This Sainsbury's model is a great lead, because metal Atras are so expensive. Do you know what kind of razor is equivalent to the Sainsbury's triple blade model? http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/shopping/details/product_detail.jsp?bmUID=1249965465738
The Sainsbury's Triple blade is a Dorco Nano, this is also sold at Superdrug, Kruidvat and Trekpleister. The Xpec Nano is a slightly different handle design but takes the same blades and is available from Etos and Albert Heijn. The blades and connection are proprietary and do not accept other blades. It is a satisfactory razor when compared to the Mach 3, but Dorco's Pace 6 is probably the best cartridge razor.
With 6 blades??? And here I hadn't considered trying anything with more than 3 blades, and was wishing for a source for the original Wilkinson bonded blades, with exactly one blade, of incredible longevity. I don't think this Dorco is available in the USA. K-Mart has some Dorco stuff under their own brand, but not the 6. At least not yet.
I saw that 6 blade thing in Sainsbury's tonight when I was on a top secret mission. I had to stifle a laugh.
Does it shave as good or better than an a Trac II/GII, Contour/Atra, Sensor, Mach 3, Fusion, Ultra Plus, Protector, FX, Quattro. Yes. Is it a lot less expensive that a Fusion, Yes. Will you do four passes with it as with a DE and a Feather blade, er NO. So if your in a hurry, travelling, or what ever reason are not into shaving with a DE/SE I think it's the best available .
Hunnymonster was kind enough to send me some Sainsbury's twin blade razors. My first impression wasn't as favorable as Sabre's, who thinks it's nicer than the Schick Ultra Plus, which I haven't seen in person, but which I hoped was better than the Vector. It's more attractive than the version from Boots, but overall it doesn't seem much better. None of these compares all that well with the all metal Atra. But Sainsbury's charges barely over $3, when the metal Atra was selling for quite a bit more 10 years ago. [By the way, the head on the Atra with the plastic handle is very similar, but not the same, as the head on the all metal version. There's a hunk of plastic on the cheaper version's head that affects the pivot of some cartridges.] The Sainsbury's razor is made by Dorco, and the blade holder is labeled "Dorco." It's completely silver-colored plastic on the outside, with two pieces of metal protruding that hold the blade. There's more metal within as part of the cartridge release mechanism. The weight of the handle in my hand seems pretty good, but the pivoting seems a bit uneven, thought not uneven enough to scare me off from trying it out. After seeing this razor, I've become more interested in trying a Schick Ultra Plus.
I think it's comparable to a Schick Ultra/Contact Plus not better but that is factoring the cost to the disadvantages (if any). But considering it costs 1.93 GBP and frequently on special offer - I think I paid 1.25 GBP for it. I do think it is better than the Boots/Hema and either Laser or Zorrik copies I have seen. The Vector is the only Gillette razor I haven't got, but I did pay for a Metal Atra off eBay for $40.00 so I don't think I am missing much. I also have an Ultra Plus which I think still retails for around 6-8 Euros (only available in Japan and Germany as far as I am aware) http://www.wilkinson.de/Mann/start_...65&PHPSESSID=08638d37e976c072d699da502ce8be54 The above Contact Plus (Ultra Plus) has a black plastic handle, the black blade release knob is plastic and I think the Chrome looking parts are plastic too!
It would be nice if Gillette still made an Atra/Contour that is similar to the current Sensor, rather than the cheap Vectors - but they have been made for the developing markets of India, South East Asia and not North America and Western Europe. There is or was a Russian version............
I have just looked on the bay and found an Exacta 2 which looks like a modern Ultrex Plus, and will fit the Ultra Plus
The build of that Exacta looks a lot like the Vector. Several years ago, Kai sold an Atra-type razor under the Old Spice brand in the USA that came with a triple blade cartridge. I bought one out of curiosity, and that one seems pretty nice. Now all the non-disposable razors at Kai's website look like variations on the head design of the Mach 3 and Fusion. http://www.kai-ind.co.jp/en/ I've never used an Atra very much, so I don't know how the tightness or irregularity of the pivot affects the shave. All I'm going by is the look and heft of the razor and how the pivot feels when I wiggle the blade.
Here is a Gillette Metral Atra/Contour, Schick Ultrex Plus, Schick Ultra Plus, and Sainsbury Twin blade by Dorco
What does the Ultra Plus look like on the other side, and how is the pivot? (And does your camera have a macro setting to allow for clearer closeups?) And I suppose we don't know yet if the chrome on the Ultra Plus is covering metal or plastic? I bet you could tell by balancing the handle on a thread to find the center of gravity along the length of the handle. Another way could be to weigh all the razors. The Vector and the Sainsbury's would weight the least. If the Ultra Plus weighed noticeably more than that, it would almost certainly have a metal head. I'm less likely to want to bother buying it if it has a plastic head, unless the balance and pivot are good. I'm trying to find a good substitute for the expensive metal Atra, just like the $15 Merkur metal handle and the $10 Schick Super II are good substitutes for the Trac II.
The head is partially metal, don't expect too much from my camera as its a phone camera (it worse than my old phone camera). The Pivot isn't that much better than the Dorco.
I don't think any of these is going to satisfy people looking for the metal Atra, except as a spare or for travel. It's so easy to replace the Trac II with a razor that's at least as good. The identical GII sells for cheap right now on eBay. What's funny is that a lot of people on eBay, even after I explain that the GII is identical to the Trac II, and try to sell it at a decent discount, still want only the Trac II.
I have just bought a Feather equivalent of the Trac II/GII but there are lots of generic Trac II's out there - from India, China, South Korea etc. I bought a mint Solingen GII/Trac II last year.
There are plastic Atra/Contours out there on eBay but I don't remember my Contour from the mid 80's being plastic The metal Atra that I have now is quite upmarket with a box set. There does appear to be several kinds of metal Atra/Contours too.
It was probably around the year 2000 (maybe later) when Gillette started making Atras and Contours with plastic handles.
