978, and used them for years. Yeah, that's dating me a little bit isn't it? I still have one of my old handles that I load up every now and then, even though I much prefer my DEs and SEs now. To answer your question, you'll probably be able to find the various versions of non-Gillette cartridges around in stores for a long time, but I remember never liking them when I shaved with the Trac II and later the Atra. The edge just just never felt as good as the Gillette blades. Anyway, I think that in some parts of the world the Trac II is or was the G2 and there's also an Atra equivalent. I haven't really researched it, but you might scan through EBay and see what's available. If the Gillette cartridges are still made, they might be a lot better than the Personnas that you find here in your local drugstore. Everybody's different, and your dad might like the Personnas better, but just an idea to consider....