I have probably already posted about my love for band razors so I'm sorry if I repeat myself. But, damn, these are very nice. I know, they are the Rodney Dangerfield of razors. I don't understand why. Every time I use my Schick adjustable band razor I get perfectly great shaves. I have never had a bad experience with it...just great, smooth, close, effortless shaves. What's the matter with you guys that can't get a good shave with a band razor? Anybody with me on this???
I've honestly never tried one. I guess I just presumed that since the cartridges are no longer made and they weren't in production for long, that perhaps most people didn't buy into them? How long will your supply last? Where did you buy the bands? Was it a strategic move years ago or did you start recently? I've seen them at antique stores and thrift stores and just walked on by countless times.
I have never tried one, but the band idea was a sound idea IMO. A fresh shave surface with the turn of a knob! Hekes yes! It was a great idea among other ideas that just never caught on, or was too expensive to carry on I suppose. Now days, since the band cart's are no longer made, leaving the user to find them where they can, I imagine that the band idea will stay dead. Which leaves more NOS band cart's available to be snapped up by a small number of afficianado's. Shave well!
With my favorite injector razors, although I have used vintage blades, at least decent blades are still being made. With SEs, I can also find modern blades, and with both types, it's been possible to accumulate a lifetime supply in case they ever are discontinued. With a band razor, vintage blades would be the only option. I'm sure I could find enough to give one a fair try, but it's just not possible to try everything out there, and I think I'll leave them to those who already like them. Still, it was a clever idea, and I appreciate it along with all the other clever razor designs that have been tried over the years. A lot of perfectly good designs may have been abandoned, not on their merits, but just because the market share wasn't big enough. Band razors may have come along too late. Too late, that is, to cut into the DE and injector market, and just before the major players decided to concentrate on cartridges. Enjoy yours, and may you find enough of the blades to last you many years.
I always got excellent results with the one I had but to tell you the truth (not to spark additional RAD if you don't have one) even better results came from the Wilkinson Bonded razor. It's not worth tracking one down though, there's apparently just too few cartridges left out there and what is left is often overpriced as a "collectible." But the band razors were great.
gorgo, I agree with you about the Wilkinson Bonded. I have used one and I have a small supply of cartridges that will allow me to enjoy it every now and then for a long time. I'm pleased that no negative comments have been posted about the band razors. I've heard many bad reviews in the past that seemed to me to be unfairly harsh.
The only neg I can recall possibly seeing in the band razor is forgetting to advance the band off of a used patch and blaming the razor. Apart from that, the size appeared unwieldy but wasn't a problem at all once you used it. Glad to hear you managed to snag s stock of the Bonded. Just checked the 'bay yesterday and saw a bidding dogfight with 30 minutes left over a fairly large lot of the carts. So they do have a good rep among shavers.
The band in all band razor cartridges is stainless steel, so it will hold up for a long time. Just like Straight Arrow, I prefer the Schick Adjustable Band razors. The cartridge has a tendency to hold shaving gunk/hairs/water, so I rinse and shake it after each shave. It easily snaps in and out of the handle.
How about some more information on these? I have seen them on the bay and they look interesting enough but how common are replacement heads? Can you get a 3 pass shave witout advancing the band? How many advancements are in one head?
dadvest, the replacement cartridges are kinda scarce but not impossible to get if you watch the auction site(s) regularly. Gillette's version of the band razor is the Techmatic. Then Schick joined the party with their own version. Schick cartridges work on both Schick and Gillette handles but Gillette carts only work on the Gillette handle. The carts I have seen have either 5 or 10 advancements on the blade band. I get as many shaves with each advancement as I would from a good stainless steel DE blade. The head design is very good for getting the tight spots under the nose. I love these razors.
I feel that RAD starting up! Gonna have to sell something first so I can get a nice set up to try! Thanks for the information!
