Disposable or Cartridges?

Discussion in 'Cartridge Razors' started by dh0licious, Oct 18, 2009.

?

Which do you prefer?

  1. Disposable

    11 vote(s)
    26.8%
  2. Cartridges

    18 vote(s)
    43.9%
  3. Don't care!

    12 vote(s)
    29.3%
  1. dh0licious

    dh0licious New Member

    Hi all,

    Quite new here but not new to shaving at all! Basically just seeing what the general opinion is on these 2. I am of North Indian decent so have relatively thick growth. I am currently using the Gillette Mach 3 Turbo blades however where I am located (Australia) these are quite expensive - about $13US for a pack of 4 cartridges.

    If the general consensus is for disposables, what brand are preferred?

    Regards!
     
  2. boyextraordinare

    boyextraordinare New Member

    Disposables, without a doubt.

    The BIC Sensitive, BIC Classic & BIC Metal constitute the first-tier, and Personna/ASR's single- and two-blade offerings the second.
     
  3. dh0licious

    dh0licious New Member

    Fantastic, and are the bic ones 3-blade?
     
  4. D Pflaumer

    D Pflaumer New Member

    I think they are single blade. I personally use single blade disposables if I absolutely can't bring a DE or even better, a straight.
     
  5. ChemErik

    ChemErik Mr. Personality

    Neither! If forced to, I'll use a 2-blade cartridge. Far better IMHO and most here is to use a DE razor, or single edge (GEM) razor. Some like straights, but I'm not ready to invest the time right now.
     
  6. Vito36

    Vito36 New Member

    I like my Gillette Sensor Excel for every day use although they are a bit pricey unless you buy in bulk. But I have tried the Gillete Atra razors which are very similar and have the pivoting head and are a significantly cheaper option when you buy the Personna blades. I do like my Trac II blade as well that does not have the pivoting head and will require some skills because you need some proper blade angle in a sense like a Double Edge razor and I also love love love the Trac II to clean up the side burns.
     
  7. boyextraordinare

    boyextraordinare New Member

    I have to say, the Trac II and Sensor are both good razors, though the Sensor's handle is very light and cheap, and the cart.s are outrageously overpriced.

    The Trac II, particularly if you get a sleek handle for it, is a hell of a razor - much better than anything that pivots or spring loads, IMHO. Personna makes cart.s for it under the name "Twin II" and so far as I'm concerned they're better than Gillette's own.

    Still, buying BIC Sensitives or Metals is your best bet I say, if you don't want to use a vintage razor.
     
  8. Gnetics

    Gnetics New Member

    Yea, I switched over from the Mach 3 Turbo and Fusion and have not looked back. DE and Straights for me..well once I get them honed... lol :cool:
     
  9. MadCapsule

    MadCapsule Member

    Between the two, I could choose disposables. Although (if you'll pardon my preachiness) I hate how wasteful both of them are. From what I understand, neither get recycled, even if you toss them in a recycling bin.
     
  10. Vito36

    Vito36 New Member

    I just said that in the above post. :D

    I would like to add, if you get the Sensor Excel carts here in bulk (http://www.otcwholesale.com/gillette-11548.html) you can save a pretty penny as opposed to walking into a CVS. Or you can buy the CVS brand Sensor Excel two blade cartridges for 8 dollars per 10 pack which sure beats the 20 dollars for 10 Gillette price.
     
  11. boyextraordinare

    boyextraordinare New Member

    BIC 1-blade disposables are your best bet. They're cheap & high-performing.
     
  12. Infotech

    Infotech Active Member

    Shick Slim Twin ST = These are some pretty good disposables. Two blades, no gooey strips, and a small maneuverable head. They out perform my old mach3 turbo...
     
  13. I'm impressed at how well you guys have been able to keep from shamelessly preaching the virtues of shaving with a single blade.

    And I really don't want to be the jerk that yanks this thread off-topic so I can gush about my new Filarmonica 14 EPBD and pontificate about how much better this single piece of precision steel is than the latest battery-powered Fischer Price product from Gillette (even though it is 100x better and it would be perfectly justifiable to ease into such an interlude).

    To be perfectly honest, when I think of the manufacturers of such items as disposable razors and cartridges, the involuntary mental image is Gillette headquarters under siege by a large group of angry people carrying pitchforks and torches because they finally figured out what was going on. My personal opinion is that disposable and cartridge shaving is a moneymaking sham that has padded the pockets of shrewd and sinister executives who have saturated the personal care industry with so much product and advertising that they've successfully trained us in the ideology that they hold the keys to the only reasonable method of whisker removal. I mean, 5 blades and a lubricating strip... how can you do better than that!?... It sounds reasonable... 5 blades removes up to 5x as much hair, and plus there's a blue thing that turns white so you know that its time to go empty your pockets for more product!

