Funny enough, when cleaning out a top shelf in my bathroom closest today, I found a small box that belonged to my wife shoved way in the back. Inside, was her grandfather's old slim adjustable and an Atra cart. razor. Of course, I can't just let it sit there unused, so ran to Wally World and was pleasantly surprised to see a 10 pack of Personna's for a whole $3.54. Gonna try it out in the morning. At least everything on the razor body is metal. That's one plus for it if nothing else. Nice heft and feels good in the hand. We'll see how it works out...
I loved the old Atra's and got an excellent shave from them. The last time I tried to go back to the Atra, I got a very average shave. The price of the cartridge's was not worth it. I tried the Persona cartridges and got the same average shave from them. It just makes me think that I am much better off with my DE's.
The Atra is still sold as the Vector in places like India. They come with new nifty handles. I wonder if the cartridges -probably made in India- are better than what we find here.
Thanks for the info. I'll have to check it out. I'll be honest, if this was just some plastic thing, I would have dumped it- but the handle and design just appeal to me. Simple...which is a good thing for me.
The all metal handle of those early models are pretty nice. The new models have been "updated" for today's market. Some have a rubberized handle that look alright. Others just look cheap. But the head and neck are still the same. The question is whether the the Indian cartridges are any good. Maybe a local Desi store might carry them.
That looks like a late 80's razor. They are date stamped under the head. What year is it? Those are quite nice ones when the black paint/enamel remains in good shape. That one looks pretty good. Gillette still markets Atra Plus blades in Canada and they are quite a decent quality.
tried it out this morning with the Personna's and TSD's Vetiver shave stick. Everything clicked perfectly. Soap worked well, razor worked well, and in 2 passes I was done. Like all cart. razors I've tried before, though, it'll take a few days for me to see how it'll affect my face. Should be better than the 3+ blade razors, though... Oh yeah, it was made in '89. Thanks for the tip on the date code, Rocketman.
Would you please post a picture of it. I have been waiting to see what an Atra looks like for sometime.
The Vector carts sold overseas are much sharper than the Gillette Atra carts made now. The Personna version is probably as good as you can get in the US barring being able to find some vintage, non lube strip Gillette Atras off Ebay.
Here is that exact razor in a splashy 1989 TV commercial on Youtube (boyextraordinaire pointed this out in another thread) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgdnJM13bE8&NR=1
Tanx will see that when I get home. My office will not allow anything from youtube. Don't know why I did not think about going to youtube for this sort of thing.
Gillette Vector Plus as sold in India is same as the Atra Plus with an additional button to release any trapped hair between the blades. Unlike the Atra, the Vector Plus handle is partly made of plastic. The handle accepts Vector/Atra Plus, Atra or Trac II cartridges.
Hiya, A loooong time ago, I won a bunch(7-8) of assorted NOS cartridge razors on ebay. Heh, maybe I figured I'd shave with em sometime....who knows. Reading this thread made me take a few minutes and dig these out. I doubt they're worth much at all, but I'll mention em here anyway. These are all Schick products, with two different types of razors and blade systems. Some are the versions where the cartridge slides into the head, and some are similar to the Atra version where a button on top is pushed. The more interesting ones are those like the Atra handle.......these have the blue ribbed rubber coated metal handles. Although I haven't opened the packages, they feel like there's some weight to the razors. Those are called Ultrex Plus models, which have a pivoting action and a push button cleaning bar. The other one is the nicest looking though. It's also an Ultrex, but a Japanese version with no English writing at all on the box. This has a matte black handle and head, and really looks pretty good. Oh, there's also two US made razors that look the same. One's the Slim Twin set that offers the option of a pivot or fixed head, plus the easy cleaning bar. The other looks like the Japanese version(no English writing) which is called the Advantage. They're both silver handle and black head design.......futuristic looking. Sigh, man I'm sorry I can't post pics. Anyway, just thought I'd bring up my little stash..........heh. I think actually shaving with one is pretty far fetched at this point, but I'm still glad I bought em. I guessing most or all of these will be from the late 80's period, but I'm not positive. I'm not gonna open one to see if they're dated. Martin
You are right, that the Vector Plus handle will hold the Vector, Atra Plus, and Atra cartridges (A Trac II cart will not work on a Vector, the mechanism to attach the cartridge is entirely different) but the similarities between the Vector, and Atra stop there. The Vector Plus handle is very cheaply made, and actually rattles. It looks, and feels like a cheaply made dollar store toy. It's nothing like the higher quality Atra handles of old. It also weighs next to nothing. Some disposable weigh more!! Prior to starting the transition to DE, I ordered a Gillette Vector from Singapore with 15 additional blades: I was shocked to find just how poorly made the Vector is, especially for a product that Gillette promotes as being superior to a DE razor! Shortly after that, I found a NOS 1970's Vintage Atra handle (thankfully).
I have an Indian Vector, and the maximum price Gillette printed on it in big digits is 44 rupees, which, at the current exchange rate, is less than $1. In Japan, the Atra is called the Actas. It looks like the metal version, but it's actually chrome-plated plastic. http://www.gillette-jp.com/men/ap_g2.html The metal Atras usually sell for a lot on eBay, even if used. I lucked into a bunch, and I'm selling them off slowly on eBay. Contour was the name used for this razor in Europe and possibly elsewhere. It originally had the same metal handle as the original Atra, but the last version had the plastic handle, just like the last Atra. The Schick Slim Twin is very similar, but not all blades that fit the Slim Twin will fit a conventional Atra, and vice versa. Merkur makes a bunch of plastic adapters that allow a Trac II to use Atra, Sensor, (Schick) Protector, and possibly some other blades. I don't think there's one for the Schick Tracer/FX blade, though.
I need a Vector. My GF's sister's currently in Dubai and bringing back some goodies. I'll have to add this to the list.
The Vector is one of the cheapest-made Atra compatible razors. If you want something nice for Atra blades, the Schick Ultra Plus is probably going to be quite a bit better. That "Ultra Plus" name is a lot like saying, "Our amp goes to 11."
I have a Metal Atra, a GII , an Ultra Plus, an Ultrex Plus (really cheap and nasty plastic). In the UK Sainsbury's sell a Dorco which isn't listed on the Dorco website which is a lot nicer than the Atra copies sold by Boots and Hema. Compares favorably with the Ultra Plus still sold in Germany and Japan.
