Does anyone buy into the theory that hysteresis is a "thing" with multi-blade cartridge razors? My take: if it really worked, you would need no more than 2 blades, and one pass would give you a BBS that lasts longer than a multi-pass shave with a SE, DE, or cut-throat. Since in my experience you don't get that with a cart, I hereby declare that hysteresis (for shaving) is market-speak invented by the powers-that-be in the shaving industry.
If it was a thing the companies would have harped about it back in the 70s when Schick I believe first introduced twin injector and twin DE blades. Difference is they had no patent on dual injector and DE blades unlike Gillette with their cart blades in the 90s when it was a thing.
I think using the term hysteresis for shaving is a fairly recent thing, actually. What I really meant was that Gillette had those ads back in the 70s when the Trac II came out showing the hair being cut by the second blade, then disappearing from the surface of the skin. So even if they didn't use the term, their claims were still false, else there would have been no need for a 3rd blade. Now some razors are up to 7, I believe. Not sure which brands. Dorco maybe? See: Either 1) that was false advertising, or 2) the need to have more than 2 blades is balderdash. It's simple logic: either one or the other.
Stretching skin also achieves the same result with less irritation. Schick figured this out in the 40s going from the last iteration of the E2 to the E3 injector razors. Both razors are indentical outside the E2 guard is smooth and the E3 has striations on it. Those striations stretch skin ahead of the blade and in turn shave closer and that is what makes an E3 a better shaver than the E2.
Yes, I have an E3 and love it. I've never shaved with an E2. The E3 definitely is one of the best injectors I have, but I haven't used it in quite a while. Bought it 2 years ago. I had read all your "dummies" guides and bought at least one of the best of each of the letters from E and up except the ones for ladies and the super rare ones like O. In all my years of using carts, I never got close to a BBS in one pass, let alone several. In retrospect, I'm curious how carts caught on. The only thing that I can think of is that most people were not that successful with DEs and SEs. When you read all the experiences now on forums with people's journey to find just the right blade and razor combination, a guess is that since the choices were relatively limited yesteryear, it might have been extremely hard for people to find that halcyon combo that people now find. That and marketing, of course. Perhaps the way people now always need to buy the latest and greatest DE.
People back then bought one tool and learned to use it. There isn't a razor in my collection that I couldn't use, solely, for as long as my fine motor control lasts. Let's face it, if you want to get nothing more than to get a close shave, the Atra/Trac II razor is as about as perfect a razor as they come. The best cartridges for them are the old pre-lube strip versions, or the adjustable cartridges. Sure, they went overboard by adding more blades to try and improve on a nearly perfect razor. I shave with everything, and have a strong preference for old British razors, but I still have to give credit where credit is due. I shaved yesterday with Williams Lather Shave Cream (contains lanotrate25), and the old timers weren't hurting in the lather making materials, imo. It's slicker than anything I've ever used. My brother-in-law, sponsor of this post, loaned me the Williams to try. He also told me that they tried really hard to get a lot of lanolin into the shaving creams, but when you add enough, it separates from the rest of the shave cream and creates a runny mess. The answer is to take lanolin, and process it in such a way that it breaks a few molecules off, and hey presto, you've invented Lanotrate25. 20 years later (I'm guessing) they removed it because a small segment of the population had allergic reactions to lanolin. Gillette's wonder molecule, derived from peanut oil, died a similar fate, for the same reasons. The current trend in old fashioned wet shaving is social media driven. If it wasn't for word of mouth advertising, none of this would exist. We live in an age of marvels. It is an expensive, but rewarding time to have a shaving hobby, where we can enjoy products and devices both old and new from every corner of the Earth. The same goes for any hobby, really.
Yes, my first razor, period, was an Atra, which I used exclusively for over 20 years, with one exception. I used nothing but Gillette-branded Atra blades. I tried the Sensor when it came out for maybe one or two shaves, didn't like it, and went right back to Atra. At some point, I started using store-branded Atra compatibles (which I now know were Personnas), then switched to Fusion when I got a free razor in the mail. Not sure how long I used it until I tried the store-brand knockoff (which I now know was a Personna Magnum 5) for a few years, mainly because of price. Then when RiteAid suddenly switched carts (probably to another Personna), I switched back to Atra compatibles. I had no idea at the time that I could probably get carts to fit my "Rite Aid" handle from CVS or Walgreens, since I wasn't aware that these were rebranded Personnas. I was just upset that RideAid suddenly wanted me to buy another handle, as I had bought 2 of the M5 handles, one as a backup and for travelling. Since I started DE and SE shaving around 10 years ago, I still take breaks and use carts, mainly out of convenience since it is much quicker and easier to travel with. But the laziness leads to me having rough shaves when I go back to DEs and SEs, so I need to try to stay the course. It's interesting that I get the same shave in terms of closeness with a twin blade (I now prefer a Personna Twin Pivot Plus on a Trac II compatible handle) as I do with a Dorco 6 blader or Personna 5 blader. And I still need to do the same number of passes as I do with a DE or SE. I do get, however, a closer shave with a DE or SE. So that's why I look at the Gillette ads from the 70's, and say to myself, "no way will one-pass eliminate the entire whisker above the skin's surface." And that pass they are showing is N->S, presumably WTG (at least on most people.) I realize people of yesteryear stuck with their tools, but what I'm trying to understand is the blade choice. Since you had to buy whatever limited selection your local drustore had, how did people cope with blades that didn't work for them? Or is today's feeling that "this blade just does not work for me" really just not giving enough time to that part of the equation?
And for a time they had "Spoilers", which I keep hearing were/are the greatest thing since sliced bread.
