Cartridge razor appreciation thread

Haha. I'm not looking for anything fancy. Just a simple set up as a back up.

 

It could be an interesting exercise to set up a poll/survey seeing what avid cartridge users considers to be the best vintage handle ever made and/or best cartridge make. Like "list your top three" - and see what the outcome would be

 

That would be pretty cool. I'm not sure if I can do that from mobile.

 

Wilkinson Sword Profile Royale/Wilkinson Sword Profile Mk3
Wilkinson Sword Profile Mk1
Wilkinson Sword Protector Mk1 - This is based on aesthetics and nostalgia, I haven't used the carts that often.

But effectively you have before the Mid 90's
Gillette Trac II, Schick Super II, Wilkinson Sword WII, Wilkinson Sword Profile Fixed
Gillette Atra or Contour, Schick Ultrex/Ultra/Pivot, Wilkinson Sword Profile Mk1/Pivot, Wilkinson Sword Profile Mk3
Schick Slim Twin/Advantage
Wilkinson Sword Protector Mk1
Gillette Sensor

I would avoid the Schick Tracer/FX, the carts are hard to come by except in the UK. These are still available in discount stores at 50p for 10, you just have to pay a high prices for the handles ...

 

I saw an atra handle selling for 109.99 and I almost lost my dinner. I never realized he Vintge cartridge world was so expensive.

 

They can be had for a lot cheaper. Some eBay sellers suffer from an ultra rare condition which causes them to place high prices on some quite easily found items ...

 

I have just had my collection valued at $2, 000,000.00 for Insurance purposes ...

 

Out of those I've only used the Wilkinson Royale - and I love that one. NOS ones are being sold on eBay (by the same seller) weekly at about $50.
I also really, really liked the Merkur MII.

 

Any particular reason you want vintage over current?

 

Same question I had in my mind. Mach-3 is a perfect candidate for a back up setup. But, beware, this cartridge razor can easily make itself your go to choice (stating this because of my own experience).

 

I have a fusion with 5 cartridges. But I can not for the life of me get a smooth shave like I can with a DE or Injector. If I do more than one pass with a fusion with the ball handle thing, I get the worst razor bumps of my life. That's why I wanted to get a vintage cart with a couple carts.

 

Are you talking about the orange fusion?

 

I would give Mach 3, Blue 3/Custom Plus 3, or Sensor disposables a try.

 

Yes. I just have the carts left from before the switch.

 

The orange Fusion is nowhere near a good cartridge system. I would say that it was one big slip up by Gillette. Even I used to get horrible shaves with this cartridge. You might want to try the items that @Sabre has wrote down. These items will give you a completely different experience.

 

I think we need to clear up some terminology. First off, when you say "carts," do you mean blades? A Fusion has five blades. Older cartridge models have two blades.

Also, what do you mean by "vintage"? Typically, when used in reference to razors, the term indicates a model that is no longer made, or a specific, no-longer-made iteration of a current-production model. Going back to the Trac II as an example, Trac II carts and handles are still in production, so in that sense, while it is an early style of cartridge, it isn't "vintage" if you are buying current production cartridges or handles. However, perhaps you want vintage Trac II carts or handles dating back to the 1970s. See the difference? To confuse matters more, perhaps you want a model that is totally no longer made, such as a Gillette DE (name one...none of them are made any more). In that sense, all Gillette DEs are vintage, because they are no longer made.

So, I'll reiterate: when you say you want a vintage cart setup, do you just mean you want an older cartridge style, but may be content to buy current production, or are you specifically looking for older, no-longer-made versions of said styles?

 

For someone who just wants a backup to a straight, DE or SE I'd recommend a TracII simply because the fixed head is not a radical change from an SE razor and reasonably similar to a DE with the exception of the shaving angle.

 

Even though the machining and tooling of the traditional DE razors are long gone from the Gillette/P&G factories there is a still a limited DE razor production in a few countries such as India that makes the Gillette 7'O Clock [Sterling] razor (I believe two plants in India and one or two in China).

 

I agree, there is no comparison between the original Fusion and the ProGlide. I can get a great shave with the original but the ProGlide is smoother.

I have to use a light touch with the ProGlide Flexball, I get the most amazing shaves with the Flexball. For some reason, turning the power off and shaving manually gives me the most comfy and irritation-free shaves.

 

Are you using the Mach3 more now?