    Of course, I kid... sort of... a little.

    If you haven't tried traditional wetshaving with a single blade, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot. By and large, the folks here who have tried traditional wetshaving of any type have revolutionized the way they shave and care for their skin. For some of us, it is a breath of fresh air because we feel that substantial financial contributions to the shaving industry have failed to provide a satisfactory return on investment. Wetshaving has provided these folks with close comfortable shaves at a truly remarkable cost savings.
    For others of us (myself included), wetshaving has rocketed beyond fulfillment of pedestrian duty, sheared through hobby status and may still be hurtling into the stratosphere of obsession, maybe to the point of becoming some sort of an -ism. And for us, wetshaving has not saved us any money whatsoever.


    Anyway, in an attempt to rescue this post from off-topic status... all the older guys in my world who have refused to use a DE seem to do so on the premise that they get fine shaves from their disposables. I'm always like, "Whatever."

    Hope this helped!
     
  14. Infotech

    Infotech Active Member

    Nice observation Kool-Aid!

    I hadn't thought of how well this thread stayed on topic. This must be the first time ever that a guy asked a question about what shaving implement is better while leaving out single edged/double edged razors we all love and actually got answers that only included cartridges or disposables!
     
  15. zimmer

    zimmer Member

    After 30 years of shaving with disposables and cartridges and having either a poor shave or a few nicks, I went back to DE shaving. I think the icing on the cake was the ever increasing prices of disposables and cartridges.
    I don't get those little nicks with my DE, get a great shave, and pay about .10 per blade vs 2-3 dollars for a disposable or cartridge.
    For me, DE was the way to go, followed by my Panasonic Linear electric. If I were in a pinch, I'd use a disposable..knowing I'd have a nick or two. It mus be my facial angles.
     
  16. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    If DE razors and blades stopped to exist, and I was forced to choose, I would use Bic disposable razors. No cartridge razors and blades are allowed into my house.
     
  17. zimmer

    zimmer Member

    My nephew works in a college bookstore and last year, they were dumping a bunch of gillette four or five or whatever number disposable razors. He gave me a few to try and I almost cut my face off. I can't imagine why anyone would think that multi-blades can do a better job than one decent blade and handle.
    It does seem to be a money making proposition and makes me happy when I think of paying .13 for Red Personna vs $3.00 for four blade refill.
     
  18. sirdonkeypunch

    sirdonkeypunch New Member

    your gonna want to either get a single or maybe a dual blade disposable.... the more blades there are on it, the more it gets clogged up with junk and the harsher the shave (despite it being SO close to the skin)

    i used to use a mach3 daily until i found my late fathers 1961 Gillette DE Fatboy adjustable.... ever since i started using it ill NEVER go back to a cartridge razor. sometimes i use a single bladed bic disposable for hard to reach areas when i gotta trim up my PTM, but apart from that i use the DE razor daily.

    Im just glad i found the joys of the DE razor while im in my early 20's.... those cartridge razors are frustrating as a mug...
     
  19. flylot

    flylot New Member

    I am somewhat confused here and perhaps my answer is not what the OP wanted, but I shall none the less respond. When I think of disposables, I think of those relatively expensive and environmentally unfriendly plastic handled razors with who knows how many cheap metal blades, and disposable cartridges that are only a bit less eco-unfriendly in which the handle is kept. Also I consider SE and DE shaver blades as disposable, though at least when the blades are disposed, they can be recycled making them fairly eco-friendly.The SE razors also have a "catridge", the so called injector which is also easily recycleable.

    The only "non disposable" razor would be a straight.

    So, for my preference, I prefer the non disposable straight first. Because I travel frequently I must use a disposable (I only carry on my luggage) and have chosen a injector SE (not the best choice but the optimum choice). The best choice in disposables would be a DE shaver, but the practicality of traveling and obtaining blades later is too cumbersome.

    The currently marketed plastic disposable razor or disposable cartridge are not worthy of consideration for me because:

    1. Over time are exceedingly expensive

    2. I get a far superior shave with the straight or the disposable bladed DE or SE shaver.

    3. The environmental impact of the straight or the disposable blade over anything else is without question.

    Well, there you are, you asked for opinions..........
     
  20. jimmyfingers

    jimmyfingers Member

    The Bic Sensitive single blade IMO is the best disposable.

    This is what I bring with me when I travel. However, it is still far behind the DE or straight
     

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