When did cartridge razors decline?

[Shavetheman01]

I would say Mach 3 as that is "my era" cart. Remember when Fusion came out and thought it sucked and did not last long at all. Got a Meh! experience from all the hype and advertisement. Stuck with Mach 3 up until 2010 when I started with DE. But as of lately I quite like Fusion Proglide and Proshield and get many shaves from those, guess all the better prep works for these as well. So could say I have warmed up to the 5 blades more maybe.

Yeah, The carts are passable if you ditch the canned foam in favor of Soaps/creams.

I just have a hard time doing more than 1-2 passes if there’s 4-5 blades. You can only drag it across your face so many times

 

[Chandu]

I personally think cartridges began to decline after the Mach 3 came out, and then from there they went into 4-5 blade systems. IIRC, the cartridges which came out in the 90s were 2-blades like the Sensor, Schick Tracer, and probably others. These were the "spring-loaded" types.

I don't think all cartridges are bad though, sometimes 4-5 blades is good for a 2-pass shave if you're in a hurry

I don't think I'd say carts declined, but I think innovation largely stopped. For years it was just adding more blades and different lub strips. Gillette actually innovated with the Skin Guard.

 

[Shaving like a boss]

I rotate thru carts and DE. In my opinion carts were never any better than the Trac-II, which I still love. The Atra was just a variant and the Sensor (which I have, but seldom use) were really no better. The Sensor even had/has a cart with 3 blades available that is HORRIBLY rough. I like my Trac II (But then again I also like my Techmatic lol).

 

[Owen Bawn]

I remember using the Trac II and the Sensor, and perhaps the Atra, but I probably couldn't tell the last 2 apart. I thought they gave really good shaves, those 2 blade cartridges. Then for years I just used whatever cheap 2 blade disposables were on sale- I'd buy big packages of a blue Gillette disposable and I think there was a yellow one too- maybe Bic? The problem with the disposables was that they were too lightweight. I think you had to lean on them to get a close shave. Between opting for the cheap disposables and returning to DE razors fairly early I think I missed most of the multi-blade excitement.

I still have a Trac II and use it for travelling. It is a good shaver.

 

[ctr]

I don't think I'd say carts declined, but I think innovation largely stopped. For years it was just adding more blades and different lub strips. Gillette actually innovated with the Skin Guard.

I recall a time before the lubrication strips were added. Cartridges were better and more smooth without them.

 

[Tostig]

I go back and forth DE and carts, right now I'm on a cart run. I wouldn't say they've declined. YMMV but for me, the Proglide provides the closest shave with least irritation of anything out there. It does seem ridiculous to have 5 blades, but man does it shave BBS like nothing else out there. Mach 3 is OK when I'm coming off a D/E run, but coming after a run of Proglide, the Mach 3 seems to shave not very close. So in my opinion, the Proglide is state of the art and not a decline.

 

[DougK]

Count me as one who doesn't think cartridges have declined. The materials and coatings on the blades have advanced quite a bit since 1971 and some of the newer multi blade razors are pretty amazing (my favorite is the Bic Flex5 Hybrid).

 

[vacman]

For me, it was when they began to introduce multi bladed cartridges and didn't leave enough space between the blades to rinse them clean, so they clogged up and the extra blades gave no improvement. My razor of choice now is the Parker injector. Only 1 blade and that's all you need. One of the most comfortable razors on the market.

 

[Shavetheman01]

I actually started off with the Hydro 5 back when I graduated high school, and did 2-pass shaves. But I stopped using them because they couldn't go under your nose, and the gel strip messes with the shave soap.

I still think the Quattro titanium is a good system

 

[Sabre]

For me, it was when they began to introduce multi bladed cartridges and didn't leave enough space between the blades to rinse them clean, so they clogged up and the extra blades gave no improvement. My razor of choice now is the Parker injector. Only 1 blade and that's all you need. One of the most comfortable razors on the market.

Modern carts have plenty of space between the blades...

 

[Mitzie]

Currently -what cart's are generally the most popular?

 

[Sabre]

Currently -what cart's are generally the most popular?

Popular with users or sales? Most normal users don't care what they pick up. The Fusion has to be the biggest seller. If I do buy modern carts, I look for value so Titanium Quattro, GT5, Mach3 or Sensor3.

 

[Shavetheman01]

I thought most popular are Proglide, Mach3. Although now you also see Harry's on the shelves

To be honest, carts are decent if you use actual lather and not the canned foam. They're good for the mornings when you're in a hurry

 

[Tostig]

I thought most popular are Proglide, Mach3. Although now you also see Harry's on the shelves

To be honest, carts are decent if you use actual lather and not the canned foam. They're good for the mornings when you're in a hurry

Or oil. I have shaved with nothing but oil in at least two years. To me, it's the great undiscovered, underrated, underappreciated shave prep substance out there. Nothing - soap, foam, gel goo, whatever - is remotely as good on my skin as a simple, cheap bottle of shave oil. Plus, I can see what I'm doing while I shave.

 

[DougK]

Or oil. I have shaved with nothing but oil in at least two years. To me, it's the great undiscovered, underrated, underappreciated shave prep substance out there. Nothing - soap, foam, gel goo, whatever - is remotely as good on my skin as a simple, cheap bottle of shave oil. Plus, I can see what I'm doing while I shave.

I bought a bottle of shave oil a couple of years ago and I was astounded by how well it worked. I'm not ready to switch to it full-time, but it's great for travel (when we're able to do that again sometime in the future).Maybe once I work through my current cream supplies I'll pick up another bottle.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I was just starting to shave with a hand me down Schick injector from my dad when the Trac II was introduced in 1971. I used almost every cartridge system over the years until 2008 when I started looking for less expensive options and fell into the vintage rabbit hole. I still use the Trac II, Atra, Sensor and Mach 3 and do enjoy them, but my favorite by far is the Wilkinson Bonded cartridge system that came out about a year before the Trac II. Utilizing just one blade not only is it an exceptionally well performing cartridge razor, it is an exceptionally well performing razor period.

 

[PintoPlain]

My first cart was a schick advantage of my memory serves correct. A twin blade cart that seemed like a technological leap compared to the tech I used to use (I only stopped using it as blades became harder to find in the days before this "internet" fad). Then cartridges for that became obsolete, so I moved on to the next greatest thing, a three blade cart. It may have been a mach 3.

I found the two blade cart gave me a better shave, so eventually went back to twin blade disposables as they were cheaper than buying 4 cartridges.

I think the golden age of carts ended with the 3 blade and more systems.

 

[Bglayer]

Here in the UK after the mac 3 prices went through the roof.I stopped buying them and shaved with gillette blue 2 disposables for 10 years.Then a year and a half ago i saw the light.And now i'm here having the time of my life.Wonderful.

 

[DaveHStone]

Your title makes it sound as if it were some definitive truth. Get your act together, will ya!

Cartridge razor sales are booming, we here on the B&B are probably less than 1% of a 1% of folks who use non-cartridge equipment to shave.

Enough to visit any dept. store or watch shaving commercials on the TV.

 

[ivan_101]

I personally think cartridges began to decline after the Mach 3 came out, and then from there they went into 4-5 blade systems. IIRC, the cartridges which came out in the 90s were 2-blades like the Sensor, Schick Tracer, and probably others. These were the "spring-loaded" types.

I don't think all cartridges are bad though, sometimes 4-5 blades is good for a 2-pass shave if you're in a hurry

That's it exactly. The Mach3 is nice, all those Fusion razors are crap. Same with Schick. I like very much Xtreme 3, but the Quattro and Hydro are much worse.