My newly purchased Pal injector adjustable razor has 5 adjustment positions on the dial. The one on the extreme left is marked L and the one on the extreme right is marked H. I assumed the L meant Low aggression (mild shave) and the H meant High aggression (close shave). However, in performance it seems just the opposite. The L position gives my medium coarse beard a close shave, and the H position gives me a mild ineffective shave. Therefore I conclude Pal designed their calibration to be the opposite of what other adjustable razors are in my experience. Perhaps the L refers to cutting the whiskers Low, and the H refers to cutting the whiskers High. Am I correct? Please clarify. Anyone have access to the instructions for the Pal injector adjustable razor?
It's good to know this, since I have a Pal adjustable being shipped to me this week. And a Schick adjustable.
This post has a scan (at the bottom) of the instructions for the PAL adjustable, and according to the sheet:
So, according to instructions,, you start with dial set at center and try it left or right after for perfect fit.
I have the original instructions. It says: "Your new Pal injector razor has five adjustments to fit your type of beard. Light (L) to heavy (H)." My Pal is nos and has only been used once, by me. I much prefer the Schick injector. The Pal mechanism is a little loose and not precise. Len
Thanks for the input thus far on my original question. I double checked. On my Schick injector adjustable the #1 setting raises the safety bar close to the blade for a mild shave, and the #8 setting lowers the safety bar away for the blade for maximum gap and an aggressive shave. And that is the way it should be. I also double checked my Pal injector adjustable, and at the H (high) setting it raises the safety bar closest to the blade for a mild shave, and at the L (low) setting the safety bar is lowered away from the blade for maximum gap and aggressiveness. That is backwards from what I would think it should be. Or maybe Pal's engineers reasoned that H is for "High safety bar," and L is for "Low safety bar"? But that logic, though technically correct, is not consumer friendly. I'm also wondering if my razor was assembled incorrectly and something was installed in a reversed position? It's a good and handsome razor that shaves well and I can live with this issue, but maybe my experience with the razor's calibration is one indication of why Pal is no longer in business and Schick is. I welcome any additional comments and thoughts, and I thank you in advance. It's an interesting issue. BTW HoosierTrooper, are you out there? Check in, please.
Unfortunately, for making the coolest looking injector ever, Pal's QA was less than sterling on those. Lots of flaws have been discovered over the past few years.
I like the Schick adjustable and can get wonderfully close, smooth shaves with mine. the Pal I loved the look of but just could not get a good shave out of it.!
The 1st Pal adj. I had shaved just as well as the Schick adj., only more aggressively (that seemed to be a common feature with both of Pal's injectors). But the two I had after that had totally different defects. Sad, really. If you find one that works and isn't worn out, it's quite a find and blows the Schick out of the tub.
I received my Pal adjustable today. I will try it out Monday morning. My Schick adjustable is in the mail. I hope my Pal works okay.
You are confusing the settings on the Pal adjustable with those on the Schick Adjustable. The Pal adjustable is a differest beast, and most seem to end up using it incorrectly. The Pal was intended to be used with the top of the head lifted off the skin, NOT flat on the skin. The blade stops are part of the top of the head (unlike the Schick adjustable which has it's blades stops on the guard bar). More importantly, there are what looks like a ridge on both edges of top of the head. Inside these ridges the area is angled downwards slightly. These factors, coupled with the position of the guard bar, requires one to drop the handle ( i.e. lift the head slightly of the skin) to properly engage the guard bar and set the correct shaving angle. When the Pal is set to L, the guard bar is farther away and results in the least aggressive setting. (This farther out position will prevent a steeper shaving angle and also allow for less blade exposure) When the Pal is set to H, the guard bar is closest to the blade resulting in the most aggressive setting. (This closest setting will allow for steeper shaving angles as well as more bade exposure) This is as it should be. The engineers got it right. On the Schick adjustable, design of the head, the shaving angle, and the way the guard bar moves are different than on the Pal (among other things). It is not like the Schick adjustable and they both cannot be equated. For those who own a Pal adjustable here is a quick and easy test: Place the head of the Pal adjustable flat on you forearm where you can see it. Note that the guard bar will not make contact with the skin unless you drop the handle until it makes contact, thus changing the head position, or apply excessive pressure compressing the skin enough for the guard bar to make contact. Obviously, you would not want to shave the second way, so it would make sense to use the proper angle with the razor. The Schick adjutable has a much better design. However, Pal adjustables are still good razors. I am not sure where you guys are getting these defective Pal adjustables from, but I have owned plenty of these and never had a problem with any.
So you do not touch the head of the Pal to the face, but you do touch the guard bar to the face and then shave. Am I understanding that correctly?
Dear Themba, I am the original questioner, and I want to thank you for your most informative post! And I want to thank The Shave Den for making a most valuable forum available at no charge. The Shave Den is deserving of our business and support. Themba, I will be doing some shaving with my Pal Adjustable during the next few days to see if I can validate your observations. My guess is you are correct. The only question I have now is was it a good business desision for Pal to make a razor that kinda went "against the grain" of the conventinal knowlege of the average shaver? That might be one reason why Pal is no longer in business. BTW do you know the years of manufacture for the Pal Adjustable? Regards,
The shaving angle for the Pal adjustable is pretty much in line with how most use SE type razors. He head is small so only slight adjustments are needed to find the angle that works for you. You can start with the head flat on the skin and then drop the handle until the guar bar makes contact with the skin and then shave.
This morning I shaved with my Pal Adjustable. It was loaded with an old blade that had a history of 7 previous shaves. I'm happy to report that I had an outstanding shave, using the principle that our friend Themba introduced us to yesterday.
I've had two defectives. One was b/c the spring had lost tension, which happens in time so isn't an actual defect. The other was visibly ground incorrectly. Another I had was excellent and my favorite injector of all (don't have it anymore, though...never could get good enough blades).
The spring only controls potential blade flex, it does not hold the blade in place, the razor will still shave fine. I have one with a missing spring and it shaves fine.
Say Shave7....this has been an excellent thread you got here....Why don't you make a post over on the "Injector & SE Party" thread...and give us a review of your Pal Injector and let us know what you learned here about your injector and how to get a great shave with it...I think others will benefit from your experience... Wishing you many great shaves with your Pal Adjustable....
