Normally I am a DE shaver BUT...as of late I have rediscovered my old TracII from the 80s. You know, the time when all things old were bland. So, having dug out my old handle and grabbing some blades I thought I would give this comparison a shot. Here is a quick rundown of the results I had with the cartridges. PII (Inida) TracII plus (Poland) Personna (USA)
PII....these blades were mid priced at 5.99 for 5 carts. No lube strip but were designed with an open back presumably to keep them from clogging. I had no clogging issues so there is that. The blades were just a bit rough with the first shave. They settled down after the second shave and gave a DFS for a total of 7 shaves before they began to become just the slightest bit tuggy again. As this was just a quick test I then switched blades.
Gillette TracII plus...Theses were the most expensive blades at 20 dollars for 10. The DO have the lube strip. Some folks like this, some dont. It did not make much difference to me. I did not have the problem with the "stringy goo" from them that some have reported. At any rate, the shave was very much like the Indian PII blade. Just the slightest bit rough at first, but these smoothed out during the first shave. After that they were extremely smooth. Perhaps not 2 dollars a cart smooth...but smooth. This cart lasted a bit longer, for a total of 10 shaves before I began to feel just the slightest bit of roughness. The resulting shave was just shy of BBS. Still thought, at 2 dollars a cart, whew..spendy.
Personna Twin Pivot Plus.... These were the cheapest at 5.99 for 10 carts. They also have a lube strip that caused me no problems. And, like the others gave just the slightest bit of roughness in the beginning. After that they settled down to being my favorite of the bunch. 17 easy shaves before I felt a bit of grit. It also gave a DFS with the first shave but then BBS for the next 8-9 shaves then DFS until the end. I must note that the Personna blades do not have an open back like both Gillettes. Still though, I did not have a problem with "clogging".
While as always YMMV I can say these are all good blades with no weepers, cuts, or irritation, but the Personna was outstanding. Price, longevity, and results were excellent. I would highly recommend giving them a try if you use a TracII or an Atra handle.
All shaves were conducted after morning face washing with warm water only, Barbasol original canned goo, and Skin Bracer AS. Total time for shave: less than 15 min. Usually much less. (I gotta start getting ready for work earlier!)
PII....these blades were mid priced at 5.99 for 5 carts. No lube strip but were designed with an open back presumably to keep them from clogging. I had no clogging issues so there is that. The blades were just a bit rough with the first shave. They settled down after the second shave and gave a DFS for a total of 7 shaves before they began to become just the slightest bit tuggy again. As this was just a quick test I then switched blades.
Gillette TracII plus...Theses were the most expensive blades at 20 dollars for 10. The DO have the lube strip. Some folks like this, some dont. It did not make much difference to me. I did not have the problem with the "stringy goo" from them that some have reported. At any rate, the shave was very much like the Indian PII blade. Just the slightest bit rough at first, but these smoothed out during the first shave. After that they were extremely smooth. Perhaps not 2 dollars a cart smooth...but smooth. This cart lasted a bit longer, for a total of 10 shaves before I began to feel just the slightest bit of roughness. The resulting shave was just shy of BBS. Still thought, at 2 dollars a cart, whew..spendy.
Personna Twin Pivot Plus.... These were the cheapest at 5.99 for 10 carts. They also have a lube strip that caused me no problems. And, like the others gave just the slightest bit of roughness in the beginning. After that they settled down to being my favorite of the bunch. 17 easy shaves before I felt a bit of grit. It also gave a DFS with the first shave but then BBS for the next 8-9 shaves then DFS until the end. I must note that the Personna blades do not have an open back like both Gillettes. Still though, I did not have a problem with "clogging".
While as always YMMV I can say these are all good blades with no weepers, cuts, or irritation, but the Personna was outstanding. Price, longevity, and results were excellent. I would highly recommend giving them a try if you use a TracII or an Atra handle.
All shaves were conducted after morning face washing with warm water only, Barbasol original canned goo, and Skin Bracer AS. Total time for shave: less than 15 min. Usually much less. (I gotta start getting ready for work earlier!)
