Unusual Atra

Discussion in 'Cartridge Razors' started by Bogdan Sha, Jan 15, 2019.

Tags:
  1. Bogdan Sha

    Bogdan Sha New Member

    Hello dears! I am from Belarus, the culture of shaving is poorly developed, so I turn to the experts at this forum. I have 15 years of shaving Gillette Slalom Plus Sport, I decided to buy a new pen. There is such an option as in the picture. Is this the original Gillette? What's the approximate year?
    atra2.JPG atra1.JPG

    Thank you in advance for your answers!
     
    RyX, brit, Keithmax and 1 other person like this.
  2. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    It's a bit different but approximates a 1980s (I think) U.S. version, one of the later ones. I think..
     
  3. Bogdan Sha

    Bogdan Sha New Member

    Thank you very much for your reply! As far as I understand Atra - a model for the U.S. market, Contour - for Europe, Vector - for Asia?
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2019
  4. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    I had that same razor. Best cartridge razor I ever owned. Excellent handle.
    BTW, welcome to TSD.
     
    Bogdan Sha and brit like this.
  5. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    Best looking Atra handle I've seen.
     
    brit likes this.
  6. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    The Atra is the best of the cartridge razors, I think.
     
    Primotenore and brit like this.
  7. Bogdan Sha

    Bogdan Sha New Member

    Many thanks to all for the answers and attention to my topic! Is there a clear difference between the handles of Atra from Atra Plus?
     
  8. Sabre

    Sabre Well-Known Member

    The Atra and the Contour are identical, the Slalom is the same as a Vector. The Vector is not an Atra. It is it's cheap ugly poorly constructed looking cousin.
    The Slalom Russian blades were great.
     
    RyX and gorgo2 like this.
  9. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    It looks like chromed plastic, is it?
     
  10. Eeyore

    Eeyore Well-Known Member

    My Contour handle (Atra for Americans) is aluminium and still going strong.

    I don't use it that much really ... when I need a cartridge razor, e.g. when flying, I usually take a G2 (Trac for Americans) with me.
     
    gorgo2 likes this.
  11. Bogdan Sha

    Bogdan Sha New Member

    Thanks for your reply.
    In 2003 I bought gillette slalom plus sport. In the picture it is no different from the contour, the quality is excellent.

    In January of this year bought two modern slalom (year 2015), the quality is worse - light, the material is not stainless steel. Bought from the remains of the store, all that in the picture (along with the blades) cost $11.

    Now I expect the original slalom from Moscow.

    Only blades made in China (as in the second picture) are sold in Minsk. Recently found the production of Germany (possibly fake) as in the last photo.
     

    Attached Files:

    RyX likes this.
  12. Sabre

    Sabre Well-Known Member

    It's nice to see Contour badged Slalom's, the equivalent packaged carts were good. I have no idea when they were downgraded to cheap Vectors.
     
    RyX likes this.
  13. Edison Carter

    Edison Carter Well-Known Member

    Gillette made an irreversible error in abandoning the original Atra IMO.
    The Mach III drove me to an electric.
     
    Terry likes this.
  14. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    The contour was my first Razor, before that i used electric.

    My dad lent it to me but after researching how much replacement blades cost (a cringe worthy amount), i bit the bullet and bought my first safety razor in the middle of last year.

    Ive never looked back. Ill still use the contour as a travel razor but only when wherever im traveling doesnt have de blades since the blades are often restricted especially onboard aircraft.

    The contour is a great razor, in my opinion miles better than modern gillettes like the fusion.

    The only issue ive ever had was that they tended to clog, but not a huge issue if you know how to unclog a razor. I used to run it over the palm of my hand in the opposite direction you would when shaving and this unclogged it like a charm.



    Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
     
    Terry likes this.
  15. Sabre

    Sabre Well-Known Member

    They still produced the Atra carts. They didn't abandon the Atra.
     
  16. Edison Carter

    Edison Carter Well-Known Member

    Gillette (and others) do currently supply cartridges that fit Atra handles. So, Atra handles are not currently orphaned. This was not the case at numerous retailers where I looked in vain back then.

    Anyhow, I thought I was clearly pointing to the "original Atra".

    Last time I looked all the current carts fitting the original Atra have the lube or comfort strips added. As I recall the original Atra cart head had a smaller and more nimble profile with no such additions. Of course we are talking about the late 1970's here, so your recollection could be better than mine.

    I gave seen vintage NOS Atra Carts around for sale. But, please don't wait up for me to buy them just to prove my original statement.

    If Gillette had not made the "product improvements" :eek: they did, that drove me away, this conversation would not be happening.
     
    brit and Terry like this.
  17. Sabre

    Sabre Well-Known Member

    In Europe we had, or possibly have the option of Contour or Contour Plus.
    A lot of products are still available in Europe, which are no longer available in the US. I can only assume that it's because there were not enough of you buying them.
     
  18. Edison Carter

    Edison Carter Well-Known Member

    It is the beauty of living in the USA, marketing.

    But I would not assume that the original Atra carts disappeared due to lack of demand.

    I seldom travel these days, but if I needed to fly and did not want to check a bag, I'd probably use a Gillette Guard (mfg for 3rd world countries I've read). Supposed to be great shavers

    Gillette-Guard-Razor.jpg
     

Share This Page